Search Climate Insights Directory

The project utilizes paleotempestology—analyzing sediment cores from lagoons, stalagmite isotopic records, tree rings, and corals—to reconstruct past tropical cyclone activity. Key findings indicate that higher sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic correlate with increased hurricane activity, with notable peaks during the Medieval Warm Period (AD 900-1100) and since 1980. The research also identifies an inverse phase relationship in hurricane landfalls between Central America, the Eastern Caribbean, and the US East Coast, suggesting that the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and tropical anticyclones are critical drivers of coastal risk. Additionally, the study expanded its scope to the Pacific coast of Mexico, identifying an extreme event in Baja California Sur approximately 500 years ago.

The project focuses on enhancing disaster prevention in the Eastern Pacific by reconstructing historical cyclone records, studying lightning as a proxy for intensification, and utilizing high-resolution ocean and atmospheric models (HWRF) to improve storm surge and track forecasts.

The study analyzes land-system changes in the Gran Chaco from 1985 to 2015 and simulates futures up to 2045 across nine scenarios. It finds that the 'Agribusiness' narrative leads to the most severe social-ecological impacts, with 10% of the region already following this pathway. Potential hotspots for vegetation loss include western and southern Argentinian Chaco and western Paraguayan Chaco. The authors argue that stricter land-use and conservation planning are necessary to protect the region's biodiversity, carbon density, and forest-dependent communities.

The author reconstructs a 'Thomistic theory of attention' by synthesizing various passages from Thomas Aquinas's works. The analysis identifies attention as a finite resource and a selective process of 'priority structuring' that allows finite cognitive agents—humans, animals, and angels—to process information piecemeal. The paper distinguishes between the 'specification' of a cognitive act (what is known) and its 'exercise' (the act of attending), asserting that the latter is primarily driven by the will or appetite. It further explores the varying degrees of volitional control over different types of attention (sensory vs. intellectual) and the role of external agents, such as teachers or God, in prompting attention. Finally, it links the direction of attention to moral well-being and the virtue of 'studiositas'.

The project investigates long-term hydrological changes in the American cordillera, utilizing tree-ring records and streamflow data to analyze drought patterns and climate regime shifts. Initial findings highlight a severe 14th-century drought in the high Andes with significant social consequences, a declining streamflow trend in Chile linked to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and an increasing drought risk in the southern Andes between 1920 and 2002 that threatens agriculture and hydroelectric power.

The document describes a study using proxy data and sediment records to reconstruct Atlantic hurricane activity from 500 AD to the present. It finds that hurricane activity peaked during the Medieval period (900-1100 AD), rivaling current levels, and correlates higher sea surface temperatures with increased hurricane frequency.

The document describes a study using proxy data—statistical climate models and sedimentary records—to reconstruct Atlantic hurricane activity from AD 500 to the present. It finds that while there is a current peak in activity, a similar peak occurred during the medieval period (AD 900-1100), which was associated with warm Atlantic sea surface temperatures. The research indicates that hurricane activity decreased after AD 1500, coinciding partly with the Little Ice Age, before increasing again after 1850 and especially after 1980.