News & Research Highlights

A newly released report highlights NOAA’s many notable scientific accomplishments from 2021. The report details research on how climate change could impact West Coast fisheries, and gathering information critical to improving hurricane forecasts, among more than 60 stories.

In a recent study published in the journal Coral Reefs, scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) found that staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) fragments exposed to an oscillating temperature treatment were better able to respond to heat stress caused by warming oceans.

A new study uses GFDL’s SPEAR seasonal-to-decadal forecast system to produce multi-seasonal atmospheric river frequency forecasts with predictive skill at least nine months in advance.

Organic aerosols (OAs) comprise a significant fraction of the Arctic aerosol mass, helping modulate the radiative balance of the Arctic atmosphere. A new study sheds light on composition and sources of OAs. While OAs in the Arctic are primarily influenced by anthropogenic emissions, mostly from Eurasia in winter, natural emissions largely take over in summer.

Researchers in Colorado have employed machine learning to improve understanding of precipitation forecasts for the US West Coast.

Amber Liggett, a Communications Analyst in CPO’s Communication, Education, and Engagement (CEE) Division, will participate in two climate justice panel discussions in the UCAR Center for Science Education virtual event as part of Bard College’s Worldwide Teach-in for Climate/Justice March 30, 2022.

The people, economy, and ecosystems of the Pacific coast states of California, Oregon and Washington are highly dependent on cool-season atmospheric rivers for their annual water supply. A new study suggests climate change may alter atmospheric rivers in ways that complicate water management.

A new study conducted in Wisconsin indicates that low, fair-weather, cumulus clouds stimulate stronger surface energy exchange in comparison to other sky conditions over a forested landscape.

In the tropical Pacific, year-to-year changes in chlorophyll is dominated by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. El Niño can sharply reduce the regional supply of nutrients, limiting phytoplankton growth. GFDL’s new Earth System Model captures not only the onset and extent of chlorophyll anomalies during El Niño events, but also a pronounced post-El Niño “chlorophyll rebound” that produces positive equatorial Pacific chlorophyll anomalies in the summer following El Niño events.

The Northeast Pacific Ocean has experienced multiple marine heatwaves. One notable marine heatwave, nicknamed the Blob, lasted from the winter of 2013–2014 through mid-2016. A new study indicates that specific ocean surface conditions may help scientists predict Northeast Pacific marine heatwaves months in advance.