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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.

GML highlights at the AGU 2023 Fall Meeting

GML and CIRES researchers are presenting several talks and posters at the 2023 Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union and collaborating on many more.

New England research project to boost off-shore wind generation

A new research effort led by NOAA and the Department of Energy spinning up this month will play a significant role in the development of wind energy off of the New England coast.

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.

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.

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.

2023 ozone hole ranks 12th largest on record, find NOAA and NASA

The 2023 Antarctic ozone hole reached its maximum size at 10 million square miles (26 million square kilometers) on September 21, which ranks as the 12th largest since 1979, according to annual satellite and balloon-based measurements made by NOAA and NASA.

NOAA's Global Monitoring Laboratory releases CarbonTracker-Methane 2023

Scientists in the Global Monitoring Laboratory released NOAA’s latest global atmospheric methane assimilation/flux inversion system, CarbonTracker-CH4 2023.

Photo feature: 'First bit of orange glow’ greets NOAA crew at South Pole

After six months of darkness, the return of the sun at the South Pole signals the arrival of spring in the Southern Hemisphere. For scientists at NOAA’s South Pole Atmospheric Baseline Observatory (SPO), that’s a welcome sight.

50th anniversary of CO2 measurements at NOAA’s Barrow Observatory

July 24, 2023 marked the 50^th anniversary of continuous measurements of CO₂ in the atmosphere at the Barrow, Alaska Atmospheric Baseline Observatory.

Revolutionary NOAA High-Altitude Research Tool Passes Key Milestone

The quest by Global Monitoring Laboratory scientists to develop a reliable, cost-effective way to study Earth’s stratosphere passed a significant milestone on May 17 when a remotely controlled glider, carried to an elevation of 90,000 feet by a weather balloon, returned to its launch location on Colorado’s Pawnee National Grasslands with its scientific payload intact.

Broken record: Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels jump again

Carbon dioxide levels measured at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory peaked at 424 parts per million in May, continuing a steady climb further into territory not seen for millions of years, scientists from NOAA and Scripps Institution of Oceanography offsite link at the University of California San Diego announced today.

NOAA index tracks how greenhouse gas pollution amplified global warming in 2022

Greenhouse gas pollution from human activity trapped 49 percent more heat in the atmosphere during 2022 than those same gases did in 1990, according to an annual NOAA report. NOAA’s Annual Greenhouse Gas Index, known as the AGGI, tracks increases in the warming influence of heat-trapping gases generated by human activity.