New to climate change? Here you have some WEB links to start!!

¿Nuevo en el tema del cambio climatico? Aquí tienes algunos links en la WEB para comenzar!!!

Today, everybody seems to blame climate change for their disgraces. Is the melting of the poles the worst threat? Will tropical diseases spread to today´s cold areas? But, how much of all we hear is likely to occur? I am not asking "how much of all climate change-related stuff we hear is true?", because most of the works published are based on predictions.

If you feel curious, I would recommend you to have a look first on the reports published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC, which is a renowned international instance. Remember the Al Gore´s movie and the Nobel Prize awarded?, well..the contents is based on the research conducted by the experts from the IPCC.

Next I am posting some WEB links where you can find relevant and trusty information on this topic, climate modeling, ENSO, climate change impacts in mountains, and similar resources. Please, take a look and If you wish, suggest some other links if you think I have omitted some relevant information.

What climate change newbies must read first

• IPCC´s Assesment Report 4 (AR4) - Climate Change 2007. It is the primary reference for climate change studies, and it is a must for all who wish to work in the topic. Your journey may begin at the short Synthesis Report, after which you may want to continue towards the remaining ones, depending on your needs and interests. The AR4  is currently being updated into the Fifth Assessment Report, which will see the light in 2013/14.

General information on climate change

• Science Magazine´s Special Series: State of the Planet. A series of papers focused on the issues that our planet is likely to face in the next 50 years. If you have access (not free), it is worth reading.
• Climate change at the US EPA. Definitely, Americans are everywhere, because of which visiting the information at the websites of major institutions is always interesting. Besides this, the site of the USGS (the US Geological Survey agency) will always contain very interesting information on life sciences. There, I recommend you to have a look on this video: Bees are not optional.
• Climate change at the Hadley Center, UK. Very interesting information on climate change impacts in Europe and the world.
• Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia, UK. This Research Unit has faced some critical moments (they were accused of manipulating climatic data), which gave skeptical individuals some power to support their theories. Nevertheless, this research institution is still an important source of information.
• US Global Change Research Information Office. Although the site is not as rich as the ones above, it has important information on studies carried at the US and in some regions in the world.

Still skeptical? Read some article in one of these journals, entirely dedicated to climate change studies

• Open access papers on climate change.
• Science and Development Network. Several reports, not only on climate change, but in science in general.
  
• Springer´s Climatic Change journal.
• Elsevier´s Global Environmental Change journal. 
• Browse for "climate change" in Nature.
  
• Browse for "climate change in Science.

Climate research and modelling it is directly linked to climate change research.

•  Global Carbon Project. The carbon cycle is part of the climate research and it is relevant to understand climate change. This site has good information on the topic.
• Atmospheric and ocean circulation. A basic guide on this topic, fundamental to introduce the student into climate modelling.
• Physical Geography. A very interesting site with information on this field.
• Weather World, University of Illinois. General information for instructional materials on weather. Some regional data is also available.
• NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Atmospheric research at NASA and applications. As most sites of the US Government, here you will find relevant information.
• Resources in Atmospheric Sciences. Various resources.
• International Research Institute for Climate and Society. Climate research with practical applications.
• Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Comparison.

ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation).

•   NOAA´s El Niño pages. Facts, educational resources, and data for researchers. El Niño theme page has alot of information also.
• El Niño fact sheet, by Henson and Trenberth. An article on this climatic phenomena written by experts in the field.
• El Niño influenced melting glaciers. A practical example on the relevance of this phenomena.

Climate change and tropical diseases.

• Implications of climate change on malaria in India. An article by Coleen Reid.
• Temperatures without fevers? An article in Science (not open access).
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Anopheles in Wikipedia.

Climate change in mountains and high elevation areas. Why mountains? Because mountains are very sensitive to changes in the environment. There is where climate change impacts are first seen. Why? I will give you an example. Mountains are commonly remote, with harsh conditions for life. In consequence, most living creatures have developed specific mechanisms for their adaptation. Thus, a small change in their environment

will demand again the adaptation of a mechanism that has evolved, not in a decade. Some impacts around the globe are currently being studied at several institutions:

• Climate change in mountain ecosystems, at the USGS.
• International Potato Center. Did you know that climate change is affecting the diversity of species? Plants are perhaps the most affected (they have no legs to run away towards cooler places). Visit this site to see more.
• Rene Garreaud´s papers on climatology and climate change. Climatology is key for understanding this topic. Check out the papers written by this researcher.
• The Mountain Research Initiative. For general information. Limited resources are available online.
• Bolivian Mountain Institute. A local perspective on the issue. Limited information available.

 Climate change impacts on ice and snow covered areas

• The Australian Antarctic Division. Why do Australians bother going there? Because remote regions contain a lot of information that has not yet been discovered, from new or not well known species, until clues on the ancient story of our planet (paleology, paleoclimatology, etc). You will find out more at their site. It will show you how interesting , and tough, is the life of ice scientists.