This week in the journal Nature scientists give the most comprehensive view of thinning ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica to date.

Scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the University of Bristol analyzed 50 million satellite measurements (from NASA) to show the massive ice loss on these polar giants.

The result are surprising, even to the scientists.

As the press release states, this is the “most comprehensive picture of the rapidly thinning glaciers along the coastline of both the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets.”

With the news that climate change is occurring at a faster rate than climate models have predicted, geoengineering solutions have been brought to the fore and are being taken more seriously. The main focus of these emergency geoengineering strategies is a reduction in “shortwave” radiation entering the Earth’s atmosphere via the solar wind.

The short-term goal here is an overall reduction in global atmospheric temperatures to slow, or even reverse, warming trends. These solutions include increasing the amount of reflective particles surrounding the Earth by placing reflective particles (”mirrors”) outside the atmosphere. Such a solution may be justified to quickly curtail an emergent crisis–such as the rapid disintegration of the polar icecaps. Another strategy is to blanket the upper atmosphere with sulfur particles to block shortwave energy from reaching the Earth’s surface, thus producing a pronounced cooling effect (of variable duration).

Forest officials have arrested three suspected poachers involved with last weekend’s rhino killing in Kaziranga National Park.

The arrest of three poachers is the latest development in last weekend’s shootout in Kaziranga between forest guards and poachers. The trio was captured in Nagaon as they were trying to escape through the Karbi Anglong district.

Two of the men are Paites from Manipur and the other a Guite from Karbi Anglong district’s Manja area. They were handed over to the police and are being held in Assam.

The aviation industry and the emissions it produces were never included in the Kyoto Protocol that was established 12 years ago, but today at the New York meeting of the UN, there’s a new proposition that will require the international industry to reduce their carbon footprint. Currently, international aviation contributes 2% of the world’s carbon emissions, and this new agreement is set to rectify the industry’s initial omission from the Protocol.
 
The agreement which will be presented today, will involve the airlines, airports and aircraft companies working towards a mutual goal of cutting 2005’s emission levels by 50% by 2050. This move is the suggestion of British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh, and if this proposal is accepted at today’s gathering on climate change by the UN, it will be included on the agenda of the next meeting which will take place in Copenhagen in December.

A gun battle broke out between forest officials and poachers in Kaziranga National Park after the killing of a tiger, rhino, and elephant.

In the span of just a few days, poachers managed to kill a tiger, rhino, and elephant in India’s Kaziranga National Park. Despite an exchange of bullets between forest officials and poachers, the poachers escaped.

According to the Times of India, forest officials ambushed the poachers shortly after they killed the rhino and hacked off its horn. A shootout that reportedly lasted “late into the night” unfortunately ended with the poachers escaping through the Karbi Anglong district.

The Dutch have been fighting rising seas longer than any nation in the western world. Much of the country lies below sea level, including the capital city of Amsterdam. Traditionally, dikes and concrete barriers have been used to hold back the sea, but now the Netherlands is changing course in its flood control efforts due to climate change. The Dutch are embracing natural flood plains for rivers and mangrove swamps in lieu of levees.

Climate change is increasing the predictions for sea level rise in this century. As quoted by Reuters, Lennart Silvis, the operational manager of the public-private Netherlands Water Partnership, stated, “We’ve been adapting for 1,000 years. That’s nothing new. It’s just that climate change is going faster than it was before.” The Dutch are looking for a new approach to keep up climate change.

In just a few short months, Iceland has killed over 150 whales despite a 1986 international ban on commercial whaling and ban on international trade in whale products.  The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) reports 63 minke whales and at least 93 endangered fin whales have been slaughtered since May 2009, in what is being described as the largest commercial hunt in the North Atlantic in decades.

Despite the moratorium, Iceland’s Fisheries Minister Steingrimur J. Sigfusson is allowing the slaughter of 100 minke whales and 150 fin whales for 2009.   But Iceland is not the only country that kills whales.  Along with Iceland, Japan and Norway kill over 2000 whales annually. 

A white tiger cub has died at India’s Indore Zoo after zoo authorities decided to keep a litter of sick cubs on display to attract more tourists.

A short life wasted: One of three white tiger cubs born in March at the Indore Zoo is now dead - due to zoo authorities’ decision to release the cubs prematurely into an enclosure where they could be viewed by tourists.

Local news sources report that wildlife experts believe that putting the cubs on display prematurely made them ill in the first place - and zoo authorities knew the cubs had been suffering from bacterial gastroenteritis since late August. A zoo employee reportedly said the cubs were dehydrated and had diarrhea, but were kept in the enclosure anyway so tourists would come and see them.

Up to 200 walrus carcasses - mostly calves - have been spotted on the shore of Chukchi Sea on Alaska’s northwest coast.

While on their way to a walrus tagging project, federal wildlife researchers discovered nearly 200 dead walruses about 140 miles southwest of Barrow, on Icy Cape.

Although the age and cause of death is not officially known, the walruses appear to be mainly new calves or yearlings, according to early reports.

Authorities in central Khanh Hoa Province have rescued and released 849 critically endangered hawksbill turtles.

Good news: 849 hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) were rescued last week from a farm in Bich Dam Hamlet in Nha Trang City.

According to local news sources, police confiscated the endangered turtles from Mac Tien Nang, who said he had purchased the turtles last October. Nang was cited for violating endangered species trade laws, although the details of his citation were not yet published.

Seven employees of India’s Kanpur Zoo have been suspended over the mysterious sudden deaths of 14 deer.

A disturbing discovery on Saturday morning at the Kanpur Zoo revealed that thirteen chital (Axis axis) and one swamp deer (Cervus duvauceli) had died overnight.
 
According to the Times of India, the deers’ keepers reported the animals were healthy on Friday. Nevertheless, the Kanpur zoo’s director has been issued a show-cause notice - and seven zoo employees have now been suspended.

It maybe happening in space but people are still screaming. NASA’s mission to fire a high velocity “impactor” rocket into the moon to search for water is being widely criticized in the blogosphere.

The moon’s big bang
If NASA’s plans go ahead as forecast for an October 9 launch people have got just two more opportunities to watch a full moon before the planet is subject to what many consider mightily unneighbourly conduct.