Flux continu

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is the world's strongest ocean current and plays a disproportionate role in the climate system due to its role as a conduit for major ocean basins. This current system is linked to the ocean's vertical overturning circulation, and is thus pivotal to the uptake of heat and CO2 in the ocean. The strength of the ACC has varied substantially across warm and cold climates in Earth's past, but the exact dynamical drivers of this change remain elusive. This is in part because ocean models have historically been unable to adequately resolve the small-scale processes that control current strength. Here, we assess a global ocean model simulation which resolves such processes to diagnose the impact of changing thermal, haline and wind conditions on the strength of the ACC. Our results show that, by 2050, the strength of the ACC declines by ∼20% for a high-emissions scenario. This decline is driven by meltwater from ice shelves around Antarctica, which is exported to lower latit

Les pluies extrêmes en Belgique deviendront plus intenses et plus fréquentes d'ici 2100, avec des pics journaliers pouvant dépasser 100 mm tous les 20 ans dans certaines zones, selon une étude de l'ULiège et de l'Institut Royal Météorologique (IRM) publiée jeudi.

I’m used to environmentalists and futurists writing about The Limits to Growth. I’m less used to seeing investment writers mention research that’s linked to The Limits of Growth. But that’s what Joachim Klement did in his daily newsletter recently. Of course, anyone who writes about Limits of Growth has to do all the usual disclaimers first. This is because the combination of the words “limits” and “growth” in the title produced a lot of critical responses, on a range from straight-up hatchet jobs which misrepresented the book, to people who didn’t appear to understand the systems dynamics model that sat behind it.

Alors que la course mondiale à l’intelligence artificielle prend de plus en plus d’ampleur, deux grandes puissances s’affrontent : les États-Unis et la Chine. Une récente infographie donne un aperçu de cette compétition, comparant les performances des meilleurs modèles d’IA des deux géants.

The ocean ecosystem is a vital component of the global carbon cycle, storing enough carbon to keep atmospheric CO2 considerably lower than it would otherwise be. However, this conception is based on simple models, neglecting the coupled land-ocean feedback. Using an interactive Earth system model, we show that the role ocean biology plays in controlling atmospheric CO2 is more complex than previously thought. Atmospheric CO2 in a new equilibrium state after the biological pump is shut down increases by more than 50% (163 ppm), lower than expected as approximately half the carbon lost from the ocean is adsorbed by the land. The abiotic ocean is less capable of taking up anthropogenic carbon due to the warmer climate, an absent biological surface pCO2 deficit and a higher Revelle factor. Prioritizing research on and preserving marine ecosystem functioning would be crucial to mitigate climate change and the risks associated with it.

Condamner les atrocités n'est plus suffisant. Pour un soutien concret à un nouvel horizon politique : deux États dans un seul pays confédéré. Appel d'un collectif international, parmi lesquels les prix Nobel Annie Ernaux et Olga Tokarczuk et les professeurs belges Paul Aron (ULB), Julie Ringelheim, Céline Romainville, Jean De Munck (UCL).

Land degradation is a complex socio-environmental threat, which generally occurs as multiple concurrent pathways that remain largely unexplored in Europe. Here we present an unprecedented analysis of land multi-degradation in 40 continental countries, using twelve dataset-based processes that were modelled as land degradation convergence and combination pathways in Europe’s agricultural (and arable) environments. Using a Land Multi-degradation Index, we find that up to 27%, 35% and 22% of continental agricultural (~2 million km2) and arable (~1.1 million km2) lands are currently threatened by one, two, and three drivers of degradation, while 10–11% of pan-European agricultural/arable landscapes are cumulatively affected by four and at least five concurrent processes. We also explore the complex pattern of spatially interacting processes, emphasizing the major combinations of land degradation pathways across continental and national boundaries. Our results will enable policymakers to develop knowledge-based st

Atrazine is an herbicide widely used on plantations worldwide. Experimental studies suggest that the herbicide impairs male reproductive function in mammals. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the impact of atrazine exposure on the levels of hormones from the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis using murine as the animal model. After an extensive literature search, we selected 25 articles for the systematic review.

Il n'y a pratiquement pas eu de pluie pendant plus d'un mois en Belgique. Un effet du ralentissement de la dynamique atmosphérique dont l'intensité interpelle.

Dans une tribune au « Monde », un collectif de chercheurs et d’anciens ambassadeurs appelle, en Europe, à dénoncer sans ambiguïté l’idéologie suprémaciste qui anime désormais le gouvernement de l’Etat hébreu : il vient de créer une « Autorité d’émigration », visant à « relocaliser » plusieurs millions de Palestiniens de Gaza puis, probablement, de Cisjordanie.