Research articles

Considering the combined effects of CO₂ fertilization and climate change drivers on plant physiology leads to a modest increase in simulated European forest transpiration in spite of the effects of CO₂-induced stomatal closure.

Greenhouse-gas payback times are derived for biofuel production systems using five feedstocks under high- and low-input farm management to assess replacement of natural vegetation with crop-based biofuels. Estimates ranged from 1–162 years.

Climate change is expected to exacerbate absenteeism as a result of heat stress, with ramifications for labour productivity. Reduced work performance in 2013–2014 in Australia was found to represent an economic burden of around US$6.2 billion.

Rising water temperatures increase the susceptibility of reef-building corals to diseases caused by pathogens and to coral bleaching. Model projections indicate that disease is more likely to cause coral mortality than bleaching in coming decades.

The results of an online survey of UK consumers suggest that achieving desired energy efficiencies and savings through demand-side management aimed at changing behaviour and encouraging uptake of energy-efficient technologies will not be easy.

A manipulation experiment, combined with reconstructed evolutionary history from a dormant egg bank found in recent lake sediments, reveals that water fleas (Daphnia) can exhibit a rapid increase in their capacity to tolerate higher temperatures.

The contribution of human-induced climate change to global heavy precipitation and hot extreme events is quantified. The results show that of the moderate extremes, 18% of precipitation and 75% of high-temperature events are attributable to warming.

Physiological changes associated with dwarfing in two marine molluscs that are adapted to acidified seawater at shallow CO₂ seeps help the animals keep their shells intact. Such changes may have helped species to survive past mass extinction events.

This study investigates global surface temperature data since 1920, and the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation is found to be largely responsible for temperature fluctuations, exhibiting different spatial patterns to anthropogenic temperature drivers.

A major question in fisheries science is how fish will respond to climatic warming. Research shows that future distributions of commercially important fish species in the North Sea will be overwhelmingly constrained by non-thermal habitat variables.

A survey of the Canadian public shows that those with links to members of environmental organizations are more likely to be concerned about climate change, highlighting the importance of social ties and cultural milieu in shaping such attitudes.

Quantification of microbial metabolic heat production in organic permafrost soils across Greenland reveals that the impacts of climate change on organic soils, and associated carbon storage, can be accelerated by microbial activity.

Analysis of survey data reveals how political ideology shapes the influence of media coverage on public attitudes regarding climate change.

Action on climate change requires public support. A study of public opinion in the United States reveals substantial variation across the nation.

Although the correlation between greenhouse gases and temperature is well documented, it is difficult to show causality from the data. This study uses insight from dynamical systems theory to show that internal Earth system mechanisms largely control climate dynamics, rather than orbital forcing, and temperature does have a reinforcing feedback on greenhouse-gas concentrations.

The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report revised estimates of equilibrium climate sensitivity as a result of the ongoing warming hiatus. This study investigates how accumulating observations affect climate sensitivity estimates and finds that although there is a small downwards adjustment in the sensitivity, the lower bound of the 90% range is unchanged.

Vegetation change is a key component of the carbon cycle, but quantifying these changes is challenging. Research using passive microwave observations now provides global estimates for forest and non-forest biomass trends over the past two decades.

Climate change enhances root exudation of organic compounds into soils and can lead to loss of soil carbon. Research now shows that oxalic acid (a common exudate) releases organic compounds from protective mineral associations.

The media uses specific language to report scientific knowledge to various audiences. A study focused on broadcast, newspapers and twitter reporting of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report shows that coverage and framing of the Report was influenced by its sequential three-part structure and by the availability of accessible narratives and visuals.

Cooling has been observed over the past century in the northern Atlantic, and this study presents multiple lines of evidence that suggest it may be a result of a reduction in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. The decrease in this circulation, particularly after 1970, seems to be unprecedented in the past millennium and melt from the Greenland Ice Sheet may be a contributing factor.