Note from the editor: The following is an email sent by COMET, a program within the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) that specializes in outreach and education on a broad range of meteorological topics. Listed are their newest “training modules”, which are free and fun to use and provide outstanding scientific information that can […]
Could Climate Change Have Contributed to the Fall of Rome?
March 26, 2012
By Penny Paugh One form of environmental data, tree rings, has provided evidence of a climate shift that, perhaps not coincidentally, occurred from 250 to 550 A.D., a period that coincides with the fall of the Roman Empire. From ancient wood found in medieval castles and Roman ruins, the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, […]
African Drought and Data Rescue
March 23, 2012
Drought in Africa has been a destructive force to life and property since the beginning of recorded time. Most recently, East Africa suffered a severe drought in 2010 that persisted nearly the entire year. However, one good thing that came out of this catastrophic drought was that it revealed several important hints for predicting future […]
Part 4: The Land
March 20, 2012
Luisa Cristini, PhD, University of Hawaii at Manoa. [Note from the editor: This is the fourth in a series of blog entries that will focus on introductory topics in climate dynamics and modeling, and will be a great insight into the current understanding of the science.] Many characteristics of the climate are influenced by the […]
Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) is WMO’s Top Priority
March 15, 2012
The world relies on up-to-the minute, reliable weather forecasts for everything ranging from social activities to multi-million dollar decisions. According to one recent study, U.S. economic output varies by up to $485 billion a year – about 3.4 per cent of Gross Domestic Product – owing to weather variability. The Global Framework for Climate Services […]
Ozone Hero F. Sherwood Rowland Leaves A Legacy, A Message
March 15, 2012
F. Sherwood Rowland, one of the world’s greatest environmental heroes, passed away last weekend at the age of 84. Rowland worked in the Physical Sciences Department at the University of California, Irvine, and was the first person to sound the alarm over the damaging effects of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) on the ozone layer. In 1985, scientists […]
Part 3: What’s Hot About Ice?
March 12, 2012
By Luisa Cristini, PhD, University of Hawaii at Manoa. [Note from the editor: This is the third in a series of blog entries that will focus on introductory topics in climate dynamics and modeling, and will be a great insight into the current understanding of the science.] The cryosphere is the portion of the Earth’s […]
How Weather Observations Are Made
March 10, 2012
By Luisa Cristini, PhD, University of Hawaii at Manoa Gavin Roy, Master’s of Science candidate, Colorado State University From Storm Spotters to transmissometers, there are countless methods that major meterological organizations and scientists use for observing and recording weather data… Weather observations are fundamental to forecasting weather and for climatological research. Weather data can be […]
Are Tornadoes Becoming More Common?
March 8, 2012
We are only about two months into 2012, but already the United States has had 183 confirmed tornadoes and 49 associated fatalities as of March 7. With the debate about global warming and its consequences at the forefront of the nation’s attention, the public likely has many weather-related questions. What is to blame for the […]
Tracking Pollutants in the Atmosphere
March 6, 2012
By Penny Paugh Researchers have launched the 5-phase HIPPO (HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observation) project that generates detailed mapping, vertically and across latitudes, of the global distribution of greenhouse gases, black carbon and related chemical species in the atmosphere. Scientists hope HIPPO’s detailed view will allow them to more realistically approximate the global atmosphere’s chemical distribution and […]