An artistic tribute to a climate science legacy An artistic tribute to a climate science legacy Renowned climate scientist, Dr. Syukuro Manabe, and his pioneering work at GFDL become the subject of an art installation at a Paris train station for COP21. Read more
Great Lakes water levels at or above average for next 6 months Great Lakes water levels at or above average for next 6 months NOAA and Army Corps issue forecast, consider El Niño potential impact Scientists from NOAA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Environment Canada have issued a six-month forecast for water levels to be at or above average on Lake Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie into spring of 2016. Lake Ontario water levels are expected to remain close to monthly averages. However, the impacts of the anticipated strong El Niño and other atmospheric anomalies on the forecast are difficult to predict. Read more
HFC greenhouse gases: a tale of two (or more) futures HFC greenhouse gases: a tale of two (or more) futures New research projects greenhouse effect from substances that replaced ozone-depleting products A new paper appearing online in Atmospheric Environment coauthored by researchers at NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory looked at the climate implications of various proposals for future HFC use that are being discussed this week under the United Nations Montreal Protocol, the global agreement that protects the ozone layer. Read more
Annual Antarctic ozone hole larger and formed later in 2015 Annual Antarctic ozone hole larger and formed later in 2015 The 2015 Antarctic ozone hole area was larger and formed later than in recent years, according to scientists from NOAA and NASA. On Oct. 2, 2015, the ozone hole expanded to its peak of 28.2 million square kilometers (10.9 million square miles), an area larger than the continent of North America. Throughout October, the hole remained large and set many area daily records. Read more
Warming waters a major factor in Gulf of Maine cod collapse Warming waters a major factor in Gulf of Maine cod collapse New study shows how warming complicates fisheries management For centuries, cod was the backbone of New England’s fisheries and a key species in the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. Today, cod stocks in the gulf are on the verge of collapse, hovering at 3-4 percent of sustainable levels. Even setting tighter limits on fishing has failed to slow this rapid decline. Now a new report in Science concludes that rapid warming of Gulf of Maine waters— warming in the last decade faster than in 99 percent of the global ocean —has reduced the capacity of cod to rebound from overfishing, leading to collapse. Read more
NOAA’s Ko Barrett elected vice chair of international climate science panel NOAA’s Ko Barrett elected vice chair of international climate science panel Ko Barrett (left) joins Youba Sokana of Mali and Thelma Krug as IPCC vice chairs The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) elected NOAA’s Ko Barrett to serve as one of three vice chairs for the international body. The IPCC was created to review and assess the most recent scientific, technical, and socio-economic information produced worldwide that is relevant to the understanding of climate change. Read more
NOAA-Funded Expedition Captures Rare Footage of Giant Squid in the Gulf of Mexico 21Jun2019 Read more Read more
New NOAA app brings earth and space animations to your phone 2Aug2019 Read more NOAA's SOS Explorer Mobile, an app for personal mobile devices, tells earth science stories by playing visually stunning movies on a virtual globe. Read more
New engine is driving NOAA’s flagship weather forecast model 12Jun2019 Read more As NOAA launches a major upgrade of its flagship weather forecast model today, an important part is the Global Forecast System’s new dynamical core. The story of how scientists developed the dynamical core or engine for the model is a view into how scientific invention works. Read more
Carbon dioxide levels hit record peak in May 4Jun2019 Read more Carbon dioxide levels reached the highest seasonal peak recorded in 61 years of observations at NOAA's Mauna Loa observatory. This the seventh consecutive year of steep global increases in concentrations of this important greenhouse gas pollutant. Read more
Airborne research shows East Coast cities emitting twice as much methane as estimated 22Jul2019 Read more A new NOAA and University of Michigan study using an instrumented airplane has found unexpectedly large emissions over five major cities along the East Coast - twice the total amount of methane and almost 10 times the amount estimated from natural gas. Read more