In the News Archive

Climate change could trigger an ancient El Niño-like pattern in the Indian Ocean that would create extreme weather such as floods, storms and droughts across the globe. McPhaden is quoted. 

Global warming is approaching a tipping point that during this century could reawaken an ancient climate pattern similar to El Niño in the Indian Ocean, new research led by scientists from The University of Texas at Austin has found. Mike McPhaden is quoted. 

For 25 years, an oceanographic buoy named Peggy has been moored in the middle of the Bering Sea collecting data on ocean conditions for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. EcoFOCI's M2 mooring work is referenced.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it has forged a new agreement with Vulcan Inc., the Seattle-based holding company created by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, to share data on ocean science and exploration. The PMEL/Paul G. Allen Family Foundation partnership is referenced. 

The recent spell of dry weather this month is one for the record books because the National Weather Service says the weather station at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is experiencing its second driest April ever through April 20. Nick Bond is quoted. 

Melting ice sheets, strengthening hurricanes, sinking islands, and deadly heat waves. These are just a few of the effects that are at the forefront of climate-related issues. Nick Bond is quoted. 

Amid warmer temps and sunnier skies, Washingtonians are looking away from the current pandemic and toward potential complications from wildfires in the summer months ahead. Nick Bond is quoted. 

It is around this time of year that the word “snowpack” begins to circulate among Washingtonians. While the first thing that comes to mind regarding snowpack might be winter recreational activities including skiing and snowboarding, it also determines many other things, including water resources and wildfires. Nick Bond is quoted. 

The blob went unnoticed at first. In the summer of 2013, a high-pressure ridge settled over a Texas-size area in the northern Pacific, pushing the sky down over the ocean like an invisible lid. Nick Bond is quoted. 

What keeps people awake at night? For baseball players, it might be a late-breaking fastball. It looks like you could hit it right out of the park until it curves. For meteorologists, an equivalent problem is called the Madden-Julian oscillation, or the MJO. Chidong Zhang and Michael McPhaden are quoted. 

What keeps people awake at night? For baseball players, it might be a late-breaking fastball. It looks like you could hit it right out of the park until it curves. For meteorologists, an equivalent problem is called the Madden-Julian oscillation, or the MJO. Michael McPhaden and Chidong Zhang are featured. 

This summer the North Pacific was hit with the second marine heatwave of the decade. Mirroring the first so-called “Blob” of 2014, scientists measured ocean temperatures as more than five degrees above normal, across millions of square miles stretching from Alaska to California. Nick Bond is quoted. 

An unprecedented study was recently launched to explore clouds, which cover two thirds of the Earth's surface on average. Scientists still understand precious little about the phenomenon, but most climatologists believe they hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of climate change. "CBS This Morning: Saturday" took a closer look at where scientists are conducting the study out in the Caribbean. PMEL's Atmospheric Chemstiry Group was part of this study (ATOMIC). 

For animals no longer than a stick of chewing gum, snapping shrimp make an impressive racket. En masse, they create what sounds like pervasive crackling, and the din gets even louder when the shrimp live in warmer water, new research has revealed. Bob Dziak is quoted. 

Timeline of some of the major achievements of NOAA during its first decade, the 1970s. PMEL's creationg and TAO/GTMBA is mentioned. 

The Seattle Met's Perfect Party list features Chris Meinig for his recent publication on a glider that recorded ocean sounds along the Washington coast.