NOAA Research News

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.

The 2017 Northern Plains drought hit hard and without warning, desiccating pastures, rangelands and wheat, sparking massive wildfires, and causing widespread livestock sell-offs across the Dakotas, northeastern Montana and the Canadian Prairies. While it wasn't the region's worst drought, it caused $2.6 billion in losses. A new study shows droughts like this are 20% more likely due to climate change. 

Editor’s note: This story was adapted from the XPrize news release issued on May 31, 2019.

XPRIZE, the global leader in designing and operating incentive competitions to solve humanity’s grand challenges, announced winners on May 31, in the $7M Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE and the $1 million NOAA Bonus prize as part of the global competition to advance ocean technologies for rapid, unmanned and high-resolution ocean exploration and discovery.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today announced it has selected Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, to host NOAA’s cooperative institute focused on developing new satellite products and models designed to improve weather and climate prediction.

Record levels of greenhouse gas pollution continued to increase humanity’s impact on the atmosphere’s heat-trapping capacity during 2018, according to a yearly analysis released by NOAA scientists today.

NOAA and partners have launched a new buoy in Fagatele Bay within NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa to measure the amount of carbon dioxide in the waters around a vibrant tropical coral reef ecosystem.