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A new study regarding the rate of sea level rise shows that the rise of ocean levels may be accelerating faster than the steady increase that was previously assumed, and may result in double the height of sea levels previously projected for the end of the century.

Previous studies made their projections based on a constant rate of sea level rise, but according to study lead Steve Nerem, professor of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, the acceleration of ice melt in Antarctica and Greenland is also accelerating the effect on the amount of water being added to the sea.
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The polar vortex has divided into two sections, allowing warm air from the northern Pacific ocean to extend into the Arctic, while displacing cold Arctic air south along the west coast. While the resulting forecast means that the east coast will see milder temperatures in the coming weeks, it also calls for colder than average temperatures in the west, and yet more above-average warmth in the Arctic, already suffering from record-low sea ice levels.
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A recent survey of Arctic permafrost has revealed that the northern tundra holds the world’s largest reserve of mercury, with its size estimated to be in the tens of millions of gallons. Ordinarily, the presence of the toxic metal wouldn’t be a problem, as it is locked away in the frozen soil, but researchers are concerned that as the permafrost melts due to global warming, that mercury trapped there could be released into the environment.
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The evidence pointing toward a major cometary impact that heralded the closure of the last ice age 13,000 years ago is steadily growing, with a new study from the University of Kansas offering more data that supports what is known as the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis.

"The hypothesis is that a large comet fragmented and the chunks impacted the Earth, causing this disaster," explains University of Kansas Emeritus Professor of Physics & Astronomy Adrian Melott. "A number of different chemical signatures–carbon dioxide, nitrate, ammonia and others–all seem to indicate that an astonishing 10 percent of the Earth’s land surface, or about 10 million square kilometers [3,9 million square miles], was consumed by fires."
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