RIM Announces BlackBerry OS 7.1 Update

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The users who have obtained this update will be able to use their Blackberry as a Wi-Fi routers capable of facilitating up to five devices to connect with their Blackberry. Unfortunately it is unclear whether the use of these features will be specially charged by mobile operators, or will work as well as the use of this feature in Android smartphones.

RIM also said that they also update several other applications including fuel 6.1, Blackberry Maps, Blackberry Blackberry Traffic and Travel. For BBM 6.1, this update will bring Blackberry Tag Integration feature that allows you to menginvite your friends into your BBM list, with this feature you only need to put together your Blackberry equipped menginvite NFC for your friend. Blackberry Tag will also be easier for you to share your contact list and other special files.

In addition there is Universal Search is equipped with auto-suggest feature, this feature is able to filter the search results via Bing well to provide a list of websites that are relevant to the keywords you type. Features Wi-Fi Calling will only operate when there is a network that has support for this feature. Blackberry Curve 9360 and 9380 will also get an additional FM radio through this update.

RIM still has not given clear information about the Blackberry device 7 anything that will get this update. The good news is likely to continue with detailed announcement about the Blackberry OS 10 at Mobile World Congress in February that will come.

Reference: Gopego

Read Post | comments

Lampard rescues win at Wolves

Monday, January 2, 2012

Frank Lampard's dramatic 89th-minute goal eased the pressure on Andre Villas-Boas as Chelsea ended a four-game winless streak in the Premier League with a 2-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Brazilian midfielder Ramires struck in the 54th minute at Molineux to hand the Blues the lead, but Stephen Ward looked to have rescued a point for the home team with an 84th-minute equaliser. However, Lampard, whose first-half tackle on Adam Hammill earned him a booking, fired in from close range late on.

Having gained just three points from their previous four league matches, this victory was a significant boost to the Chelsea's UEFA Champions League hopes.

Daniel Sturridge and Didier Drogba were both notable absentees for Chelsea, who recalled Lampard, Fernando Torres and Jose Bosingwa following their weekend defeat by Aston Villa. Wolves manager Mick McCarthy made five changes from Saturday's team which drew with Bolton Wanderers and handed a debut to Emmanuel Frimpong, the January loan signing from Arsenal.

Chelsea began purposefully and had a chance to take the lead in the ninth minute when a defensive mix-up between Roger Johnson and Christophe Berra saw possession gifted to Torres, who slotted in Juan Mata only for his clipped effort to be cleared to safety by Richard Stearman.

More good defending by right-back Stearman saw him make a fine interception to deny Lampard after another threaded through-ball from Torres, while Ramires lashed into the side netting from a narrow angle in the 13th minute.

Lampard then received a caution for a lunge on Hammill, who himself soon earned a booking for a bodycheck on Ashley Cole.Karl Henry, Kevin Doyle and Oriol Romeu all quickly followed with yellow cards of their own as the contest descended into a scrappy affair.

It coincided with Wolves's best period of the first half and they were unfortunate when Roger Johnson headed a Hammill delivery against the post. Their best chance of the half came shortly afterwards when Ward rose unmarked to meet another Hammill set-piece only to head wide.

Both sides had opportunities before half-time with Bosingwa's shot acrobatically pushed away by Wayne Hennessey for a corner, which was headed over by John Terry, while Doyle dragged a shot past the post.

McCarthy responded by introducing English international Matt Jarvis in place of Anthony Forde after the break. The winger almost made an instant impact when his cross picked out the advancing Hammill, whose vicious strike was blocked by Terry.

Hammill threatened again when he curled over the crossbar from the edge of the area and it proved a costly miss as Chelsea took the lead. Juan Mata's corner fell to Ramires ten yards out and he spun Ward before firing a rising shot into the top-left corner. Chelsea's players headed straight for the visiting dug-out to celebrate with their under-pressure manager.

Mata twice threatened before he was substituted for Josh McEachran in the 83rd minute and within a minute Wolves were level with a goal out of nothing. Substitute Steven Fletcher attempted to strike Jarvis's lofted ball towards goal, yet instead, it skewed into the path of Ward who drove a low shot beyond Cech.

However, Lampard had the final say when he slid in to convert Cole's cross from close range with just a minute of normal time remaining.

Read Post | comments

Wenger : Robin can do the same in 2012

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has backed Robin van Persie to maintain his sparkling form in 2012. The Dutch striker was the Gunners' hero yet again yesterday as he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers at the Emirates Stadium, meaning he fell just one goal short of Alan Shearer's record of 36 goals in a calendar year.

His remarkable prolificacy has been one of the few bright spots in a frustrating year for Arsenal. And Wenger expects his captain to carry on scoring, providing he avoids the injury problems that has forced him to miss periods of previous campaigns.

"He can continue because he is the right age," Wenger said. "Touch wood, he can repeat the same amount of games, and nothing is impossible. I don't know why it changes at midnight at the end of the year."

QPR frustrated Wenger's team for an hour, but the winner came when Shaun Wright-Phillips lost the ball and Andrey Arshavin slipped it through for Van Persie to drill home.

"Robin scored the goal again that got us the points against a good QPR side," Wenger added. "They are one of the good sides we have seen this year."

Nothing is impossible. I don't know why it changes at midnight at the end of the year.

Arsene Wenger on the chances of Robin van Persie scoring as many goals in 2011

After a disappointing start to the season, Arsenal's defeat of QPR, coupled with Chelsea's loss at home to Aston Villa, enabled them to finish 2011 in the top four. And they were given more reason to celebrate as Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, second and third respectively, dropped points on the same day.

Wenger said: "I give credit to these players, they have been 17th and 18th in the league and no-one talked, they just focused and there is formidable spirit. We have still room for improvement but it is a good basis."

Wenger eyes left-back, Frimpong set for Wolves loan

Wenger will be looking for short-term cover at left-back after a calf injury for Thomas Vermaelen. "It is serious enough not to play [against Fulham] on Monday or at Leeds," revealed the Frenchman.

"We have three left-backs out. Francis Coquelin did well but he is a central midfielder. Kieran Gibbs is not too far, three weeks, but it is stupid to drop points because we don’t have a left-back."

Wenger also confirmed that Emmanuel Frimpong will be loaned to Wolverhampton Wanderers. "He needs practice because he needs the rhythm of games," he said. "Mick McCarthy told me he has a good chance to play.

"I have as well Coquelin who can play in this position. One of the two had to go and Frimpong had a good opportunity at Wolves."

Read Post | comments

Messi: I will win the World Cup

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Barcelona star Lionel Messi is convinced he can lift the FIFA World Cup™ with Argentina, the forward said in an interview with the Argentina Football Association.

Messi has won a host of top honours with Barça but has yet to taste major success with theAlbiceleste, who are without a top title since 1993 and flopped at the Copa America on home soil in July, with many observers puzzled as to why his club form rarely appears at international level.

"I still have this dream and that is to be a world champion and lift the Copa America with the national side. And I know I'll do it, I am convinced I shall," insisted Messi.

"I don't have to demonstrate anything to anybody. I would love to win a title with the national team but I am just another one in the group who wants to do the best for Argentine football, nothing more," he added.

Under new coach Alejandro Sabella, Argentina got off to a mediocre start in their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with an embarrassing loss to Venezuela, but their recent win over Colombia put them on a more even keel and they are now level on points with regional group leaders Uruguay, albeit having played a game more, and Venezuela.

"The group are doing fine. But we needed a win like that to strengthen ourselves. It has revitalised us," Messi said, recognising that "sometimes we don't quite get up to the mark either in terms of performance or the result. We are aware of that."

On the difference between playing for his country and Barça, with whom he has just won the FIFA Club World Cup, Messi said: "They are two different things. Barcelona are the best team in the world, even non-fans admit as much. That is the result of years of hard work with the same team-mates.

"It's more difficult with the national side and we've been through a lot of chopping and changing of coaches in recent years," he said pointedly. "But we are growing and I know we are going to achieve a lot."

Read Post | comments (1)

Java Script Coming Up "Fonts" Windows

Friday, December 2, 2011

Watchdog-script and Java language, Ki Demat Sokowetan, asserted that the Java script will soon be a "font" in the "windows" on the computer made by Microsoft. "Unesco has helped us to register the Javanese script in 'fonts 'computers to Unicode, "he told Reuters on the sidelines of Javanese Language Congress (KBJ) to-5 in Surabaya on Thursday.

On the sidelines of KBJ-5 followed by 600's of participants in Surabaya (27-30/11), he was grateful to Unicode as the official agency authorized to make the standard code on computer systems around the world, have recognized the Javanese script into the "fonts "computer.

"Now, we're just waiting for the realization and Microsoft has promised to incorporate the latest version of windows. If now windows7, yes maybe later windows8 or the latest version already exists," he said.

According to him, Unesco keen to help because the world considers Javanese script is needed to be rescued in order not to become extinct, because registration is a "font" is expected to be able to guarantee it.

"I do not know when to start, because it depends on Microsoft, but the information about two more years. If Microsoft is, of course Apple will follow," he explained.

As a software developer, he said, Microsoft and Apple are also very concerned with the Javanese script, because Indonesia is a dynamic computer market.

"In fact, mobile developers have also contacted me a year ago, because I've created the 'software' Language and Java script as a Unicode application is very easy to learn anyone," he said.

He said anyone who uses "software" hers will be able to write Java language appropriately and correctly, as long as he can use the program "Ms Word", because staying on the application font "Ajisaka".

"But, I have not been able to satisfy mobile developers as soon as possible, because I am still waiting for Microsoft applications and also launch the software," he explains.

Until now, he said, many foreign researchers friends ready to help launch "Java software" that in his country. "I still hope that the launch of Java software in Java yes, I am waiting for a response before the authorities," he said.

Read Post | comments

Neymar : I want to make history

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Whichever way you look at it, Neymar da Silva Santos Junior’s ascent to footballing stardom has been one of dizzying proportions. Not only is the Santos sensation fulfilling the potential he showed as an up-and-coming teenager, a task beyond many a gifted prospect, he has already kicked on to become a genuine phenomenon of world football.

Widely admired for his breathtaking performances for club and country, the 19-year-old has also attracted an ever-increasing army of loyal fans. Pursued by posses of photographers wherever he goes, from Santos to London and New York, Neymar has become as much of a hero to the boys who copy his distinctive hairstyle as the girls who scream his name.

A child not so very long ago, the smiling star can barely remember the last time he popped out for ice-cream without being stopped by well-wishers along the way. The price of success, some might say, but the question is: is it one Brazil’s latest footballing icon is willing to pay?

“It’s the life I’ve chosen,” said the prodigy himself, in an exclusive interview with FIFA.com. “And I didn’t just choose it - I begged God for it. All I’ve ever wanted was to play football, have a successful career, do my bit and earn recognition along the way. I’ve got everything I ever wanted, and it would be crazy of me to complain about anything now.

“I can’t sit there thinking that I can’t pop out to get an ice-cream,” he continued. “I just go out and live my life, and that means signing autographs, posing for photo after photo and taking abuse from people, because that’s part of it too. At the end of the day though, I’m just a human being, not an idol.”

Though he has learned to live with fame and expectation from a young age and has grown accustomed to life in the media spotlight, the fact remains that Neymar is still just a teenager, a shy young man as yet unaware of the significance of what he has achieved.

“To be honest it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” he explained, almost apologetically. “It’s still very new to me, having all these people chanting my name and asking me just to say ‘Hi” or flash them a smile. I’m getting used to it, though. I’ve been a fan myself, and I’ve stood there frozen with fear whenever players came by. Now it’s me on the other side and I’ve got a lot of respect for the fans.”

Adapting to changeAdored by his fans, known in Brazil as Neymarzetes, the Santos man has proved a good deal less popular with the country’s centre-halves and full-backs, who have been doing whatever they can to stop the fleet-footed ace.

“It can get on your nerves a bit,” he said in response to the rough treatment he sometimes gets on the pitch. “You beat one man and you get brought down. You beat another and you get brought down again. And what makes it even harder is that there’s more man-to-man marking here.”

His rapid promotion to the national team has given him exposure to defenders from other parts of the world, an education for which he is grateful: “Coming up against other players based in Europe has helped me a lot. The marking’s still tight but it’s different, more zonal.”

Messi’s a guy who’s already made history and will achieve a lot more yet. I’m just starting out and I’ve a lot to do to get to his level.

Neymar on Japan 2011 rival Lionel Messi

Having recently signed a contract extension that will keep him at Santos until 2014, Neymar has opted to continue honing his skills against Brazilian defences, although the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2011, arguably the biggest test he has faced to date, will provide him with more valuable international exposure.

O Peixe’s opening game at the tournament will be a semi-final against Auckland City, Monterrey or the Japanese champions. Their reward for winning that game will be a potential final against a side thatNeymar has no shortage of admiration for.

“Who doesn’t admire Barcelona?” asked the 2011 Copa Libertadores winner. “They sowed the seeds a long time back and now they’re reaping the reward. They deserve all the praise they get for the joy they’ve given to the fans and to all the people who like to see good football, which includes me.”

Future goalsThat potential decider in Yokohama could produce a tantalising duel between Neymar and Lionel Messi, a player who the Brazilian marvelled at on TV not so long ago but who now features alongside him on the 23-man shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d’Or.

The only South America-based player to appear on that list, Neymar has nothing but praise for the Argentinian entertainer, referring to him in the same glowing terms as a fan would: “I’ve always said that I still have a lot to learn. Messi’s a guy who’s already made history and will achieve a lot more yet. I’m just starting out and I’ve a lot to do to get to his level.”

A key component of the Santos team that will take on the world in Japan, the tyro also has important objectives ahead with A Seleção, the biggest of those being the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. Though his feet are on the ground, the 19-year-old recognises the need to keep on chalking up landmarks and is ready to shoulder his responsibilities for club and country.

“I’m working to stay on top of my game and perform for my country,” he said before targeting the biggest prize of all. “I want to make history with Brazil in 2014 and make my name in world football.”

Given the goals he has already achieved in his meteoric ascension, few would bet against Neymarmaking those objectives a reality.

Read Post | comments

Van Persie sends Arsenal through

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Robin van Persie continued his brilliant scoring form as Arsenal beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at Emirates Stadium to reach the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League again.

The Dutchman, who passed the 30-goal mark for 2011 with a double at Norwich on Saturday, repeated the feat tonight. He headed home following an excellent run and cross from Alex Song five minutes into the second half, and then swept home after a flick-on from a corner as the Gunners clinched top spot in Group F.

Arsenal were, though, made to work hard by an industrious German side, who lost playmaker Mario Goetze to injury after less than half an hour, and grabbed a stoppage-time consolation through Japan forward Shinji Kagawa. Jurgen Klopp's team were well organised, having come into the European tie on the back of a 1-0 league win at Bayern Munich, which cut the deficit at the top of the Bundesliga to just two points.

Cheered on by a vocal travelling support of some 8,000, Dortmund - unbeaten in six games, winning five - settled quickly. Poland striker Robert Lewandowski - a reported target for Liverpool - stretched the Arsenal backline, with Kagawa forcing a low save from Wojciech Szczesny.

It was nearly 20 minutes before the home side mounted a serious attack, with Aaron Ramsey's pass sending Theo Walcott away down the right. Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller was out quickly to make the block.

There was then a delay after Thomas Vermaelen and Sven Bender collided when they challenged for a 50-50 ball, with the Dortmund midfielder falling awkwardly and eventually needing to be carried off on a stretcher, replaced by Moritz Leitner.

Dortmund were forced into another unplanned change when much-hyped 19-year-old Goetze, who scored the goal that saw off Bayern and who has been linked with a £30million move to Arsenal, limped off and Croatian Ivan Perisic came on.

Walcott continued to be the main outlet down the right for Arsenal, and he was correctly flagged just offside from Van Persie's pass as he ran through to tap the ball into the net. The Englandman turned provider when he drilled in a low ball across the six-yard box, which Weidenfeller palmed away just as Van Persie looked set to pounce.

Dortmund continued where they had left off at the start of the second half, as Per Mertesacker hacked the ball behind for a corner. However, the Gunners had the lead after 49 minutes. Song charged down the left, before barging his way through three defenders with no little skill and chipping the ball towards the far post. Van Persie arrived on cue to send in a downwards header, which Weidenfeller got a hand to, but could not keep out as the frontman made it 16 goals for his season.

After Dortmund rallied, Arsenal had a great chance to double their lead as Ramsey's toe-poke put Gervinho clear. Although the Ivorian forward rounded the goalkeeper, he had allowed covering defender Mats Hummels enough time to knock the ball behind.

As the match entered the final 20 minutes, Gervinho was replaced by on-loan Chelsea midfielder Yossi Benayoun as Wenger looked to protect his side's lead. Walcott was also withdrawn in the latter stages, giving Abou Diaby the chance to make a welcome return from another frustrating spell on the sidelines.

Van Persie made sure of victory after 87 minutes when he swept home unmarked at the far post following Vermaelen's flick from a corner. Dortmund then gave their excellent supporters a consolation goal when Kagawa shot home from close range in stoppage time.

With Olympiacos winning in Marseille, the Germans mathematically still have something to play for in their final group match, but they most likely face the prospect of Europa League football at best. Arsenal, though, can head to Athens next month safe in the knowledge that qualification and crucially top seeding for the last 16 is assured - which means there will, for now at least, be no chance of another clash with the likes of Barcelona.

Read Post | comments

Ibrahimovic: We can still win it

Friday, November 25, 2011

AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic insists his club's belief they will go all the way in this season's UEFA Champions League remains unshaken despite last night's defeat to Barcelona. The Italians lost 3-2 at the San Siro but will progress to the knockout stages in second place from Group H behind holders Barça.

"We can go all the way in the Champions League," said Ibrahimovic, who scored against his former club. "We are a team that is growing. We are in good form and doing the necessary work to arrive at the level that Barcelona is."


Milan had held Barça to a 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp in their group opener but showed greater courage this time around. "We challenged Barça and we did all we could to win," Ibrahimovic said. "I thought it was a beautiful game. There were five goals and two teams who, despite having already qualified to the next round, gave their all."

Milan's last group game is at Plzen on 6 December.

Read Post | comments

Cech: Blame the players, not Villas-Boas

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Petr Cech has delivered a damning assessment of Chelsea's current failings, pinning the blame firmly on the players and absolving manager Andre Villas-Boas of responsibility. Goalkeeper Cech accused his team-mates of failing to defend aggressively enough during their current slump, of repeating the same mistakes over and over again, and of being persistently wasteful in front of goal, before demanding that last night's defeat at Bayer Leverkusen should herald the end of their malaise.

The 2-1 UEFA Champions League loss marked a new low in what has been Chelsea's worst start to a season since Roman Abramovich bought the club, piling the pressure on Villas-Boas. Having crashed out of the Premier League top four, the Blues are now in real danger of failing to reach the knockout phase of Europe's premier club competition, something unprecedented in the Abramovich era.

The billionaire Russian's patience with his new manager would be tested to the limit were Chelsea not to qualify for the last 16 but Cech insisted any wrath should be directed at his multi-million-pound squad, who are repeating the slump that cost Carlo Ancelotti his job last season.

He told the club's official website, www.chelseafc.com: "The manager is not on the pitch, we are on the pitch and we are making mistakes. He cannot do anything about individual mistakes while he is standing by the bench. So the players are to blame and we know it and we try to make things happen and change. It is not easy but we keep going."

We are on the pitch and we are making mistakes. [Andre Villas-Boas] cannot do anything about individual mistakes while he is standing by the bench.

Petr Cech, Chelsea goalkeeper

He added: "We have been talking recently about the same mistakes - concentration and little details when we don't go to clear the ball. I think we need to be much more aggressive in terms of defending.

"There are no excuses. We need to look first at ourselves and then we can criticise the other people because we put ourselves in the situation where we were 1-0 up and we could have killed the game off. Then there would be no discussion whatsoever about things that were happening in the game. We have to take it like that and make sure that this is the last time it happens."

Chelsea now need to beat Valencia or keep a clean sheet in their final Group E game to avoid being dragged into the UEFA Europa League. Cech said: "We have put ourselves in a difficult situation because we could have had qualification done a month ago but that is the way it is. We are one of the top teams in Europe and this is not a situation we want to be in. The reaction of the players is that we can show on the pitch that we really mean what we say."

While Chelsea skulked from the field at the BayArena, Leverkusen celebrated wildly with the home supporters after sealing their own qualification from Group E. Star midfielder Michael Ballack rubbed salt into his former club's wounds by declaring he knew the visitors were there for the taking, even when they led 1-0. 

"You could feel it on the pitch," he said. "Every minute, especially at the beginning of the match, they were not that strong as they normally are. Even when they were 1-0 ahead, they were not that safe or had the confidence they normally have and we felt this on the pitch."

Despite being jettisoned by Chelsea 18 months ago, Ballack took no pleasure in their or Villas-Boas' plight. "I'm not as happy as I normally am when you get to the next round," said the 35-year-old, who played under four different managers in his four years at Stamford Bridge.

"I played four years for Chelsea and I know how quickly it can go (wrong). I had a few managers in this time. I know it's always difficult for the coach. He's young, ambitious and is a good guy. He had success with his last team and at the moment it is not easy for everybody. But it is not just the coach, it is also the players. They have to get out of the situation all together."

Read Post | comments

Satellite images help species conservation

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Organisms living on small islands are particularly threatened by extinction. However, data are often lacking to objectively assess these threats. A team of German and British researchers used satellite imagery to assess the conservation status of endangered reptiles and amphibians of the Comoro archipelago in the Western Indian Ocean. The researchers used their results to point out which species are most threatened and to define priorities for future protected areas. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

A typical problem in species conservation efforts, particularly in tropical regions, is the lack of information on the extent of suitable habitat available for threatened species. "The analysis of satellite images allows us to precisely estimate the remaining extent of rainforest and other natural habitats," says Oliver Hawlitschek from the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology. This approach has rarely been used in species conservation, and this is the first time that it is applied to all species of a group in an entire country.

In addition to their satellite imagery analyses, the researchers conducted intensive field surveys in order to detect the habitat preferences of the reptiles. "We found that only 9% of the island area is still covered by natural forest, but many native species have adapted to habitats under human influence like orchards, plantations, and gardens," Hawlitschek says. "Those species which are dependent on the remaining natural habitats are the ones most threatened by extinction."

This research was conducted in collaboration with Bristol Conservation and Science Foundation's (BCSF) project in the Comoros. "This collaboration has provided an exciting piece of research for the Comoros. Our project will be using this knowledge and data in combination with our research on birds, reptiles, butterflies, and species of conservation importance to guide our conservation actions which are working towards protecting the remaining forests and threatened species of Anjouan," says Katie Green, Head of Ecological Research and Monitoring, BCSF.

The researchers chose the Comoros as a case study for their methodology because, in relation to large islands like neighbouring Madagascar or continental regions, these islands cover little area and are inhabited by a limited number of species. However, they hope that their methods will also be applied to other areas, where more threatened species are concerned. "Natural habitats are destroyed at a fast pace in many regions of the world," says Frank Glaw, herpetologist at the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology. "We therefore need tools to assess quickly and objectively where we have to set our priorities in species conservation, especially for species endemic to small islands which are particularly vulnerable to extinction."

Read Post | comments

Erratic, extreme day-to-day weather puts climate change in new light

  The first climate study to focus on variations in daily weather conditions has found that day-to-day weather has grown increasingly erratic and extreme, with significant fluctuations in sunshine and rainfall affecting more than a third of the planet. Princeton University researchers recently reported in the Journal of Climate that extremely sunny or cloudy days are more common than in the early 1980s, and that swings from thunderstorms to dry days rose considerably since the late 1990s. These swings could have consequences for ecosystem stability and the control of pests and diseases, as well as for industries such as agriculture and solar-energy production, all of which are vulnerable to inconsistent and extreme weather, the researchers noted.

The day-to-day variations also could affect what scientists can expect to see as Earth's climate changes, according to the researchers and other scientists familiar with the work. Constant fluctuations in severe conditions could alter how the atmosphere distributes heat and rainfall, as well as inhibit the ability of plants to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, possibly leading to higher levels of the greenhouse gas than currently accounted for.

Existing climate-change models have historically been evaluated against the average weather per month, an approach that hides variability, explained lead author David Medvigy, an assistant professor in the Department of Geosciences at Princeton. To conduct their analysis, he and co-author Claudie Beaulieu, a postdoctoral research fellow in Princeton's Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, used a recently developed computer program that has allowed climatologists to examine weather data on a daily level for the first time, Medvigy said.

"Monthly averages reflect a misty world that is a little rainy and cloudy every day. That is very different from the weather of our actual world, where some days are very sunny and dry," Medvigy said.

"Our work adds to what we know about climate change in the real world and places the whole problem of climate change in a new light," he said. "Nobody has looked for these daily changes on a global scale. We usually think of climate change as an increase in mean global temperature and potentially more extreme conditions -- there's practically no discussion of day-to-day variability."

The Princeton findings stress that analysis of erratic daily conditions such as frequent thunderstorms may in fact be crucial to truly understanding the factors shaping the climate and affecting the atmosphere, said William Rossow, a professor of earth system science and environmental engineering at the City College of New York.

"It's important to know what the daily extremes might do because we might care about that sooner," said Rossow, who also has studied weather variability. He had no role in the Princeton research but is familiar with it.

Rossow said existing climate-change models show light rain more frequently than they should and don't show extreme precipitation. "If it rains a little bit every day, the atmosphere may respond differently than if there's a really big rainstorm once every week. One of the things you find about rainstorms is that the really extreme ones are at a scale the atmosphere responds to," he said.

Although climate-change models predict future changes in weather as the planet warms, those calculations are hindered by a lack of representation of day-to-day patterns, Rossow said.

"If you don't know what role variability is playing now, you're not in a very strong position for making remarks about how it might change in the future," he said. "We're at a stage where we had better take a look at what this research is pointing out."

Medvigy and Beaulieu determined sunshine variation by analyzing fluctuations in solar radiation captured by the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project from 1984 to 2007. To gauge precipitation, the researchers used daily rainfall data from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project spanning 1997 to 2007.

Medvigy and Beaulieu found that during those respective periods, extremes in sunshine and rainfall became more common on a day-to-day basis. In hypothetical terms, Medvigy said, these findings would mean that a region that experienced the greatest increase in sunshine variability might have had partly cloudy conditions every day in 1984, but by 2007 the days would have been either sunny or heavily cloudy with no in-between. For rainfall, the uptick in variation he and Beaulieu observed could be thought of as an area experiencing a light mist every day in 1997, but within ten years the days came to increasingly fluctuate between dryness and downpour.

The researchers observed at least some increase in variability for 35 percent of the world during the time periods analyzed. Regions such as equatorial Africa and Asia experienced the greatest increase in the frequency of extreme conditions, with erratic shifts in weather occurring throughout the year. In more temperate regions such as the United States, day-to-day variability increased to a lesser degree and typically only seasonally. In the northeastern United States, for instance, sudden jumps from sunny to bleak days became more common during the winter from 1984 to 2007.

In the 23 years that sunshine variability rose for tropical Africa and Asia, those areas also showed a greater occurrence of towering thunderstorm clouds known as convective clouds, Medvigy said. Tropical areas that experienced more and more unbalanced levels of sunshine and rainfall witnessed an in-kind jump in convective cloud cover. Although the relationship between these clouds and weather variations needs more study, Medvigy said, the findings could indicate that the sunnier days accelerate the rate at which water evaporates then condenses in the atmosphere to form rain, thus producing heavy rain more often.

Storms have lasting effect on daily weather patterns

Although the most extreme weather variations in the study were observed in the tropics, spurts of extreme weather are global in reach, Rossow said. The atmosphere, he said, is a fluid, and when severe weather such as a convective-cloud thunderstorm "punches" it, the disturbance spreads around the world. Weather that increasingly leaps from one extreme condition to another in short periods of time, as the Princeton research suggests, affects the equilibrium of heat and rain worldwide, he said.

"Storms are violent and significant events -- while they are individually localized, their disturbance radiates," Rossow said.

"Wherever it's raining heavily, especially, or variably is where the atmosphere is being punched. As soon as it is punched somewhere in the tropics it starts waves that go all the way around the planet," he said. "So we can see waves coming off the west Pacific convection activity and going all the way around the planet in the tropical band. The atmosphere also has the job of moving heat from the equator to the poles, and storms are the source of heat to the atmosphere, so if a storm's location or its timing or its seasonality is altered, that's going to change how the circulation responds."

These sweeping atmospheric changes can interact with local conditions such as temperature and topography to skew regular weather patterns, Rossow said.

"Signals end up going over the whole globe, and whether they're important in a particular place or not depends on what else is happening," he said. "But you can think of storms as being the disturbances in an otherwise smooth flow. That's why this is a climate issue even though we're talking about daily variability in specific locations."

The impact of these fluctuations on natural and humanmade systems could be as substantial as the fallout predicted from rises in Earth's average temperature, Medvigy said. Inconsistent sunshine could impair the effectiveness of solar-energy production and -- with fluctuating rainfall also included -- harm agriculture, he said. Wetter, hotter conditions also breed disease and parasites such as mosquitoes, particularly in tropical areas, he said.

On a larger scale, wild shifts in day-to-day conditions would diminish the ability of trees and plants to remove carbon from the atmosphere, Medvigy said. In 2010, he and Harvard University researchers reported in the journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that erratic rain and sunlight impair photosynthesis. That study concluded that this effect upsets the structure of ecosystems, as certain plants and trees -- particularly broad-leafed trees more than conifers -- adapt better than others.

In the context of the current study, Medvigy said, the impact of variability on photosynthesis could mean that more carbon will remain in the atmosphere than climate models currently anticipate, considering that the models factor in normal plant-based carbon absorption. Moreover, if the meteorological tumult he and Beaulieu observed is caused by greenhouse gases, these fluctuations could become self-perpetuating by increasingly trapping the gases that agitated weather patterns in the first place.

"We have not yet looked for direct ties between weather variability and increased carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere, but I would not be surprised if they are connected in some way," Medvigy said.

"Increases in variability diminish the efficiency with which plants and trees remove carbon dioxide from the air," he said. "All of a sudden, the land and the atmosphere are no longer in balance, and plants cannot absorb levels of carbon dioxide proportional to the concentrations in the environment. That will affect everybody."

The study was published online Oct. 14 by the Journal of Climate, and was funded by grants from the Princeton Carbon Mitigation Initiative and the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies.

Read Post | comments