Carbon dioxide levels reached the highest seasonal peak recorded in 61 years of observations at NOAA's Mauna Loa observatory. This the seventh consecutive year of steep global increases in concentrations of this important greenhouse gas pollutant.
The 2017 Northern Plains drought hit hard and without warning, desiccating pastures, rangelands and wheat, sparking massive wildfires, and causing widespread livestock sell-offs across the Dakotas, northeastern Montana and the Canadian Prairies. While it wasn't the region's worst drought, it caused $2.6 billion in losses. A new study shows droughts like this are 20% more likely due to climate change.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today announced it has selected Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, to host NOAA’s cooperative institute focused on developing new satellite products and models designed to improve weather and climate prediction.
Record levels of greenhouse gas pollution continued to increase humanity’s impact on the atmosphere’s heat-trapping capacity during 2018, according to a yearly analysis released by NOAA scientists today.
Despite a 46 percent increase in US natural gas production since 2006, there has been no significant increase of total US methane emissions, and only a modest increase from oil and gas activity, according to a new NOAA analysis of long-term atmospheric measurements.
Findings could help improve air quality in cities across the U.S. West.
For scientists at NOAA, Earth Day — and every other day of the year — is about getting to the bottom of some of the most pressing questions about the planet we call home: how it works, how it’s changing, and how humans are affecting it.
New research by NOAA and partners based on extensive sampling of the global ocean finds that the ocean absorbed 34 billion metric tons of carbon from the burning of fossil fuels from 1994 to 2007 — a four-fold increase to 2.6 billion metric tons per year when compared to the period starting from the Industrial Revolution in 1800 to 1994.
Forecasting hurricane track and intensity, providing decision support for wildfires, issuing warnings for harmful algal blooms: these are just a snapshot of how NOAA’s research over the past year has provided vital services to Americans every day. A newly released NOAA Science Report celebrates NOAA’s research and development, highlighting how NOAA’s research products impact the lives of all Americans.
New research from NOAA and partners analyzing data from deep-diving ocean robots and research cruises shows that the coldest, near-bottom South Pacific waters originating from Antarctica are warming three times faster than they were in the 1990s.