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 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’s Ko Barrett elected vice chair of international climate science panel NOAA’s Ko Barrett elected vice chair of international climate science panel Ko Barrett (left) joins Youba Sokana of Mali and Thelma Krug as IPCC vice chairs The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) elected NOAA’s Ko Barrett to serve as one of three vice chairs for the international body. The IPCC was created to review and assess the most recent scientific, technical, and socio-economic information produced worldwide that is relevant to the understanding of climate change. 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
NOAA's Science On a Sphere® animations coming to your desktop NOAA's Science On a Sphere® animations coming to your desktop NOAA releases free downloadable flat screen program, great for students, teachers and science lovers (September 1) Today NOAA released a free, downloadable flat screen version of its popular Science On a Sphere® (SOS), SOS ExplorerTM. This new way to display the dynamics of Earth’s weather and climate, plate tectonics and more will help teachers bring these stunning science visualizations, usually found at museums and science centers, into the classroom, where students can learn by exploring. Read more
Dungeness crab larvae already showing effects of coastal acidification 23Jan2020 Read more Analysis of larval crab sampled from coastal waters identified examples of damage to the outer shell of numerous larval Dungeness crabs, as well as the loss of hair-like sensory structures crabs use to orient themselves to their surroundings. Read more
NOAA launches major field campaign to improve weather and climate prediction 7Jan2020 Read more Picture a calm, sunny day at a tropical beach. You look out at the ocean and in the distance a flotilla of small white clouds sails close to the waves. It’s ideal weather and typical of many days in the tropical Atlantic. However, scientists don’t fully understand how these ubiquitous clouds (a type of “shallow convective cloud”) form and impact the ocean, and it represents one of the largest uncertainties in predicting climate change. Read more
Wave gliders, ocean drifters and drones to help international researchers solve key climate question 23Jan2020 Read more American and European scientists are deploying dozens of autonomous and remotely-piloted instrument platforms to capture simultaneous observations of the lower atmosphere and the upper ocean offshore of Barbados with unprecedented detail. Read more
NOAA teams up with Viking to conduct and share science aboard new Great Lakes expedition voyages 16Jan2020 Read more NOAA plans to expand its research in the Great Lakes region as the agency teams up with the travel company Viking to carry scientists aboard new expedition voyages planned to begin in 2022. Read more