EC climate deal reached

European Union leaders have reached a deal on a package of measures to fight global warming.
The plan, agreed at a Brussels summit, sets out how 27 member-countries will cut carbon emissions by 20% by 2020, compared with 1990 levels.

For more information click this link to the BBC.

The power of clouds

An international team of scientists is hoping to shed light on how clouds over the Pacific Ocean are affecting global climate and weather systems.

The clouds, some of which are bigger than the US, reflect sunlight back into space and cool the ocean below.

The team hopes to learn more about the clouds' properties and if pollution from activities such as mining affect the formation of these systems.

The month-long study will involve more than 200 experts from 10 countries.

A team of 20 climate and cloud experts from the UK's National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) are taking part in the expedition, which will be based in Chile.

Big chunk of ice!

A large chunk of an Arctic ice shelf has broken free of the northern Canadian coast, scientists say.

Nearly 20 sq km (eight sq miles) of ice from the Ward Hunt shelf has split away from Ellesmere Island, according to satellite pictures.

It is thought to be the biggest piece of ice shed in the region since 60 sq km of the nearby Ayles Ice Shelf broke away in 2005.

Scientists say further splitting could occur during the Arctic summer melt.

Methane on the up?

Higher atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gas methane noted last year are probably related to emissions from wetlands, especially around the Arctic.
Scientists have found indications that extra amounts of the gas in the Arctic region are of biological origin.
Global levels of methane had been roughly stable for almost a decade.
Rising levels in the Arctic could mean that some of the methane stored away in permafrost is being released, which would have major climatic implications.
The gas is about 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, though it survives for a shorter time in the atmosphere before being broken down by natural chemical processes.

To understand the Greenhouse Effect check this animation from the BBC.