NOAA and United Airlines partner to measure greenhouse gases, pollutants with high-tech flight instruments

NOAA and United Airlines have announced an agreement to equip a Boeing 737 with a sophisticated instrument package that will measure greenhouse gases and other pollutants during domestic flights. It’s a first step in establishing a partnership that could significantly improve monitoring of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases, as well as improving the accuracy of weather forecasts in the United States.

Understanding the basics of carbon dioxide

As atmospheric greenhouse gas levels continue to rise, it is important to understand the basics of what these gases are, how NOAA monitors them, and what they mean for our global climate. Continue reading to learn all about carbon dioxide and why it keeps making headlines.

Biden-Harris Administration awards $4.9 million to advance drought monitoring and prediction in U.S. West through the Investing in America agenda

Today, the NOAA announced $4.9 million in funding for the agency’s labs and research partners to improve drought monitoring and prediction in the American West. This research combines $3.1 million in funding from NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) program and $1.8 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to improve decision-makers’ capacity to protect life, property and ecosystems in the region from drought.

Nitrous oxide emissions grew 40 percent from 1980 to 2020, accelerating climate change

Emissions of nitrous oxide, the third most important human-made greenhouse gas, rose 40 percent from 1980 to 2020, according to a new report by the Global Carbon Project. The new study, published today in the journal Earth System Science Data, finds nitrous oxide is accumulating in Earth’s atmosphere faster than at any other time in human history.

During a year of extremes, carbon dioxide levels surge faster than ever

Carbon dioxide is accumulating in the atmosphere faster than ever — accelerating on a steep rise to levels far above any experienced during human existence, scientists from NOAA and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography offsite link at the University of California San Diego announced today

The world’s benchmark climate monitoring station passes a major milestone

On May 17, 1974, staff of the new National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geophysical Monitoring for Climatic Change program took their first atmospheric measurements for what would become one of the most scientifically significant records of humanity’s impact on Earth’s climate.

No sign of greenhouse gases increases slowing in 2023

Levels of the three most important human-caused greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—continued their steady climb during 2023, according to NOAA scientists. While the rise in these heat-trapping gases recorded in the air samples collected by NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory in 2023 was not quite as high as the record jumps observed in recent years, they were in line with the steep increases observed during the past decade.

Women’s History Month 2024: What it means to me

March is National Women’s History Month, an opportunity to celebrate pioneering women in American history, while turning an eye to the contributions women are making—and will make—to society, especially in career fields historically inaccessible to women. In this video series, #WomenOfNOAA share advice they would give to their younger selves.

Women’s History Month: A Conversation With Dr. Xin Lan

This article continues a series of interviews with NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO) employees and CPO-funded scientists in celebration of Women’s History Month. Dr. Xin Lan is a carbon cycle scientist with NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) through the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) of University of Colorado Boulder.

Top NOAA Research stories from 2023

Record-breaking marine heatwaves, increasing greenhouse gas concentrations, an above average hurricane season, and numerous deep sea discoveries made 2023 a busy year for NOAA Research. Let’s explore some of our top stories from this year!

One year after the eruption, Mauna Loa Observatory has resumed key science activities

Over the past year since the eruption of Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island on Nov. 27, 2022, MLO staff visiting the site once a week via helicopter have restored limited power to four key observatory buildings by augmenting existing solar generation and adding battery systems.

Record fossil carbon dioxide emissions impeding progress on meeting climate goals: report

Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels are projected to reach a record 36.8 billion metric tons in 2023, an increase of 1.1% over 2022, according to an annual report by the Global Carbon Project. While emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are declining in some regions including Europe and the United States, they continue to rise overall, the authors said, adding that global action to reduce fossil fuel consumption is not happening fast enough to prevent dangerous impacts from climate change.

Biden-Harris Administration releases Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Strategy

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration released a conceptual framework for a national system to measure, monitor and share information related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet U.S. commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement. NOAA will commit its long-established, state-of-the-art capabilities in observation, modeling and data analysis to support this whole-of-government effort.

NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory supports the nation’s greenhouse gas monitoring strategy

NOAA will commit its long-established, state-of-the-art capabilities in observation, modeling, and data analysis—including several major initiatives from NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML)—to support the new U.S. Greenhouse Gas Measurement, Monitoring, and Information System.

NOGAP survey completed its first flights to document greenhouse gas distribution across the U.S.

The National Observations of Greenhouse gasses Aircraft Profiles (NOGAP) survey completed the first of six loops around the United States to document and understand in great detail the vertical distribution of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) in the lower atmosphere.