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
Monitoring seawater reveals ocean acidification risks to Alaskan shellfish hatchery Monitoring seawater reveals ocean acidification risks to Alaskan shellfish hatchery NOAA, University of Alaska collaborate with shellfish hatchery New collaborative research between NOAA, University of Alaska and an Alaskan shellfish hatchery shows that ocean acidification may make it difficult for Alaskan coastal waters to support shellfish hatcheries by 2040 unless costly mitigation efforts are installed to modify seawater used in the hatcheries. Read more
NOAA Scientists Provide Expertise for the $2 Million Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE NOAA Scientists Provide Expertise for the $2 Million Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE We caught up recently with Remy Okazaki at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle. Remy is a chemist with the University of Washington Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO) working with PMEL’s carbon team on the $2 million Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE, a global competition to advance ocean pH sensing technology to better understand, measure and address ocean acidification. On May 14, XPRIZE will begin the final phase of testing in deep water off the northern coast of Oahu, Hawaii, aboard the R/V Kilo Moana research vessel. Read more
NOAA to explore depths of Caribbean Sea NOAA to explore depths of Caribbean Sea Public can watch seafloor discoveries live online from April 10 to 30 Beginning April 10, scientists aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer will begin a series of 20 dives to investigate previously unseen depths of the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean – and the public can follow along online. During dives that are expected to go as deep as 3.7 miles, a sophisticated unmanned submarine, called a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, will broadcast live video from the seafloor, allowing anyone with Internet access to watch the expedition as it unfolds. Read more
Sea Grant agent works with Arctic communities to study bowhead whales Sea Grant agent works with Arctic communities to study bowhead whales Integrating science and cultural practices to tackle emerging issues In Alaska’s Bering Strait and Arctic regions, there are dozens of Alaskan Native tribes, many of whom depend on the marine environment for food, as they have in some cases for thousands of years. In this world more foreign to most Americans than many other countries (and bigger than many too) works exactly one NOAA Oceanic & Atmospheric Research Sea Grant extension agent: Gay Sheffield. Read more
Research identifies hot spots for addressing ocean acidification risks to US shellfisheries Research identifies hot spots for addressing ocean acidification risks to US shellfisheries NOAA scientist explains value of first nationwide shellfish risk assessment for adaptation and resilience planning We caught up with Dwight Gledhill, deputy director of NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program, and one of the 17 authors of a perspective published today in Nature Climate Change on vulnerability of U.S. shellfisheries 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