Recent studies show the world’s ocean is heating up as it absorbs most of the extra heat being added to the climate system from the build-up of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. This climate trend, and many others, are documented in NOAA’s newly released 2009 State of the Climate Report.
Will ocean currents carry oil and byproducts from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead beyond the Gulf of Mexico and out into the open Atlantic Ocean? Climate data and computer models help scientists predict how and where.
Does a Warmer World Make Hurricanes Stronger?
May 28, 2010
Scientists examine data from computer models to generate simulations of sea ice thickness now and three decades into the future.
Many of the Northwestern Hawaiian islands where sea turtles nest have low, flat coastal plains. They are already vulnerable to storm surges, and they could be totally inundated as sea level rises.
The “Scarlet Knight” becomes the first unmanned underwater glider to successfully cross the Atlantic. The technology promises to improve our understanding of the ocean and its role in climate and weather.
For years, people have been pointing to El Niño as the culprit behind floods, droughts, famines, economic failures, and record-breaking global heat. Can a single climate phenomenon really cause all these events? Is the world just a step away from disaster when El Niño conditions develop?
Improved computer models help scientists understand Earth’s ocean.
The Origin and Impacts of Ocean Acidification, Part 3
September 30, 2009
The Origin and Impacts of Ocean Acidification, Part 2
September 30, 2009