Category: Climate

Three phases of the tropical Pacific atmospheric circulation pattern: El Niño, La Niña, and neutral. During El Niño, the engine driving tropical circulation shifts to the east, while during La Niña, it's stronger than average. Figure by climate.gov.

What we Talk About When We Talk About the Jet Stream and El Niño

10/5/2023 - By climate.gov. A robust El Niño is developing in the tropical Pacific, and we’re looking ahead to potential impacts on winter weather and climate. For specifics on this upcoming winter, you’ll have to wait for next month, when NOAA CPC will release their winter outlook. Today, I’m going for the big… SEE MORE

On September 10, 2023, Antarctic sea ice hit a historic low of 16.96 million sq km, 1.03 million sq km below the 1986 record

2023 Antarctic sea ice winter maximum is lowest on record by a wide margin

9/29/2023 - By climate.gov. Overview of conditions On September 10, 2023, sea ice in the Antarctic reached an annual maximum extent of 16.96 million square kilometers (6.55 million square miles), setting a record low maximum in the satellite record that began in 1979. This year’s maximum is 1.03 million square kilometers (398,000 square miles) below the previous… SEE MORE

Monitoring Marine Life–In Close to Real-Time–with eDNA Sensors

9/28/2023 - By sustainability.stanford.edu. An optical sensor smaller than a postage stamp could help coastal communities monitor some of the world’s largest marine protected areas. On a warm day this spring, an airplane carrying Stanford experimental physicist Halleh Balch touched down on the island nation of Palau in the Western Pacific as a brewing… SEE MORE

Marine Monitoring

Patricia Alexandre, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Sky This Week: Under the Full “Harvest” Moon on Sept. 29

9/27/2023 - By the Geoff Chester, U.S. Naval Observatory. The Moon starts the week in the company of Saturn, then moves eastward along the ecliptic through the dim autumnal constellations. Full Moon occurs on the 29th at 5:58 am Eastern Daylight Time. Look for Luna just above the bright glow of Jupiter… SEE MORE

Why Does This Sea Glow in the Dark?

9/26/2023 - By atlasobscura.com. From Aristotle to Darwin, humankind’s efforts to understand bioluminescence span thousands of years. It is one of the oldest fields of scientific study, and researchers today know a great deal about how it works, but mysteries remain. In this episode of Untold Earth we get in the water… SEE MORE

bioluminescence

Strong Extratropical Cyclone Over the US Midwest by WikiCommons.

Bomb Cyclone Slams Pacific Northwest with Heavy Rain, Raising Threat of Debris Flows

9/25/2023 - By foxweather.com. Most of the rain will be beneficial as the Pacific Northwest begins to recover from severe to extreme drought conditions. However, heavy rain could lead to flash flooding and debris flows in the burn scars across northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. A rapidly intensifying storm, called a bomb… SEE MORE

Hurricane Irene moves towards East Coast Wikimedia Commons

Climate Change could Bring more Monster Storms like Hurricane Lee to New England

9/19/2023 - By apnews.com. BOSTON (AP) — When it comes to hurricanes, New England can’t compete with Florida or the Caribbean. But scientists said Friday the arrival of storms like Hurricane Lee this weekend could become more common in the region as the planet warms, including in places such as the Gulf of Maine.… SEE MORE

climate change

Mussels and sea anemones on the northwest Pacific Coast. Photo credit: Janine Ledford of the Makah Tribe.

How is climate change impacting shellfish in the ocean?

9/2/2023 - By earth.jpl.nasa.gov. A NASA satellite managed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is measuring the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But things get tricky when that CO2 finds a place to hide. Carbon dioxide is great at finding hiding places. One favorite hiding place? Trees. In fact, the world’s forests soak up about… SEE MORE

climate change

Dramatic Views of Hurricane Florence from the International Space Station From 9 12 (42828603210) by WikiCommons.

Building Codes Save Money and Lives

8/29/2023 - By scientificamerican.com. After Category 5 Hurricane Michael slammed into Mexico Beach, Fla., in 2018, there was a dramatic contrast in destruction: homes built at or beyond state building codes still stood, whereas many of those built before those stringent codes were enacted were simply gone. Michael is one of a… SEE MORE

The Earth's scorching trend persists as global sea surface temperatures break records for the fourth consecutive month

Record Shattering: Earth Had its Hottest July in 174 Years

8/19/2023 - By noaa.gov. Global sea surface temperature hit record high for 4th-consecutive month. Earth just roasted under its hottest July on record, according to scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). For the fourth-consecutive month, the global ocean surface temperature also hit a record high. Here’s a closer look into NOAA’s latest… SEE MORE