WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

25-29 January 2010

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Interesting recent satellite images -- The effects caused by a variety of atmospheric processes can be detected by instruments onboard NASA and NOAA satellites orbiting the Earth. Some of these images obtained during the last week include:
- West coast storm from space -- A series of images obtained from the GOES satellite (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) operated by NOAA and the MODIS instrument on NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites for a three-day span last week show the clouds associated with a major winter storm that brought locally heavy precipitation and high winds to California and adjacent states. [NASA Earth Observatory]
- African flooding monitored from space -- Two false-color images obtained from the ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite over a recent six-day span show the magnitude of the flooding across Tanzania. [NASA Earth Observatory]
- Satellite shows ice formation in lower St. Lawrence River -- A high resolution image obtained from the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensor on NASA's Aqua satellite one week ago shows the formation of new ice along lower sections of Canada's St. Lawrence River downstream of Quebec City. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Earth scientists in the news -- During the last two weeks, several scientists who specialize in meteorology and oceanography have been noted for their accomplishments:
- Tim Liu, a senior research scientists with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory received the 2010 Verner E. Suomi Award from the American Meteorological Society for his "research in space-borne measurements of air-sea interactions and the water cycle, and for inspiring progress through interdisciplinary science team leadership." This award is named for the late Verner E. Suomi of the Space Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who has been called the father of satellite meteorology. [NASA JPL]
- Michael C. Coniglio and Pamela L. Heinselman, research scientists at the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory have been awarded the prestigious 2009 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) at a recent ceremony at the White House for their work on improving tornado forecasting and new radar systems. [NOAA Weather Partners]
  Josh Willis, an oceanographer from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, received the 2009 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers at the White House in mid January for his work in using data collected by satellites and at sea to study the impact of global warming on the oceans. [NASA JPL]
- Dr. Margaret "Peggy" LeMone, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) began a one-year term as president of the American Meteorological Society at the society's annual meeting last week. She is a noted atmospheric scientist, with expertise in cloud physics. [NCAR/UCAR] Editor's note: Dr. LeMone has been associated with the AMS Education Program for many years. EJH

CURRENT CLIMATE STATUS

State and city weather extremes for December 2009 -- The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) has posted a listing of some of the notable extremes in temperature, precipitation and other weather elements across the nation for the recently completed month of December in "Selected U.S. City and State Extremes for December 2009." Note that this site may be updated during the following several weeks as more data are received and analyzed.
Global weather and climate for December 2009 and the calendar year reviewed -- Scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center reported that based upon their preliminary analysis of worldwide land and ocean surface temperature data collected for the month of December 2009, the month's globally averaged ocean surface temperature was the second highest December temperature since sufficiently detailed world-wide climate records began in 1880. Only December 1997 had a higher December ocean temperature. While the globally averaged land surface temperature for December 2009 was above the 20th century average, the month's land surface temperature was the lowest since December 2002. Combined, the globally averaged land and ocean surface temperature for the month was the eighth highest December reading since 1880. Although Arctic sea ice cover was the fourth smallest for any December since 1979 (the beginning of satellite surveillance), the Northern Hemisphere snow cover was the second largest and the North American snow cover the largest since satellite records began in 1967.
Preliminary analysis of worldwide combined land and ocean surface temperatures for the recently-concluded calendar year of 2009 by scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) indicates that 2009 tied with 2006 for the fifth warmest year since 1880. The scientists also note that the year's ocean surface temperatures were tied for fourth highest, while the global land surface temperature for 2009 tied for seventh highest. [NOAA News]
Because of a slightly different methodology used in averaging global surface temperatures, scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies report that 2009 was globally the second warmest since 1880. Furthermore, 2009 was the warmest on record for the Southern Hemisphere. These NASA scientists also noted that the decade (2000-2009) was the warmest in the 130-year instrumental record. [NASA GSFC] An interview with Dr. Gavin Schmidt, a climate researcher at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, answers five questions that were posed concerning the global temperature record since 1880. [NASA JPL]
Two large-scale global maps show the temperature anomalies (differences between observed and long-term average temperatures) for 2009 and for the 2000-09 decade. These maps illustrate just how much higher the temperatures were in 2009 and the decade (2000-2009) compared to average temperatures recorded between 1951 and 1980. [NASA Earth Observatory]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

A new technique could help predict solar flares -- A scientist at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center and her colleagues claim that they have discovered a technique for predicting solar flares with a lead time of between two to three days with unprecedented accuracy. This technique involves the analysis of changes in the magnetic fields in the region of the sun just below the solar surface. [NOAA News]
An All-Hazards Monitor--This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, fire weather, marine weather, severe weather, drought and floods. [NOAAWatch]
Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes -- A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, including drought, floods and storms during the current month. [NCDC]

CLIMATE FORCING

Urban "green spaces" could add to global warming -- In research conducted at the University of California-Irvine, urban "green spaces" in Southern California have been found to contribute to more greenhouse emissions because of fertilizer production and lawn maintenance than those locations without lawns. [UCIrvine Today]
Ocean bubbles affect climate, light and sound -- A researcher at the University of Rhode Island has been analyzing the size range and numbers of ocean bubbles in an attempt to determine the role that these bubbles play in the transfer of carbon dioxide, oxygen and other gases between the atmosphere and ocean depths. The bubbles also affect transmission of light and sound in the ocean. She believes that her research should help other scientists create more accurate climate models. [EurekAlert!]

CLIMATE IMPACTS ON THE BIOSPHERE

Forests could heat -- Researchers at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science report that some types of forests, such as the semi-arid pine forest at their experimental station, absorb and retain sufficient amounts of heat to result in higher temperatures and counter the beneficial effects due to lowering atmospheric carbon dioxide. Their research station is part of an international FLUXNET network of 400 stations that is used to investigate the relationship between forests, the atmosphere and global climate. [EurekAlert!]

CLIMATE FORECASTS

New seasonal climate outlooks for late winter-early spring -- Last week, forecasters at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center released their seasonal climate outlooks for the three months of February, March and April 2010, which covers the last month of meteorological winter (February) and the first two months of meteorological spring (March and April). The forecasters foresee a greater than average chance of above average temperatures across the Northwest and the upper Midwest, while a better than average chance of below average temperatures from Texas eastward along the Gulf Coast to Florida. Elsewhere, they indicate nearly equal chances of below and above average temperatures for this three-month span. They also foresee that the southern tier of states from southern California eastward to Florida would have a good chance of having wetter than average conditions, while the Pacific Northwest and the eastern Great Lakes stand a better than average chance of experiencing a dry three month period. [NOAA CPC]

PALEOCLIMATE RECONSTRUCTION

Abrupt climate swings seen in the Southwest's Ice Age climate from cave formations -- Geosciences researchers at the University of Arizona have found that the growth rates of the stalagmite formations in Arizona's Cave of the Bells appear to provide a record of the winter precipitation across the Southwest during the last Ice Age. They linked the variations in winter precipitation across the Southwest with temperatures in Greenland and the North Atlantic. [EurekAlert!]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

Springtime ozone increases across western North America due to Asian pollution -- Using data collected by NOAA research aircraft and the tropospheric ozone lidar laboratory at the Table Mountain Facility of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory researchers from NOAA, NASA, Canada and France have found that springtime ozone levels across western North America appear to increase when the air originates in Asia, indicating that the source of the low-level ozone was from atmospheric pollution emitted in Asia. The higher low-level ozone levels increase the difficulty for adherence to the Clean Air Act by the western states. [NOAA News] [NASA JPL]
Managing dams on Northwest rivers due to changing climate -- Civil engineers at the University of Washington and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Seattle office have developed a new computer modeling technique that would allow them to assess how dams in the Columbia River basin of Washington and Oregon could be effectively managed for a different climate. They are concerned about summertime losses in hydropower because of changes in the snowpack in the mountains within the Columbia basin. [University of Washington News]
Website for human dimensions of climate change -- An interagency effort within the US federal government that included NOAA, the Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service, has resulted in a website called HD.gov (for HumanDimensions.gov) that provides users, such as natural resource managers, with information on the human dimensions on a variety of topics of interest such as climate change. [HD.gov]

COMPARATIVE PLANETOLOGY

Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Concept of the Week: An Introduction to Course Structure

Welcome to DataStreme ECS (Earth's Climate System)! You are embarking on a unique teacher-enhancement experience that focuses on climate and climate change from an Earth system perspective. Throughout this learning experience, you will be accessing the DataStreme ECS website frequently to acquire learning files and to obtain and interpret a variety of environmental information, including the latest observational data.

On Monday of each week of the course, we will post the current Weekly Climate News that includes Climate in the News (a summary listing of current events related to climate), Concept of the Week (an in-depth analysis of some topic related to climate), and Historical Events (a listing of past events). When appropriate, a feature called Supplemental Information-In Greater Depth will be provided on some topic related to the principal theme of the week.

A weekly Current Climate Studies file will be posted by Monday morning every week as the course progresses. This is to be completed by course participants each week in combination with Investigations A and B delivered via the Investigations Manual.

Course Conceptual Structure:

In this first Concept of the Week, our topic focuses on the themes underlying the AMS Education Program's approach to climate science. DataStreme ECS (Earth's Climate System) is organized conceptually along two strands (a strand being a pattern forming a unity within a larger structural whole) that are carried forward concurrently as the course of study proceeds. The primary strand is a systematic study of climate, climate variability, and climate change encompassing the fundamentals of modern climate science. These fundamentals include the spatial variations in climate as a response to many interacting forcing agents or mechanisms both internal and external to the Earth system. The DataStreme ECS course textbook, printed study guide, and course website deliver primary-strand learning experiences.

The second strand focuses on climate change and impacts primarily based on findings by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. DataStreme ECS shares a common goal with these entities of relying on the latest authoritative scientific information to inform decision making as society strives to develop effective policies in response to vulnerabilities arising from climate variability and climate change.

The main vehicle DataStreme ECS uses for treating the second strand is the series of Current Climate Studies that appear weekly on the course website as the course progresses. Delivery of the series in real time allows incorporation of the latest information about climate change and impacts.

Concept of the Week: Questions

(Each week you will be asked to respond to two questions relating to that week's Concept of the Week topic. Place your responses on the Chapter Progress Response Form provided in the Study Guide.)

The [(primary)(second)] conceptual strand of this course focuses on the systematic study of climate, climate variability, and climate change.
The [(primary)(second)] conceptual strand of this course focuses on climate change and impacts primarily based on findings by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

Historical Events:

25 January 1965...Alta, UT was in the midst of a storm that left the town buried under 105 inches of snow establishing a record for the state. (David Ludlum)
26 January 1884...The coldest day on Canada's Prince Edward Island occurred when the temperature at Kilmahumaig, PEI fell to 35 degrees below zero. (The Weather Doctor)
27 January 1940...Florida had a 3-day long freeze with the lowest temperatures ever in January. Mason, FL dropped to 8 degrees. Eleven million boxes of citrus were damaged, resulting in a 10 million-dollar loss. Further north, Georgia's record low temperature of 17 degrees below zero was set near Calhoun. (Intellicast)
27 January 1994...A frigid arctic air was in place over New England and New York as a massive 1052-millibar (31.06 inches of mercury) high pressure provided ideal radiational cooling. Crown Point, NY dipped to 48 degrees below zero and Shoreham, VT shivered with 46 degrees below zero, Burlington, VT broke its old record daily low by 9 degrees with a reading of 29 degrees below zero and Caribou, ME set a record low for the third day in a row with a temperature of 23 degrees below zero. (Intellicast)
28 January 1925...The temperature at Pittsburg, NH fell to 46 degrees below zero, establishing a new record low temperature for the state. (Intellicast) In January 1934, this record was broken with a reading of 47 degrees below zero. (NCDC)
28 January 1963...The low temperature of 34 degrees below zero at Cynthiana, KY equaled the state record established just four days earlier at Bonnieville. (The Weather Channel) This all-time state record for Kentucky has since been eclipsed by a 37 degree zero reading in January 1994. (NCDC)
28 January 1988...Barometric pressure readings of 30.55 inches at Miami FL, 30.66 inches at Tampa, FL, and 30.72 inches at Apalachicola, FL were all-time record high readings for those locations. (National Weather Summary)
28 January 1989...Nome, AK reported an all-time record low reading of 54 degrees below zero. (National Weather Summary)
29 January 1934...The temperature at the Observatory on top of Mt. Washington, NH (the highest point in New England) fell to 47 degrees below zero, establishing a new all-time record low temperature for the state. (NCDC)
30 January 1966...Alabama's record low temperature of 27 degrees below zero was set at New Market. Mississippi's record low temperature of 19 degrees below zero was set near Corinth. North Carolina's record low temperature of 29 degrees below zero was set at Mount Mitchell. (Intellicast) The record for the Tarheel State has been broken with a reading of 34 degrees below zero in January 1985. (NCDC)
31 January 1911...Tamarack, CA was without snow the first eight days of the month, but by the end of January had been buried under 390 inches of snow, a record monthly snowfall total for the U.S. (The Weather Channel)
31 January 1920...The highest barometric pressure observed in the contiguous forty-eight states was recorded at Northfield, VT with a reading of 31.14 inches of mercury (1054.5 millibars). (The Weather Doctor)
31 January 1963...The Mt. Rose Highway Station near Reno, NV reported 7.13 inches of precipitation, which set a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for Nevada. (NCDC)
31 January 1989...The barometer rose to 31.85 inches of mercury (1079.7 millibars) at Northway, AK, establishing the all time highest reading for the North American continent. (The Weather Doctor)
31 January 1994...Caribou, ME recorded its coldest month ever. The average temperature for the month was a frigid 0.7 degrees below zero. The old record was 1.3 degrees set in January 1957. (Intellicast)

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