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Changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and its transport of heat can affect climate and weather patterns, regional sea levels, and ecosystems! A new study led by Ivenis Pita, a @miamirosenstiel PhD student working at #AOML/ @cimas_rosenstiel, is the first to estimate the AMOC and heat transport at 22.5°S in the South Atlantic.  This study presents a new mapping method based on sustained ocean observations: a high-density expendable bathythermograph (XBT) transect to resolve the strong currents in the western boundary; low density Argo profiling floats across the basin; and satellite sea level data to determine the mapping parameters and errors associated with these estimates. This observing system was named AXMOC (for Argo-XBT-MOC). To learn more, click the link in bio! Photo 1 📸: In situ measurements used in the study. The locations of the Argo and XBT profiles are represented by blue and red dots, respectively. The reference transect at 22....

A large mass of Arctic air that moved south from Canada brought cold, wintry weather in mid-January 2024 that extended from the Pacific Northwest all the way to the East Coast. The cold reached as far south as Texas and Louisiana. NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this view of snow and clouds over the Great Lakes on Jan. 16, 2024. The map shows near-surface air temperatures at 7 a.m. EST on Jan. 15 from NASA’s Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS), which uses data from NASA satellites and other sources.  Another surge of frigid Arctic air is forecast to spread over the eastern half of the country on January 19 and 20, though it won’t be as extreme according to weather reports. But wait… wasn’t 2023 the hottest year on record? If Earth is experiencing a long-term warming trend, why do these cold events occur?  That’s a matter of weather versus climate. Weather typically refers to short-lived, while climate refers to longer-term averages and usually ov...

On Jan. 17, 2024, NOAA’s GOES West satellite captured this stunning visible imagery of leaf-shaped actinoform clouds forming next to swirling von Kármán vortices near Guadalupe Island. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2SzvhfxWuB/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ== Von Kármán vortices are beautiful swirling cloud formations that typically occur when the prevailing wind is diverted by elevated land features such as islands, mountaintops, or volcanoes. These geological features can disrupt the flow of wind, causing the air, and its subsequent clouds, to rotate into a spiral shape. This is similar to the way large boulders create downstream eddies in rivers. The pattern of the cloud swirls depends on the wind intensity. The vortices are driven by the prevailing winds, which can change seasonally and cause differences in the direction and structure of the vortices. Actinoform clouds are organized in a distinctive radial pattern, often appearing as leaf-like or reminiscent of wagon wheel spoke...

    This Copernicus Sentinel-3 image acquired on 19 April 2021 shows several vortical cloud patterns swirling downwind south of the Spanish Canary Islands, off the coast of northwestern Africa.   These beautiful spiral clouds, known as Von Kármán vortices, form when atmospheric circulation is disturbed by the presence of mountainous obstacles. The peculiar spiral clouds which can be seen in this image were formed as the wind airflow was deflected by the relief of the Canary Islands. These Von Kármán vortices can be seen extending 400 km southwest due to the strong trade winds that were blowing at the time the image was acquired.   The study of atmospheric phenomena is fundamental to the understanding the fluid dynamics that underly numerous scenarios of our daily lives, from aircraft take-offs to the change in weather conditions. Open data supplied by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission are crucial in the advancement of scientific knowledge on cloud dynamic...

Peak summer "greenness" continues to increase across the Arctic tundra, hitting the third-highest peak since 2000.  #ArcticReportCard2023 The Arctic Report Card for 2023 is here.  - Overall it was the sixth warmest year since records began and the 14th consecutive year temperatures have exceeded the 1991-2020 average.  - This summer was the warmest summer the Arctic has experienced on record. - The Arctic is warming at least two times faster than the rest of the globe in a widely recognized phenomenon known as "Arctic amplification".

  COP28 By Jonah Fisher & Mark Poynting BBC News Climate & Science The future of fossil fuels - particularly whether to agree to phasing out coal, oil and gas - is arguably the key issue of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. Any agreement is likely to rely on ambitious measures to capture and remove carbon dioxide (CO2) - the main gas responsible for global warming.   Techniques range from capturing CO2 before it is released at power stations and storing it deep underground, to using trees or machines to suck CO2 directly out of the air.   Here's a quick guide to the different types of carbon capture and removal, why they are needed, and their limitations.   What is carbon capture and storage and how does it work? Carbon capture and storage facilities aim to prevent CO2 produced from industrial processes and power stations from being released into the atmosphere.   Most of the CO2 from burning fossil fuels is captured, transported, and th...

  The ocean is our planet’s life-support system and a source of hope that humanity will be able to avoid a climate crisis and meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.   The Ocean Pavilion brings together world leaders in ocean science, engineering, and policy to carry the message that the ocean matters to everyone, everywhere and that science must lead the way in our quest for safe, long-term solutions to climate change.   Why now? Why the ocean? Earth is an ocean planet, and all life here depends on the ocean. The ocean gives us the oxygen we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. It protects and sustains billions of people worldwide.   The ocean is also the engine of Earth’s climate, supplying and absorbing heat, regulating the planetary water cycle, and housing 20 times more carbon than the atmosphere and terrestrial plants combined. Put simply, the ocean is climate, and the climate is the ocean.   But as we change the planet's cli...