New study: Dust, warming portend dry future for the Colorado River New study: Dust, warming portend dry future for the Colorado River Land management efforts could help protect snowpacks, water from a warmer future Reducing the amount of desert dust swept onto snowy Rocky Mountain peaks could help Western water managers deal with the challenges of a warmer future, according to a new study led by researchers at NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder. Read more
New study: Rising temperatures challenge Salt Lake City’s water supply New study: Rising temperatures challenge Salt Lake City’s water supply Sensitivity study helps the city, others in the Intermountain West, plan for the future In an example of the challenges water-strapped Western cities will face in a warming world, new research shows that every degree Fahrenheit of warming in the Salt Lake City region could mean a 1.8 to 6.5 percent drop in the annual flow of streams that provide water to the city. Read more
NOAA Sea Grant awards $1.8 million to Sandy-hit states to better understand public response to coastal storm threats NOAA Sea Grant awards $1.8 million to Sandy-hit states to better understand public response to coastal storm threats NOAA Sea Grant this month announced $1.8 million in grant awards to Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey to enhance the American public’s ability to effectively plan, prepare and respond to natural disasters when they strike—particularly for major storms like Sandy, which resulted in 140 fatalities last year. Read more
Encouraging information from this year’s observations of the Antarctic ozone hole Encouraging information from this year’s observations of the Antarctic ozone hole For nearly 50 years, scientists with NOAA have launched high-altitude balloons from the South Pole, to understand why a hole was forming in the protective ozone layer high in the atmosphere. Now, organizations around the world track the infamous ozone hole through these ballon-sondes, satellite measurements and ground instruments. Read more
Water vapor in the upper atmosphere amplifies global warming, says new study Water vapor in the upper atmosphere amplifies global warming, says new study A new study shows that water vapor high in the sky and the temperature at the Earth’s surface are linked in a “feedback loop” that further warms our climate. Published today, this study gives the first estimate of the size of the feedback’s effect, which may help researchers improve modeling to better understand climate change. Read more
NOAA, Aquarium of the Pacific report on the future of American ocean exploration NOAA, Aquarium of the Pacific report on the future of American ocean exploration More than 100 explorers, scientists, government officials, academics, and industry leaders who attended the inaugural ‘Ocean Exploration 2020: A National Forum,’ in July, have proposed the future of American ocean exploration. NOAA and the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif., hosted the Forum, and released a report this week examining the future of ocean exploration through a coordinated federal effort involving multiple agencies in collaboration with the private sector. 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