NASA Archives - NOAA Research

Sunset view from underneath an airplane's wing

NOAA researchers fly out over the Pacific to investigate cloud-forming marine sulfur

June 29, 2023

While the shade offered by clouds on a hot sunny day can be obvious, quantifying the actual climate impact in terms of solar energy remains a challenging task. This is because the volume, thickness, and lifetime of marine clouds can change rapidly, and the processes that govern how and where clouds form and how gases and aerosols in the air interact with cloud droplets are highly complex. In a marine environment, many of those gases and aerosols in the air come from the ocean itself.

Study validates accuracy of NOAA’s smoke forecasting model during the Camp Fire

July 5, 2022

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 …

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Scientists recommend a system of checkpoints to help guide climate engineering research

January 20, 2022

As research into engineering techniques that might one day be employed to artificially cool the planet advances, some scientists are calling for adoption of an …

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Smoke from wildfires influences ozone pollution on a global scale

January 10, 2022

New NOAA analysis of a ground-breaking global atmospheric airborne research mission shows that smoke from biomass burning substantially contributes to one of the most common and harmful constituents of urban air pollution: ozone. Another record-breaking fire season across the western United States and Canada fouled skies as far downwind as Boston and New York City with wildfire smoke, visibly demonstrating the impacts that fires can have on air quality thousands of miles away. Now, new NOAA research demonstrates that the effects of fire emissions on the atmosphere are even larger and far more widespread than previously believed, and substantially contribute to one of the most common and harmful constituents of urban air pollution: ozone.

Southern Ocean confirmed as strong carbon dioxide sink

December 3, 2021

A new study published this week in the journal Science estimates the Southern Ocean absorbs 550 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere per year, …

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