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Unexpected Elements

Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

The news you know, the science you don’t.

The news you know, the science you don’t. Unexpected Elements looks beyond everyday narratives to discover a goldmine of scientific stories and connections from around the globe. From Afronauts, to why we argue, to a deep dive on animal lifespans: see the world in a new way.

The Science Hour

Unexpected Elements: CO2 Levels Reach Record Highs

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13/09/2014

CO2 Levels Reach Record Highs

BBC World Service - Unexpected Elements, CO2 Levels Reach Record Highs

CO2 levels just don’t seem to stop rising, despite efforts to reduce emmissions

The World Meteorological Organisation reports that 2013 saw the highest concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere since before the industrial era, and its fastest growth since 1984.

Highest CO2 Levels 
Greenhouse gases reached record levels in 2013. A surge in CO2 in the atmosphere meant concentrations of carbon dioxide grew at the fastest rate since 1984. Professor Joanna Haigh, a professor of atmospheric physics, and co-director of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and Environment at Imperial College London, talks to us about the WMO report. 


The British Science Association annual festival
The British Science Association met this week at its annual festival, this year held in Birmingham, and a crop of stories have emerged. A new survey of the area around Stonehenge in the UK reveals many new and unknown features and monuments, and fills in our knowledge of the history of the site over 11,000 years. Also, proposals have been made for being able to diagnose mild concussion at sporting events using nothing more complicated than a breathalyzer.

Europa's Tectonic Plates
Scientists have discovered what appear to be tectonic plates on Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. It’s the first sign of this type of surface-shifting geological activity on a world other than Earth. Dr Louise Prockter, from Johns Hopkins University in the US, is one of the scientists behind this new discovery.

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