Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences

TheConvention on Climate Change sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change. It recognizes that the climate system is a shared resource whose stability can be affected by industrial and other emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases.

The Climate Prediction Center's (CPC) products are operational predictions of climate variability, real-time monitoring of climate and the required data bases, and assessments of the origins of major climate anomalies. The products cover time scales from a week to seasons, extending into the future as far as technically feasible, and cover the land, the ocean, and the atmosphere, extending into the stratosphere. These climate services are available for users in government, the public and private industry, both in this country and abroad. Applications include the mitigation of weather related natural disasters and uses for social and economic good in agriculture, energy, transportation, water resources, and health. Continual product improvements are supported through diagnostic research, increasing use of models, and interactions with user groups. We serve the public by assessing and forecasting the impacts of short-term climate variability, emphasizing enhanced risks of weather-related extreme events for use in mitigating losses and maximizing economic gains.

PMEL carries out interdisciplinary scientific investigations in oceanography and atmospheric science. Current PMEL programs focus on open ocean observations in support of long-term monitoring and prediction of the ocean environment on time scales from hours to decades.

The Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research (CIFAR) was established through a Memorandum of Understanding between NOAA and the University of Alaska in April 1994. It is one of thirteen national NOAA-University joint institutes; CIFAR is the only joint institute exclusively concerned with arctic research. We work closely with the NOAA Office of Arctic Research and the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL). Our partnerships with NOAA also include the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the National Ocean Service (NOS), and an emerging relationship with the National Weather Service. CIFAR is designed to be a focal point for interactions between NOAA and the arctic research community through the University of Alaska for research related to NOAA's interests, especially in the Western Arctic/Bering Sea region. This area, vital to many nations because of its fisheries, oil and gas resources and its Native communities, is also the focus of increased international attention and research. While uncertainties exist about the future, changes in the region during the past few decades have occurred at a rapid pace. Both natural environmental fluctuations and human activities have caused biological changes in the Bering Sea ecosystem. On land and in the sea, substantial climate warming has taken place and this has led to major changes in this high-latitude environment with societal impacts that will become even more pronounced if present climatic trends continue.

AMAP is an international organization established in 1991 to implement components of the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS). Now a programme group of the Arctic Council, AMAP's current objective is "providing reliable and sufficient information on the status of, and threats to, the Arctic environment, and providing scientific advice on actions to be taken in order to support Arctic governments in their efforts to take remedial and preventive actions relating to contaminants".

The Arctic Research Office (ARO) serves as a focal point for NOAA's research activities in the Arctic, Bering Sea, North Pacific and North Atlantic regions. The office manages the Arctic Research Initiative and other funds allocated to it, supporting both internal NOAA and extramural research. It represents NOAA on the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee, leads U.S. involvement in the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, and provides a point of contact between NOAA and the Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research and the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The Arctic Research Office is a component of NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.

The NOAA Arctic Science Laboratory (ASL) integrates NOAA's high latitude science capabilities to form a virtual organization focused on critical science issues in the Arctic. Participants throughout NOAA's line offices and programs to form this virtual laboratory, including NOAA research scientists, facilities, and unique capabilities.

This Arctic Theme Page provides access to widely distributed Arctic data and information for scientists, students, teachers, academia, managers, decision makers and the general public. Visit NOAA's Arctic Science Laboratory and Arctic Research Office.

CMDL's mission is to observe and understand, through accurate, long-term records of atmospheric gases, aerosol particles, and solar radiation, the Earth's atmospheric system controlling climate forcing, ozone depletion and baseline air quality, in order to develop products that will advance global and regional environmental information and services.

The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 187 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was founded in 1873. Established in 1950, WMO became the specialized agency of the United Nations for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences.Since its establishment, WMO has played a unique and powerful role in contributing to the welfare of humanity. Under WMO leadership and within the framework of WMO programmes, National Meteorological and Hydrological Services have contributed substantially to the protection of life and property against natural disasters, to safeguarding the environment and to enhancing the economic and social well-being of all sectors of society in areas such as food security, water resources and transport. It has a unique role within the UN system it facilitates the free and unrestricted exchange of data and information, products and services in real- or near-real time on matters relating to safety and security of society, economic well being and the prevention of the environment. As weather and climate know no national boundaries, international cooperation at a global scale is essential for the development of meteorology and operational hydrology as well as to reap the benefits from their applications. WMO provides the framework for such international cooperation.

The EPA Global Warming Site is provided as a public service by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA's climate change programs and activities are an integral part of the Agency's mission and purpose. With the Global Warming Site, we strive to present accurate information on the very broad issue of climate change and global warming in a way that is accessible and meaningful to all parts of society communities, individuals, business, public officials and governments.

UTLS OZONE is an eight-year UK NERC funded thematic programme, which started in 1998, to study ozone in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. The Programme aims to make authoritative statements on chemical, dynamical and radiative processes controlling the distribution of ozone in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere at middle latitudes. Studies related to pollution (from surface sources and from aircraft) and to chemistry/climate interactions will be in scope.

WeatherMatrix is a worldwide organization of over 9000 amateur and professional weather enthusiasts -- meteorologists, storm chasers and spotters, and weather observers from all parts of the globe. We are the largest online weather community.

NAML, organized in the late 1980's, is a nonprofit organization of over 120 members employing more than 10,000 scientists, engineers, and professionals and representing marine and Great Lakes laboratories stretching from Guam to Bermuda and Alaska to Puerto Rico. NAML member laboratories provide a variety of academic, research, and public service programs. They are unique "windows on the sea," providing information on the rich environmental mosaic of coastal habitats where land meets sea. Their 'sense of place' encourages wise local land management and protection of our precious natural resources.

CORE is the Washington, D.C. based association of U.S. oceanographic research institutions, universities, laboratories, and aquaria. Our 79 members represent the nucleus of U.S. research and education about the ocean.

The Ocean Studies Board was established by the National Research Council to advise the federal government on issues of ocean science, engineering, and policy. In addition to exercising leadership within the ocean community, the Ocean Studies Board undertakes studies at the request of federal agencies, Congress, or other sponsors, or upon its own initiative. The Ocean Studies Board explores the science, policies, and infrastructure needed to under stand and protect coastal and marine environments and resources.

NOAA's research laboratories, Office of Global Programs, and research partners conduct a wide range of research into complex climate systems and how they work. These scientists want to improve their ability to predict climate variation in both the shorter term , like cold spells or periods of drought, and over longer terms like centuries and beyond. NOAA researchers will continue their consistent and uninterrupted monitoring of the Earth's atmosphere that can give us clues about long-term changes in the global climate. The data collected worldwide by NOAA researchers aids our understanding of, and ability to forecast changes in, complex climatic systems. Using ever more powerful and sophisticated computer systems, NOAA researchers are working on numeric modeling of climate systems that will help improve the accuracy of climate forecasts.

Arlindo is an acronym for Arus Lintas Indonesia, meaning 'Indonesian throughflow' in Bahasa Indonesia. The Arlindo program is a joint oceanographic research endeavor of Indonesia and the United States, designed to study the circulation and mixing of waters within the Indonesian seas. Arlindo Goal: to resolve the circulation and water mass stratification within the Indonesian Seas in order to formulate a thorough description of the source, spreading patterns, inter-ocean transport and dominant mixing processes within the Indonesian Seas. Such products are used for the development of regional and global ocean circulation models; large scale coupled ocean/atmosphere models sufficient for prediction of climate and global change; understanding of the environmental conditions within the Indonesian Seas and improved understanding of the factors that affect primary productivity within Indonesian waters.

The NAO is the dominant mode of winter climate variability in the North Atlantic region ranging from central North America to Europe and much into Northern Asia. The NAO is a large scale seesaw in atmospheric mass between the subtropical high and the polar low. The corresponding index varies from year to year, but also exhibits a tendency to remain in one phase for intervals lasting several years. The climate of the Atlantic sector and surrounding continents exhibits considerable variability on a wide range of time scales. Improved understanding of this variability is essential to assess the likely range of future climate fluctuations and the extent to which these fluctuations are predictable, and to assess the potential impact of climate change due to anthropogenic forcing.

Dramatic changes in early human evolution occurred in East and South Africa during the last ca. 5 Ma. These evolutionary changes include the gradual emergence of larger and bigger brained species, including the first appearance of our genus, Homo and the development of stone tools near ca. 2.6 Ma. Analysis of the fossil record from East and South Africa suggests that African fauna evolved in series of "pulses", centered near ca. 2.8 Ma, 1.8 Ma, and 1.0 Ma. Paleoclimate evidence from Africa and its adjacent oceans documents significant shifts in African climate towards progressively drier conditions. This "drying" of subtropical Africa occurred as a series of steps, also centered near ca. 2.8 Ma, 1.8 Ma, and 1.0 Ma. These fossil and paleoclimate results lend new support to environmental hypotheses of African faunal evolution, which state that critical junctures in African faunal evolution were mediated by ecological shifts forced by changes in African paleoclimate. As a result of ongoing efforts at this institution and at a number of research groups around the world, we are making progress on the question of how the evolution of hominids and other African vertebrates may have been shaped by past changes in African climate. This web site presents some of the current research topics being addressed at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.