From Past disturbances and local conditions influence the recovery rates of coral reefs (1/10/2024) Since the 1970s, coral cover in the Atlantic Ocean has decreased fourfold, and recovery rates following disturbances have been relatively low, except in the Antilles where recovery rates have recently increased. By contrast, coral cover and recovery …
Read More »How hot was November 2023?
I posted this update on global temperatures in my most recent Quick Takes on Briefed by Data. As expected, 2023 set a record for November temperature, as can be seen in the graph. The last bar in black will be classified as El Niño, and while the record looks extreme, …
Read More »How hot was Oct 2023?
The October temperature anomaly was a top-5 anomaly overall and a record for October, but this shouldn’t be surprising. If one follows the red bars and El Niño months, the 2023 anomaly follows that trend, and the expectation is that October 2023 will officially be an El Niño month. Expect …
Read More »What will it take to run the U.S. on electricity?
That is the title of a recent post on Briefed by Data. The graph here, from that post, shows our current electricity consumption and what we would need to add to move all cars to electric. How does this compare to existing electricity generation? Figure 1 has the answer. We …
Read More »Did you read classroom connections?
Over at Briefed by Data I’ve started doing a classroom connections post. I include material that I think could be used in a classroom somehow. The topics will vary based on what I’ve run into. This past one includes a range of math being used, from calculus and statistics to …
Read More »Can whales sequester carbon?
Here is quote from my Thursday Briefed by Data post: The short story is that whales come to the surface to go to the bathroom. This provides food for phytoplankton and creates growth in phytoplankton. This moves up the food chain to create food for whales. When the fish and …
Read More »How hot was Sept 2023?
September 2023 set a record for a monthly anomaly, but when you read something that says it was surprising, outrageous, crazy, etc., you are being misled. As far as I’m concerned, this is the media making matters worse. A new record anomaly like September is expected, and, in fact, it …
Read More »Looking for a Climate/Math Faculty Job?
I’m doing this post as a favor and because this is a unique faculty position that I’m happy to promote. If you are interested or know someone who might be then please pass it along. Harvey Mudd College invites applications for a tenure-track position, beginning Fall 2024, at the …
Read More »Is global warming speeding up?
My question here is largely rhetorical. Global warming trends have been roughly quadratic for decades and that means the rate of increase is increasing. Still, the NTY thinks this is something new to write about in their article I Study Climate Change. The Data Is Telling Us Something New (10/13/2023) with this …
Read More »Which energy source uses the most minerals?
Here is an excerpt from my Briefed by Data post Minerals for renewables: A few things stand out. The first is the amount of minerals utilized for offshore wind, which is 50% more than for the next category, onshore wind. The second factor is the importance of copper in all …
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