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Picture of ice floating Researchers raised concerns after discovering sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic is losing its cooling powers, per an article published on earth.com. After analyzing satellite images from a 43-year span, scientists at the University of Michigan revealed the devastating impact of rising global temperatures. What's happening? A group of scientists compared satellite measurements of cloud cover and solar radiation reflected by sea ice from 1980 through 2023. They found that the cooling power of sea ice is not as strong as it used to be. According to the findings, Arctic sea ice has lost about...

Earth's reflectivity a great unknown in gauging climate change impactsEarth's climate is being changed substantially by a buildup of atmospheric greenhouse gases, but a group of leading climate scientists contends the overall impact is not understood as well as it should be because data are too scarce on how much energy the planet reflects into space. Reflectivity, or albedo, is largely governed by clouds and atmospheric particles called aerosols, but it is one of Earth's least-understood properties, said Robert Charlson, a University of Washington atmospheric scientist. Yet research aimed at quantifying the effects of albedo and helping scientists understand how...