Noaa

New Noaa Climate Change Study Finds More Warming Of Ocean

... complexity of the problems surrounding climate change (or global warming). The paper published last week in the scientific journal Science Advances reveals that greenhouse gases buildup is warming the upper ocean four times faster during the years 1960 to 1990. Another concern highlighted by the paper is the warming of the deeper water column of oceans. The paper titled “Improved estimates of ocean heat content from 1960 to 2015” used the data provided by current and historical measurements from satellites, ships and self-propelled floats. By comparing the limited observations in the 1960 s and the measurements of satellites and more advanced devices in more recent decades, researchers from the NOAA, the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing have found that oceans may be storing as much as ...

Nelson, Rubio Fight Back Over Proposed Cuts To Coast Guard, Noaa And Fema

... NOAA Capt. Michael Silah knows what it is like to navigate intense storms. Now, as head of NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center, which is moving from Mac Dill Air Force Base to Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, he is trying to navigate the latest political storm. Because the budget cuts are considered "pre-decisional," Silah, like others contacted for this story, won't address specifics. But he said the Aircraft Operations Center's $22 million annual budget, spent on flying planes into and around storms to help determine track and intensity, is money well spent. The center's hurricane tracking efforts have improved the forecast cone by 15 percent, Silah said. That could mean big savings considering it costs local, state and federal emergency managers about $1 million per mile of coastline to evacuate residents. "If we can shrink that cone, so fewer communities have to be evacuated, its saves far more than $22 million," he said. On the other side of the storms, after hurricanes Matthew and Hermine hit Florida last year, FEMA paid out ...

Trump's Reckless Plan To Gut Noaa

... Reckless Plan to Starve NOAA. Why America needs weather forecasts. Photographer: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images. March 10, 2017 9:30 AM EST. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is just one of many federal agencies marked for drastic funding reductions to enable a big boost in military spending. But the cuts proposed for America's center of weather and climate research reveal alarming pitfalls in President Donald Trump's approach to budgeting: a reluctance to invest in the future, a disregard for science and a willingness to damage a well-functioning government operation for a minimal pay-off. According to an outline recently obtained by the Washington Post, NOAA's budget is set to lose almost $1 billion, a crippling 17 percent hit. The cuts would be especially deep to divisions that work on climate modeling, so they might seem unsurprising targets for a climate-change-doubting president. NOAA's satellite office, in particular, recently angered climate deniers in Congress when it demonstrated that there's been no slowdown in the ...

Trump's Proposed Noaa Budget Cuts Rattle Scientists

... as it looked across the surface of the Earth on Jan. 15, 2017. (Photo: NOAA). 24887 CONNECT TWEET LINKEDIN 124 COMMENTEMAILMORE. The White House is proposing a 17% cut to the nation's top weather and climate agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Washington Post reported , and many scientists are worried. NOAA is part of the U. S. Department of Commerce and oversees the National Weather Service. It "is the lead agency for the nation's weather forecasts, weather satellites, fisheries, ocean services and climate monitoring," University of Georgia meteorologist Marshall Shepherd wrote in a commentary for Forbes magazine. A drastic cut could "place American lives and property at risk," Shepherd said. "The proposed cuts are huge and would cripple the ability of the National Weather Service to improve the quality of weather predictions provided to the American people," Seattle-based meteorologist Cliff Mass said on his blog. NOAA also operates the large fleet of weather satellites and ...

Lakeland-bound Hurricane Hunters Have Strong Case Against Budget Cuts

... in a gambit to land the federal contract — building materials were ordered before the U. S. Department of Commerce, NOAA's parent agency, had made a final decision between Lakeland and St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport. The Aircraft Operations Center's fleet of nine aircraft and 110 employees — including pilots, technicians and scientists — will conduct its missions out of Lakeland. "Our reach will begin in Lakeland and our reach is truly global," Silah said. Silah's audience included a number of Lakeland and Polk County leaders at the celebratory event ahead of the April 4 through April 9 Sun 'n Fun Fly-In. The event gives local leaders a chance to celebrate the air show and the educational mission of the Sun 'n Fun organization. The fly-in is "one of the greatest aviation events ...

New Noaa Satellite Tracks Lightning In Real Time From Space

... year.". Are you a weather nerd? Take our quiz. The lightning detector is in geostationary orbit – it remains in the same location relative to the ground below it – allowing it to continuously track lightning storms. It works by looking for flashes anywhere in the Western Hemisphere, “so forecasters know when a storm is forming, intensifying, and becoming more dangerous,” explains NOAA. “Rapid increases of lightning are a signal that a storm is strengthening quickly and could produce severe weather,” the agency said in a press release. "When combined with radar and other satellite data, GLM data may help forecasters anticipate severe weather and issue flood and flash flood warnings sooner.". In addition, the instrument will help identify lightning-sparked wildfires in dry areas like the American West, which should lead to faster response times from fire crews. The first images from the GLM reveal lightning ...

Here Are The Most Incredible Life Forms Noaa Found On Its Latest Deep Sea Dive

... information by exploring areas of the deep ocean in American Samoa for the first time.”. Yellow zoanthids at the base of a dead golden octocoral skeleton. (Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2017 American Samoa.). From February 16 to 26, and with the assistance of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), the scientists conducted several dives, uncovering an assortment of biological curiosities—from cosmic jellyfish and mollusks through to bipedal searobins and aquatic Venus flytraps. “We observed at least a dozen of potential new species of sea stars, sponges, feather sea stars, corals and mollusks, several of which we have collected,” said Herrera. “These collections will allow us to confirm new species designations, provide type specimens for descriptions and enable genetic analyses to establish evolutionary relationships with other known species.”. The researchers also identified distinct communities on seamounts, and documented significant growth of an active volcano, Vailulu’u, whose summit is found half a mile below the sea surface. Here are some of our favorite ...

Nasa, Noaa Satellites See Winter Storm Madness 'march' To The East

... NASA/NOAA GOES Project. NASA and NOAA satellites are providing various views of the major winter storm marching toward the U. S. East coast on March 13. The storm is forecast to merge with another system and is expected to bring large snowfall totals from the Mid-Atlantic to New England. NASA's Aqua satellite gathered infrared data from the storm system and the area ahead of the storm for cloud and ground temperatures. NOAA's GOES-East satellite provided visible and infrared imagery that showed the extent and the movement of the system. Forecasters at the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center (WPC) noted that the low pressure system crossing the Midwest states and Ohio Valley is expected to merge with another low off the southeast U. S. coast. WPC stated "This will allow for a strong nor'easter to develop near the coast and cause a late-season snowstorm from the central Appalachians to New England, including many of the big cities in the Northeast U. S.". An Infrared Look at the Storm. Infrared light provides scientists ...