PMEL in the News
Whale Mystery
Walking Sonoma and Marin county beaches recently has yielded some unusual sights and smells. According to officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 12 dead whales have washed up on Northern California beaches in the last three months, including two along the Sonoma County coast and one in Marin County.
Researchers Turn to the Ocean to Help Unravel the Mysteries of Cloud Formation
In a study published today in ACS Central Science, a research team led by University of Wisconsin-Madison Chemistry Professor Timothy Bertram peels back the mysteries of the structures of tiny aerosol particles at the surface of the ocean. The work shows how the particles' chemical composition influences their abilities to take in moisture from the air, which indicates whether the particle will help to form a cloud — a key to many basic problems in climate prediction.
Sound Check: New NOAA Effort Underway to Monitor Underwater Sound
Quiet enough to hear a pin drop or so noisy you can barely hear the person next to you? NOAA is now undertaking a novel effort to answer these questions.
Washington Climatologist Already Foresees Warm Winter
A strengthening El Nino suggests Washington will have another warm winter, possibly deepening the state’s drought, State Climatologist Nick Bond said Monday. “The odds are for a warmer and drier winter overall,” he said. “And a lower than normal snowpack at the end of it.”
Undersea Volcano Erupts a Mile Below the Surface
It’s sort of a variation on the old “If a tree falls in a forest…” quandary. 80 percent of volcanic eruptions on Earth probably go unnoticed by people, because they take place in the planet’s oceans, often at depths of thousands of feet.