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
Hurricane hunter lands at NOAA's Boulder labs 17Oct2018 Read more The former Chief of Operations at the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center in Lakeland, Florida, pilot and NOAA Corps CAPT Catherine A. Martin is now the Executive Director of NOAA Boulder Laboratories. Read more
Drifting buoys track Hurricane Michael in the Gulf of Mexico 12Oct2018 Read more On Monday night, October 8, 2018, 10 drifting buoys were thrown from the hatch of a U.S. Air Force Hurricane Hunter into the Gulf of Mexico so they could be in front of Hurricane Michael to help with hurricane forecasting. Read more
NOAA funding research effort to develop global aerosol map 19Sep2018 Read more The University of Colorado has been awarded funding for development of an improved global map of smoke, dust and other aerosol particles. Read more
Ozone hole modest despite conditions ripe for depletion 2Nov2018 Read more Weather conditions were ripe for a big ozone hole this year. But declining levels of ozone-depleting chemicals kept it to near-average size. Read more
Small unmanned aircraft flies into rapidly intensifying Hurricane Michael 15Oct2018 Read more NOAA scientists flew multiple missions into Hurricane Michael in the days before landfall, closely observing the rapid intensification of the storm. Their tools included a small unmanned aircraft, called the Coyote, which flew into the strongest winds of the eyewall as the storm intensified to a category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Read more