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Patenting activity for climate-energy related technologies, EU-27
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The graph descirbes the time trend of the number of patents applications (by priority date) at EPO (European Patent Office), by total number and the number in single classes of technologies (pollution and waste; renewable energies; vehicle emissions and fuel economy; energy efficiency).
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Ocean acidification (CLIM 043) - Assessment published Nov 2012
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Surface-ocean pH has declined from 8.2 to 8.1 over the industrial era due to the growth of atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. This decline corresponds to a 30 % change in oceanic acidity.
Observed reductions in surface-water pH are nearly identical across the global ocean and throughout Europe’s seas.
Ocean acidification in recent decades is occurring a hundred times faster than during past natural events over the last 55 million years.
Ocean acidification already reaches into the deep ocean, particularly in the high latitudes.
Average surface-water pH is projected to decline further to 7.7 or 7.8 by the year 2100, depending on future CO 2 emissions. This decline represents a 100 to 150 % increase in acidity.
Ocean acidification may affect many marine organisms within the next 20 years and could alter marine ecosystems and fisheries.
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Ocean acidification
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Water temperature (CLIM 019) - Assessment published Nov 2012
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Water temperatures in major European rivers have increased by 1–3 °C over the last century. Several time series show increasing lake and river temperatures all over Europe over the last 60 to 90 years.
Lake and river surface water temperatures are projected to increase with further projected increases in air temperature.
Increased temperature can result in marked changes in species composition and functioning of aquatic ecosystems.
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Water temperature
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Lake and river ice cover (CLIM 020) - Assessment published Nov 2012
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The existence of ice cover and the timing of ice break-up influence the vertical mixing of lakes and are therefore of critical ecological importance.
The duration of ice cover on European lakes and rivers has shortened at a mean rate of 12 days per century over the last 150–200 years.
A further decrease in the duration of lake ice cover is projected with projected climate change.
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Lake and river ice cover
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Arctic and Baltic Sea ice (CLIM 010) - Assessment published Nov 2012
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The extent and volume of the Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly since global data became available in 1980, especially in summer. Record low sea ice cover in September 2007, 2011 and 2012 was roughly half the size of the normal minimum extent in the 1980s.
In the period 1979-2011, the Arctic has lost on average 45 000 km 2 of sea ice per year in winter and 91 000 km 2 per year at the end of summer. The decline in summer sea ice appears to have accelerated since 1999.
Arctic Sea ice is projected to continue to shrink in extent and thickness and may even disappear at the end of the summer melt season in the coming decades. There will still be substantial ice in winter.
Baltic Sea ice, in particular the extent of the maximal cover, is projected to shrink.
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Arctic and Baltic Sea ice
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Permafrost (CLIM 011) - Assessment published Nov 2012
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In the past 10–20 years European permafrost has shown a general warming trend, with greatest warming in Svalbard and Scandinavia. The active layer thickness has increased at some European permafrost sites. Several sites show great interannual variability which reflects the complex interaction between the atmospheric conditions and local snow and ground characteristics.
Present and projected atmospheric warming is projected to lead to widespread warming and thawing of permafrost.
Warming and thawing of permafrost is expected to increase the risk of landslides, ground subsidence and flash floods from bursting glacial lakes. Thawing of permafrost also affects biodiversity and may accelerate climate change through release of CO2 and CH4 from arctic permafrost areas.
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Permafrost
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Glaciers (CLIM 007) - Assessment published Nov 2012
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The vast majority of glaciers in the European glacial regions are in retreat. Glaciers in the European Alps have lost approximately two thirds of their volume since 1850, with clear acceleration since the 1980s.
Glacier retreat is expected to continue in the future. The volume of European glaciers has been estimated to decline between 22 and 66 % compared to the current situation by 2100 under a business-as-usual emission scenario.
Glacier retreat contributes to sea-level rise and it affects freshwater supply and run off regimes, river navigation, irrigation and power generation. It may also cause natural hazards and damage to infrastructure.
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Glaciers
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Greenland ice sheet (CLIM 009) - Assessment published Nov 2012
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The Greenland ice sheet is the largest body of ice in the Northern Hemisphere and plays an important role in the cryosphere. It changed in the 1990s from being in near mass balance to losing about 100 billion tonnes of ice per year. Ice losses have since then more than doubled to 250 billion tonnes a year averaged over 2005 to 2009.
The contribution of ice loss from the Greenland ice sheet to global sea-level rise is estimated at 0.14–0.28 mm/year for the period 1993–2003 and has since increased. The recent melting of the Greenland ice sheet is estimated to have contributed up to 0.7 mm a year to sea-level rise, which is approximately one quarter of the total sea-level rise of about 3.1 mm/year.
Model projections suggest further declines of the Greenland ice sheet in the future but the processes determining the rate of change are still poorly understood.
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Greenland ice sheet
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Trends in annual precipitation across Europe
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The trends are calculated using a median of pairwise slopes algorithm. Black dots represent high confidence in the sign of the long-term trend in the box (if the
5th to 95th percentile slopes are of the same sign). Boxes which have a thick outline contain at least three stations. Area averaged annual time series of percentage changes and trend lines are shown below each map for one area in northern Europe (blue line, 5.6 to 16.9 °E and 56.2 to 66.2 °N) and one in south‑western Europe (red line, 350.6 to 1.9 °E and 36.2 to 43.7 °N).
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Change in the distribution of Aedes albopictus in Europe
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Areas marked as ‘2011’ indicate that the tiger mosquito was detected in 2011 for the first time. They include areas of known geographical expansion of A. albopictus in France, northern Italy and Spain where vector surveillance has been in place since 2008 but also areas in Albania, Greece, and central and southern Italy, where the first detection of the vector in 2011 could be the result of increased vector surveillance rather than actual geographical expansion. ‘2008–2011’ refers to all areas where the vector has been present before 2011. Indoor presence corresponds to the presence recorded in greenhouses.
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