PMEL in the News
Time to say sayonara to summer in the Pacific Northwest?
We’re still a few weeks away from the official end of summer, but summer heat may already be gone. It’s possible we’ll see things warm up a bit toward the latter half of next week as temperatures near 80 degrees, according to KING 5 Meteorologist Rich Marriott. But there is nothing in sight for the next 15 days or so that looks hot – mid-80s or warmer, according to Marriott. Nick Bond is featured.
El Nino winter predicted for Pacific Northwest
The Washington state climatologist explains what an El Nino winter could look like for the Pacific Northwest. Nick Bond is interviewed.
Climate change is helping crank up the temperatures of California's heat waves
California suffered through its hottest July on record, while August has pushed sea-surface temperatures off the San Diego coast to all-time highs. Are these punishing summer heat waves the consequences of global warming or the result of familiar weather patterns? Nick Bond is quoted.
This alga may be seeding the world’s skies with clouds
An algae-killing virus may be helping seed the skies with clouds. That’s the implication of a new study, which finds that—after it dies—one of the ocean’s most abundant microorganisms provides the kernel on which water vapor can condense to form droplets, which in turn become clouds.Trish Quinn is quoted.
Viruses may help phytoplankton make clouds — by tearing the algae apart
When tiny sea algae get sick, they may sneeze the seeds of clouds. Phytoplankton (Emiliania huxleyi) infected with a virus shed the small calcium carbonate plates that make up their shells much more quickly than healthy phytoplankton. Kicked up by thrashing waves into sea spray, those calcium bits may ultimately become part of the complex dance of cloud formation, researchers report August 15 in iScience. Trish Quinn is quoted.