The summer of 2021 was a smoky one for Denver and northeastern Colorado. Smoky haze from wildfires in Arizona, California, and the Pacific Northwest shrouded …
Smoked out: Were wildfires responsible for Denver’s record ozone season of 2021? Read More >
Levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide, the three greenhouse gases emitted by human activity that are the most significant contributors to climate change, continued their historically high rates of growth in the atmosphere during 2022, according to NOAA scientists.
A new research paper from NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society finds that dust storms – previously assumed to be rather rare and isolated to particular regions – are contributing to a larger number of U.S. traffic fatalities than are recorded. This research also proposes modifications to the current reporting classifications to more accurately capture dust storm impact.
Discovering a 207-year-old whaling ship, advancing air-quality forecasts, improving storm surge and wind forecasts, and deploying the first-ever drone-based tagging of endangered whales. These are a few of the more than 60 stories about NOAA’s many notable scientific accomplishments from the past year that are featured in the 2022 NOAA Science Report, which emphasizes a wide range of impacts that NOAA science advancements have on the lives of Americans.
2022 was a busy year for volcanic eruptions with Hawaii's Mauna Loa and Kilaeau erupting simultaneously, along with Mount Semeru, Indonesia and the Hunga undersea volcano in Tonga. While the United States Geological Survey is the primary agency that monitors volcanic activity in the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) oversees safety systems for tsunamis and other volcano-related threats, as well as studies the impact of volcanic gasses on our global climate.
A research team led by scientists from the University of California Berkeley and NOAA found that HRRR-Smoke accurately predicted the intensification of smoke pollution from the Camp …
Study validates accuracy of NOAA’s smoke forecasting model during the Camp Fire Read More >
Scientists from NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) have undertaken novel development of an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) “hexacopter” that will enable the lab to not only recommence a long-standing mission that was recently forced to halt, but paves the way toward enhanced operations in the future. The composition of Earth’s atmosphere is rapidly changing due to anthropogenic releases of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), which are powerful greenhouse gasses driving global warming. Also, human-made chemicals such as CFC-11 and CFC-12 (refrigerants) are destroying the ozone layer that filters out ultraviolet (UV) radiation. These CFCs and their counterparts destroy enough of the protective stratospheric ozone layer to produce the Antarctic “Ozone Hole”.
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 …
Background ozone burdens Las Vegas’ air quality in spring Read More >
When Super Bowl LVI kicks off at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on February 13, a nearby command center operated by emergency managers will …
Super Bowl brings fans, parties, and forecasters Read More >
When COVID-19 pandemic began in the US, counties and cities across the nation imposed stay at home orders, closed schools or imposed travel restrictions. From March 2020 onward, many Americans hung up car keys and settled into their homes for work and school. Traffic patterns dramatically changed, and previously smog filled vistas became clearer.
