Long-term climate variability over monsoon Asia as revealed by some proxy sources

Studies on climate variability over the region of monsoon Asia mostly during the Quaternary, based on various sources of proxy data have been reviewed. Increasing interest to understand the processes of monsoon system over the Asian region as well as the availability of data from variety of reliable proxy sources such as, ocean sediments, ice cores and historical documents have encouraged the palaeoclimatic studies in this region. Inferences drawn from the multiproxy sources indicate good association of glacial and inter-glacial phases with over all monsoon flow. Warm and wet periods are generally characterized by strong summer monsoon, where as, weak monsoonal activities were observed during cold and dry periods. All India monsoon rainfall since early 17th century based on dendroclimatic reconstructions shows trend-less nature with large interannual variability as seen in the instrumental record of recent century. Historical evidences over this region are a potential source of information on contemporary climate change.

Strajk klimatyczny młodych jako motywacja dla lektury… tomiku Milczenie roślin Wisławy Szymborskiej i rozmowy o wierszach

The author asks the question, how young people’s interest in ecology can be combined with reading poetry by Wisława Szymborska. The article proposes that conversations about contemporary climate threats, should be made an introduction to the lesson in reading poems from the collection: The Silence of Plants. It shows how the emotional involvement of young people in the contemporary problems of planet protection, can be used to interest in poetic reflection on nature. Conversation about poems leads to the presentation of poetry as a medium for expressing the views and emotions of young people.

Phase tipping: how cyclic ecosystems respond to contemporary climate

We identify the phase of a cycle as a new critical factor for tipping points (critical transitions) in cyclic systems subject to time-varying external conditions. As an example, we consider how contemporary climate variability induces tipping from a predator–prey cycle to extinction in two paradigmatic predator–prey models with an Allee effect. Our analysis of these examples uncovers a counterintuitive behaviour, which we call phase tipping or P-tipping , where tipping to extinction occurs only from certain phases of the cycle. To explain this behaviour, we combine global dynamics with set theory and introduce the concept of partial basin instability for attracting limit cycles. This concept provides a general framework to analyse and identify easily testable criteria for the occurrence of phase tipping in externally forced systems, and can be extended to more complicated attractors.

Earth history events shaped the evolution of uneven biodiversity across tropical moist forests

Far from a uniform band, the biodiversity found across Earth’s tropical moist forests varies widely between the high diversity of the Neotropics and Indomalaya and the relatively lower diversity of the Afrotropics. Explanations for this variation across different regions, the “pantropical diversity disparity” (PDD), remain contentious, due to difficulty teasing apart the effects of contemporary climate and paleoenvironmental history. Here, we assess the ubiquity of the PDD in over 150,000 species of terrestrial plants and vertebrates and investigate the relationship between the present-day climate and patterns of species richness. We then investigate the consequences of paleoenvironmental dynamics on the emergence of biodiversity gradients using a spatially explicit model of diversification coupled with paleoenvironmental and plate tectonic reconstructions. Contemporary climate is insufficient in explaining the PDD; instead, a simple model of diversification and temperature niche evolution coupled with paleoaridity constraints is successful in reproducing the variation in species richness and phylogenetic diversity seen repeatedly among plant and animal taxa, suggesting a prevalent role of paleoenvironmental dynamics in combination with niche conservatism. The model indicates that high biodiversity in Neotropical and Indomalayan moist forests is driven by complex macroevolutionary dynamics associated with mountain uplift. In contrast, lower diversity in Afrotropical forests is associated with lower speciation rates and higher extinction rates driven by sustained aridification over the Cenozoic. Our analyses provide a mechanistic understanding of the emergence of uneven diversity in tropical moist forests across 110 Ma of Earth’s history, highlighting the importance of deep-time paleoenvironmental legacies in determining biodiversity patterns.

Warming in Europe: Recent Trends in Annual and Seasonal temperatures

Contemporary climate warming is a key problem faced not only by scientists, but also all by humanity because, as is shown by the experience of recent years, it has multiple environmental, economic and biometeorological implications. In this paper, the authors identify the magnitude of annual and seasonal temperature changes in Europe and its immediate surroundings on the basis of data from 210 weather stations from 1951 to 2020. An analysis of temperatures in the 70-year period shows that air temperature has continued to grow linearly in Europe since 1985. The rate of temperature rise in three seasons of the year, namely winter, spring and summer, does not differ greatly. The highest growth over the 1985–2020 timespan was recorded in spring and the lowest in autumn—0.061 °C/year and 0.045 °C/year, respectively. In winter, the rise in temperature should be considered the least steady, as opposed to the summer when it displays the greatest stability. Overall, the warming intensifies towards the north-east of the continent. Such a strong gradient of change is especially perceivable in winter and spring, and is also marked in autumn. The opposite is true in summer, when it increases towards the south and south-west.

Relationship Between Sunshine Duration and Air Temperature in Poland (1971–2020)

The aim of the work is to characterize the trends of sunshine duration (SDU) and air temperature, which may help understand the mechanism of contemporary climate change and explain its causes. The daily totals of SDU and daily data on air temperature from the years 1971–2020, from 25 synoptic stations in Poland are the basic source data. There was a growing trend in both SDU and air temperature. The series of records of the two variables showed that the points of change in the level of stabilization of the value of SDU and air temperature are close to each other, and confirm known in the literature “global dimming” and “global brightening” periods. The linear regression model confirmed that sunshine duration explains well the variability of, and increase in day-time air temperature in Poland in the April-September period. In turn, changes in sunshine duration during winter have no impact on air temperature trends.

Taking Lessons from Silent Spring: Using Environmental Literature for Climate Change

Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) created a new genre termed “science nonfiction literature.” This genre blended environmental science and narrative while ushering in a new era of awareness and interest for both. With the contemporary climate crisis becoming more dire, this article returns to Carson’s work for insight into ways to engage deniers of climate change and methods to propel action. Further, it investigates and evaluates the writing within Silent Spring by considering its past in our present. Using the corporate reception of Carson’s book as reference, this article also examines ways climate change opponents create misunderstandings and inappropriately deceive and misdirect the public. Through this analysis, connections are made that connect literature, science, and public engagement, which can engender a broader, more comprehensive awareness of the importance of environmental literature as a medium for climate awareness progress.

The archaeology of climate change: The case for cultural diversity

Anthropogenic climate change is currently driving environmental transformation on a scale and at a pace that exceeds historical records. This represents an undeniably serious challenge to existing social, political, and economic systems. Humans have successfully faced similar challenges in the past, however. The archaeological record and Earth archives offer rare opportunities to observe the complex interaction between environmental and human systems under different climate regimes and at different spatial and temporal scales. The archaeology of climate change offers opportunities to identify the factors that promoted human resilience in the past and apply the knowledge gained to the present, contributing a much-needed, long-term perspective to climate research. One of the strengths of the archaeological record is the cultural diversity it encompasses, which offers alternatives to the solutions proposed from within the Western agro-industrial complex, which might not be viable cross-culturally. While contemporary climate discourse focuses on the importance of biodiversity, we highlight the importance of cultural diversity as a source of resilience.

‘Geloven en weten’ in Auch eine Geschichte der Philosophie

‘Faith and knowledge’ in Auch eine Geschichte der Philosophie. On the Role of Philosophy in Post-Secular Society This article focuses on three aspects that might clarify the quintessence of Habermas’ position regarding the relation between faith and knowledge in his book, Auch eine Geschichte der Philosophie. First, a concise overview is given of the role of this specific theme in Habermas’ oeuvre as a whole (from his earliest to his later writings), that may help to illuminate why his so-called shift with regard to the relation between faith and knowledge is in need of modification. Subsequently, the question is raised as to the possible role philosophy may still play for Habermas in the contemporary climate of so-called post-secular thought. Finally, some critical remarks are formulated concerning his genealogical reconstruction, in particular his treatment of respectively the axial period, the double face of nominalism and the specific status of a philosophical, conceptual translation of religious contents.