News

Greenhouse gas pollution trapped 49% more heat in 2021 than in 1990, NOAA finds

Greenhouse gas pollution caused by human activities trapped 49% more heat in the atmosphere in 2021 than they did in 1990, according to NOAA scientists.

HORUS is approved to fly in the national airspace in northeastern Colorado

NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory has recently obtained approval from the FAA to fly the High-altitude Operational Returning Unmanned System (HORUS) up to 90,000 ft above mean sea level in the national airspace in northeastern Colorado.

GML is replacing the surface ozone instrument in Summit, Greenland

Scientists have sent out the surface ozone instrument replacement for the site in Summit, Greenland.

Surface ozone depletion events are taking place in Utqiaġvik, Alaska

Springtime (March-May) in the arctic is the prime time for surface ozone depletion events. Since March, several depletion events have been captured by surface ozone measurements at NOAA Barrow Atmospheric Research Observatory near Utqiaġvik, Alaska.

NOAA’s observations help EPA track emissions of a family of greenhouse gases

For the first time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is using NOAA atmospheric measurements to help support a national inventory of emissions from an important family of greenhouse gases.

Increase in atmospheric methane set another record during 2021

For the second year in a row, NOAA scientists observed a record annual increase in atmospheric levels of methane, a powerful, heat-trapping greenhouse gas that’s the second biggest contributor to human-caused global warming after carbon dioxide.

Modeling greenhouse gas emissions from atmospheric observations with Lei Hu

In celebration of Women’s History Month, this article continues a series of interviews with NOAA Research employees and scientists.

Fair-weather cumulus clouds are found to stimulate more surface energy exchange over a forested landscape

New research found that low, fair-weather, cumulus clouds stimulate stronger surface energy exchange in comparison to other sky conditions over a forested landscape in northern Wisconsin.

NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory Development of a UAS “Virtual Tower” for Gas and Ozone Measurements

Scientists from NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) have undertaken novel development of an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) “hexacopter” that will enable the lab to not only recommence a long-standing mission that was recently forced to halt, but paves the way toward enhanced operations in the future.

Research confirms the large impact of the Antarctic ozone hole on UV radiation

New research in confirms a large effect of the Antarctic ozone hole on UV radiation.

Two additional regions of Asia were sources of banned ozone-destroying chemicals

A follow-up investigation by NOAA scientists into the sudden increase in emissions of an ozone-destroying chemical between 2010 and 2018 has determined that three regions of Asia - not just one - were responsible for rising emissions of the banned chemical.

Former GML Director James Butler retires

Dr. James Butler, Director of NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML), retired on December 31, 2021 after 35+ years of service to NOAA and the global scientific community.

Fires are driving short-term spikes in an ozone-depleting gas

New research reveals global wildfires as an important cause of the short-term spikes in the atmospheric abundance of a potent ozone-depleting chemical, methyl bromide.

A potential application of a low-cost sensor in global aerosol monitoring

New research evaluates the use of a low-cost, widely-used PurpleAir sensor to estimate aerosol light scattering properties.

A new site is installed for the NOAA Federated Aerosol Network

A new site was installed for the NOAA Federated Aerosol Network (NFAN) in January 2022. The new station will be operated by the Air Force Institute of Technology at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.