Why NOAA tracks water levels in the Great Lakes Why NOAA tracks water levels in the Great Lakes Millions of people rely on the Great Lakes for recreation, industry, and drinking water, and changing water levels can have positive or negative impacts on industries like tourism and transportation in the region. Read more
NOAA's Experimental Lake Erie Hypoxia Forecast is even more useful than anticipated NOAA's Experimental Lake Erie Hypoxia Forecast is even more useful than anticipated Now in its fifth year, this forecast model has turned out to serve additional purposes that NOAA’s scientists hadn’t even considered – including maintaining sustainable fisheries and solving a smelly mystery! Read more
5 ways NOAA scientists are answering big questions about climate change 5 ways NOAA scientists are answering big questions about climate change From warmer ocean temperatures to longer and more intense droughts and heat waves, climate change is affecting our entire planet. Scientists at NOAA have long worked to track, understand and predict how climate change is progressing and impacting ecosystems, communities and economies. 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
New study shows promise of forecasting meteotsunamis New study shows promise of forecasting meteotsunamis Photographer's images aid research on rare Great Lakes wave On the afternoon of April 13, 2018, a large wave of water surged across Lake Michigan and flooded the shores of the picturesque beach town of Ludington, Michigan, damaging homes and boat docks, and flooding intake pipes. Thanks to a local citizen’s photos and other data, NOAA scientists reconstructed the event in models and determined this was the first ever documented meteotsunami in the Great Lakes caused by an atmospheric inertia-gravity wave. Read more
Climate-driven shifts in deep Lake Michigan water temperatures signal the loss of winter Climate-driven shifts in deep Lake Michigan water temperatures signal the loss of winter Changes foreshadow impacts on lake ecosystems, fisheries Climate change is causing significant impacts on the Great Lakes and the surrounding region. As the largest surface freshwater system in the world, the Great Lakes have an enormous impact, seen and unseen, on the more than 34 million people who live within their collective basin. Because of their unique response to environmental conditions, Earth’s large lakes are considered by scientists as key sentinels of climate change. A long-term study published in Nature Communications today from NOAA reveals a warming trend in deepwater temperatures that foreshadows profound ecological change on the horizon. While less visible than the loss in ice cover and increasing lake surface temperatures, this latest index of climate change adds to the growing evidence of climate change impacts in the region. Read more
Study: Reducing human-caused air pollution in North America & Europe brings surprise result: more hurricanes 11May2022 Read more A new NOAA study published today in the journal Science Advances about four decades of tropical cyclones reveals the surprising result that reducing particulate air pollution in Europe and North America has contributed to an increase in the number of tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic basin and a decrease in the number of these storms in the Southern Hemisphere. The study also found that the growth of particulate pollution in Asia has contributed to fewer tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific basin. Read more
Greenhouse gas pollution trapped 49% more heat in 2021 than in 1990, NOAA finds 23May2022 Read more The Annual Greenhouse Gas Index serves as a measure of global society's progress - or lack of progress - in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Read more
Projected increase in space travel may damage ozone layer 21Jun2022 Read more Scientists from NOAA and The Aerospace Corp. modeled the climate response of the stratosphere to increased future emissions of black carbon from rockets burning kerosene fuel. Read more
NOAA’s observations help EPA track emissions of a family of greenhouse gases 22Apr2022 Read more NOAA atmospheric measurements are helping to support a national inventory of emissions from an important family of greenhouse gases. Read more
NOAA wind forecasts result in $150 million in energy savings every year 18May2022 Read more Accurate, high resolution weather forecasts equate to cost savings across many different industries, but it is not always clear exactly what those cost savings are. Read more