Research Highlight
The driving of North American climate extremes by North Pacific stationary-transient wave interference
September 5, 2024 – The occurrence of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, droughts, and floods, has increased substantially since the pre-industrial period, but this trend has large regional variations. An important driver of the regional climate variability is the zonally asymmetric atmospheric circulation, or stationary waves, forced by the zonal asymmetries in the Earth’s surface such as the land-sea thermal contrast and elevated terrain (e.g., hills and mountains).
Research Highlight
A predicted pause in the rapid warming of the Northwest Atlantic Shelf in the coming decade
September 3, 2024 – The Northwest Atlantic Shelf, from the coasts of North Carolina and Virginia to the Gulf of Maine to Newfoundland, has warmed more rapidly than almost any other part of the ocean in the last two decades. This warming has had severe impacts on marine ecosystems and coastal communities. Understanding the drivers of this warming and predicting whether it will continue is thus important for mitigating or adapting to future impacts.
News
New Study to Help Understanding of the Contribution of Methane as a Greenhouse Gas
August 16, 2024 – A comprehensive understanding of methane’s contribution as a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, crucial for effective climate mitigation policies, remains elusive due to the overlap of natural (wetlands) and anthropogenic (natural gas, agriculture, sewage, landfills) sources. Larry Horowitz and Vaishali Naik, both Physical Scientists at GFDL, are co-Principal Investigators on a study that was awarded a 3-year grant from NOAA’s Climate Program Office, which will add methane stable isotopologue chemistry to an atmospheric component of a global Earth system model.
Research Highlight
Anthropogenic Effects on Tropical Cyclones near Western Europe
August 13, 2024 – Tropical Cyclones (TC) hitting Western Europe are not as rare as one might think. Approximately 10% of Atlantic TCs have made landfall in Europe in the past four decades, about one European landfall per year. Understanding and projecting TC frequency change is especially challenging in certain coastal regions with lower TC activity yet high exposure, and a relatively short duration of reliable observed records – such as Western Europe.
Research Highlight
Reactive nitrogen partitioning enhances the contribution of Canadian wildfire plumes to US ozone air quality
August 7, 2024 – Large, damaging wildfires are becoming a common occurrence in Canada, the Pacific Northwest, and California. Five of the most destructive wildfire seasons of the last half-century have occurred in the past seven years. These wildfires can cause significant air pollution: burning biomass emits hundreds of reactive gases, including nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, ammonia, and an array of volatile organic compounds.
Research Highlight
Uneven consequences of global climate mitigation pathways on regional water quality in the 21st century
July 30, 2024 – Nitrogen fertilizer usage and cultivation-induced biological nitrogen fixation help feed nearly half the global population. These practices, in addition to fossil fuel burning for energy production, have increased reactive nitrogen losses to the environment, causing a cascade of negative impacts on the ecosystem and human health. Nitrogen emissions to the atmosphere have contributed to acid rain, air pollution, stratospheric ozone depletion, and the radiative forcing underlying climate change.
News
GFDL Celebrates National Intern Day
July 23, 2024 – GFDL recognizes National Intern Day and celebrates the contributions of our gifted interns. This year, in partnership with Princeton University, GFDL welcomed its largest group ever—23 talented students from a range of internship programs, such as NOAA’s Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions Cooperative Science Centers, NOAA Experiential Research and Training Opportunities, the Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program, the William M. Lapenta Student Internship Program, the Cooperative Institute for Modeling the Earth System, and other programs.
Research Highlight
Causes and multiyear predictability of the rapid acceleration of U.S. Southeast Sea level rise after 2010
July 10, 2024 – Sea level rise (SLR) is one of the most severe consequences of a warming climate, causing dangerous flooding and threatening lives and infrastructure in low-lying coastal regions. This study investigated the potential physical drivers responsible for the observed acceleration of SLR after 2010 along the U.S. Southeast Coast.
News
GFDL’s Ocean Model set to Enhance NOAA’s Hurricane Forecasting
June 24, 2024 – June marks Ocean Month, so it is fitting to acknowledge the significant impact that oceans have on climate and everyday life, and to highlight the importance of continued research and innovation in ocean modeling. At GFDL, the latest version of the lab’s Modular Ocean Model, MOM6, represents a major advancement in modeling oceanic and climatic processes. Developed with a commitment to enhancing the understanding of the ocean’s influence on climate, MOM6 continues the legacy of its predecessors while introducing new advances in scientific collaboration and open-source development.
Research Highlight
Crucial role of sea surface temperature warming patterns in near-term high-impact weather and climate projection
June 17, 2024 – Recent studies indicate that virtually all global climate models have difficulty simulating observed sea surface temperature (SST) trend patterns over the past four decades. Models produce enhanced warming in the eastern Equatorial Pacific (EPAC) and Southern Ocean (SO) warming, while observations show intensified warming in the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP) and slight cooling in the eastern EPAC and SO.