News

State-of-the-science Earth system model

earth system model (ESM)

A model that simulates how chemistry, biology, and physical forces work together. These models are similar to, but much more comprehensive than, global climate models.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy Source

predicts climate change

climate change

A change in the average conditions — such as temperature and rainfall — in a region over a long period of time.

Source: NASA Climate Kids Source

will reduce North American wetlands

wetland

An area of land that is periodically saturated with water, which influences the types of plants and animals that can live there. Wetlands include swamps, marshes, bogs, and other similar areas.

Source: A student's guide to Global Climate Change Source

and disrupt their seasonal regimes. Earth system models (ESMs) are essential tools to understand climate change impacts on wetlands. However, current ESMs usually represent wetland hydrology in oversimplified ways, resulting in low confidence of their projection of wetland evolution.

As a boy in the Netherlands, Colorado State University atmospheric scientist Peter Jan van Leeuwen would often ride a bicycle from his home village of Voorhout to the North Sea coastline. Awaiting him, 30 minutes away, was a miniature of the natural world he fell in love with early in life—a place of “wind, waves, clouds, sand dunes and wildlife,” he says.

Oxidation

oxidation

A chemical reaction that takes place when a substance comes into contact with oxygen or another oxidizing substance. One example of oxidation is rusting of iron when the iron interacts with oxygen and water. In climate science, oxidation is important because it is one of the processes that leads to the formation of greenhouse gases.

Source: NIH Source

of gases emitted by vegetation fire smoke forms abundant ultrafine particles that may intensify deep clouds and heavy rain in the Amazon rainforest. Particles in wildfire smoke can lower air quality and harm human health. Smoke aerosols

aerosols

Small particles or droplets, such as wildfire smoke, volcanic gases, or salty sea spray, that float in the air. They are emitted by both natural events and human activities.

Source: NASA Global Climate Change Source

can also influence weather and climate by modifying cloud formation and changing how much of the sun’s energy is reflected or absorbed by the atmosphere.

Sessions for the 2024 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting are being announced. If you are leading a session relevant to the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility or Atmospheric System Research (ASR), please let us know. We are collecting this information to be shared on the ARM and ASR websites as it is provided.

Sessions for the 2025 American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting are being announced. If you are leading a session relevant to the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility or Atmospheric System Research (ASR), please let us know. We are collecting this information to be shared on the ARM and ASR websites as it is provided.

Strong moisture intrusion events, known as atmospheric rivers,

atmospheric river

Long, narrow regions in the atmosphere – like rivers in the sky – that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics.

Source: NOAA Source

are responsible for most of the winter heat extremes over the High Arctic. An extreme heat event occurred near the North Pole in late December 2015. The near-surface air temperature was above 0 °C, exceeding the melting point for pure water ice. Although this event has been extensively studied, knowledge about similar events remains very limited.

Aerosols, often emitted alongside greenhouse gases, can brighten clouds and cause significant cooling. However, the uncertainty associated with aerosol–cloud interactions (ACIs) is large and potentially significant enough to mask a sizable portion of greenhouse gas-related warming.

Since operations began in 1992, the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) user facility, has sponsored 1401 field campaigns. These expeditions out in nature, awarded after a competitive process, gather intensive batches of data on clouds, precipitation, and other phenomena.

Earth system models (ESMs) help us understand climate and environmental changes. With advances in computing power, ESMs can now be run at kilometer-scale (k-scale) resolutions, capturing very fine details to better predict extreme weather and understand water, carbon, and energy cycles.

The August 2023 wildfire that devastated Lahaina, Hawaii, was spurred by dry conditions, high temperatures and strong winds. Researchers are monitoring the area to better understand the community’s recovery process and provide new air quality and weather data. This is part of a National Science Foundation project.

Researchers at two U.S. Department of Energy laboratories—the National Renewable Energy

renewable energy

Renewable energy comes from unlimited, naturally replenished resources, such as the sun, tides, and wind. Renewable energy can be used for electricity generation, space and water heating and cooling, and transportation.

Source: U.S Department of Energy Source

Laboratory (NREL) and Argonne National Laboratory—looked at how a combination of solar modules, wind turbines, and battery storage could provide a cost-effective way to expand research capabilities at the South Pole while significantly reducing costs.

A team of Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists plan to use artificial intelligence

artificial intelligence

A machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.

Source: U.S. Department of State Source

modeling to forecast, and better understand, a growing threat to water caused by toxic algal blooms. Fueled by climate change and rising water temperatures, these harmful algal blooms, or HABs, have grown in intensity and frequency. They have now been reported in all 50 U.S. states.