NOAA scientists set sail on Coast Guard icebreaker to measure change in the Arctic NOAA scientists set sail on Coast Guard icebreaker to measure change in the Arctic On Friday, August 25, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy will sail from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, with a team of NOAA scientists and collaborators on a 22-day cruise to study environmental change in the western Arctic Ocean. Read more
New robotic lab tracking toxicity of Lake Erie algal bloom New robotic lab tracking toxicity of Lake Erie algal bloom Editor's note: This story and video were shared with NOAA by the University of Michigan. Please go online to read the more detailed article by Jim Erickson, senior public relations representative at UMichigan. ANN ARBOR—A new research tool to safeguard drinking water is now keeping a watchful eye on Lake Erie. This week, a robotic lake-bottom laboratory began tracking the levels of dangerous toxins produced by cyanobacteria that bloom each summer in the lake's western basin. Read more
The spirit of collaboration aboard Gulf of Mexico cruise The spirit of collaboration aboard Gulf of Mexico cruise This summer, NOAA and partner scientists will conduct their most collaborative ocean acidification sampling of the Gulf of Mexico yet. Set to depart today, July 18 th, the Gulf of Mexico Ecosystems and Carbon Cruise (GOMECC-3) will travel through international waters with 24 scientists from the United States, Mexico and Cuba on board. Read more
New model reveals how ocean acidification challenges tiny sea snails off U.S. West Coast New model reveals how ocean acidification challenges tiny sea snails off U.S. West Coast A tiny sea snail, sometimes called a sea butterfly because of how it flutters about traveling the ocean currents, is part of the diet for such valuable fish as salmon and cod off the U.S West Coast. A new study models the journey of this delicate plankton from offshore to nearshore waters, describing how changing ocean chemistry along this journey affects their condition. Read more
Possible new threat to Earth’s ozone layer Possible new threat to Earth’s ozone layer The Montreal Protocol has been hailed for controlling chlorine-based chemicals that created a vast hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. But new research by British and American scientists suggest a chemical not controlled by the international treaty poses a potential risk to the Earth’s protective ozone layer. Read more
Meet Désirée Tommasi: Pioneer in new field of fish forecasting Meet Désirée Tommasi: Pioneer in new field of fish forecasting Long known for weather forecasting and climate prediction, NOAA is pioneering a new type of forecasting -- fish forecasting. Meet Désirée Tommasi, Ph.D., a young oceanographer working at NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, N.J. who has just published research about forecasting the Pacific sardine, one of the nation’s most storied fish, made famous by John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row. 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