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Elaina Saltclah, from the Red Mesa, Arizona area, near the Four Corners, first introduces herself in her native Navajo language, including the names of her clans. A Fort Lewis College student majoring in physics, with a minor in mathematics, and a young mother, Saltclah speaks with a self-assured smile, her confidence bolstered through participation in a novel program connecting students like her with a future in the daunting world of physics research.

February is Black History Month, and the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility wants to honor Black scientists whose contributions have advanced our understanding of earth and atmospheric sciences. Through this recognition, ARM underscores its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion within the scientific community while honoring the invaluable contributions of Black professionals to the advancement of knowledge and innovation.

Reservoirs

reservoir

A manmade lake that is created when a dam is built on a river. River water backs up behind the dam creating a reservoir.

Source: USGS Source

play a key role in managing water to meet human objectives by smoothing out the natural variability in river flows. Reservoirs serve multiple purposes—including irrigation

irrigation

The controlled application of water for agricultural purposes through manmade systems to supply water requirements not satisfied by rainfall.

Source: USGS Source

water supply, flood control, and hydropower

hydropower

One of the oldest and largest sources of renewable energy, which uses the natural flow of moving water to generate electricity

Source: U.S. Department of Energy Source

generation—each of which requires different operational strategies for managing the water that have different impacts on downstream rivers. Global hydrological models (GHMs) are key tools used to simulate past and future water stocks and flows at global scale.

Weather system clustering provides a high-level summary of regional weather conditions and connects them to both large-scale climate variabilities and regional hydrological processes.

hydrological processes

Hydrological processes refer to the various natural processes involved in the movement, distribution, and cycling of water on Earth's surface, in the soil, and within the atmosphere.

Source: Source

Using regional meteorological data from an atmosphere reanalysis product, scientists identified 12 unique winter weather systems in the Puget Sound area, featuring differing precipitation and temperature responses to large-scale climate variabilities.

A systematic comparison of snow water equivalent in ERA5-Land data and E3SM

Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM)

The Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) project includes Earth System Models, simulations, and predictions to investigate energy-relevant science using code optimized for DOE's advanced supercomputers.

Source: NVCL Web Page Source

simulations reveals multiple drivers of snow droughts. Decreased snow cover observed over the past few decades and projected for the future suggest increasing snow droughts that threaten water security and management. While various observational data products and model simulations are available to study snow droughts, a comparison between them has been lacking.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a key air pollutant responsible for acid rain and human health impacts, and has a substantial impact on 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

through the formation of cooling 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

Earth system and chemistry models are important tools for studying the impact of such emissions on humans and the Earth. However, these models do not consistently or accurately define some key emission characteristics.

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility is experiencing further unexpected delays in the construction of its newest long-term atmospheric observatory in northern Alabama. Site development for the Bankhead National Forest (BNF) observatory resumed in November 2023, but extreme weather has presented obstacles throughout the winter. In addition, some procurements have taken more time than planned, and there have been delays in some safety and environmental approvals.

The word “courage” can mean the will to take direct action. Spelled another way, CoURAGE is the Coast-Urban-Rural Atmospheric Gradient Experiment. Direct action is also the point. A team of 27 investigators, led by Kenneth Davis of Pennsylvania State University, will soon spend a year measuring and characterizing the atmospheric environment of Baltimore, Maryland, and that of the mid-Atlantic region around the city.

Seven researchers associated with the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility and Atmospheric System Research (ASR) program were celebrated in January 2024 at the 104th American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. AMS Fellows are selected annually in recognition of “outstanding contributions to the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences or their applications during a substantial period of years.”

Jeffrey Tejada shared his educational journey from Brookhaven Lab to the National Diversity in STEM conference in Portland, Oregon. A third-year chemical physics student at Brown University, he represented the DOE SULI program, which he completed at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the summer of 2023. His achievements as a SULI student and the connections he made led him to the largest multidisciplinary and multicultural STEM diversity event in the United States.

Members of the weather, water, and climate community came together for the 104th American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting, held from January 28 to February 1, 2024, in Baltimore, Maryland, and online. Over 7,200 attendees took part in AMS 2024, which featured a variety of sessions that explored the community’s role in helping to improve society’s response to climate and environmental change. The sessions supported the meeting’s theme, “Living in a Changing Environment.”

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science is pleased to announce virtual office hours to share information and provide opportunities for the research community to ask questions about the Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program. Researchers at all institutions are welcome to attend and learn more about the BER program. Each office hour will be in the form of a Zoom meeting, starting with a brief presentation on the indicated topic, followed by questions.