2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #4

A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Jan 20 through Sat, Jan 26, 2019

Editor's Pick

The way we eat could doom us as a species. Here’s a new diet designed to save us.

The EAT-Lancet Commission’s “planetary health diet” is bold and controversial.

Veggie Burger

Eating more plant-based burgers could help us avoid environmental catastrophe, according to a new report. Shutterstock

The way we eat and produce food has become so destructive to the environment and our health that it now threatens the long-term survival of the human species, an international commission of 37 scientists write in a sprawling new Lancet report.

We now have so many interconnected food-related crises — climate change, pollution, and food waste, not to mention malnutrition and obesity — that it will be impossible to feed the 10 billion people expected by 2050 unless we make dramatic changes to our diets and farming practices, the researchers argue.

What’s needed, according to the peer-reviewed report, titled “Food in the Anthropocene: The EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems,” is a new philosophy for how to eat on planet Earth. Though there are huge variations around the world in what and how much we consume, we are all in this existential crisis together.

Which brings us to what seems to be the most controversial aspect of this report: its specific dietary advice for ensuring that everyone’s nutritional needs are met without exceeding “planetary boundaries.” To survive as a species, it says, everyone — including you! — is advised to eat mostly vegetables, grains, legumes, and nuts, and limit red meat consumption to just one serving per week. 

The way we eat could doom us as a species. Here’s a new diet designed to save us. by Eliza Barclay, Vox, Jan 24, 2019

Links posted on Facebook

Sun Jan 20, 2019

Mon Jan 21, 2019

Tue Jan 22, 2019

Wed Jan 23, 2019

Thu Jan 24, 2019

Fri Jan 25, 2019

Sat Jan 26, 2019



from Skeptical Science http://bit.ly/2HxM4MB
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Jan 20 through Sat, Jan 26, 2019

Editor's Pick

The way we eat could doom us as a species. Here’s a new diet designed to save us.

The EAT-Lancet Commission’s “planetary health diet” is bold and controversial.

Veggie Burger

Eating more plant-based burgers could help us avoid environmental catastrophe, according to a new report. Shutterstock

The way we eat and produce food has become so destructive to the environment and our health that it now threatens the long-term survival of the human species, an international commission of 37 scientists write in a sprawling new Lancet report.

We now have so many interconnected food-related crises — climate change, pollution, and food waste, not to mention malnutrition and obesity — that it will be impossible to feed the 10 billion people expected by 2050 unless we make dramatic changes to our diets and farming practices, the researchers argue.

What’s needed, according to the peer-reviewed report, titled “Food in the Anthropocene: The EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems,” is a new philosophy for how to eat on planet Earth. Though there are huge variations around the world in what and how much we consume, we are all in this existential crisis together.

Which brings us to what seems to be the most controversial aspect of this report: its specific dietary advice for ensuring that everyone’s nutritional needs are met without exceeding “planetary boundaries.” To survive as a species, it says, everyone — including you! — is advised to eat mostly vegetables, grains, legumes, and nuts, and limit red meat consumption to just one serving per week. 

The way we eat could doom us as a species. Here’s a new diet designed to save us. by Eliza Barclay, Vox, Jan 24, 2019

Links posted on Facebook

Sun Jan 20, 2019

Mon Jan 21, 2019

Tue Jan 22, 2019

Wed Jan 23, 2019

Thu Jan 24, 2019

Fri Jan 25, 2019

Sat Jan 26, 2019



from Skeptical Science http://bit.ly/2HxM4MB
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Moonrise over Nubble Lighthouse

Giant yellow moon behind tall, distant lighthouse and lighthouse-keeper's Victorian residence.

View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | The barely gibbous moon (just past full) rises over the Nubble Light in this photo by EarthSky friend Manish Mamtani.

In 1874, President Rutherford B. Hayes appropriated funds to build the Nubble Light on a “nub” of land along the rocky Maine coast. Today, it’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places, visited by thousands and a favorite among photographers. Manish Mamtani captured this photo on January 22, 2019 and wrote:

I was really upset as I couldn’t capture the full moon rising over the Nubble lighthouse due to bad weather. I just decided to go out the next day and take pictures without expecting much. My day started with a brilliant sunrise and ended with one of the most dramatic moonrises I have ever seen. Didn’t expect much but couldn’t ask for more.

Giant yellow moon appears directly behind distant lighthouse.

View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | In this photo Manish caught the rising moon, just one day past full, perfectly aligned with the Victorian lighthouse. Beautiful work, Manish! Photos made with Sony A7R iii + Sony 70-200 f2.8 G-Master with Sony 2x teleconverter.

EarthSky lunar calendars are cool! They make great gifts. Order now. Going fast!



from EarthSky http://bit.ly/2RPhAKJ
Giant yellow moon behind tall, distant lighthouse and lighthouse-keeper's Victorian residence.

View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | The barely gibbous moon (just past full) rises over the Nubble Light in this photo by EarthSky friend Manish Mamtani.

In 1874, President Rutherford B. Hayes appropriated funds to build the Nubble Light on a “nub” of land along the rocky Maine coast. Today, it’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places, visited by thousands and a favorite among photographers. Manish Mamtani captured this photo on January 22, 2019 and wrote:

I was really upset as I couldn’t capture the full moon rising over the Nubble lighthouse due to bad weather. I just decided to go out the next day and take pictures without expecting much. My day started with a brilliant sunrise and ended with one of the most dramatic moonrises I have ever seen. Didn’t expect much but couldn’t ask for more.

Giant yellow moon appears directly behind distant lighthouse.

View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | In this photo Manish caught the rising moon, just one day past full, perfectly aligned with the Victorian lighthouse. Beautiful work, Manish! Photos made with Sony A7R iii + Sony 70-200 f2.8 G-Master with Sony 2x teleconverter.

EarthSky lunar calendars are cool! They make great gifts. Order now. Going fast!



from EarthSky http://bit.ly/2RPhAKJ
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Can moons have moons?

Sizes of the major moons in the solar system.

Size comparison of the major moons in our solar system via Emily Lakdawalla.

Most of the planets in our solar system have orbiting moons, and even some asteroids have their own moons. But do any moons have moons? Is it possible? Could there be so-called submoons? Carnegie Science’s Juna Kollmeier said her 4-year-old son sparked her interest in this subject by asking this seemingly logical question. It’s a simple enough question. If most other objects in the solar system can have moons, why not moons themselves?

Kollmeier decided to try to answer the question, along with her colleague Sean Raymond of Université de Bordeaux. Their results have now been published in a new peer-reviewed paper in the February 2019 issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

As explained by Raymond in a statement from Carnegie Science:

Planets orbit stars and moons orbit planets, so it was natural to ask if smaller moons could orbit larger ones.

So far at least, no submoons have been found orbiting any of the moons considered most likely to support them – Jupiter’s moon Callisto, Saturn’s moons Titan and Iapetus and Earth’s own moon. According to Kollmeier:

The lack of known submoons in our solar system, even orbiting around moons that could theoretically support such objects, can offer us clues about how our own and neighboring planets formed, about which there are still many outstanding questions.

Earth's moon.

Earth’s moon should theoretically be able to have its own moon. Why doesn’t it? Image via NASA/Goddard.

The researchers found that only large moons on wide orbits from their host planets would be capable of hosting submoons. Usually, any submoons orbiting smaller moons closer to their planet would have their orbits destabilized by tidal forces. Jupiter’s large moon Callisto, Saturn’s large moon Titan, another Saturn moon called Iapetus and Earth’s moon could all theoretically have submoons, so why don’t they?

There may be other sources of submoon instability, such as the non-uniform concentration of mass in Earth’s moon’s crust, according to the researchers.

Asteroid 2004 BL86 with its moon.

Even asteroids can have moons, such as 2004 BL86. It is about 1,100 feet (325 meters) in diameter, and its moon is tiny, only 230 feet (70 meters) wide. Image via NASA.

Part of the answer might also have to do with how the primary moons formed in the first place. Earth’s moon is thought to have been born out of a collision between Earth and another body about the size of Mars – and that collisions may have helped life on Earth to get started. But some other moons, like those orbiting Jupiter and Saturn, originated from the same cloud of gas and dust that the planets themselves formed from. Kollmeier added:

And, of course, this could inform ongoing efforts to understand how planetary systems evolve elsewhere and how our own solar system fits into the thousands of others discovered by planet-hunting missions.

It may be that in many or even most cases, there are multiple factors that make the orbits of submoons inherently unstable. Knowing whether that is true or not may have to wait for discoveries of moons orbiting distant exoplanets. Moons themselves are much harder to detect and only one promising candidate has been found so far – a possible exomoon orbiting the Jupiter-sized exoplanet Kepler-1625b. That possible moon – about the size of Neptune – is large enough and far enough from its planet that submoons should be possible as well. Astronomers will need to verify that primary moon first – if it does exist – before looking for any submoons.

Pluto and Charon.

Even little Pluto has five moons, including the largest one – Charon – shown here. So how many moons with their own moons could there be out there? Image via NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI.

Even though Earth’s moon doesn’t have a submoon now, it may in the future, according to the researchers – an artificial one, perhaps NASA’s planned Lunar Gateway. The Lunar Gateway would help to establish humanity’s presence in deep space, as outlined by William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator of Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters:

The Gateway will give us a strategic presence in cislunar space. It will drive our activity with commercial and international partners and help us explore the Moon and its resources. We will ultimately translate that experience toward human missions to Mars.

Raymond has also written a cool poem about moons having moons, which you can enjoy on his blog here.

Bottom line: The possibility of moons having their own moons is a fascinating one, even though we haven’t found any examples yet. This new research from Carnegie Science shows that it is indeed possible, but only under the right circumstances.

Source: Can moons have moons?

Via Carnegie Science



from EarthSky http://bit.ly/2TfVhL8
Sizes of the major moons in the solar system.

Size comparison of the major moons in our solar system via Emily Lakdawalla.

Most of the planets in our solar system have orbiting moons, and even some asteroids have their own moons. But do any moons have moons? Is it possible? Could there be so-called submoons? Carnegie Science’s Juna Kollmeier said her 4-year-old son sparked her interest in this subject by asking this seemingly logical question. It’s a simple enough question. If most other objects in the solar system can have moons, why not moons themselves?

Kollmeier decided to try to answer the question, along with her colleague Sean Raymond of Université de Bordeaux. Their results have now been published in a new peer-reviewed paper in the February 2019 issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

As explained by Raymond in a statement from Carnegie Science:

Planets orbit stars and moons orbit planets, so it was natural to ask if smaller moons could orbit larger ones.

So far at least, no submoons have been found orbiting any of the moons considered most likely to support them – Jupiter’s moon Callisto, Saturn’s moons Titan and Iapetus and Earth’s own moon. According to Kollmeier:

The lack of known submoons in our solar system, even orbiting around moons that could theoretically support such objects, can offer us clues about how our own and neighboring planets formed, about which there are still many outstanding questions.

Earth's moon.

Earth’s moon should theoretically be able to have its own moon. Why doesn’t it? Image via NASA/Goddard.

The researchers found that only large moons on wide orbits from their host planets would be capable of hosting submoons. Usually, any submoons orbiting smaller moons closer to their planet would have their orbits destabilized by tidal forces. Jupiter’s large moon Callisto, Saturn’s large moon Titan, another Saturn moon called Iapetus and Earth’s moon could all theoretically have submoons, so why don’t they?

There may be other sources of submoon instability, such as the non-uniform concentration of mass in Earth’s moon’s crust, according to the researchers.

Asteroid 2004 BL86 with its moon.

Even asteroids can have moons, such as 2004 BL86. It is about 1,100 feet (325 meters) in diameter, and its moon is tiny, only 230 feet (70 meters) wide. Image via NASA.

Part of the answer might also have to do with how the primary moons formed in the first place. Earth’s moon is thought to have been born out of a collision between Earth and another body about the size of Mars – and that collisions may have helped life on Earth to get started. But some other moons, like those orbiting Jupiter and Saturn, originated from the same cloud of gas and dust that the planets themselves formed from. Kollmeier added:

And, of course, this could inform ongoing efforts to understand how planetary systems evolve elsewhere and how our own solar system fits into the thousands of others discovered by planet-hunting missions.

It may be that in many or even most cases, there are multiple factors that make the orbits of submoons inherently unstable. Knowing whether that is true or not may have to wait for discoveries of moons orbiting distant exoplanets. Moons themselves are much harder to detect and only one promising candidate has been found so far – a possible exomoon orbiting the Jupiter-sized exoplanet Kepler-1625b. That possible moon – about the size of Neptune – is large enough and far enough from its planet that submoons should be possible as well. Astronomers will need to verify that primary moon first – if it does exist – before looking for any submoons.

Pluto and Charon.

Even little Pluto has five moons, including the largest one – Charon – shown here. So how many moons with their own moons could there be out there? Image via NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI.

Even though Earth’s moon doesn’t have a submoon now, it may in the future, according to the researchers – an artificial one, perhaps NASA’s planned Lunar Gateway. The Lunar Gateway would help to establish humanity’s presence in deep space, as outlined by William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator of Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters:

The Gateway will give us a strategic presence in cislunar space. It will drive our activity with commercial and international partners and help us explore the Moon and its resources. We will ultimately translate that experience toward human missions to Mars.

Raymond has also written a cool poem about moons having moons, which you can enjoy on his blog here.

Bottom line: The possibility of moons having their own moons is a fascinating one, even though we haven’t found any examples yet. This new research from Carnegie Science shows that it is indeed possible, but only under the right circumstances.

Source: Can moons have moons?

Via Carnegie Science



from EarthSky http://bit.ly/2TfVhL8
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News digest – 3 new Grand Challenge teams, tests for ‘unknown cancers’, cervical screening and renaming cancer

3 international research teams to tackle top cancer challenges

We unveiled 3 new research teams funded through our Grand Challenge initiative. Forbes and The Guardian covered one project studying how gut bacteria might impact bowel cancer, and whether this can be harnessed for new treatments. The others will focus on how certain faulty genes cause cancer in specific organs and not others, and how chronic inflammation causes cancer. Meet the scientists leading these research projects in this blog post.

New tests to track ‘unknown cancers’

Where a cancer first grows in the body plays a huge part in choosing how to treat it. But for 2 in every 100 cancers diagnosed in the UK each year, doctors can’t find that original tumour. The Sunday Times looks at how blood tests might help shed light on these ‘cancers of unknown primary’, and we blogged about the work our scientists are doing to develop better tests.

Young women put off cervical screening ‘due to embarrassment’

To mark Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust surveyed more than 2,000 young women about cervical screening. Embarrassment came out as the top reason those surveyed might delay screening or not go at all, reports The Guardian. We spoke to a cancer prevention expert who underlined the importance of screening for cutting cervical cancer rates in the future.

NHS proton beam therapy centre set to treat first patients

A 15-year-old with a brain tumour will become one of the first patients to be treated with proton beam therapy at a new NHS centre, reports the BBC. You can read more about this specialised type of radiotherapy on our blog.

Are kids turning their backs on sugary drinks?

The latest data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey shows the number of 4 to 10-year-olds drinking sugary drinks has fallen by a third in the last 9 years. While fewer children are drinking these drinks, the BBC reports that overall children across all age groups are still consuming more than their recommended amount of sugar.

New stats reinforce importance of diagnosing cancer early

For a range of cancers, an early diagnosis (stage 1 and 2) leads to high survival a year and 5 years after diagnosis, reports the BBC. The latest data for England comes from the Office for National Statistics and restates how survival chances fall with later stage diagnosis.

Gene study aims to predict risk of breast cancer return

Scientists in Edinburgh are building research evidence for a test that might help predict the risk that a woman’s breast cancer will return after treatment. The Mail Online and the Independent covered the early lab research that looked at the activity of certain genes inside the tumours of a small number of women.

‘Urine banks’ could help develop cancer tests

STAT News visited a US lab that’s filling freezers with samples as part of a study looking for signs of cancer in urine that might be used to develop detection tests.

And finally

A debate in The BMJ triggered discussion over whether certain ‘low risk’ cancers should be renamed to alleviate fears around the conditions and help avoid overtreatment. On the flipside, others cautioned that mixing up how these diseases are badged could cause confusion for patients. Our chief clinician, Professor Charles Swanton, offered his thoughts in this opinion piece in New Scientist.

Nick



from Cancer Research UK – Science blog http://bit.ly/2ROo8cG

3 international research teams to tackle top cancer challenges

We unveiled 3 new research teams funded through our Grand Challenge initiative. Forbes and The Guardian covered one project studying how gut bacteria might impact bowel cancer, and whether this can be harnessed for new treatments. The others will focus on how certain faulty genes cause cancer in specific organs and not others, and how chronic inflammation causes cancer. Meet the scientists leading these research projects in this blog post.

New tests to track ‘unknown cancers’

Where a cancer first grows in the body plays a huge part in choosing how to treat it. But for 2 in every 100 cancers diagnosed in the UK each year, doctors can’t find that original tumour. The Sunday Times looks at how blood tests might help shed light on these ‘cancers of unknown primary’, and we blogged about the work our scientists are doing to develop better tests.

Young women put off cervical screening ‘due to embarrassment’

To mark Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust surveyed more than 2,000 young women about cervical screening. Embarrassment came out as the top reason those surveyed might delay screening or not go at all, reports The Guardian. We spoke to a cancer prevention expert who underlined the importance of screening for cutting cervical cancer rates in the future.

NHS proton beam therapy centre set to treat first patients

A 15-year-old with a brain tumour will become one of the first patients to be treated with proton beam therapy at a new NHS centre, reports the BBC. You can read more about this specialised type of radiotherapy on our blog.

Are kids turning their backs on sugary drinks?

The latest data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey shows the number of 4 to 10-year-olds drinking sugary drinks has fallen by a third in the last 9 years. While fewer children are drinking these drinks, the BBC reports that overall children across all age groups are still consuming more than their recommended amount of sugar.

New stats reinforce importance of diagnosing cancer early

For a range of cancers, an early diagnosis (stage 1 and 2) leads to high survival a year and 5 years after diagnosis, reports the BBC. The latest data for England comes from the Office for National Statistics and restates how survival chances fall with later stage diagnosis.

Gene study aims to predict risk of breast cancer return

Scientists in Edinburgh are building research evidence for a test that might help predict the risk that a woman’s breast cancer will return after treatment. The Mail Online and the Independent covered the early lab research that looked at the activity of certain genes inside the tumours of a small number of women.

‘Urine banks’ could help develop cancer tests

STAT News visited a US lab that’s filling freezers with samples as part of a study looking for signs of cancer in urine that might be used to develop detection tests.

And finally

A debate in The BMJ triggered discussion over whether certain ‘low risk’ cancers should be renamed to alleviate fears around the conditions and help avoid overtreatment. On the flipside, others cautioned that mixing up how these diseases are badged could cause confusion for patients. Our chief clinician, Professor Charles Swanton, offered his thoughts in this opinion piece in New Scientist.

Nick



from Cancer Research UK – Science blog http://bit.ly/2ROo8cG
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See the Unicorn on dark January nights

Click here for information on the Mercury/Saturn conjunction in the morning sky on January 13, 2018

Tonight, treat yourself to a visit with a mythical beast, the constellation Monoceros the Unicorn. It’s well placed for viewing in the January evening sky, but you’ll need a very dark sky to see it. Monceros will be out nearly all night long. It’ll be higher up and easier to see in the later evening hours.

Let’s find the Unicorn, which comes out at nightfall. Focus in on the bright stars Betelgeuse, Sirius and Procyon (see charts on this page). They make a triangle, which – in the Northern Hemisphere – is sometimes called the Winter Triangle. But these stars can be seen from the Southern Hemisphere, too. In fact, Orion and the stars near it are even better placed for viewing from the southern part of Earth’s globe.

Within the triangle of stars made by Betelgeuse, Sirius and Procyon – hidden in between the many bright and glittering stars and constellations visible at this time of year – there’s a constellation that’s as elusive in our night sky as its namesake is in countless fairy tales.

This is the constellation Monoceros the Unicorn. Once again, you will need a very dark sky to see it.

Sky chart of the constellation Monoceros the Unicorn. Click here for a larger chart

M50 is an open star cluster – a group of stars born from a single cloud of gas and dust in space, still moving together as a family – within the constellation Monoceros the Unicorn. Image via Ole Nielsen/ Wikimedia Commons.

Like all of the night sky, the region of the heavens around Monoceros holds interest. The winter Milky Way runs through here, so it’s a good place to scan with binoculars.

With binoculars, you can see star clusters here. Those with dark skies might try drawing an imaginary line from the star Sirius to Procyon. About a third of the way along this line, you’ll find a hazy object – an open star cluster – called M50.

You need a telescope to see M50 clearly. But, with an ordinary pair of binoculars, this cluster of stars is wonderful to glimpse and contemplate on a winter night. There are really about 100 stars in the little patch we know as M50. The main part of the cluster is about 10 light-years across. The entire cluster is located some 3,000 light-years from us.

Bottom line: Treat yourself to a visit with a mythical beast – Monoceros the Unicorn – in the January evening sky.

A planisphere is virtually indispensable for beginning stargazers. Order your EarthSky Planisphere today!



from EarthSky http://bit.ly/2UfO9yn

Click here for information on the Mercury/Saturn conjunction in the morning sky on January 13, 2018

Tonight, treat yourself to a visit with a mythical beast, the constellation Monoceros the Unicorn. It’s well placed for viewing in the January evening sky, but you’ll need a very dark sky to see it. Monceros will be out nearly all night long. It’ll be higher up and easier to see in the later evening hours.

Let’s find the Unicorn, which comes out at nightfall. Focus in on the bright stars Betelgeuse, Sirius and Procyon (see charts on this page). They make a triangle, which – in the Northern Hemisphere – is sometimes called the Winter Triangle. But these stars can be seen from the Southern Hemisphere, too. In fact, Orion and the stars near it are even better placed for viewing from the southern part of Earth’s globe.

Within the triangle of stars made by Betelgeuse, Sirius and Procyon – hidden in between the many bright and glittering stars and constellations visible at this time of year – there’s a constellation that’s as elusive in our night sky as its namesake is in countless fairy tales.

This is the constellation Monoceros the Unicorn. Once again, you will need a very dark sky to see it.

Sky chart of the constellation Monoceros the Unicorn. Click here for a larger chart

M50 is an open star cluster – a group of stars born from a single cloud of gas and dust in space, still moving together as a family – within the constellation Monoceros the Unicorn. Image via Ole Nielsen/ Wikimedia Commons.

Like all of the night sky, the region of the heavens around Monoceros holds interest. The winter Milky Way runs through here, so it’s a good place to scan with binoculars.

With binoculars, you can see star clusters here. Those with dark skies might try drawing an imaginary line from the star Sirius to Procyon. About a third of the way along this line, you’ll find a hazy object – an open star cluster – called M50.

You need a telescope to see M50 clearly. But, with an ordinary pair of binoculars, this cluster of stars is wonderful to glimpse and contemplate on a winter night. There are really about 100 stars in the little patch we know as M50. The main part of the cluster is about 10 light-years across. The entire cluster is located some 3,000 light-years from us.

Bottom line: Treat yourself to a visit with a mythical beast – Monoceros the Unicorn – in the January evening sky.

A planisphere is virtually indispensable for beginning stargazers. Order your EarthSky Planisphere today!



from EarthSky http://bit.ly/2UfO9yn
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New research, January 14-20, 2019

A selection of new climate related research articles is shown below.

Climate change mitigation

Climate change communication

The climate spiral demonstrates the power of sharing creative ideas (open access)

Local TV news viewer reactions to weathercasters reporting the local impacts of climate change (open access)

New trends in solar: A comparative study assessing the attitudes towards the adoption of rooftop PV

Public opinion toward hydraulic fracturing: The effect of beyond compliance and voluntary third-party certification

(Re)presenting urban heat islands in Australian cities: A study of media reporting and implications for urban heat and climate change debates

How do Canadian media report climate change impacts on health? A newspaper review

Climate Policy

International and national climate policies for aviation: a review (open access)

Is decoupling a red herring? The role of structural effects and energy policies in Europe (open access)

The effects of carbon taxation in China: An analysis based on energy input-output model in hybrid units

Charging Drivers by the Pound: How Does the UK Vehicle Tax System Affect CO2 Emissions?

Energy production

The overlooked role of discourse in breaking carbon lock‐in: The case of the German energy transition (open access)

Barriers to onshore wind farm implementation in Brazil

The US solar panel anti-dumping duties versus uniform tariff

Local demand-pull policy and energy innovation: Evidence from the solar photovoltaic market in China

Measures to promote renewable energies for electricity generation in Latin American countries

Climate impacts on hydropower in Colombia: A multi-model assessment of power sector adaptation pathways

Life cycle assessment of run-of-river hydropower plants in the Peruvian Andes: a policy support perspective

Biofuels policies and fuel demand elasticities in Brazil

Evaluating regulatory strategies for mitigating hydrological risk in Brazil through diversification of its electricity mix

Cavitation-based pretreatment strategies to enhance biogas production in a small-scale agricultural biogas plant

Emission savings

Comparison of Global Downscaled Versus Bottom‐Up Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions at the Urban Scale in Four US Urban Areas

Improving reporting of national greenhouse gas emissions from forest fires for emission reduction benefits: An example from Australia

Have China's provinces achieved their targets of energy intensity reduction? Reassessment based on nighttime lighting data

Economic carbon cycle feedbacks may offset additional warming from natural feedbacks

Observational evidence of high methane emissions over a city in western India

Geoengineering

Timescale for detecting the climate response to stratospheric aerosol geoengineering 

Climate change

Temperature, precipitation, wind

Detection and elimination of UHI effects in long temperature records from villages – A case study from Tivissa, Spain

Air Temperature Characteristics, Distribution and Impact on Modeled Ablation for the South Patagonia Icefield

Assessments of downscaled climate data with a high‐resolution weather station network reveal consistent but predictable bias

Evaluation of synoptic‐scale patterns during extreme temperature and precipitation events in Alaska

Trend Analysis of Climatic Research Unit Temperature dataset for Gangotri Glacier, India

Predictability of Ocean Heat Content from Electrical Conductance

Analysis of climate extreme indices over the Komadugu-Yobe basin, Lake Chad region: Past and future occurrences (open access)

Spatial distribution of the trends in precipitation and precipitation extremes in the sub-Himalayan region of Pakistan

Urban Rainfall Modification: Observational Climatology over Berlin, Germany

Assessing wind data from reanalyses for the upper midwest (open access)

Are the near-Antarctic easterly winds weakening in response to enhancement of the Southern Annular Mode? (open access)

Extreme events

Warming trends in summer heatwaves (open access)

Future projection of heat waves over China under global warming within the CORDEX-EA-II project

The synergy between drought and extremely hot summers in the Mediterranean (open access)

Potential increase in hazard from Mediterranean hurricane activity with global warming

Forcings and feedbacks

A decadal dataset of global atmospheric dust retrieved from IASI satellite measurements

Clarifying the relative role of forcing uncertainties and initial‐condition unknowns in spreading the climate response to volcanic eruptions

Implication of data uncertainty in the detection of surface radiation trends and observational evidence of renewed solar dimming over India

Impact of colored dissolved materials on the annual cycle of sea surface temperature: Potential implications for extreme ocean temperatures

Cryosphere

Accelerated volume loss in glacier ablation zones of NE Greenland, Little Ice Age to present

The effect of Arctic sea‐ice loss on the Hadley circulation

Past and future interannual variability in Arctic sea ice in coupled climate models (open access)

New insight from CryoSat-2 sea ice thickness for sea ice modelling (open access)

Durability of snow cover and its long-term variability in the Western Sudetes Mountains (open access)

Evaluating the destabilization susceptibility of active rock glaciers in the French Alps (open access)

Snow cover trends in Finland over 1961‐2014 based on gridded snow depth observations

Hydrosphere 

Global distribution of the oceanic bottom mixed layer thickness

Evaluation of sea level rise and associated responses in Hangzhou Bay from 1978 to 2017 (open access)

Temporal-spatial differences in lake water storage changes and their links to climate change throughout the Tibetan Plateau

Atmospheric and oceanic circulation

Effect of the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability on the global monsoon

Pacific Sea Surface Temperature Linkages with Tanzania's Multi‐season Drying Trends

Ocean Circulation Signatures of North Pacific Decadal Variability

Northern Hemisphere blocking in ∼25km resolution E3SM v0.3 atmosphere‐land simulations

Possible influence of the Antarctic Oscillation on haze pollution in North China

Carbon and nitrogen cycles

Global atmospheric CO2 inverse models converging on neutral tropical land exchange, but disagreeing on fossil fuel and atmospheric growth rate (open access)

Modeling the recent changes in the Arctic Ocean CO2 sink (2006–2013)

A Seasonal to Inter‐annual View of Inorganic and Organic Carbon and pH in Western Lake Superior

Climate change impacts 

Mankind

Can ‘poor’ cities breathe: Responses to climate change in low-income countries

The impact of climate change and urban growth on urban climate and heat stress in a subtropical city

Analysing the capacity to respond to climate change: a framework for community-managed water services

Meteorological Impacts on Commercial Aviation Delays and Cancellations in the Continental US (open access)

Least concern to endangered: Applying climate change projections profoundly influences the extinction risk assessment for wild Arabica coffee (open access)

Potential of climate-smart agriculture in reducing women farmers’ drudgery in high climatic risk areas (open access)

Observed climatic changes in West Virginia and opportunities for agriculture

Factors influencing the adaptation of farmers in response to climate change: a review

Diversifying knowledge governance for climate adaptation in protected areas in Colombia (open access)

Who is responsible for climate change adaptation? (open access)

Biosphere

Climatic warming increases spatial synchrony in spring vegetation phenology across the Northern Hemisphere

Expansion of a colonial ascidian following consecutive mass coral bleaching at Lizard Island, Australia

Climate variation influences host specificity in avian malaria parasites

Multiple temperature effects on phenology and body size in wild butterflies predict a complex response to climate change

Alternative transient states and slow plant community responses after changed flooding regimes

Site-based adaptation reduces the negative effects of weather upon a southern range margin Welsh black grouse Tetrao tetrix population that is vulnerable to climate change

Compensatory mechanisms to climate change in the widely distributed species Silene vulgaris

Climate‐driven reduction of genetic variation in plant phenology alters soil communities and nutrient pools (open access)

Other papers

Palaeoclimatology

Tree-ring reconstructions of cool season temperature for far southeastern Australia, 1731–2007

Tree rings reveal hydroclimatic fingerprints of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation on the Tibetan Plateau

The Antarctic Ice Sheet response to glacial millennial-scale variability (open access)



from Skeptical Science http://bit.ly/2B769Ut

A selection of new climate related research articles is shown below.

Climate change mitigation

Climate change communication

The climate spiral demonstrates the power of sharing creative ideas (open access)

Local TV news viewer reactions to weathercasters reporting the local impacts of climate change (open access)

New trends in solar: A comparative study assessing the attitudes towards the adoption of rooftop PV

Public opinion toward hydraulic fracturing: The effect of beyond compliance and voluntary third-party certification

(Re)presenting urban heat islands in Australian cities: A study of media reporting and implications for urban heat and climate change debates

How do Canadian media report climate change impacts on health? A newspaper review

Climate Policy

International and national climate policies for aviation: a review (open access)

Is decoupling a red herring? The role of structural effects and energy policies in Europe (open access)

The effects of carbon taxation in China: An analysis based on energy input-output model in hybrid units

Charging Drivers by the Pound: How Does the UK Vehicle Tax System Affect CO2 Emissions?

Energy production

The overlooked role of discourse in breaking carbon lock‐in: The case of the German energy transition (open access)

Barriers to onshore wind farm implementation in Brazil

The US solar panel anti-dumping duties versus uniform tariff

Local demand-pull policy and energy innovation: Evidence from the solar photovoltaic market in China

Measures to promote renewable energies for electricity generation in Latin American countries

Climate impacts on hydropower in Colombia: A multi-model assessment of power sector adaptation pathways

Life cycle assessment of run-of-river hydropower plants in the Peruvian Andes: a policy support perspective

Biofuels policies and fuel demand elasticities in Brazil

Evaluating regulatory strategies for mitigating hydrological risk in Brazil through diversification of its electricity mix

Cavitation-based pretreatment strategies to enhance biogas production in a small-scale agricultural biogas plant

Emission savings

Comparison of Global Downscaled Versus Bottom‐Up Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions at the Urban Scale in Four US Urban Areas

Improving reporting of national greenhouse gas emissions from forest fires for emission reduction benefits: An example from Australia

Have China's provinces achieved their targets of energy intensity reduction? Reassessment based on nighttime lighting data

Economic carbon cycle feedbacks may offset additional warming from natural feedbacks

Observational evidence of high methane emissions over a city in western India

Geoengineering

Timescale for detecting the climate response to stratospheric aerosol geoengineering 

Climate change

Temperature, precipitation, wind

Detection and elimination of UHI effects in long temperature records from villages – A case study from Tivissa, Spain

Air Temperature Characteristics, Distribution and Impact on Modeled Ablation for the South Patagonia Icefield

Assessments of downscaled climate data with a high‐resolution weather station network reveal consistent but predictable bias

Evaluation of synoptic‐scale patterns during extreme temperature and precipitation events in Alaska

Trend Analysis of Climatic Research Unit Temperature dataset for Gangotri Glacier, India

Predictability of Ocean Heat Content from Electrical Conductance

Analysis of climate extreme indices over the Komadugu-Yobe basin, Lake Chad region: Past and future occurrences (open access)

Spatial distribution of the trends in precipitation and precipitation extremes in the sub-Himalayan region of Pakistan

Urban Rainfall Modification: Observational Climatology over Berlin, Germany

Assessing wind data from reanalyses for the upper midwest (open access)

Are the near-Antarctic easterly winds weakening in response to enhancement of the Southern Annular Mode? (open access)

Extreme events

Warming trends in summer heatwaves (open access)

Future projection of heat waves over China under global warming within the CORDEX-EA-II project

The synergy between drought and extremely hot summers in the Mediterranean (open access)

Potential increase in hazard from Mediterranean hurricane activity with global warming

Forcings and feedbacks

A decadal dataset of global atmospheric dust retrieved from IASI satellite measurements

Clarifying the relative role of forcing uncertainties and initial‐condition unknowns in spreading the climate response to volcanic eruptions

Implication of data uncertainty in the detection of surface radiation trends and observational evidence of renewed solar dimming over India

Impact of colored dissolved materials on the annual cycle of sea surface temperature: Potential implications for extreme ocean temperatures

Cryosphere

Accelerated volume loss in glacier ablation zones of NE Greenland, Little Ice Age to present

The effect of Arctic sea‐ice loss on the Hadley circulation

Past and future interannual variability in Arctic sea ice in coupled climate models (open access)

New insight from CryoSat-2 sea ice thickness for sea ice modelling (open access)

Durability of snow cover and its long-term variability in the Western Sudetes Mountains (open access)

Evaluating the destabilization susceptibility of active rock glaciers in the French Alps (open access)

Snow cover trends in Finland over 1961‐2014 based on gridded snow depth observations

Hydrosphere 

Global distribution of the oceanic bottom mixed layer thickness

Evaluation of sea level rise and associated responses in Hangzhou Bay from 1978 to 2017 (open access)

Temporal-spatial differences in lake water storage changes and their links to climate change throughout the Tibetan Plateau

Atmospheric and oceanic circulation

Effect of the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability on the global monsoon

Pacific Sea Surface Temperature Linkages with Tanzania's Multi‐season Drying Trends

Ocean Circulation Signatures of North Pacific Decadal Variability

Northern Hemisphere blocking in ∼25km resolution E3SM v0.3 atmosphere‐land simulations

Possible influence of the Antarctic Oscillation on haze pollution in North China

Carbon and nitrogen cycles

Global atmospheric CO2 inverse models converging on neutral tropical land exchange, but disagreeing on fossil fuel and atmospheric growth rate (open access)

Modeling the recent changes in the Arctic Ocean CO2 sink (2006–2013)

A Seasonal to Inter‐annual View of Inorganic and Organic Carbon and pH in Western Lake Superior

Climate change impacts 

Mankind

Can ‘poor’ cities breathe: Responses to climate change in low-income countries

The impact of climate change and urban growth on urban climate and heat stress in a subtropical city

Analysing the capacity to respond to climate change: a framework for community-managed water services

Meteorological Impacts on Commercial Aviation Delays and Cancellations in the Continental US (open access)

Least concern to endangered: Applying climate change projections profoundly influences the extinction risk assessment for wild Arabica coffee (open access)

Potential of climate-smart agriculture in reducing women farmers’ drudgery in high climatic risk areas (open access)

Observed climatic changes in West Virginia and opportunities for agriculture

Factors influencing the adaptation of farmers in response to climate change: a review

Diversifying knowledge governance for climate adaptation in protected areas in Colombia (open access)

Who is responsible for climate change adaptation? (open access)

Biosphere

Climatic warming increases spatial synchrony in spring vegetation phenology across the Northern Hemisphere

Expansion of a colonial ascidian following consecutive mass coral bleaching at Lizard Island, Australia

Climate variation influences host specificity in avian malaria parasites

Multiple temperature effects on phenology and body size in wild butterflies predict a complex response to climate change

Alternative transient states and slow plant community responses after changed flooding regimes

Site-based adaptation reduces the negative effects of weather upon a southern range margin Welsh black grouse Tetrao tetrix population that is vulnerable to climate change

Compensatory mechanisms to climate change in the widely distributed species Silene vulgaris

Climate‐driven reduction of genetic variation in plant phenology alters soil communities and nutrient pools (open access)

Other papers

Palaeoclimatology

Tree-ring reconstructions of cool season temperature for far southeastern Australia, 1731–2007

Tree rings reveal hydroclimatic fingerprints of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation on the Tibetan Plateau

The Antarctic Ice Sheet response to glacial millennial-scale variability (open access)



from Skeptical Science http://bit.ly/2B769Ut
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Summer rainfall at Titan’s north pole

Blue-green Earth-like sphere with dark irregular light and dark surface features.

View of Titan from Cassini. New research provides evidence of rainfall on the north pole of Titan. The rainfall indicates that the summer season has started in the moon’s northern hemisphere. Image via NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.

Saturn’s largest moon Titan has often been compared to Earth. Its seas, lakes and rivers are very reminiscent of ones on our own planet, albeit composed of liquid methane/ethane instead of water. The visual similarity, however, is striking. And there’s also another weather-related similarity between Earth and Titan – rain.

EarthSky lunar calendars are cool! They make great gifts. Order now. Going fast!

The Cassini mission, now ended, had found previous evidence for methane rain on Titan, and now a new study, led by Rajani Dhingra, a doctoral student in physics at the University of Idaho, provides more insight into rainfall at Titan’s north pole and how that relates to the start of this distant moon’s summer season.  The peer-reviewed study has been accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters. From the paper’s summary:

Cassini arrived in the Saturnian system in the southern summer of 2004. As expected, the Cassini team observed cloud cover, storms and precipitation on the south pole. Like Earth, Titan has an axial tilt (27 degrees) and its seasons vary over its year (30 Earth years). Ever since this shift in season began, the Cassini team eagerly waited for observations indicating cloud cover and precipitation that went missing from the northern latitudes. Our rainfall observation at the north pole is a major finding for two important reasons. Firstly, this discovery observation heralds the much awaited arrival of the north polar summer rainstorms on Titan. This atmospheric phenomenon has been delayed compared to the theoretical predictions and was perplexing Titan researchers and climate modelers especially because the north pole hosts most of Titan’s lakes and seas. Secondly, it is extremely difficult to detect rainfall events on Titan due to its thick atmospheric haze and very limited opportunities to view the surface (and its changes). We have used a novel phenomenon – the smoothening of a previously dry, rough surface by a thin layer of fluid after rainfall, similar to a wet side walk – as evidence for rainfall events on the surface of Titan.

Reflective surfaces near Titan's north pole shown as yellow patches against blue-green background.

Titan’s north pole as seen by Cassini’s Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer. The orange box highlights the “wet sidewalk” region where methane/ethane rain has left the rough surface wet and reflective. Image via NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/University of Idaho.

The rainfall and associated clouds had been anticipated for some time by scientists, but weren’t seen, according to Dhingra:

The whole Titan community has been looking forward to seeing clouds and rains on Titan’s north pole, indicating the start of the northern summer, but despite what the climate models had predicted, we weren’t even seeing any clouds. People called it the curious case of missing clouds.

So where was the rain? Even the Huygens probe – part of the Cassini mission – which landed on Titan in 2005, found “damp sand” reminiscent of crème brûlée in what was thought to be a mostly dry riverbed that periodically flows with liquid methane. As on Earth, those rivers are fed by rainfall.

The research team took a closer look and found something intriguing – a reflective feature near Titan’s north pole on an image taken on June 7, 2016, by Cassini’s near-infrared instrument, the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer. Covering approximately 46,332 square miles (119,999 square km), the feature was not seen in previous or subsequent images.

Deep blue irregular patch with tributary streams running into it.

Cassini radar image of Ligeia Mare, the second-largest sea on Titan. Methane rains help to sustain the moon’s polar seas and lakes. Image via NASA/JPL/USGS.

Rainfall cycle on Titan showing mountains, stream and sea with sludge at the bottom.

Illustration of how rainfall on Titan brings organic compounds to the surface and feeds the rivers, lakes and seas. Image via ESA.

Analysis indicated it was similar to a sunlit wet sidewalk, the scientists said, that is, that it, it was wet ground following a methane rainfall event, followed in turn by a period of evaporation. Scientists could even discern what kind of surface was wet; they said it was pebble-like. As Dhingra had explained, a rougher surface generates an amorphous pattern as the liquid settles in crevasses and gullies, while liquid on a smooth surface would puddle in a relatively circular pattern.

This is the first time that summer rainfall has been observed in the northern hemisphere of Titan, showing the changing of the seasons. But seasons last a lot longer on Titan than on Earth – about seven years each. Cassini had also observed clouds and rainfall in Titan’s southern hemisphere after it arrived at Saturn in 2004. The climate models had predicted that rainfall would arrive in the northern hemisphere by summer 2017, but by 2016, there were still no clouds to be seen. According to Dhingra:

We want our model predictions to match our observations. This rainfall detection proves Cassini’s climate follows the theoretical climate models we know of. Summer is happening. It was delayed, but it’s happening. We will have to figure out what caused the delay, though.

Tan rocky landscape with yellowish sky above the horizon.

The surface of Titan as seen by the Huygens lander in 2005. Huygens found damp sand when it landed near a shoreline or riverbed. The liquid was methane/ethane, but the “rocks” turned out to be composed of solid water ice. Image via ESA/NASA/University of Arizona.

Titan is the only other body in the solar system known to have liquid seas, lakes and rivers on its surface. Even though it is extremely cold and the liquid is methane/ethane, not water, some scientists think it is possible that some form of primitive life could exist there. There is also a liquid water ocean deep below the surface that could be potentially habitable by life.

Bottom line: Titan is a bizarre world – eerily similar to Earth in some ways, yet utterly alien at the same time. The new study of Titan’s rainfall patterns provides more insight into how this moon mimics Earth but remains a strangely very different place at the same time.

Source: Observational evidence for summer rainfall at Titan’s north pole

Via AGU



from EarthSky http://bit.ly/2HtaG9r
Blue-green Earth-like sphere with dark irregular light and dark surface features.

View of Titan from Cassini. New research provides evidence of rainfall on the north pole of Titan. The rainfall indicates that the summer season has started in the moon’s northern hemisphere. Image via NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.

Saturn’s largest moon Titan has often been compared to Earth. Its seas, lakes and rivers are very reminiscent of ones on our own planet, albeit composed of liquid methane/ethane instead of water. The visual similarity, however, is striking. And there’s also another weather-related similarity between Earth and Titan – rain.

EarthSky lunar calendars are cool! They make great gifts. Order now. Going fast!

The Cassini mission, now ended, had found previous evidence for methane rain on Titan, and now a new study, led by Rajani Dhingra, a doctoral student in physics at the University of Idaho, provides more insight into rainfall at Titan’s north pole and how that relates to the start of this distant moon’s summer season.  The peer-reviewed study has been accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters. From the paper’s summary:

Cassini arrived in the Saturnian system in the southern summer of 2004. As expected, the Cassini team observed cloud cover, storms and precipitation on the south pole. Like Earth, Titan has an axial tilt (27 degrees) and its seasons vary over its year (30 Earth years). Ever since this shift in season began, the Cassini team eagerly waited for observations indicating cloud cover and precipitation that went missing from the northern latitudes. Our rainfall observation at the north pole is a major finding for two important reasons. Firstly, this discovery observation heralds the much awaited arrival of the north polar summer rainstorms on Titan. This atmospheric phenomenon has been delayed compared to the theoretical predictions and was perplexing Titan researchers and climate modelers especially because the north pole hosts most of Titan’s lakes and seas. Secondly, it is extremely difficult to detect rainfall events on Titan due to its thick atmospheric haze and very limited opportunities to view the surface (and its changes). We have used a novel phenomenon – the smoothening of a previously dry, rough surface by a thin layer of fluid after rainfall, similar to a wet side walk – as evidence for rainfall events on the surface of Titan.

Reflective surfaces near Titan's north pole shown as yellow patches against blue-green background.

Titan’s north pole as seen by Cassini’s Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer. The orange box highlights the “wet sidewalk” region where methane/ethane rain has left the rough surface wet and reflective. Image via NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/University of Idaho.

The rainfall and associated clouds had been anticipated for some time by scientists, but weren’t seen, according to Dhingra:

The whole Titan community has been looking forward to seeing clouds and rains on Titan’s north pole, indicating the start of the northern summer, but despite what the climate models had predicted, we weren’t even seeing any clouds. People called it the curious case of missing clouds.

So where was the rain? Even the Huygens probe – part of the Cassini mission – which landed on Titan in 2005, found “damp sand” reminiscent of crème brûlée in what was thought to be a mostly dry riverbed that periodically flows with liquid methane. As on Earth, those rivers are fed by rainfall.

The research team took a closer look and found something intriguing – a reflective feature near Titan’s north pole on an image taken on June 7, 2016, by Cassini’s near-infrared instrument, the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer. Covering approximately 46,332 square miles (119,999 square km), the feature was not seen in previous or subsequent images.

Deep blue irregular patch with tributary streams running into it.

Cassini radar image of Ligeia Mare, the second-largest sea on Titan. Methane rains help to sustain the moon’s polar seas and lakes. Image via NASA/JPL/USGS.

Rainfall cycle on Titan showing mountains, stream and sea with sludge at the bottom.

Illustration of how rainfall on Titan brings organic compounds to the surface and feeds the rivers, lakes and seas. Image via ESA.

Analysis indicated it was similar to a sunlit wet sidewalk, the scientists said, that is, that it, it was wet ground following a methane rainfall event, followed in turn by a period of evaporation. Scientists could even discern what kind of surface was wet; they said it was pebble-like. As Dhingra had explained, a rougher surface generates an amorphous pattern as the liquid settles in crevasses and gullies, while liquid on a smooth surface would puddle in a relatively circular pattern.

This is the first time that summer rainfall has been observed in the northern hemisphere of Titan, showing the changing of the seasons. But seasons last a lot longer on Titan than on Earth – about seven years each. Cassini had also observed clouds and rainfall in Titan’s southern hemisphere after it arrived at Saturn in 2004. The climate models had predicted that rainfall would arrive in the northern hemisphere by summer 2017, but by 2016, there were still no clouds to be seen. According to Dhingra:

We want our model predictions to match our observations. This rainfall detection proves Cassini’s climate follows the theoretical climate models we know of. Summer is happening. It was delayed, but it’s happening. We will have to figure out what caused the delay, though.

Tan rocky landscape with yellowish sky above the horizon.

The surface of Titan as seen by the Huygens lander in 2005. Huygens found damp sand when it landed near a shoreline or riverbed. The liquid was methane/ethane, but the “rocks” turned out to be composed of solid water ice. Image via ESA/NASA/University of Arizona.

Titan is the only other body in the solar system known to have liquid seas, lakes and rivers on its surface. Even though it is extremely cold and the liquid is methane/ethane, not water, some scientists think it is possible that some form of primitive life could exist there. There is also a liquid water ocean deep below the surface that could be potentially habitable by life.

Bottom line: Titan is a bizarre world – eerily similar to Earth in some ways, yet utterly alien at the same time. The new study of Titan’s rainfall patterns provides more insight into how this moon mimics Earth but remains a strangely very different place at the same time.

Source: Observational evidence for summer rainfall at Titan’s north pole

Via AGU



from EarthSky http://bit.ly/2HtaG9r
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