Arctic Report Card: Climate change transforming Arctic into ‘dramatically different state’ Arctic Report Card: Climate change transforming Arctic into ‘dramatically different state’ NOAA’s 2021 Arctic Report Card documents the numerous ways that climate change continues to fundamentally alter this once reliably-frozen region, as increasing heat and the loss of ice drive its transformation into a warmer, less frozen and more uncertain future. Read more
NOAA report highlights 2020 climate, weather, ocean research NOAA report highlights 2020 climate, weather, ocean research Launching uncrewed systems to monitor climate and ecosystem changes in the U.S. Arctic, sequencing the genome for endangered marine species, and improving weather forecasts with advances in regional models — these are just a few of NOAA’s scientific achievements in 2020. The newly released 2020 NOAA Science Report highlights the ways these accomplishments — and many more — provide the foundation for vital services that Americans use every day. Read more
Frigid Arctic air outbreaks may be predictable, new research suggests Frigid Arctic air outbreaks may be predictable, new research suggests Known for precipitating outbreaks of Arctic air, stratospheric events in polar regions often cause other kinds of extreme weather. Since the stratosphere takes a long time to recover after these events, scientists may be able to improve predictability of extreme weather weeks ahead of time. Read more
Congress reauthorizes law supporting partnerships to advance ocean science Congress reauthorizes law supporting partnerships to advance ocean science Congress voted on January 1, 2021 to reauthorize and strengthen the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, a 23-year old program created by Congress to facilitate ocean-related partnerships between federal agencies, academia and industry to advance ocean science research and education.The reauthorization passed Congress as an amendment included in Section 1055 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. Read more
Sea ice loss and extreme wildfires mark another year of Arctic change Sea ice loss and extreme wildfires mark another year of Arctic change NOAA’s 15th Arctic Report Card catalogs for 2020 the numerous ways that climate change continues to disrupt the polar region, with second-highest air temperatures and second-lowest summer sea ice driving a cascade of impacts. Read more
Monitoring Change in the Arctic Monitoring Change in the Arctic Expedition to the U.S. Arctic keeps in place some vital research While NOAA has had to cancel many of its planned research surveys in Alaska, it has been able to conduct a number of scaled-back research surveys in 2020. One such survey that will be finishing up this week is in the Arctic and was conducted on board NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson to collect critical data supporting a long time series involving many scientific partners. Read more
Atmospheric carbon dioxide rebounds as global pollution rates approach pre-Covid levels 5Nov2021 Read more Read more
Craig N. McLean, director of NOAA Research, to retire 18Nov2021 Read more Craig N. McLean, assistant administrator of NOAA Research, who began his NOAA career as a uniformed officer in the NOAA Corps four decades ago and rose to lead the agency’s research division and become a champion of ocean exploration, scientific integrity and science diplomacy, has announced his plan to retire from public service on April 1, 2022. Read more
Meet Ko Barrett: NOAA's senior advisor for climate and IPCC vice-chair 1Nov2021 Read more At the end of October, a small team of NOAA experts traveled to Glasgow, Scotland to attend the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), an international summit aimed at accelerating climate action across the globe. Read more
Southern Ocean confirmed as strong carbon dioxide sink 3Dec2021 Read more A new study published this week in the journal Science estimates the Southern Ocean absorbs 550 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere per year, confirming its role as a significant carbon sink. Read more
NOAA Research's top 5 stories from 2021 14Dec2021 Read more Spectacular footage from inside a hurricane; a major ocean mapping milestone; new insights on the continued impacts of climate change, and much more -- 2021 was a busy year for NOAA Research. As the year draws to a close, we’re taking a look back at a few of our biggest research stories of the last 12 months. Read more