climate change

Volcanic activity, declining ocean oxygen triggered mass extinction of ancient marine organisms

Global climate change, fueled by skyrocketing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, is siphoning oxygen from today’s oceans at an alarming pace — so fast that scientists aren’t entirely sure how the planet will respond. Their only hint? Look to the past. In a study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy […]

Life recovered rapidly at impact site of dino-killing asteroid

About 66 million years ago, an asteroid smashed into the Earth triggering a mass extinction that ended the reign of the dinosaurs and snuffed out 75 percent of life. While the asteroid killed off scores of species, a new study from Florida State University scientists, in collaboration with lead researchers from The University of Texas […]

FSU researchers: Urban growth leads to shorter, more intense wet seasons in Florida peninsula

New research from Florida State University scientists has found that urban areas throughout the Florida peninsula are experiencing shorter, increasingly intense wet seasons relative to underdeveloped or rural areas. The study, published in the Nature Partner Journal Climate and Atmospheric Science, provides new insight into the question of land development’s effect on seasonal climate processes. […]

FSU researchers: Florida’s climate is changing, and we should all take notice

Climate change is often understood as a global problem with broad effects that are difficult to detect on more narrow local scales. However, Florida State University Professor Eric Chassignet and Associate Professor Vasu Misra, both from the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, believe that more attention should be paid to state-level effects of […]

Climate change linked to more flowery tropical forests, FSU study shows

New research from a Florida State University scientist has revealed a surprising relationship between surging atmospheric carbon dioxide and flower blooms in a remote tropical forest. FSU researchers studying the rich tropical forests of Panama’s Barro Colorado Island found that climbing rates of carbon dioxide have set the stage for a multidecade increase in overall […]

New Policy Pub sessions focus on climate, health and economic equality

Policy Pub, the popular public forum series at Backwoods Bistro, returns for three new sessions this semester with topics that address key issues affecting everyone’s lives. The monthly sessions include brief, plain-language talks by faculty of the Florida State University College of Social Sciences and Public Policy followed by questions and discussion from the public. […]

FSU researcher: Ocean acidification means major changes for California mussels

Accelerating ocean acidification could be transforming the fundamental structure of California mussel shells, according to a new report from a Florida State University-led team of scientists. For thousands of years, California mussel shells have shared a relatively uniform mineralogical makeup — long, cylindrical calcite crystals ordered in neat vertical rows with crisp, geometric regularity. But […]

College of Social Sciences launches blog on ‘Wicked Problems’

Florida State University’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy has launched a new blog, “Wicked Problems, Wicked Solutions,” a forum for the college’s faculty and students to talk about their research and teaching regarding the many challenges faced by contemporary society. Wicked problems, such as climate change and social injustice, are very difficult issues […]

Smallest marine species may better weather climate change effects

Rising levels of carbon dioxide may have little effect on the smallest organisms that live in ocean sediment, according to a new study by a Florida State University researcher. FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory scientist Jeroen Ingels and a team of researchers found that communities of microscopic organisms called meiofauna don’t change much when faced […]

A stinging report: FSU research shows climate change a major threat to bumble bees

New research from a team of Florida State University scientists and their collaborators is helping to explain the link between a changing global climate and a dramatic decline in bumble bee populations worldwide. In a study published Friday, Sept. 29, in the journal Ecology Letters, researchers examining three subalpine bumble bee species in Colorado’s Rocky […]

FSU Research: Ancient ocean deoxygenation provides an urgent warning

A 94-million-year-old climate change event that severely imperiled marine organisms may provide some unnerving insights into long-term trends in our modern oceans, according to a Florida State University researcher. In a study published today in the journal Science Advances, Assistant Professor of Geology Jeremy Owens traces a 50,000-year period of ocean deoxygenation preceding an ancient […]

FSU Research: Chemical weathering could alleviate some climate change effects

There could be some good news on the horizon as scientists try to understand the effects and processes related to climate change. A team of Florida State University scientists has discovered that chemical weathering, a process in which carbon dioxide breaks down rocks and then gets trapped in sediment, can happen at a much faster […]