NOAA selects University of Colorado-Boulder to lead Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences NOAA selects University of Colorado-Boulder to lead Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences NOAA has selected the University of Colorado-Boulder to continue a federal/academic partnership that extends NOAA’s ability to study climate change, improve weather models, and better predict how solar storms can disrupt communication and navigation technologies. Read more
New NOAA awards to fund studies of weather warnings, social media, Internet tools and public response New NOAA awards to fund studies of weather warnings, social media, Internet tools and public response How do people sift important weather information out of the incessant buzz of 24/7 social media, text messages, smart phone alerts, and overflowing email inboxes? Four new research awards funded by NOAA seek to answer this question. Read more
Magnifying Smoke Magnifying Smoke NOAA instrument uncovers first direct evidence of “lensing,” other heat-trapping effects of wildfire smoke particles A new study directly measures the heat-trapping effect of wildfires during an actual wildfire that burned near Boulder, Colo., in 2010. Read more
NOAA researchers studying how cities influence approaching thunderstorms NOAA researchers studying how cities influence approaching thunderstorms Do urban areas have an influence on incoming storm systems? NOAA's National Severe Storms Lab is trying to find out. Read more
Joint BOEM, NOAA, USGS mission discovers record depth for Lophelia coral on Gulf of Mexico energy platforms Joint BOEM, NOAA, USGS mission discovers record depth for Lophelia coral on Gulf of Mexico energy platforms A team of federal and university scientists on a 10-day expedition in the Gulf of Mexico has discovered Lophelia coral growing deeper than previously seen anywhere in the Gulf. Read more
NOAA, partners find increase in airborne ethanol NOAA, partners find increase in airborne ethanol Changes in the composition of transportation fuels are showing up in the atmosphere Ethanol, now used commonly in U.S. transportation fuels, is turning up in urban air at more than six times the levels measured a decade ago, according to a new study by a team of NOAA researchers and colleagues. Read more
Rise of carbon dioxide unabated 4Jun2020 Read more Atmospheric carbon dioxide measured at Mauna Loa Observatory reached a seasonal peak of 417.1 parts per million for 2020 in May, the highest monthly reading ever recorded. Monthly CO2 values at Mauna Loa first breached the 400 ppm threshold in 2014, and are now at levels not experienced by the atmosphere in several million years. Read more
Dangerous humid heat extremes occurring decades before expected 8May2020 Read more Climate models project that combinations of heat and humidity could reach deadly thresholds for anyone spending several hours outdoors by the end of the 21st century. However, new NOAA-supported research says these extremes are already happening — decades before anticipated — due to global warming to date. Read more
NOAA unveils 10-year roadmap for tackling ocean, Great Lakes acidification 29Jul2020 Read more Read more
Warming influence of greenhouse gases continues to rise, NOAA finds 28May2020 Read more NOAA’s Annual Greenhouse Gas Index tracks the concentrations of greenhouse gases being added to the atmosphere principally from human-caused emissions. The AGGI then calculates the heat being added to Earth's atmosphere and oceans as a result. Read more
NOAA teams with United Nations to create locust-tracking application 7May2020 Read more NOAA’s powerful air quality model used to track pollution from wildfires, volcanoes and industrial accidents is now being used to help warn communities across Africa and Asia of what have been called the worst locust swarms in a quarter century. Read more