PMEL in the News
Record-breaking extreme heat and cold events may result from similar underlying mechanisms
The highest temperature ever verifiably recorded on Earth—54.4 degrees Celsius (130 degrees Fahrenheit) in Death Valley, California, on July 9, 2021—comes just months after record-low temperatures were recorded across Asia and the United States. In sweltering heat, the results of a rapidly warming Earth are clear. In a blizzard, it can be more difficult to understand how global warming can cause such freezing cold. An international research team examined three extreme events from the past winter to elucidate the mechanisms underlying such swings in temperature and weather. Jim Overland is quoted.
Dead zones, a ‘horseman’ of climate change, could suffocate crabs in the West, scientists say
As the Pacific Ocean’s cool waters hugged Oregon’s rugged shore, Nick Edwards, a seasoned commercial fisherman, could not believe his eyes. Stretching over at least 100 yards, he said, were the carcasses of hundreds of Dungeness crabs piled in the sands of a beach south of Cape Perpetua. Richard Feely is quoted.
New technology offers insights on Southern Ocean’s carbon secrets
The Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica makes up less than a third of the global ocean surface, yet scientists believe it “plays an outsized role in the climate system,” according to a 2021 journal article in Geophysical Research Letters. Water and currents from other oceans meet here, allowing for heat and carbon transfer as this body of water connects the ocean and atmosphere. Adrienne Sutton is quoted.
For heart of hurricane season, drone boats sent from Jacksonville to face storms' fury
The key to making hurricane forecasts suddenly clearer and more accurate might have floated out to sea from Jacksonville last week on something looking like orange surfboards with wings. Saildrone 2021 Atlantic Hurricane research mission is featured.
Massive dead zone forming off Oregon and Washington coast
Scientists say a huge dead zone is forming off the coasts of Oregon and Washington. We've seen dead zones before, but researchers say this one will be bigger and much closer to shore than they had anticipated. Back in 2006, crabs littered the ocean floor off Oregon's coast. There were no fish to speak of. It was a dead zone. One of the first researchers had discovered off Oregon's coast. Richard Feely is quoted.