Author Archives: Stephen Burt

Can specific extreme weather or climate events be attributed to climate change?

Posted on 21 March, 2016 by Stephen Burt

By Ted Shepherd Whenever an extreme weather or climate event occurs, scientists are invariably asked whether it can be blamed on anthropogenic climate change. The usual response from climate scientists has been that it is not possible to attribute the … Continue reading →

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How do emissions in Abidjan affect the price of chocolate in the UK?

Posted on 14 March, 2016 by Stephen Burt

By Peter Hill The majority of the cocoa beans required to supply the world’s ever increasing demand for chocolate come from southern West Africa. Unfortunately, the volume produced, and consequently the cost of cocoa beans, is heavily dependent on the … Continue reading →

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Predicting the airborne spread of hazardous releases in urban areas

Posted on 7 March, 2016 by Stephen Burt

By Omduth Coceal The threat of terrorist attacks, like the risk of accidents, is an unfortunate probability that we need to take seriously and be prepared for. A particularly challenging problem is to be able to predict the spread of potentially … Continue reading →

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Ah, the sweet smell of rain …

Posted on 29 February, 2016 by Stephen Burt

By Ellie Highwood Despite all the rain of the past winter, there is something about rain that I have missed – its perfume. As we head towards spring, with daffodils all around us already, I am looking forward to the … Continue reading →

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The History of Climate Change Science

Posted on 22 February, 2016 by Stephen Burt

By Peter Cook Many people believe that anthropogenic global warming was only discovered in the 1980s and before this most scientists thought that the climate was getting colder. However, the science actually goes back almost two centuries. Joseph Fourier (in … Continue reading →

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What’s happening in the Arctic sky?

Posted on 15 February, 2016 by Stephen Burt

By Michaela Hegglin Meteorologists may say clouds are all about weather, but they sure aren’t, or at least not all of them! This late winter, people watching the sky in northern England witnessed spectacular appearances of nacreous clouds, also referred … Continue reading →

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Wrap up well for St Valentine’s Day – a good chance of snow!

Posted on 8 February, 2016 by Stephen Burt

By Roger Brugge The days are getting longer, the nights are getting shorter, but the temperature keeps falling – and so does the snow. At least in the climatological statistics they do! Looking at the date of occurrence of the … Continue reading →

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The driving mechanism of large-scale unsteady currents in the ocean

Posted on 1 February, 2016 by Stephen Burt

By Antoine Hochet During the last twenty years, measurements of the ocean surface properties by satellite instruments have significantly increased our knowledge of ocean dynamics. One of these instruments is an altimeter that measures the topography of the ocean surface … Continue reading →

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Is it possible to predict inter-annual changes in terrestrial water storage at regional scales?

Posted on 18 January, 2016 by Stephen Burt

By Marie-Estelle Demory Our results say yes! It is possible to predict changes in terrestrial water storage, when the signal that drives the changes is strong enough. Here is an explanation. The hydrological cycle is a fundamental link between components of … Continue reading →

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Is climate change beneficial for North Africa?

Posted on 11 January, 2016 by Stephen Burt

by Buwen Dong The Sahel, a band of semi-arid region south of the Sahara Desert that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, is one of Africa’s most productive crop regions. Mean annual rainfall in the region is … Continue reading →

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