In the News Archive

For decades, atmospheric scientists have targeted hurricanes by land, sea and air, flying airplanes into their cores to collect measurements from the belly of the beast. Now, a joint venture between Saildrone Inc. and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is taking a new approach: drive winged, robotic surfboards into the path of an approaching storm. Chris Meinig is quoted. 

How do you determine the health of a marine ecosystem that exists nearly 11,000 meters under the sea? Apparently, all you have to do is listen. And listening is exactly what National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration oceanographer Robert Dziak and a team of researchers did in 2015, when they dropped specialized acoustic equipment into Challenger Deep, an area located in the Pacific Ocean at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Although California’s most dangerous tsunamis come from thousands of miles away, scientists say they’ve pinpointed a wave trigger that’s much closer to home. Earthquakes along strike-slip faults can cause potentially dangerous waves in certain contexts, a new model shows — and such faults do exist right off parts of the Golden State’s shores. Diego Arcas commented on the publication. 

This series tells the stories of the scientists who are having the biggest impact on the climate-change debate – their lives, their work and their influence on other scientists, the public, activists and political leaders. To identify the 1,000 most influential scientists, we created the Hot List, which is a combination of three rankings. Drs. Mike McPhaden and Richard Feely are on the list. 

In late February, as the Southern Plains and Gulf Coast suffered through an unusually strong blast of wintry weather, weather talk turned to the polar vortex and the possibility that the extreme cold was yet another example of weather-gone-wild due to global warming. In this article, we’re talking to two NOAA experts, including PMEL's Jim Overland, about the devastating extreme cold event, the polar vortex, and the potential link to global warming. 

Unique air and ocean surface observations of the Southern Ocean from a 22,000 km, 196-day circumnavigation around Antarctica by an Uncrewed Surface Vehicle. Highlights recent publication by Adrienne Sutton et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

Temperatures in Scotland plunged to their coldest level in 25 years – but "weather is not the same as climate". Dr. McPhaden is quoted about ENSO and extreme events.

This week, Tai takes a (figurative) deep dive into the darkest corners of the ocean on CBC's Tai Asks Why. (CBC) Bob Dziak is featured in the podcast.

Eight hundred miles east of the Bering Sea island of St. Paul, Lauren Divine woke up in Anchorage to a cryptic early morning text message on her mobile phone: “Mission accomplished at 4:52 a.m. It’s sitting on the Bering Sea floor doing its thing.” Phyllis Stabeno is quoted and PMEL's pop-up floats are referenced.

Bitterly cold, frozen and inhospitable to nearly all wildlife apart from polar bears. This is the image of the Arctic that comes to mind for many. But in a matter of decades -- a blink of an eye in the history of this planet -- human-caused global warming has transformed the Arctic into a place that scientists say is increasingly unrecognizable. Jim Overland is quoted. 

The new findings identify yet another way in which a warming Arctic might disturb the weather half a world away. The root cause of the extra-wavy jet stream is under fierce debate, but some scientists believe Arctic warming and declining sea ice are to blame for Godzilla’s far-reaching effects. Jim Overland is quoted. 

A new book highlights research progress on El Niño Southern Oscillation dynamics and impacts and how they may change in a warmer world. McPhaden is a co-editor.

NOAA and EcoFOCI sent out one of few research cruises around the Bering Strait earlier this season. The cruise brought back information on the cold pool and marine mammals’ movements in the Bering Sea. Phyllis Stabeno is featured. 

The ocean is massive. It covers more than 70 percent of Earth's surface. The Pacific Ocean alone blankets 60 million square miles (155 million square kilometers) of the planet. This water regulates our climate and weather patterns by funneling heat from the equator to the poles, produces more than half of the world's oxygen, and absorbs 50 times more carbon dioxide than our atmosphere. Greg Johnson is quoted. 

High heat, along with an unusual tropical weather system heading north, helped kick off what is normally the toughest stretch of Washington state’s fire season. The strange part is the remnants of a tropical cyclone that worked its way up through California to the Pacific Northwest, bringing lighting and some rain. Nick Bond is quoted. 

Scientists are using hydrophones, instruments that use underwater microphones, to collect clues about melting glaciers and the songs of whales. Bob Dziak is quoted.