Eric J. Barron was named director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) today, following a rigorous international search. He joins NCAR from the University of Texas, where he is dean of the Jackson School of Geosciences and holds the Jackson Chair in Earth System Science.
The convening lead authors of today's landmark government report on climate change impacts in the United States are available for comment.
The National Science Board has authorized the National Science Foundation to negotiate a new cooperative agreement with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) to continue to manage and operate its flagship weather and climate center, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
NCAR has taken delivery of a new IBM supercomputer that will advance research into severe weather and the future of Earth's climate. The supercomputer, known as a Power 575 Hydro-Cluster, is the first in a highly energy-efficient class of machines to be shipped anywhere in the world.
Computer analyses of global climate have consistently overstated warming in Antarctica, new research concludes. The study can help scientists improve computer models and determine if Earth's southernmost continent will warm significantly this century, a major research question because of Antarctica's potential impact on global sea-level rise.
A much-discussed idea to offset global warming by injecting sulfates into the stratosphere would drastically affect the ozone layer. A new study, led by NCAR, warns that such an approach might delay recovery of the Antarctic ozone hole by decades and cause significant ozone loss over the Arctic.
The shrinking expanse of Arctic sea ice is increasingly vulnerable to summer sunshine. New research, by scientists at NCAR and Colorado State University, finds that unusually sunny weather contributed to last summer's record loss of Arctic ice, while similar weather conditions in past summers did not have comparable impacts.
The National Hurricane Center will implement a new technique this summer to continually monitor landfalling storms. The system, developed by NCAR and the Naval Research Laboratory, indicates whether a hurricane is gathering strength in its final hours before reaching shore.
Reducing global emissions of carbon dioxide over the coming century will be more challenging than society has been led to believe, according to a commentary in Nature by a team of scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the University of Colorado, and McGill University.
Leading representatives from indigenous and scientific communities will take part in a landmark climate change symposium at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder. The March 19-21 event will bring together two climate change perspectives--one rooted in indigenous experiences and one informed by current scientific results.
A nationwide initiative starting this month will enable volunteers to track climate change by observing the timing of flowers and foliage.
Natural processes may prevent oceans from warming beyond a certain point, helping protect some biologically diverse coral reefs from the impacts of climate change. A new study, by scientists at NCAR and the Australian Institute of Marine Science, finds evidence that an ocean "thermostat" is helping regulate sea-surface temperatures.
NCAR scientists at next week's American Meteorological Society meeting in New Orleans will present their latest findings on weather and climate topics, including connections between hurricanes and climate, the influence of climate change on precipitation and drought, and the impact of weather on rocket launches and aviation.
Large-scale fires in a western or southeastern state can pump as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in a few weeks as the state's entire motor vehicle traffic does in a year, according to newly published research by scientists at NCAR and the University of Colorado.
The successful test flight clears the way for long-duration polar ballon flights that will capture unprecedented details of the Sun's surface.
Fires in the United States release about 30 percent as much mercury as the nation's industrial sources, according to initial estimates by NCAR scientists. Fires in Alaska, California, Oregon, Louisiana, and Florida emit particularly large quantities, and the Southeast emits more than any other region, according to the new study.
More than three dozen scientists and support staff at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) served as authors or reviewers for reports by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today with former Vice President Al Gore.
Schoolchildren and others around the world will help scientists map light pollution in early October by looking for specific constellations and sharing their observations through the Internet. The Great World Wide Star Count is organized by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in conjunction with local planetariums and scientific societies.
A new turbulence detection system, now being tested, is successfully alerting pilots to patches of rough air as they fly through clouds. The system is designed to better protect passengers from injuries caused by turbulence while reducing flight delays and lowering aviation costs.
Scientists for the first time have observed elusive oscillations in the Sun's corona, known as Alfvén waves. The discovery is expected to give researchers more insight into the fundamental behavior of solar magnetic fields, eventually leading to a fuller understanding of how the Sun affects Earth and the solar system.
Researchers who use the TeraGrid, the nation's most comprehensive and advanced infrastructure for open scientific research, can now leverage the computing resources of a powerful, 2048-processor BlueGene/L system at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
As catastrophic floods worsen in Bangladesh, a pilot forecasting program that was developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research and Georgia Institute of Technology is being used to warn thousands of vulnerable residents in selected flood-prone regions.
About twice as many Atlantic hurricanes form each year on average than a century ago, according to a new statistical analysis. The study concludes that warmer sea surface temperatures and altered wind patterns associated with global climate change are fueling much of the increase.
Forests in the United States and other northern mid- and upper-latitude regions are playing a smaller role in offsetting global warming than previously thought, according to a study appearing in Science this week. The study sheds light on the so-called missing carbon sink.
Hurricane forecasters will test a new technique this summer that provides a detailed 3-D view of an approaching storm every six minutes and shows whether the storm is gathering strength as it nears land. The technique, which relies on existing coastal radars, will help meteorologists quickly alert coastal communities.
Scientists from NCAR and Scripps Institution of Oceanography will be available for a live, online chat with reporters on May 15. The scientists will discuss preliminary findings from the PACDEX (Pacific Dust Experiment) field campaign as they participate in the mission's second major research flight over the Pacific.
A new study published in Geophysical Research Letters concludes that Arctic sea ice is melting faster than indicated by the computer models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The shrinking summertime ice is about 30 years ahead of IPCC projections.
Scientists using the nation's newest and most capable aircraft for environmental research are launching a far-reaching field project this month to study plumes of airborne dust and pollutants that originate in Asia and journey to North America. The plumes are believed to affect weather systems and global climate.
An NCAR teleconference Friday will feature five of the main U.S. authors of the new global warming assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The teleconference will be at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (8:00 a.m. Pacific) and will include scientists from NCAR and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
An NCAR teleconference Friday will feature four of the main U.S. authors of the new assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The teleconference will be at noon Eastern Time (9:00 a.m. Pacific) and will include scientists from NCAR and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
NCAR is forming a partnership with the University of Wyoming and the State of Wyoming to build a new supercomputing data center for scientific research in Cheyenne. The facility will house some of the world's most powerful supercomputers and advance understanding of climate, weather, and other Earth processes.
Preliminary findings from a revolutionary satellite system launched earlier this year show that the system can boost the accuracy of forecasts of hurricane behavior, significantly improve long-range weather forecasts, and monitor climate change with unprecedented accuracy. There will be a press conference/teleconference at 5 p.m. Eastern Time today.
Carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels will produce a 3 percent reduction in the density of Earth's outermost atmosphere by 2017, scientists predict. Recent observations have shown that the thermosphere, which begins about 60 miles above Earth and extends up to 400 miles, is becoming less dense.
New NCAR research indicates that Arctic sea ice will soon begin to retreat four times more rapidly than at any time since observations began. The Arctic may become nearly devoid of late summertime sea ice by about 2040 because of greenhouse gas emissions.
Beginning next week, the aviation industry will receive detailed updates on potentially hazardous in-flight icing conditions. Graphical displays, developed by NCAR, will improve flying safety, reduce delays, and save airlines millions of dollars by guiding aircraft away from icing areas.
Recent heat waves, long dry spells, and heavy bursts of rain and snow hint at longer-term changes to come, according to a new study based on several advanced climate models. Much of the world will face significant changes in extreme weather events by the end of this century.
A new computer model study shows that a two-pronged approach to stabilizing climate, with cuts in greenhouse gas emissions as well as injections of climate-cooling sulfates into the stratosphere, could prove more effective than either approach used separately. The study will be published this week in Science.
Changes in the Sun's brightness over the past millennium have had only a small effect on Earth's climate, according to a new study appearing in Nature. The results imply that human activities are having a far greater impact on climate change than are variations in solar brightness.
Increases in greenhouse gas concentrations are causing ocean temperatures to rise in key hurricane breeding grounds in the Atlantic and Pacific, according to a study that will be published next week. The observed sea surface temperature increases cannot be attributed to natural processes alone, the authors conclude.
U.S. and French scientists this month are launching specialized balloons carrying miniaturized weather instruments to detect hurricanes as they emerge over the far-eastern Atlantic, which is out of range of U.S. hunter-hurricane aircraft. The project, based in Africa, relies on new technology to provide early warning of potentially dangerous storms.
U.S. civilian and military weather forecasters have adopted a newly developed computer forecasting model that can predict many weather events with unprecedented accuracy. The model, created through a partnership among NCAR, NOAA, and more than 150 other organizations, will also be used by overseas forecasters.
Worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide are dramatically altering ocean chemistry and threatening marine organisms, including corals. A landmark report, written by government and university scientists and released today, summarizes the effects of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on the oceans and recommends future research into the impacts on marine biodiversity.
NCAR president Timothy Killeen will begin a two-year term as president of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) on July 1.
Global warming accounted for around half of the extra hurricane-fueling warmth in the waters of the tropical North Atlantic in 2005, while natural cycles were only a minor factor, according to a study from the National Center for Atmospheric Research appearing in the June 27 issue of Geophysical Research Letters.
Experts at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and its parent organization, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, are available to answer important questions about hurricanes and other tropical cyclones. The scientists study such issues as whether global warming is strengthening hurricanes and what causes the powerful storms to gain or lose intensity.
The vast loop of winds that drives climate across the tropical Pacific and helps nourish marine ecosystems has weakened by 3.5% since the mid-1800s and may weaken another 10% by 2100, according to a new study in Nature. The study indicates that the only plausible explanation is human-induced climate change.
A six-satellite array, designed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, will be the first to provide atmospheric data in real time for both climate research and operational weather forecasting by measuring the bending of GPS radio signals. The system is scheduled for launch Friday from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Arctic and Antarctic ice could melt more quickly than expected this century, according to two studies led by scientists at NCAR and the University of Arizona. Blending computer models with paleoclimate records, the studies show that Arctic summers by 2100 may be as warm as those 130,000 years ago.
Schoolchildren worldwide will scan the night sky, hunting for constellations and measuring light pollution, in a weeklong event called GLOBE at Night. Open to all via the Internet, the project is sponsored by The GLOBE Program.
Diana H. Josephson, known for her vision in revitalizing organizations ranging from government agencies to nonprofits, died on Monday March 6, at her home in Boulder, Colorado, from complications of cancer.
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