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
Recording climate change from the top of the world Recording climate change from the top of the world Barrow reports record-breaking 2015 Spring warming Spring came early this year, breaking several records at the top of the world in Barrow, Alaska, according to a new report that combines observations from NOAA, the North Slope Borough and a scientist who has tracked an Arctic bird for the last four decades. Read more
New study shows Arctic Ocean rapidly becoming more corrosive to marine species New study shows Arctic Ocean rapidly becoming more corrosive to marine species Chukchi and Beaufort Seas could become less hospitable to shelled animals by 2030 New research by NOAA, University of Alaska, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the journal Oceanography shows that surface waters of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas could reach levels of acidity that threaten the ability of animals to build and maintain their shells by 2030, with the Bering Sea reaching this level of acidity by 2044. Read more
Sailing for scientific success in the Bering Sea Sailing for scientific success in the Bering Sea PMEL Saildrones successfully complete first test mission in cold waters Testing new scientific technology is a risky business. In the case of two Saildrones released in the eastern Bering Sea over a month ago, the risk has led to big rewards. Equipped with a suite of scientific sensors, the unmanned surface vehicles are performing beyond researchers’ expectations during their first test run in cold waters. Each Saildrone has collected over 40 million measurements over the course of the planned 2.5 month test mission. Read more
Research needed to resolve connections between Arctic warming and severe weather Research needed to resolve connections between Arctic warming and severe weather It is too soon to know if recent extreme cold weather such as the last two East Coast winters are linked to Arctic climate warming, according to new research published in the Journal of Climate by James Overland of NOAA, and other authors from North America, Asia and Europe. Read more
For the first time, Saildrones explore the Bering Sea For the first time, Saildrones explore the Bering Sea On April 22, two autonomous surface vehicles equipped with meteorological and oceanographic sensors will be released for the first time in the Bering Sea by NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL). Saildrones have the capacity to increase observational infrastructure in remote and hostile polar regions where ship time and human labor is costly and potentially hazardous. The ongoing development of Saildrones is a collaborative effort of researchers at PMEL, the Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO) at the University of Washington, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Saildrone Inc. Read more
Study: Reducing human-caused air pollution in North America & Europe brings surprise result: more hurricanes 11May2022 Read more A new NOAA study published today in the journal Science Advances about four decades of tropical cyclones reveals the surprising result that reducing particulate air pollution in Europe and North America has contributed to an increase in the number of tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic basin and a decrease in the number of these storms in the Southern Hemisphere. The study also found that the growth of particulate pollution in Asia has contributed to fewer tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific basin. Read more
NOAA report highlights 2021 climate, weather, ocean research 28Mar2022 Read more The newly released 2021 NOAA Science Report includes more than 60 stories that represent a selection of NOAA’s 2021 research and development accomplishments across the range of NOAA’s mission. Read more
Study previews how climate change may alter rain-making atmospheric rivers by 2100 24Mar2022 Read more A new NOAA modeling study suggests climate change is likely to disrupt Pacific atmospheric rivers, which are important sources of snow and rain for west coast states. Read more
NOAA’s observations help EPA track emissions of a family of greenhouse gases 22Apr2022 Read more NOAA atmospheric measurements are helping to support a national inventory of emissions from an important family of greenhouse gases. Read more
Background ozone burdens Las Vegas’ air quality in spring 23Feb2022 Read more High background levels of ozone pollution make it hard for Las Vegas and other southwestern cities to meet US air quality standards in spring, two NOAA studies find. But local pollution sources drive summer's high ozone days. Read more