Climate changing 10 times faster than in past 65 million years - Indian Express

PTI : Washington, Fri Aug 02 2013, 15:09 hrs Rate of climate change over the next century will be 10 times faster than the rate of any climate shift in the past 65 million years. (Reuters) The likely rate of climate change over the next century will be 10 times faster than in the past 65 million years, the largest since dinosaurs went extinct, a new study has warned. Researchers said if the trend continues at its current rapid pace, it will place significant stress on terrestrial ecosystems, and many species will need to make behavioural, evolutionary or geographic adaptations to survive. Although some of the changes the planet will experience in the next few decades are already "baked into the system," how different the climate looks at the end of the 21st century will depend largely on how humans respond. Researchers Noah Diffenbaugh and Chris Field, both senior fellows at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, conducted targeted but broad review of scientific literature on aspects of climate change that can affect ecosystems, and investigated how recent observations and projections for the next century compare to past events in Earth's history. For instance, the planet experienced a 5 degree Celsius hike in temperature 20,000 years ago, as Earth emerged from the last ice age. This is a change comparable to the high-end of the projections for warming over the 20th and 21st centuries, researchers said. The geologic record shows that, 20,000 years ago, as the ice sheet that covered much of North America receded northward, plants and animals recolonised areas that had been under ice. As the climate continued to warm, those plants and animals moved northward, to cooler climes. "We know from past changes that ecosystems have responded to a few degrees of global temperature change over thousands of years," said Diffenbaugh. "But the unprecedented trajectory that we're on now is forcing that change to occur over decades. That's orders of magnitude faster, and we're already seeing that some species are challenged by that rate of change," he said. ... contd. ALSO READ Chinese coastguards foray into disputed waters, escalates tension with Japan BBC apologizes over obscene Prince William doodle California school yoga programme gets USD 1.4 million grant Wisconsin Gurdwara shooting: Sikh son first saw father at funeral Please read our terms of use before posting comments TERMS OF USE: The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments posted or part thereof. You shall ensure that the comment is not inflammatory, abusive, derogatory, defamatory &/or obscene, or contain pornographic matter and/or does not constitute hate mail, or violate privacy of any person (s) or breach confidentiality or otherwise is illegal, immoral or contrary to public policy. Nor should it contain anything infringing copyright &/or intellectual property rights of any person(s). via Science - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHR-9C4riIIQMVPcfWWrC_WBmS4rw&url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/climate-changing-10-times-faster-than-in-past-65-million-years/1150301/

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