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Tag Environment

Clouds, like blankets, trap heat and are melting the Greenland Ice Sheet

January 12, 2016

A new study shows clouds are playing a larger role in heating the Greenland Ice Sheet than scientists previously believed, raising its temperature by 2 to 3 degrees compared to cloudless skies. Read More

Between soil and snow

January 5, 2016

Professors Jonathan Pauli and Benjamin Zuckerberg explain the subnivium — habitat between the ground and winter snow cover that is being affected by climate change. Read More

Bird habitat changing quickly as climate change proceeds

December 22, 2015

The climatic conditions needed by 285 species of land birds in the United States have moved rapidly between 1950 and 2011 as a result of… Read More

Study finds people transformed how species associated after 300 million years

December 16, 2015

The researchers found a surprising and very recent shift away from the steady relationship among species. Read More

Greenhouse gas emissions from freshwater higher than thought

December 14, 2015

Do not underestimate the babbling brook. When it comes to greenhouse gases, these bucolic water bodies have the potential to create a lot of hot air. Read More

Small landscape changes can mean big freshwater gains

November 17, 2015

A typical bird's-eye view of the Midwest offers a patchwork landscape covered mostly by agriculture but mottled with forest, wetland, grassland, buildings and pavement. This pattern influences the quality and supply of the many natural benefits the landscape provides people, including freshwater. Read More

Ph.D. student wins Germany’s Green Talents Award

November 10, 2015

Samuel Zipper, a Ph.D. student in the University of Wisconsin–Madison Freshwater and Marine Sciences Program, is the only American among 27 up-and-coming scientists from around… Read More

Embrace the chaos: Predictable ecosystems may be more fragile

October 6, 2015

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says managing our environment for predictable outcomes is risky. In fact, more often than not, it backfires. Read More

Heat waves hit heat islands hardest

September 28, 2015

Extreme summers like that of 2012 - which saw record temperatures in cities across the U.S. - may be atypical, but experts say they will return, especially as the planet warms under climate change. And as they do, cities will be especially vulnerable. Read More

Tolerance of wolves in Wisconsin continues to decline

May 22, 2015

Wolf. The very word can conjure an image of a venerable pack of canines passing quietly through moonlit woods. Or, it can evoke anger over livestock lost at the jaws of a hungry predator. Read More

Brazilian beef industry moves to reduce its destruction of rain forests

May 12, 2015

Expansion of cattle pastures has led to the destruction of huge swaths of rain forest in Brazil, home to the world's largest herd of commercial beef cattle. But a new study led by the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Holly Gibbs shows that market-driven "zero deforestation agreements" have dramatically influenced the behavior of ranchers and the slaughterhouses to which they sell. Read More

‘My Earth’ energy-tracking app encourages sustainable behaviors

April 20, 2015

For a generation motivated by technology and fast-moving information, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has created an energy-tracking app to make reducing day-to-day energy usage more accessible. Read More