Sierra

Study links wildfires in Sierra to climate change

Published: Friday, April 24 2009 - 2:50 pm

A warming climate will fuel larger, more frequent wildfires in the Sierra Nevada and other parts of the West, and the fires will contribute to climate change, according to a new study.

As old-growth trees die at faster rate, scientists blame climate change

By Tom Knudson - Published: Friday, January 23 2009 - 12:00 am

Tree mortality rates have doubled in old-growth forests across the Sierra Nevada and western United States because of rising temperatures associated with climate change, a new study has found.

Bee special report: Sierra warming

Sierra Warming: High anxiety over later snow, earlier melt

By Tom Knudson - Updated: Friday, December 26 2008 - 7:09 am

In the late arrival of this year's snow season – and increasingly early spring snowmelt from the mountains – scientists and state officials are finding more than the signature of a natural drought. They believe they detect the fingerprint of climate change.

Sierra warming; Climate change in the Sierra Nevada

Sierra Nevada climate changes feed monster, forest-devouring fires

By Tom Knudson - Updated: Sunday, November 30 2008 - 9:29 am

Wildfire has marched across the West for centuries. But no longer are major conflagrations fueled simply by heavy brush and timber. Now climate change is stoking the flames higher and hotter, too.

Forest Service unveils plan to fight climate change

By Tom Knudson - Published: Saturday, November 8 2008 - 12:00 am

RENO – U.S. Forest Service Chief Gail Kimbell unveiled on Friday a new agencywide effort to tackle the problem of climate change, saying it poses the greatest danger yet to the nation's woodlands.

About Sierra Warming

No longer is climate change a distant drama of shrinking polar ice caps. As year-round ice fades from the saw-toothed summits of the Sierra Nevada, it's clear an unwelcome reality is at our doorstep: Global warming is local warming.

Sierra Summit blog

Amazon crude - California's thirst for Ecuador's oil

Speaking about energy and climate (Phil Angelides)

A burning issue: Fire and the Freedom of Information Act

Efficiency of green groups ranked

Kudos to NPR for climate debate

Miller Photo Co. 1913

A group of visitors in Merrill ice cave in Lava Beds National Monument in 1913, including a man in ice skates. Over the past decade, nine caves across the monument -- including Merrill -- have melted out, a strong sign of climate change, park officials say.
Randy Pench / rpench@sacbee.com

Seasonal geologist Sophia Kast stands on the wall of Merrill ice cave, which was once covered in ice through much of the 20th Century at Lava Beds National Monument June 3, 2008. The core temperature has risen enough to cause the ice to melt, and all that remains are the jumble of lava rocks.
G.K. Gilbert

This photo shows Lyell Glacier on Aug. 7, 1903, and was taken by the geologist G.K. Gilbert.
Hassan Basagic

This photo shows Lyell Glacier on Aug. 14, 2003, and was taken by Hassan Basagic, a graduate student at Portland State University. The glacier has shrunk in size by about 50 percent because of gradual warming in the Sierra.