You would have to go back at least 15 million years to find carbon dioxide levels on Earth as high as they are today, a UCLA scientist and colleagues report in the online edition of the journal Science.

A report released recently at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union provides new insights on the potential for abrupt climate change and the effects it could have on the United States, identifying key concerns that include faster-than-expected loss of sea ice, rising sea levels and a possibly permanent state of drought in the [...]

We show that the rapid recession of sea ice cover at high latitudes in West Greenland creates a strong and predictable primary production bloom and trophic cascade.
Conversely, the absence of sea ice at lower latitudes results in nutrient and upwelling-driven production with a less predictable cascade.

Antarctic worms, sea spiders, urchins and other marine creatures living in near-shore shallow habitats are regularly pounded by icebergs. New data suggests this environment along the Antarctic Peninsula is going to get hit more frequently. This is due to an increase in the number of icebergs scouring the seabed as a result of shrinking winter [...]