Bili Buzz - Popular Science, Nature, Medicine, Archeology, Future & Myths

Global warming is set to stall over the next 10 years as natural variations in ocean currents counteract manmade climate change.

Researchers modelling the climate of Europe and North America found that a major ocean current that brings warm water northwards is set to weaken, potentially offsetting temperature rises caused by human activity.

A team led by Noel Keenlyside at the Leibniz Institute for Marine Science in Germany focused on an ocean current known as the meridional overturning current or MOC. The current acts as a huge conveyor belt, bringing warm water into the North Atlantic and returning cold water to the south.

Scientists believe the ocean current strengthens and weakens on a natural cycle with a 70 to 80-year period. When the current is strong, it brings warmer water and a milder climate to northern regions.

The team’s models, which were checked against historical temperature changes, suggest the current will weaken enough to cool the North Atlantic, while temperatures in the tropical Pacific are unlikely to change.

The study appears in the journal Nature today.

“Our results show that global mean temperatures may plateau or cool weakly over the next 10 years because of natural fluctuations, but in the long term temperatures will continue to rise,” said Dr Keenlyside. “This doesn’t change the bottom line on global warming.”

Reports from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggest carbon emissions could drive global temperatures up by as much as 0.2C each decade.

NASA’s Terra satellite captures startling before and after pictures of the coast of Burma

Tropical Cyclone Nargis slammed the Burmese coast with 130 mph winds and bursts of up to 160 mph—the equivalent of a category 3 or low-level category 4 hurricane. It reportedly led to thousands of deaths, and as of Monday, thousands more were missing. Now NASA has released a set of images that show how drastically the flooding has drenched Burma’s coast.

The Terra satellite used its Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer to capture both the visible and infrared sections of the spectrum, which enabled it to produce pictures that highlight the coverage of the floods. The white streaks in the second image are clouds. Try to ignore those and it’s incredibly clear just how much the surrounding waters have encroached on the land. And these aren’t empty lands. There are several big cities in the region. An area known as Yangon, which has a population of 4 million people, has been surrounded by water.

The devastation has also renewed a fiery debate about the link between climate change and storm intensity.

More images here.

Via NASA

More people are buying hybrid cars, but the greener vehicles are still a relative rarity on the road

In 2007, registrations of new hybrid vehicles jumped by 38 percent to 350,289 vehicles, according to a new report from R.L. Polk & Company. Gee, I wonder why? Maybe it’s got something to do with rising prices at the pump, or climate change. Or maybe there’s something bigger at play.

R.L. Polk analyst Lonnie Miller thinks consumers are starting to trust the technology more now that it’s been on the market for a while, not to mention that buyers also had more options in 2007.

The Prius was the market leader, but newer options like the Lexus LS600h or the GMC Yukon models—which aren’t exactly the greenest things on the road—also helped sales numbers climb. But, we’ve got a long way to go before hybrids really take hold. They still only make up 2.2 percent of the market.

Via CNN