A new electrode design developed at MIT boosts the efficiency of electrochemical reactions that turn carbon dioxide into ethylene and other products.

Coral larvae reduce their metabolism and increase nitrogen uptake to resist bleaching in high temperatures, according to a study published November 12^th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Ariana S. Huffmyer of the University of Washington, US, and colleagues.

New England is warming faster than any other part of the United States due to climate change. Part of the havoc a warming world wreaks is on the “water budget”—the frequency, timing and amount of precipitation, where that moisture goes once it lands, how it interacts with trees and plants, how much evaporates and how it eventually seeps into the ground and flows as subsurface water. Thanks to a $498,999 grant from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), David Boutt, professor in the Department of Earth, Geographic and Climate Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will spend the next three years building advanced integrated hydrologic models that will allow New England to predict with spatial precision how the region’s water budget will change in the coming years.

A UC Davis study highlights the importance of caribou and muskoxen to the greening Arctic tundra, linking grazing with plant phenology and abundance in the Arctic tundra.

A study links herbivory to phenology in the Arctic. 

A new study in Nature Communications finds that limiting global warming to 1.5 °C is still possible, but some countries require support to meet their climate responsibilities. An “additional carbon accountability” indicator is introduced, revealing that the EU and 17 other countries must exceed their own current targets to achieve this global goal.

Last year, Longyearbyen recorded an average July temperature over 10°C, challenging the traditional polar climate definition that typically inhibits tree growth. This trend continued with record-high temperatures in Svalbard and East Finnmark in 2024, where COAT weather stations on the Varanger Peninsula recorded temperatures 3-4 degrees above the tree growth threshold.

These temperature records are not random. Statistical analysis shows that such high temperatures in Vardø and Longyearbyen are extremely rare events, suggesting that recent temperature spikes are linked to ongoing Arctic climate changes rather than yearly weather variability.

Recent studies have refined the criteria for tree growth in Arctic regions, indicating that a combination of the length of the growing season and average temperature is more accurate than the classical 10-degree rule. For instance, the growing season should last at least 94 days with temperatures above 0.9°C, and the average temperature should be at least 6.4°C. These conditions were met in both 2023 and 2024 at various COAT stations, suggesting potential for tree growth.

However, transitioning from tundra to forest can take centuries, even under suitable climate conditions, due to ecological and biological barriers. Rapid Arctic climate changes necessitate comprehensive ecosystem monitoring, as demonstrated by COAT, to manage and adapt to these transformations effectively.