Impacts of climate change in Switzerland: Adaptation and climate change mitigation must go hand in hand

Date:

March 14, 2014 - SCIENCE DAILY

Source:

University of Bern

Summary:

Southern Switzerland emerges as a hotspot of the effects of climate change. And the bark beetle is putting spruces all over Switzerland under increasing pressure, because an additional generation of pests could hatch each year due to the rising temperatures. Also, about half of the remaining glacial ice will already have melted away by 2035.

Southern Switzerland emerges as a hotspot of the effects of climate change. And the bark beetle is putting spruces all over Switzerland under increasing pressure, because an additional generation of pests could hatch each year due to the rising temperatures. These are two of many statements from the report "CH2014-Impacts," which deals with the quantitative consequences of climate change for Switzerland. It has been produced under the direction of the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research of the University of Bern.

More than 20 research groups from all over Switzerland have worked on the climate change impacts report during the past two years. The unprecedented project was initiated and coordinated by the Oeschger Centre of the University of Bern; it was financially supported by the Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU) and MeteoSchweiz. In its investigations into seven subject areas -- from glaciers and water balance to woods, biodiversity and agriculture to health and energy -- the researchers took the so-called "CH2011 Scenarios" as their starting point for the future development of temperature and precipitation in Switzerland. From these climate scenarios they derived concrete impacts. With this uniform basis the numerous research groups were able to feed the same data into their models and thus make the results comparable. "This approach provides valuable foundations for the development of adaptation strategies," says Christoph Raible from the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research of the University of Bern, which coordinated the project.

The results of the "CH2014-Impacts" project confirm existing knowledge concerning the consequences of climate change and provide new findings. For example, previous assessments concerning changes in the Swiss glaciers have been clearly corroborated: if no radical climate policy measures are taken, around 90 percent of the Swiss glaciers will disappear by the end of this century.

Around half of the remaining glacial ice will already have melted away by 2035.

Winners and losers in the forest

"CH2014-Impacts" shows differentiated developments for forests: in low locations in inneralpine valleys that are already very dry today -- such as Saastal in Wallis, for example -- the forest reacts very sensitively. Just a small additional increase in heat has consequences. The tree population is threatened by weaker growth and comes under increased pressure from bark beetles. This also reduces the protective effect against avalanches and rockfalls. Things look different on the alpine treeline, where tree growth is increasing. This has positive results for the protective effect as well as for wood production and carbon storage. In many cases, the forests will not show serious changes until towards the end of this century. But according to the researchers, forest tending already has to be adjusted now to the more long-term developments to be expected.

Major regional differences

The "CH2014-Impacts" report clearly shows the major regional differences in the effects of climate change. For example, Tessin in particular is being confronted with negative consequences of temperature increase. The hot phases with so-called tropical nights could extend to a duration of up to two months. Not only people would suffer from this. Cows for example would be threatened by heat stress, and the dryness would be a problem for the forests. According to another result of the report, the sensitive south of Switzerland has to expect striking effects of climate change -- "Even if globally effective climate protection measures are taken," says Raible.

On the Swiss Plateau, on the other hand, as long as effective climate policies manage to keep the effects within bearable limits, positive effects are also to be expected. In wine-growing, for example, where warmer conditions will allow the cultivation of additional grape varieties. Without climate protection measures, it is to be expected that problematic consequences will be dominant. For example, stronger fluctuations must be expected in the outflows of rivers, and the temperature of the groundwater may rise -- with possibly negative consequences for drinking water quality. There will be a high turnover in the species composition of bird and plant-life. By the end of the century, increasingly unsuitable climatic conditions will, for example, be endangering the survival of spruce and beech, which are now the most widespread types of tree in the midland.

Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions urgently needed

One conclusion of "CH2014-Impacts" is that, with or without climate protection, Switzerland will not be able to do without adaptation. This also includes improved management, such as in agriculture for example -- including the choice of varieties and pest control -- and in water supply. Due to the changing streamflow in the rivers, it will in future be necessary to be more economical with the use of water. But climate change is also presenting forestry with new challenges. The changing conditions necessitate an adaptation of forest tending and the promotion of biodiversity.

Adaptive measures and improved management are not enough, however, for coping with climate change. A reduction of greenhouse gas emissions still remains an urgent priority. In other words: adaptation and climate protection must go hand in hand. "If we manage to limit climate change, adaptation to its consequences will as a result be easier to achieve and cheaper," says Raible in summary.

The report "CH2014-Impacts" can be downloaded free of charge at www.ch2014-impacts.ch.

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Number of days without rain to dramatically increase in some world regions

Date:

March 14, 2014- SCIENCE DAILY

Source:

University of California - San Diego

Summary:

By the end of the 21st century, some parts of the world can expect as many as 30 more days a year without precipitation, according to a new study. Ongoing climate change caused by human influences will alter the nature of how rain and snow falls; areas that are prone to dry conditions will receive their precipitation in narrower windows of time. Computer model projections of future conditions indicate that regions such as the Amazon, Central America, Indonesia, and all Mediterranean climate regions around the world will likely see the greatest increase in the number of "dry days" per year, going without rain for as many as 30 days more every year. California, with its Mediterranean climate, is likely to have five to ten more dry days per year.

By  the end of the 21^st century, some parts of the world can expect as many as 30 more days a year without precipitation, according to a new study by Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego researchers.

Ongoing climate change caused by human influences will alter the nature of how rain and snow falls; areas that are prone to dry conditions will receive their precipitation in narrower windows of time. Computer model projections of future conditions analyzed by the Scripps team indicate that regions such as the Amazon, Central America, Indonesia, and all Mediterranean climate regions around the world will likely see the greatest increase in the number of "dry days" per year, going without rain for as many as 30 days more every year. California, with its Mediterranean climate, is likely to have five to ten more dry days per year.

This analysis advances a trend in climate science to understand climate change on the level of daily weather and on finer geographic scales.

"Changes in intensity of precipitation events and duration of intervals between those events will have direct effects on vegetation and soil moisture," said Stephen Jackson, director of the U.S. Department of the Interior Southwest Climate Science Center, which co-funded the study. "(Study lead author Suraj) Polade and colleagues provide analyses that will be of considerable value to natural resource managers in climate adaptation and planning. Their study represents an important milestone in improving ecological and hydrological forecasting under climate change."

Polade, a postdoctoral researcher at Scripps, said that one of the implications of this finding is that annual rainfall could become less reliable in drying regions as annual averages will be calculated over a smaller number of days. The 28 models used by the team showed agreement in many parts of the world on the change in the number of dry days those regions will receive. They were in less agreement about how intense rain or snow will be when it does fall, although there is general consensus among models that the most extreme precipitation will become more frequent. Climate models agreed even less on how the conflicting daily changes affect annual mean rainfall.

"Looking at changes in the number of dry days per year is a new way of understanding how climate change will affect us that goes beyond just annual or seasonal mean precipitation changes, and allows us to better adapt to and mitigate the impacts of local hydrological changes," said Polade, a postdoctoral researcher who works with Scripps climate scientists Dan Cayan, David Pierce, Alexander Gershunov, and Michael Dettinger, who are co-authors of the study.

In regions like the American Southwest, where precipitation is historically infrequent and where a couple of storms more or fewer can make a wet or a dry year, annual water accumulation varies greatly. A decrease in precipitation frequency translates into even more year-to-year variability in fresh water resources for the Southwest.

"These profound and clearly projected changes make physical and statistical sense, but they are invisible when looking at long-term trends in average climate projections," Gershunov said.

Other regions of the world, most of which are climatologically wet, are projected to receive more frequent precipitation. Most such regions are not on land or are largely uninhabited, the equatorial Pacific Ocean and the Arctic prominent among them.

The authors suggest that follow-up studies should emphasize more fine-scale analyses of dry day occurrences and work towards understanding the myriad regional factors that influence precipitation.

"Climate models have improved greatly in the last 10 years, which allows us to look in detail at the simulation of daily weather rather than just monthly averages," said Pierce.

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of California - San Diego. The original article was written by Robert Monroe. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Major 'third-hand smoke' compound causes DNA damage and potentially cancer

Date:

March 16, 2014

Source:

American Chemical Society (ACS)

Summary:

Leftover cigarette smoke that clings to walls and furniture is a smelly nuisance, but now research suggests that it could pose a far more serious threat, especially to young children who put toys and other smoke-affected items into their mouths. Scientists reported that one of the tobacco-specific nitrosamines newly formed in "third-hand smoke" damages DNA and could potentially cause cancer.

Their talk was one of more than 10,000 presentations at the 247th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Dallas this week.

Bo Hang, Ph.D., who presented the research, said that although the idea of third-hand smoke made its debut in research circles just a few years ago in 2009, evidence already strongly suggests it could threaten human health.

"The best argument for instituting a ban on smoking indoors is actually third-hand smoke," said Hang, a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).

Researchers have found that many of the more than 4,000 compounds in second-hand smoke, which wafts through the air as a cigarette is smoked, can linger indoors long after a cigarette is stubbed out. Based on studies led by Hugo Destaillats, also at LBNL, these substances can go on to react with indoor pollutants such as ozone and nitrous acid, creating brand-new compounds, some of which may be carcinogenic.

One of those compounds goes by the acronym NNA. Hang's research has shown that NNA, a tobacco-specific nitrosamine, locks onto DNA to form a bulky adduct (a piece of DNA bound to a cancer-causing chemical), as well as other adducts, in lab test tubes. Other large compounds that attach to DNA tend to cause genetic mutations. NNA also breaks the DNA about as often as a related compound called NNK, which is a well-studied byproduct of nicotine and a known potent carcinogen. This kind of DNA damage can lead to uncontrolled cell growth and the formation of cancerous tumors.

Just as it took years to establish the cancer-causing effects of first-hand smoke that is inhaled as a person breathes in directly from the cigarette, making the connection between third-hand smoke or NNA and cancer could take a long time, Hang said. But early research into its nature, exposure and health effects is compelling enough that a research consortium dedicated to investigating third-hand smoke was formed in California in 2010. That consortium helped fund Hang's work on NNA-induced DNA damage, which he said could eventually be used as biomarkers to identify people who have been exposed to third-hand smoke.

The biggest potential health risk is for babies and toddlers, he noted. As they crawl and put their hands or toys in their mouths, they could touch, swallow or inhale compounds from third-hand smoke. Their small size and early developmental stage make them more vulnerable than adults to the effects of environmental hazards.

Although many public places prohibit smoking, Hang noted that people can still smoke in most rental apartments and private residences -- and smoking remains a huge public health issue. In 2011, nearly 44 million American adults reported smoking cigarettes, which ranks as the leading cause of preventable death in this country. And 34 million people smoke every day, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

So far, the best way to get rid of third-hand smoke is by removing affected items, such as sofas and carpeting, as well as sealing and repainting walls, and sometimes even replacing contaminated wallboard, he explained. Replacing furniture can be pricey, but Hang said vacuuming and washing clothes, curtains and bedding can also help.

Hang's research was funded by the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, which is administered by the University of California.

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African dust changes India's rainfall: Dust can affect planet's climate, research shows

Date:

March 16, 2014 - SCIENCE DAILY 

Source:

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Summary:

Dust in the air in North Africa and West Asia absorbs sunlight west of India, warming the air and strengthening the winds carrying moisture eastward, raining down in India about a week later. The results of this new study explain one way that dust can affect the climate, filling in previously unknown details about Earth's system.

A new analysis of satellite data reveals a link between dust in North Africa and West Asia and stronger monsoons in India. The study shows that dust in the air absorbs sunlight west of India, warming the air and strengthening the winds carrying moisture eastward. This results in more monsoon rainfall about a week later in India. The results explain one way that dust can affect the climate, filling in previously unknown details about Earth's system.

The study also shows that natural airborne particles can influence rainfall in unexpected ways, with changes in one location rapidly affecting weather thousands of miles away. The researchers analyzed satellite data and performed computer modeling of the region to tease out the role of dust on the Indian monsoon, they report March 16 inNature Geoscience.

India relies heavily on its summer monsoon rains. "The difference between a monsoon flood year or a dry year is about 10 percent of the average summer rainfall in central India. Variations driven by dust may be strong enough to explain some of that year-to-year variation," said climate scientist Phil Rasch of the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Rasch, V. Vinoj of the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, India, and their coauthors wanted to explore a correlation that appeared in satellite records: higher amounts of small particles called aerosols over North Africa, West Asia, and the Arabian Sea seemed to be connected to stronger rainfall over India around the same time. The team wanted to see if they could verify this and determine how those particles might affect rainfall.

To explore the connection, the team used a computer model called CAM5 and focused on the area. The model included humanmade aerosols from pollution, and natural sea salt and dust aerosols. First, the team ran the model and noted a similar connection: more aerosols in the west meant more rainfall in the east. Then they systematically turned off the contribution of each aerosol type and looked to see if the connection remained.

Dust turned out to be the necessary ingredient. The condition that re-created stronger rainfall in India was the rise of dust in North Africa and the Arabian peninsula.

To see how quickly dust worked, they ran short computer simulations with and without dust emissions. Without dust emissions, the atmospheric dust disappeared within a week compared to the simulation with dust emissions and rainfall declined in central India as well. This indicated the effect happens over a short period of time.

But there was one more mystery, how did dust do this to rainfall? To explore possibilities, the team zoomed in on the regional conditions such as air temperature and water transport through the air.

Their likeliest possibility focused on the fact that dust can absorb sunlight that would normally reach the surface, warming the air instead. This warmer dust-laden air draws moist air from the tropics northward, and strengthens the prevailing winds that move moisture from the Arabian Sea into India, where it falls as rain.

Although dust plays a role in strengthening monsoons, this natural phenomenon does not overpower many other processes that also influence monsoons, said Rasch. Other extremely important factors include the effect of temperature differences between land and ocean, land use changes, global warming, and local effects of pollution aerosols around India that can heat and cool the air, and also affect clouds, he said.

"The strength of monsoons have been declining for the last 50 years," he said. "The dust effect is unlikely to explain the systematic decline, but it may contribute."

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. V. Vinoj, Philip J. Rasch, Hailong Wang, Jin-Ho Yoon, Po-Lun Ma, Kiranmayi Landu, Balwinder Singh. Short-term modulation of Indian summer monsoon rainfall by West Asian dust. Nature Geoscience, 2014; DOI: 10.1038/NGEO2107

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Climate change will reduce crop yields sooner than thought

Date:

March 16, 2014, SCIENCE DAILY 

Source:

University of Leeds

Summary:

Global warming of only 2 degrees Celsius will be detrimental to crops in temperate and tropical regions, researchers have determined, with reduced yields from the 2030s onwards. In the study, the researchers created a new data set by combining and comparing results from 1,700 published assessments of the response that climate change will have on the yields of rice, maize and wheat. Due to increased interest in climate change research, the new study was able to create the largest data set to date on crop responses.

A study led by the University of Leeds has shown that global warming of only 2°C will be detrimental to crops in temperate and tropical regions, with reduced yields from the 2030s onwards.

Professor Andy Challinor, from the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds and lead author of the study, said: "Our research shows that crop yields will be negatively affected by climate change much earlier than expected."

"Furthermore, the impact of climate change on crops will vary both from year-to-year and from place-to-place -- with the variability becoming greater as the weather becomes increasingly erratic."

The study, published today by the journal Nature Climate Change, feeds directly into the Working Group II report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report, which is due to be published at the end of March 2014.

In the study, the researchers created a new data set by combining and comparing results from 1,700 published assessments of the response that climate change will have on the yields of rice, maize and wheat.

Due to increased interest in climate change research, the new study was able to create the largest dataset to date on crop responses, with more than double the number of studies that were available for researchers to analyze for the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report in 2007.

In the Fourth Assessment Report, scientists had reported that regions of the world with temperate climates, such as Europe and most of North America, could withstand a couple of degrees of warming without a noticeable effect on harvests, or possibly even benefit from a bumper crop.

"As more data have become available, we've seen a shift in consensus, telling us that the impacts of climate change in temperate regions will happen sooner rather than later," said Professor Challinor.

The researchers state that we will see, on average, an increasingly negative impact of climate change on crop yields from the 2030s onwards. The impact will be greatest in the second half of the century, when decreases of over 25% will become increasingly common.

These statistics already account for minor adaptation techniques employed by farmers to mitigate the effects of climate change, such as small adjustments in the crop variety and planting date. Later in the century, greater agricultural transformations and innovations will be needed in order to safeguard crop yields for future generations.

"Climate change means a less predictable harvest, with different countries winning and losing in different years. The overall picture remains negative, and we are now starting to see how research can support adaptation by avoiding the worse impacts," concludes Professor Challinor.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of Leeds. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. A. J. Challinor, J. Watson, D. B. Lobell, S. M. Howden, D. R. Smith, N. Chhetri. A meta-analysis of crop yield under climate change and adaptation. Nature Climate Change, 2014; DOI: 10.1038/NCLIMATE2153

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University of Leeds. "Climate change will reduce crop yields sooner than thought." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 March 2014. .

Major 'third-hand smoke' compound causes DNA damage and potentially cancer

Date:

March 16, 2014, SCIENCE DAILY

Source:

American Chemical Society (ACS)

Summary:

Leftover cigarette smoke that clings to walls and furniture is a smelly nuisance, but now research suggests that it could pose a far more serious threat, especially to young children who put toys and other smoke-affected items into their mouths. Scientists reported that one of the tobacco-specific nitrosamines newly formed in "third-hand smoke" damages DNA and could potentially cause cancer.

Their talk was one of more than 10,000 presentations at the 247th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Dallas this week.

Bo Hang, Ph.D., who presented the research, said that although the idea of third-hand smoke made its debut in research circles just a few years ago in 2009, evidence already strongly suggests it could threaten human health.

"The best argument for instituting a ban on smoking indoors is actually third-hand smoke," said Hang, a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).

Researchers have found that many of the more than 4,000 compounds in second-hand smoke, which wafts through the air as a cigarette is smoked, can linger indoors long after a cigarette is stubbed out. Based on studies led by Hugo Destaillats, also at LBNL, these substances can go on to react with indoor pollutants such as ozone and nitrous acid, creating brand-new compounds, some of which may be carcinogenic.

One of those compounds goes by the acronym NNA. Hang's research has shown that NNA, a tobacco-specific nitrosamine, locks onto DNA to form a bulky adduct (a piece of DNA bound to a cancer-causing chemical), as well as other adducts, in lab test tubes. Other large compounds that attach to DNA tend to cause genetic mutations. NNA also breaks the DNA about as often as a related compound called NNK, which is a well-studied byproduct of nicotine and a known potent carcinogen. This kind of DNA damage can lead to uncontrolled cell growth and the formation of cancerous tumors.

Just as it took years to establish the cancer-causing effects of first-hand smoke that is inhaled as a person breathes in directly from the cigarette, making the connection between third-hand smoke or NNA and cancer could take a long time, Hang said. But early research into its nature, exposure and health effects is compelling enough that a research consortium dedicated to investigating third-hand smoke was formed in California in 2010. That consortium helped fund Hang's work on NNA-induced DNA damage, which he said could eventually be used as biomarkers to identify people who have been exposed to third-hand smoke.

The biggest potential health risk is for babies and toddlers, he noted. As they crawl and put their hands or toys in their mouths, they could touch, swallow or inhale compounds from third-hand smoke. Their small size and early developmental stage make them more vulnerable than adults to the effects of environmental hazards.

Although many public places prohibit smoking, Hang noted that people can still smoke in most rental apartments and private residences -- and smoking remains a huge public health issue. In 2011, nearly 44 million American adults reported smoking cigarettes, which ranks as the leading cause of preventable death in this country. And 34 million people smoke every day, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

So far, the best way to get rid of third-hand smoke is by removing affected items, such as sofas and carpeting, as well as sealing and repainting walls, and sometimes even replacing contaminated wallboard, he explained. Replacing furniture can be pricey, but Hang said vacuuming and washing clothes, curtains and bedding can also help.

Hang's research was funded by the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, which is administered by the University of California.

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The frozen truth about glaciers, climate change and our future

Date:

March 18, 2014 , SCIENCE DAILY

Source:

University of Cincinnati

Summary:

Researchers use years of Tibet and Himalayas analysis to better predict glacial response to global climate change.

Lewis Owen has been scraping out icy fragments of history's truth from one of the most glaciated regions on Earth for the past 25 years. His frequent excursions to Tibet and the Himalayas have led the University of Cincinnati professor of geology to some cold, hard facts.

Owen knows climate change is immortal -- fluctuating across millennia, patiently building toward moments when circumstances are ripe for apocalypse. It was true thousands of years ago, when rapid climate change had profound effects on landscapes and the creatures that lived on them. That scenario could be true again, if the past is ignored.

"We're interested in how glaciers change over time as climate has changed, because we're in a changing climate at the moment, dominantly because of increased human activity," Owen says. "From understanding past glacial changes, we can understand how glaciers may change in the future."

Owen, head of UC's Department of Geology, is among a team of researchers at the university who have been gathering and studying years of data on Tibet and the Himalayas. Members of the group contributed to two research papers that will be published in the March 15 edition (Vol. 88) of Quaternary Science Reviews, an international, multidisciplinary research and review journal.

Owen is primary author on "Nature and Timing of Quaternary Glaciation in the Himalayan-Tibetan Orogen," and Madhav Murari, a post-doctoral fellow at UC, is primary author on "Timing and Climatic Drivers for Glaciation Across Monsoon-Influenced Regions of the Himalayan-Tibetan Orogen." The National Science Foundation and National Geographic Society have supported the research efforts of Owen and his team.

Big differences in huge glaciers

Glaciers are fickle beasts. They don't all respond to climate change in the same way. Some recede while others surge, and these changes can have a profound effect on landscapes -- at times to dangerous effect. Glacial lakes, which swell as glaciers melt, can drain in catastrophic fashion, known as glacial lake flood outburst. Owen says consequences of such outbursts can be severe, wiping out entire villages or ruining acres of farmland. Comparing glacial areas and anticipating melt is a complex problem but one that underscores the importance of his research, Owen says. "Glaciers will vary from one side of the mountain range to the next very differently. As part of our research, we're building up a standard scheme that people can use to compare their glaciated areas," Owen says.

The environmental stakes are as high as the mountains themselves. Tibet and the Himalayas are nearly one-third the size of the contiguous 48 U.S. states, and nearly a billion people live in the mountains' shadow. Waters from the glaciers flow into the Indo-Gangetic Plain, a fertile region including parts of Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, and bordered to the north by China. The source water for some of the world's largest rivers -- the Indus, Ganges, Yangtze and Yellow -- is derived from these glaciers.

On an even broader scale, Owen notes the Himalayas and Tibet also have a major influence on regional and global atmospheric circulation, magnifying their importance in understanding the dynamics of global environmental change.

"We want to be able to more accurately construct where glaciers are going to melt in the future and to what degree they are going to melt," Owen says. "We want to be able to plan and prioritize where we protect from glaciers melting."

Passing the test of time

To help predict the future, Owen and his colleagues look to the past. Researchers in Owen's group use advanced geochronology techniques such as cosmogenic and luminescence dating to more accurately determine the age of their samples. The results give scientists a clearer picture of how to reconstruct glacial response to climate change from as far back as when the glaciers were first formed many hundreds of thousands of years ago in the Quaternary Period, a geologic time period that includes the ice ages and extends to present day. In essence, without knowing what glaciers were doing in the past, Owen says, computer models of global climate change can't be accurately tested.

"Our studies are providing a framework for understanding past glaciation to implicate future changes," Owen says. "We want to be able to manage mountain areas and sustain them so future generations can live and work and play up there."

UC alumnus Jason Dortch of the University of Manchester in England contributed to Owen's paper. Additional contributors to Murari's paper are Owen, associate professor Craig Dietsch and assistant professor Amy Townsend-Small of UC; Dortch of the University of Manchester; Marc Cafee of Purdue University; Markus Fuchs of Justus-Liebig-University Giessen in Germany; William Haneberg of Fugro GeoConsulting; and Milap Sharma of Jawaharlal Nehru University in India.

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of Cincinnati. The original article was written by Tom Robinette. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal References:

1. Lewis A. Owen, Jason M. Dortch. Nature and timing of Quaternary glaciation in the Himalayan–Tibetan orogen. Quaternary Science Reviews, 2014; 88: 14 DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.11.016
2. Madhav K. Murari, Lewis A. Owen, Jason M. Dortch, Marc W. Caffee, Craig Dietsch, Markus Fuchs, William C. Haneberg, Milap C. Sharma, Amy Townsend-Small. Timing and climatic drivers for glaciation across monsoon-influenced regions of the Himalayan–Tibetan orogen. Quaternary Science Reviews, 2014; 88: 159 DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.01.013