Show Notes | Transcript

Show Notes

Record shattering: Earth had its hottest July in 174 years (NOAA)

This is Canada’s worst wildfire season on record, researchers say (Washington Post)

Rainforest (National Geographic)

What’s the Difference Between Weather and Climate? (NOAA)

Parts of South America are sweltering under a ‘fierce’ heatwave – and it’s the middle of winter (CNN)

Both of the planet’s poles experience extreme heat, and Antarctica breaks records (NPR)

Greenhouse gases continued to increase rapidly in 2022 (NOAA)

World of Change: Global Temperatures (NASA)

What are El Nino and La Nina? (NOAA)

Aerosols: Small Particles with Big Climate Effects (NASA)

The heat index reached 152 degrees in the Middle East — nearly at the limit for human survival (Washington Post)

Basics of Climate Change (EPA)

Exxon scientists predicted global warming with ‘shocking skill and accuracy,’ Harvard researchers say (Harvard Gazette)

Global warming: World on track to breach 1.5 degrees of warming in the next 5 years (CNN)

Mount Graham Red Squirrel (Arizona State University)

The effort to restore Joshua trees after Mojave wildfire faces grim odds (NPR)

Panama Canal water levels at historic lows, restrictions to remain (Reuters)

‘Receding before our eyes’: Island glaciers likely to be all gone by mid-century (Victoria Times-Colonist)

World’s biggest permafrost crater growing, as Earth warms (EarthSky)

Siberia permafrost yields well-preserved ice age woolly rhino (The Guardian)

Viruses in permafrost: Scientists have revived a ‘zombie’ virus that spent 48,500 years frozen (CNN)

A worm that survived 46,000 years in permafrost wows scientists (NPR)

How is the current global warming trend different from previous warming periods in Earth’s history? (Climate.gov)

What is the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)? (NOAA)

Reconstruction of Major North Atlantic Circulation System Shows Weakening (NOAA)

PDF: GLOBAL CLIMATIC IMPACTS OF A COLLAPSE OF THE ATLANTIC THERMOHALINE CIRCULATION (Harvard University)

Warning of a forthcoming collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (Nature Communications)

Renewable Energy Costs Have Dropped Much Faster Than Expected, But There’s A Catch (Forbes)

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Transcript

Transcriptions provided by GMR Transcription Services

Fraser Cain: Astronomy Cast, Episode 689: Our Warming World, 20 Years of Climate Science. Welcome to Astronomy Cast, your weekly facts-based journey to the cosmos. Where we help you understand not only what we know, but how we know what we know. I’m Fraser Cain, I’m the publisher of Universe Today. With me, as always, is Dr. Pamela Gay, a senior scientist for the Planetary Science Institute and the Director of Cosmo Quest. Hey Pamela, welcome back.

Dr. Pamela Gay: It has been a summer and it’s good to be entering pumpkin spice latte season which means Astronomy Cast is back.

Fraser Cain: What season is this, 16?

Dr. Pamela Gay: Seventeen.

Fraser Cain: Seventeen. All right. I’ll have to take your word for it. 

Dr. Pamela Gay: Yeah, last year we were old enough to drive. This year we’re just at that frustrating age where you’re not quite an adult but you have your driver’s license.

Fraser Cain: Right. So, before we get into it, I want to thank you for giving me my astronomy education. I was – I did an interview with Ethan Siegel on my podcast and it’s gonna be coming out tomorrow for all the patrons. And Ethan Siegel, Paul Sutter, Brian Koberlein, they are like my force ghosts who, mentors, who watch over me. And they slap my wrists every time I make a mistake and badly explain constant, and cosmology, and astronomy. But behind the scenes, sort of educating me this entire way is you. And when you sort of look back to what I knew 17 years ago to what I know now and how much of a better science communicator I’ve become, a lot of that is thanks to you. So, thank you very much for giving me this education. I’m assuming my PhD is in the mail but thank you.

Dr. Pamela Gay: I keep trying to figure out the honorary degree thing. One of these days, one of these days I’m gonna figure it out.

Fraser Cain: As soon as Cosmo Quest gets certified in some way and then I’m applying, ‘cause I feel I’ve put in my time. 

Dr. Pamela Gay: You have. It’s really amazing. 

Fraser Cain: It’s official. June, July we’re the warmest we’ve seen since records began over a century ago. Fires are rampant across Canada and we’re seeing record droughts around the world. Today we’re gonna look at 20 years of climate science. How well does the reality match up with the predictions? So, how did 2023 summer affect the climate change affect you?

Dr. Pamela Gay: So, I have to admit normally I live outside in May. Usually, it starts to get warm at the end of April, May is outside bark mulching, getting thing planted, everything is all set, and then it’s hot to the point that I only go outside to water things after that. But we’ll usually only get maybe two or three weeks that are in the high 30s here, and maybe another two weeks in the low 30s. So, it’s usually not terrible, it’s just unpleasant. 

Well, this year I don’t know where spring went because May was hot. And this is the first year ever I was just like, “I’m not even gonna try with the garden. The yard is on its own.” There’s a tropical rainforest out there now. And it was just too hot to even consider going camping or any of the normal things I’d want to do. What about you?

Fraser Cain: So, I live in a temperate rainforest. Rain being sort of one of the opera