PMEL in the News
NWS Alaska supports NOAA research campaign
NWS Alaska team is providing decision support to a group of NOAA researchers studying upper-ocean changes in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Meteorologists with the Alaska Sea Ice Program (ASIP) and the Alaska Aviation Weather Unit (AAWU) are helping NOAA research scientists and pilots make informed decisions about where to fly and where to deploy ocean observing instrumentation for the Arctic Heat Open Science Experiment.
Studies Testing Kelp as Local Fix for Acidifying Seawater
Scientist Joth Davis unspooled 150 feet of line holding thousands of tiny spores of kelp into Hood Canal in Washington state, while Brian Allen dove underwater and affixed the line to a buoy. Submerged about 10 feet underwater, the bull kelp seedlings will eventually form thick, slimy ribbons of brown seaweed and in the process take up carbon dioxide and other nutrients.
Ocean forecast offers seasonal outlook for Pacific Northwest waters
By now we are used to the idea of seasonal weather forecasts – whether to expect an El Niño ski season, or an unusually warm summer. These same types of climate models are now being adapted to make seasonal forecasts for the region’s coastal waters.
Deep-sea hydrothermal vents more abundant than thought
The deep, dark ocean bottom teems with far more oases of life than once thought. Searching along the sunless seafloor where tectonic plates pull apart, regions known as spreading ridges, researchers discovered that heat-spewing hydrothermal vents are at least three to six times as abundant as previously assumed.
Alert! El Niño To Bring Fastest Rise in CO2 in 2016
Climate scientists warned that levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is going to be at its highest this year. Contrary to what experts have previously estimated, CO2 levels will exceed a benchmark of 400 parts per million (ppm) for the entire year, as measured atop Hawaii's famous Mauna Loa volcano.