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NOAA Research Accomplishments Many and Varied in 2007

NOAA research and development is unique within the federal government.  No other agency investigates the Earth system from the bottom of the ocean to the top reaches of the atmosphere. NOAA researchers are tackling some of our Nation’s most pressing challenges, including global climate change, improving weather and air quality forecasts and warnings, understanding the complexities of the oceans, and natural resource management.

Here are some prime examples of NOAA Research accomplishments in 2007.  For more NOAA Research headlines in 2007, visit the NOAA Research news archive.

Expanding Tropical Belt Could Affect Climate:

A recent study by NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory and partners found that the Earth’s tropical belt – approximately the area between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn – has widened over the past quarter century as the planet has warmed, and could change precipitation patterns that would affect ecosystems, agriculture, and water resources.  The researchers looked at how certain aspects of the structure and circulation of the atmosphere have been altered over the past few decades and how models predict they may change as the climate changes in the future.  Better understanding of changes in the oceans and atmosphere will contribute to advances in climate change prediction.

Powerful New NOAA Tool Tracks Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide by Source:

CarbonTracker, a new tool from NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory to monitor changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by region and source, is attracting the interest of government and business leaders.  CarbonTracker will enable users to evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts to reduce or store carbon emissions.  This tool also provides verification for scientists using computer models to project future climate change.  Potential users include corporations, cities, states, and nations assessing their efforts to manage fossil fuel emissions.  This may be the first step toward providing the basis of a carbon “cap and trade” tool.

NOAA Scientists Monitor Oceanic Methane Emissions for Climate Impact:

NOAA scientists specializing in undersea research developed a new listening technique to monitor emissions of methane from the seabed.  Methane, stored in and on the seafloor as hydrate (ice-like) deposits, is susceptible to atmospheric release from catastrophic events and could contribute to global warming.  By listening to the sounds different-sized bubbles produce, scientists estimate the quantity of methane being released and how much reaches the sea surface and atmosphere.  This technique will allow us to better understand the climate threat from seabed emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Climate Models Suggest Warming-Induced Wind Shear Changes Could Impact Future Hurricanes:

The NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory global climate model simulations for the 21st century indicate a robust increase in vertical wind shear (the difference in wind speed and direction over a relatively short vertical distance) in the tropical Atlantic and East Pacific oceans.  The increase in vertical wind shear could inhibit the development or intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic and East Pacific Oceans.  While other studies have linked hurricane intensity to global warming, this is the first published study to indicate that changes to vertical wind shear seen in future climate projections would likely diminish the frequency and intensity of hurricanes.  This research adds important, previously unavailable information to the body of scientific knowledge regarding the potential impacts of global climate change on hurricane formation and intensity.

 

NOAA Launches First Buoy to Measure Acidification:

The first buoy to monitor ocean acidification, a result of carbon dioxide absorbed by the ocean, was launched in the Gulf of Alaska.  This buoy is part of a National Science Foundation project awarded to NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and the University of Washington in Seattle, in collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Institute of Ocean Sciences in British Columbia.  The buoy measures the air-sea exchange of carbon dioxide, oxygen, and nitrogen gas, in addition to the pH -- a measure of ocean acidity -- of the surface waters.  Rising acidity in the ocean could have a detrimental effect on ocean organisms, with resulting impacts on ocean life and the food chain.

 

Mid-Atlantic Array to Aid in Study of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC):

NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory scientists and their partners installed an array of moorings in the mid-Atlantic to help study the Atlantic Ocean MOC that brings warm waters northward, and to assess its relationship to observed climate fluctuations.  Results from this array identified much larger variability than previously thought, which can impact marine ecosystems and the climate of North America.

NOAA ‘Green’ Research Vessels Win White House Award:

NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory earned a White House Closing-the-Circle Award in the green purchasing category for its fleet of research vessels operating on 100 percent bio-based fuel and lubricants.  The lab’s innovative efforts to engineer, operate, and maintain these vessels to support scientific missions also advances NOAA’s larger mission as a steward of the marine environment.  This initiative also reduced costs and has a positive impact on the work environment for the vessels’ crews and researchers.

Sea Grant Develops Storm Surge Vulnerability Maps:

The University of Puerto Rico Sea Grant Program developed a storm surge flood model to assess vulnerability on the coasts of Puerto Rico.  The maps incorporate current coastal flood maps with satellite images and census data (socio-economic and demographic information).  These maps will greatly benefit the approximately 1.4 million people in Puerto Rico who live in flood-sensitive zones.

NOAA Research Radar Gets True Test During Stormy Spring Weather:

For the first time this spring, data from the Phased Array Radar (PAR), part of the National Weather Radar Testbed (NWRT), were made available for operational use to the NWS Weather Forecast Office in Norman.  This innovative technology has the potential to vastly improve upon the existing national NEXRAD radar network.  Tests demonstrated that a complete volume scan around the Multi-function PAR can be obtained in less than one minute, while the current NEXRAD radar takes five to six minutes.  The NWRT demonstration supports the development of scientifically sound severe storm guidance applications to help improve the forecast and warning process and save lives and property.

Ozone Depleting Gas Index Developed:

NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory scientists developed a new Ozone-Depleting Gas Index (ODGI).  This simple index helps assess the decline in ozone-depleting gases from the maximum observed in the 1990s, relative to the amount at which ozone-recovery is expected.  The index allows policy-makers to better assess the effectiveness of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer to diminish atmospheric levels of ozone-depleting gases and enable the recovery of stratospheric ozone.

 

Ring-of-fire Undersea Explorations:

NOAA Ocean Exploration continued a series of discovery missions to undersea volcanoes and hydrothermal vents associated with the Submarine Ring of Fire, where they discovered abundant flows of both gaseous and liquid carbon dioxide from the seafloor, which will provide a natural deep-ocean laboratory for studying ocean sequestration of this greenhouse gas.  A large variety of apparently unique ecosystems have been discovered here because the Mariana Arc hydrothermal fluids are very different than those associated with seafloor spreading centers.  Organisms discovered here may have biotechnical and pharmaceutical value.

 

NOAA and Indonesia Strengthen Tsunami Warning System in Indian Ocean:

The United States and Indonesia jointly launched tsunami and climate-monitoring buoys in the region. Two Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART™) II buoys, developed by NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, are the only operational tsunami-detecting devices in the Indian Ocean.  Establishment of a tsunami-detection network is expected to provide better data to improve the prediction and early-warning system which could save lives in the event of a tsunami.  The buoys were additions to the expanding Global Earth Observation System of Systems, an international effort to monitor and predict changes in the Earth to benefit the environment, human health and the economy.

 

NOAA Develops Tracking System for Marine Creatures:

  Scientists’ previous efforts to track marine creatures using archival tags (electronic devices mounted on live animals) have failed or produced misleading position estimates.  Researchers with NOAA’s Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research developed a new method, using a series of light measurements recorded by the archival tags, to directly estimate the most probable track of marine creatures.  For the first time in the 20-year history of this technology it is possible to estimate geographic positions from the data collected by these tags, enhancing the value of the data collected and improving our understanding of marine ecosystems.

Pilotless Aircraft Flies Toward Eye of Hurricane for First Time:

In November 2007, a pilotless hurricane hunter was flown by remote control into Hurricane Noel to give researchers from NOAA and NASA the first real-time, low-altitude look at a storm with hurricane category 1 winds hovering around 80 miles per hour.  NOAA hurricane researchers are leading the collaborative effort to test the ability of using a remotely controlled unmanned aircraft system, or UAS, to fly into the eyewall of a hurricane at altitudes as low as 500 feet. Scientists hope using unmanned aircraft will help fill a gap in near-surface data. The data have been hard to gather because of the safety risks of low-level flight.  The five-foot-long Aerosonde UAS aircraft with a wing span of 10 feet is owned and operated by AAI Corporation subsidiary, Aerosonde Pty Ltd., located in Victoria, Australia.