Category: Ocean Science

Arctic Tundra Becoming Source of Carbon Dioxide Emissions

1/31/2025 - By noaa.gov. 2024 Arctic Report Card tracks rapid, complex Arctic change. After storing carbon dioxide in frozen soil for millennia, the Arctic tundra is being transformed by frequent wildfires into an overall source of carbon to the atmosphere, which is already absorbing record levels of heat-trapping fossil fuel pollution. The… SEE MORE

After the storm clouds cleared on January 22, 2025, satellites captured an unusual sight: a swath of snow arcing around the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic Southeast. Climate.gov image based on NOAA-21 satellite data from the VIIRS sensor.

Historic January 2025 Snowstorm in the Southern U.S.

1/27/2025 - By climate.gov. An Arctic blast plunged into the southeastern United States on Sunday, January 19, arriving just in time for the on-average coldest stretch of the year. It brought record-breaking low temperatures and fueled a winter storm that dropped historic snowfall for parts of the South. On January 22, the… SEE MORE

Image Credits: SEPTEMBER 29, 2024. Gentoo penguins and seals make their return to Palmer Station in Antarctica. Antarctic sea ice coverage in 2024 was the second lowest on record. (Image credit: Evan Quinter/ U.S. National Science Foundation/Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

2024 was the World’s Warmest Year on Record

1/13/2025 - By noaa.gov. Antarctic sea ice coverage is the second lowest on record, behind 2023. It’s official: 2024 was the planet’s warmest year on record, according to an analysis by scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Along with historic heat, Antarctic sea ice coverage dropped to its second-lowest… SEE MORE

Image Credits: Red king crab on the deck of a research vessel. Credit: NOAA Fisheries / Erin Fedewa

Genetic Diversity in Alaska Red King Crab May Provide Resilience to Climate Change

1/10/2025 - By noaa.gov. New genetic research on the Alaska red king crab reveals previously undiscovered diversity among different regions, suggesting the species is more resilient to climate change and changing ocean conditions. Maintaining genetic diversity within and among populations is vital to ensure species are resilient to challenging conditions. Without it,… SEE MORE

Portland Parade of Lights Celebrates Holiday Cheer

1/1/2025 - By Carli Stewart. Portland, Maine’s waterfront came alive on Dec. 14 as the annual Parade of Lights delighted locals and visitors alike. Against the backdrop of a full moon and Bug Light’s familiar beacon, vessels of all shapes and sizes, from lobster boats, ferry boats, and sailboats, dazzled onlookers with… SEE MORE

Image Credits: November 15, 2024: Shriveled leaves and bushes cover the ground at Brooklyn's Prospect Park as New York City and much of the Northeast saw a warm and dry November 2024, wrapping up the warmest fall in the U.S. on record. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Fall 2024 was Nation’s Warmest on Record

12/31/2024 - By noaa.gov. Last month wrapped up a record-warm meteorological fall across the U.S. This year-to-date period is also running as the nation’s warmest on record, according to scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Below are highlights from NOAA’s U.S. climate report for November 2024: Climate by the… SEE MORE

Negotiators are Urged to Get Down to Business as Climate talks in Baku Enter Second Week

11/27/2024 - By Sibi Arasu, Melina Walling and Seth Borenstein. United Nations climate talks resumed Monday with negotiators urged to make progress on a stalled-out deal that could see developing countries get more money to spend on clean energy and adapting to climate-charged weather extremes. U.N. Climate Change executive secretary Simon Stiell called for… SEE MORE

For an Ecosystem in Crisis, Recovery Can Take Ages

11/23/2024 - By Moira Donovan. A massive environmental calamity rocked the ancient Mediterranean. It took millions of years for the ecosystem to recover. In the late Miocene epoch, roughly 5.9 million years ago, calamity befell the Mediterranean Sea. In a period of roughly 600,000 years, tectonic uplift sealed the gateway between Europe… SEE MORE

Is Deforestation Supercharging Cyclones?

11/22/2024 - By Erica Gies. The airborne water cycle, destabilized by industrial logging and other land use, may be a hidden force behind growing superstorms. Hurricane Helene devastated the southeastern United States at the end of September 2024, dumping unprecedented levels of rain. Then, just two weeks later, Hurricane Milton rapidly revved… SEE MORE

Sardine collected on the 2023 Coastal Pelagic Species Survey. Pacific and Japanese sardine look so similar that they can only be distinguished by genetics. Genomic analysis later revealed that the catch contained both species. Photo Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Kelsey James

Surprise! Japanese Sardines Astonish Scientists by Crossing the Pacific to the West Coast

11/18/2024 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. Next generation genomic sequencing of Pacific sardine reveals not one, but two species of sardine in the California Current in 2022 and 2023. When research scientist Gary Longo first saw the results of his genomic analysis of sardines, he thought he must have mixed up his samples. Besides… SEE MORE