NOAA names new leader for NOAA's National Sea Grant College Program NOAA names new leader for NOAA's National Sea Grant College Program Jonathan Pennock has led Sea Grant Program in New Hampshire for last decade NOAA today announced that Jonathan R. Pennock, Ph.D., the director of New Hampshire Sea Grant and a longtime coastal scientist, will be the new leader of NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program. Read more
West Coast prepares for ‘double whammy’ threat to ocean health West Coast prepares for ‘double whammy’ threat to ocean health New action plan will help coastal businesses boost their resilience to future changes Rising levels of acidity in the ocean and growing areas of low-oxygen waters are a “double whammy” threat for fishing industries, ecosystems and economies along the U.S. West Coast and Canada’s British Columbia, according to new report by a panel of experts that includes NOAA scientists. Read more
Atlantic Canyons study team to receive partnership award Atlantic Canyons study team to receive partnership award National Oceanographic Partnership Program to honor NOAA, BOEM, USGS and 14 other organizations The National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) will present the 2015 Excellence in Partnering Award to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the team that conceived, managed and conducted the Atlantic Canyons: Pathways to the Abyss project. The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, February 23, from 1:00–2:30 p.m. at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans during Ocean Sciences 2016, along with a screening of the 23-minute HD video produced as part of the project. Read more
Warming ocean may bring major changes for U.S. northeast fish species Warming ocean may bring major changes for U.S. northeast fish species NOAA Fisheries and NOAA Research scientists collaborate on vulnerability assessment NOAA scientists have released the first multispecies assessment of just how vulnerable U.S. marine fish and invertebrate species are to the effects of climate change. The study examined 82 species that occur off the Northeastern U.S., where ocean warming is occurring rapidly. Researchers found that most species evaluated will be affected, and that some are likely to be more resilient to changing ocean conditions than others. The study appears in PLOS ONE, an online scholarly science journal. 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-led research identifies areas of global ocean most vulnerable to ocean acidification NOAA-led research identifies areas of global ocean most vulnerable to ocean acidification New NOAA-led research maps the distribution of aragonite saturation state in both surface and subsurface waters of the global ocean and provides further evidence that ocean acidification is happening on a global scale. The study identifies the Arctic and Antarctic oceans, and the upwelling ocean waters off the west coasts of North America, South America and Africa as regions that are especially vulnerable to ocean acidification. Read more
Aviation is responsible for 3.5 percent of climate change, study finds 3Sep2020 Read more The study evaluated all of the aviation industry’s contributing factors to climate change, including emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide, and the effect of contrails and contrail cirrus – short-lived clouds created in jet engine exhaust plumes at aircraft cruise altitudes that reflect sunlight during the day and trap heat trying to escape at night. Read more
Lawns provide surprising contribution to L.A. Basin’s carbon emissions 12Oct2020 Read more Understanding the biologic contribution of CO2 to megacities' overall carbon emissions will be important for designing and evaluating mitigation strategies. Read more
NOAA's miniature aerosol instrument delivered to space 8Oct2020 Read more A miniaturized aerosol spectrometer developed by scientists in NOAA’s Chemical Sciences Labotatory will be one of several insttuments making sure air in the living spaces of the International Space Station stays safe. Read more
Natural disaster plans may aid businesses’ pandemic response 19Oct2020 Read more The social and economic impacts of COVID-19 have battered small- and medium-sized enterprises, putting millions of jobs in the U.S. at risk. And a year rife with natural disasters has not done the many already struggling businesses any favors. Read more
Monitoring Change in the Arctic 25Sep2020 Read more While NOAA has had to cancel many of its planned research surveys in Alaska, it has been able to conduct a number of scaled-back research surveys in 2020. One such survey that will be finishing up this week is in the Arctic and was conducted on board NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson to collect critical data supporting a long time series involving many scientific partners. Read more