Scientists can now study climate change in far more detail with powerful new computer software released by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The Community Earth System Model (CESM) will be one of the primary climate models used for the next assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
A new analysis of the unusually long solar cycle that ended in 2008 suggests that one reason for the long cycle could be a stretching of the Sun's conveyor belt, a current of plasma that circulates between the Sun's equator and its poles. The results should help scientists better understand the factors controlling the timing of solar cycles and could lead to better predictions.
Scientists are launching a major field project next month in the tropical Atlantic Ocean to solve a central mystery of hurricanes: why do certain clusters of tropical thunderstorms grow into the often-deadly storms while many others dissipate? The results should eventually help forecasters provide more advance warning to those in harm's way.
Indian Ocean sea levels are rising unevenly and threatening residents in some densely populated coastal areas and islands, a new study concludes. The study, published in Nature Geoscience, finds that the sea level rise is at least partly a result of climate change.
As turboprop and jet aircraft climb or descend under certain atmospheric conditions, they can inadvertently seed mid-level clouds and cause narrow bands of snow or rain to develop and fall to the ground, new research finds. Through this seeding process, they leave behind unusual “hole-punch clouds.”
A detailed computer modeling study released today indicates that oil from the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico might soon extend along thousands of miles of the Atlantic coast and open ocean as early as this summer. The modeling results are captured in a series of dramatic animations produced by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and collaborators.
More than 100 researchers from NCAR and other organizations will begin deploying a flotilla of instruments across the Great Plains next week, aiming to surround tornadoes with an unprecedented fleet of mobile radars and other tools in the second and final year of the most ambitious tornado study in history.
Students, gardeners, retirees, and other volunteers who are taking part in a nationwide initiative, Project BudBurst, are finding hints that certain plants are blooming unusually early, perhaps as a result of climate change. These citizen scientists are recording the timing of flowers and foliage, amassing thousands of observations from across the nation to give researchers a detailed picture of our changing climate.
Current observational tools cannot account for roughly half of the heat that is believed to have built up on Earth in recent years, according to a “Perspectives” article in this week’s issue of Science. Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) warn in the new study that satellite sensors, ocean floats, and other instruments are inadequate to track this “missing” heat, which may be building up in the deep oceans or elsewhere in the climate system.
The economic growth across much of Asia is coming with a troubling side-effect: pollutants from the region are being wafted up to the stratosphere during monsoon season. The new finding, published this week in Science Express, provides additional evidence of the global nature of air pollution.
The use of prescribed burns to manage Western forests may help the United States reduce its carbon footprint. A new study finds that such burns, often used by forest managers to reduce underbrush and protect bigger trees, release substantially less carbon dioxide emissions than wildfires of the same size.
Painting the roofs of buildings white has the potential to significantly cool cities and mitigate some impacts of global warming, a new study indicates. The research, which is the first computer modeling study to simulate the impacts of white roofs on urban areas worldwide, suggests there may be merit to an idea advanced by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and other policymakers that white roofs can be an important tool to help society adjust to climate change.
An innovative computational technique that draws on statistics, imaging, and other disciplines has the capability to detect errors in sensitive technological systems ranging from satellites to weather instruments. The patented technique, known as the Intelligent Outlier Detection Algorithm, or IODA, is described this month in the Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology.
While governments around the world continue to explore strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a new study suggests policymakers should focus on what needs to be achieved in the next 40 years in order to keep long-term options viable for avoiding dangerous levels of warming. The study is the first of its kind to use a detailed energy system model to analyze the relationship between mid-century targets and the likelihood of achieving long-term outcomes.
In a vivid example of how a small geographic feature can have far-reaching impacts on climate, new research shows that water levels in the Bering Strait helped drive global climate patterns during ice age episodes dating back more than 100,000 years.
Spurred by a warming climate, daily record high temperatures occurred twice as often as record lows over the last decade across the continental United States, new research shows. The ratio of record highs to lows is likely to increase dramatically if emissions of greenhouse gases continue to climb.
Challenging conventional wisdom, new research finds that the number of sunspots provides an incomplete measure of changes in the Sun's impact on Earth over the course of the 11-year solar cycle. The Sun can bombard Earth with high-speed streams of energy even in the virtual absence of sunspots.
Arctic temperatures in the 1990s reached their warmest level of any decade in at least 2,000 years. New research in the journal Science provides new evidence that the Arctic would be cooling if not for greenhouse gas emissions that are overpowering natural climate patterns.
Subtle connections between the 11-year solar cycle, the stratosphere, and the tropical Pacific Ocean work in sync to generate periodic weather patterns that affect much of the globe, according to research appearing this week in the journal Science.
New research shows that maximum solar activity and its aftermath have impacts on Earth that resemble La Niña and El Niño events in the tropical Pacific Ocean. The findings may pave the way toward better weather predictions.
NCAR is developing a prototype system to update aircraft about severe storms and turbulence on flights across remote ocean regions. The system can help guide pilots away from intense weather, such as the thunderstorms that Air France Flight 447 apparently encountered before crashing into the Atlantic Ocean.
NCAR is teaming up with the Inter-American Development Bank to launch a far-reaching program to help Latin American and Caribbean nations prepare for the impacts of global warming.
Close to 9 out of 10 adult Americans obtain weather forecasts regularly, and they do so more than three times each day on average, a new nationwide survey by scientists at NCAR has found.
In a breakthrough that will help scientists unlock mysteries of the Sun and its impacts on Earth, an international team of scientists led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has created the first-ever comprehensive computer model of sunspots. The resulting visuals capture both scientific detail and remarkable beauty.
A melting of the Greenland ice sheet this century may drive more water than previously thought toward the already threatened coastlines of New York, Boston, Halifax, and other cities in the northeastern United States and in Canada, according to new research led by NCAR.
The largest and most ambitious tornado study in history will begin next week, as dozens of scientists from NCAR and other organization's deploy radars and other ground-based instruments across the Great Plains to gain a better understanding of these often-deadly weather events.
Rivers in some of the world's most populous regions are losing water, according to a new study led by NCAR scientists. The reduced flows in many cases are associated with climate change, and may potentially threaten future supplies of food and water.
The impact of global warming can be greatly diminished if nations cut emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases by 70 percent this century, according to an NCAR-led study. The most dangerous potential aspects of climate change, including massive losses of Arctic ice and significant sea-level rise, could be partially avoided.
NCAR scientists this month are testing a technological system to alert drivers to nearby hazardous weather conditions. The goal of the research, funded by the Department of Transportation, is to prevent accidents by informing drivers about hazards such as black ice and fog that may be just minutes away.
Volunteers across the country are welcoming spring by taking part in a nationwide initiative to track climate change by recording the timing of flowers and foliage. Project BudBurst, operated by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research and partners, has amassed thousands of observations from students, gardeners, and other citizen scientists.
Thousands of volunteers are taking part in a nationwide initiative to track climate change by recording the timing of flowering, leafing, and other plant life cycle events. Now in its second full year, Project BudBurst is successfully amassing observations from students, gardeners, and other citizen scientists in every state to give researchers a detailed picture of our warming climate.
NCAR has reached an agreement with Xcel Energy to provide highly detailed, localized weather forecasts to enable the utility to use more wind energy. The forecasts will help utility operators make critical decisions about powering down traditional coal- and natural gas-fired plants when sufficient winds are predicted.
An advanced research aircraft flew from the Arctic to the Antarctic this month, the first step in a three-year project to make the most extensive measurements of greenhouse gases to date. The resulting worldwide picture of greenhouse gases will help society create policies to curb global warming.
Media Teleconference - Scientists this month have successfully flown from the Arctic to the Antarctic aboard an advanced research aircraft, the first step in a three-year project to make the most extensive airborne measurements of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to date.
Contrary to earlier projections, few developing countries will be able to afford more efficient technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the next few decades, new research concludes. Continuing economic and technological disparities will make it more difficult than anticipated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research will provide long-term weather forecasts to medical officials in Africa to help reduce outbreaks of meningitis. The forecasts will enable local health providers to target vaccination programs more effectively for this deadly disease, which is correlated with dry and dusty conditions.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) today announced the arrival of a massive new digital storage library that will preserve and protect valuable scientific data for the next 15 to 20 years. The new system, known as AMSTAR and designed by Sun Microsystems, will give NCAR five times its current storage capacity, enabling scientists to conduct increasingly sophisticated computer studies of Earth's climate.
The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research has signed an agreement with the National Science Foundation to continue management of NCAR. UCAR, a consortium of 73 universities, has managed the center since its founding in 1960.
Wildfires can boost ozone pollution to levels that violate U.S. health standards. A new study by NCAR scientists found that California wildfires in 2007 tripled the number of ozone violations across a broad area.
NCAR has launched an intensive study, with federal agencies and the insurance and energy industries, to examine how global warming will influence hurricanes in the next few decades. The project will use a combination of computer models to look at future hurricane activity in unprecedented detail.
By killing large swaths of forests in the Rocky Mountains, mountain pine beetles may be altering local weather patterns and air quality. NCAR is leading an international field project exploring how the loss of trees and other vegetation influences rainfall, temperatures, smog, and other aspects of the atmosphere.
Plants in a forest respond to stress by producing a chemical form of aspirin, scientists have discovered. The finding by NCAR opens up new avenues of research into the behavior of plants, and it has the potential to give farmers an early warning signal about crops that are failing.
NCAR scientists are available to discuss hurricane formation and behavior, the impacts of the powerful storms on society, and whether climate change may be altering hurricanes and other tropical cyclones.
Eight leading professional organizations in the field of weather and climate today called on the next administration and Congress to better protect the United States from severe weather and climate change. They issued five recommendations to reverse declining budgets and provide needed tools, information, and leadership to decision makers.
Eight leading scientific organizations will release a document Wednesday calling for the next presidential administration and Congress to better protect the nation from the impacts of severe weather and climate change.
Dramatic year-to-year temperature swings and a century-long warming trend across West Antarctica are linked to conditions in the tropical Pacific, according to an analysis of ice cores. The findings show the connection of the world's coldest continent to global warming, as well as to events such as El Niño.
Scientists are deploying an advanced research aircraft to study a region of the atmosphere that influences climate change by affecting Earth's thermal balance. Researchers worldwide will use the project's findings to improve computer models of global climate in preparation for the next report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The rate of climate warming in the Arctic could more than triple, raising concerns about thawing permafrost and the potential consequences for sensitive ecosystems, an NCAR study finds.
National research centers in the United States and United Kingdom have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate more closely on atmospheric science and technology. The agreement will enable the two countries to increase research collaborations while developing joint educational and training programs.
Student scientists from the United States and around the world are converging in South Africa this month in what is likely to be one of the largest-ever international gatherings of teenage researchers. The conference, which takes place June 22-27 at the University of Cape Town, is organized by GLOBE, a worldwide science and education program operated in part by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR).
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