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TIIMES Staff in the News
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2008 |
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Carbon Dioxide EmissionsSOS (14 April 2008) One in a new generation of computer climate models that include the effects of Earth's carbon cycle indicates there are limits to the planet's ability to absorb increased emissions of carbon dioxide. If current production of carbon from fossil fuels continues unabated, by the end of the century the land and oceans will be less able to take up carbon than they are today, the model indicates...more |
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Nineteen researchers selected as 2008 Leopold Leadership FellowsLeopold Leadership Program (19 March 2008) Based at Stanford University's Woods Institute for the Environment, the Leopold Leadership Program was founded in 1998 and is funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Each year the program selects up to 20 mid-career academic environmental scientists as fellows, who receive intensive communication and leadership training to help them deliver scientific information more effectively to journalists, policymakers, business leaders and the public. One of the 19 includes Joan Kleypas, scientist II, Institute for the Study of Society and Environment, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Research: ocean acidification and the effects of climate change on coral reefs....more |
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Climate Change Threatens Native LivelihoodsKUNC 91.5 Public News Room by Kirk Siegler interview with Beth Holland (25 March 2008) Public opinion polls in the United States continue to show significant skepticism that global warming is happening. Some scientists believe that's because, for the most part, our lives have yet to change much. A group of scientists and Native American leaders meeting in Boulder this month sought ways to change this perception. KUNC's Kirk Siegler reports...more (mp3 direct link)
Bridging divides at climate change symposiumIndian Country Today by Carol Berry (31 March 2008) BOULDER, Colo. - Scientists and American Indian tribal leaders met March 20 to bridge cultural and technical divides in an effort to combat global warming and to forge a Western/indigenous approach to other hazards facing planet Earth and its inhabitants...more |
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Rit Carbone: the newest member of the AMS Executive CommitteeCongratulations to Dr. Carbone for being elected a member of the AMS Executive Committee The American Meteorological Society (AMS) promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, AMS has a membership of more than 11,000 professionals, professors, students, and weather enthusiasts. AMS publishes nine atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic journals — in print and online — sponsors more than 12 conferences annually, and offers numerous programs and services. The Executive Committee is the executive arm of the Council (the principal governing body). The Committee meets as often as necessary and is empowered to interpret and execute Council policies when the Council is not in session to ensure that reasonable actions are taken to accomplish the purposes of the Society - scientific, fiscal, and organizational. It is composed of six past AMS Presidents and two rotating positions. Dr. Carbone has been appointed until 2010. |
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David Parsons: new Chief of the World Weather Research Programme - THORPEXDr. Parsons has been appointed the new Chief of the World Weather Research Programme (WWRP) - THORPEX (THe Observing System Research and Predictability EXperiment). He also retains his head of the North American THORPEX Regional Inititative program. The program is overseen by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). WMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) . It is the UN system's authoritative voice on the state and behaviour of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water resources. As weather, climate and the water cycle know no national boundaries, international cooperation at a global scale is essential for the development of meteorology and operational hydrology as well as to reap the benefits from their application. WMO provides the framework for such international cooperation. The World Weather Research Programme's mission is to develop improved and cost effective forecasting techniques, with emphasis on high impact weather and to promote their application among Member States. THORPEX, an element of the WMO WWRP, is a major contribution to the WMO Natural Disaster Reduction and Mitigation Programme. Under the auspices of THORPEX, regional and global projects and experiments will be carried out to:
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Standing on the Shoulders of GiantsWomen's Magazine Online by Erin Love (8 March 2008) An in depth Q&A with Nobel Laureates SUSAN SOLOMON, BETH HOLLAND, BETTE
OTTO-BLIESNER, LINDA MEARNS, PATY ROMERO-LANKAO and KATHLEEN MILLER. |
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Native Americans, Scientists To Discuss Climate Change at Landmark SymposiumElisabeth Holland Leading representatives from indigenous and scientific communities will take part in a landmark climate change symposium at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder. The March 19-21 event will bring together two climate change perspectives--one rooted in indigenous experiencesand one informed by current scientific results. The symposium, Planning for Seven Generations: Traditional and Scientific Approaches to Climate Change, is open to scientists, Native American representatives, and members of the public. Sponsors include the American Indian and Alaska Native Climate Change Working Group, NCAR, and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, which operates NCAR. NCAR's primary sponsor is the National Science Foundation. "By bringing together the holders of scientific knowledge and the holders of indigenous knowledge, we will gain a fuller picture of the world we all live in and share--a fuller knowledge that will help us respond to the changing climate," says Professor Daniel Wildcat of the Haskell Indian Nations University. "For the health and sustainability of our beautiful Earth, it is critical that we build bridges to share wisdom and to allow us all to work together now for our great-great-granddaughter's grandaughter's generation," says NCAR senior scientist Elisabeth Holland. more... Also see: |
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Ocean Thermostat Can Save CoralJoan Kleypas The world's coral reefs are threatened by multiple stressors, including climate change. At higher temperatures coral lose their algae, becoming "bleached". Some coral reefs could be protected from the impacts of climate change by an "ocean thermostat".
Additional Information: NCAR Field Guide to: Climate's Impact on Coral & Reef Systems Natural Ocean Thermostat Helps Protect Pacific Ocean Coral Reefs7 February 2008 (NSF - National Science Foundation)
Natural processes may prevent oceans from warming beyond a certain threshold, thereby helping to protect some of the world's largest coral reefs from the impacts of climate change, new research finds. The research, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., and the Australian Institute of Marine Science, uncovered evidence that an ocean "thermostat" appears to be helping regulate sea-surface temperatures in a biologically-diverse region of the western Pacific Ocean ... The research team, led by NCAR scientist Joan Kleypas, looked at the Western Pacific Warm Pool, a region northeast of Australia where naturally warm sea-surface temperatures have risen little in recent decades. more... Ocean thermostat can save coral
Some coral reefs could be protected from the impacts of climate change by an "ocean thermostat", a study says. Researchers suggest that natural processes appear to be regulating sea surface temperatures in a region of the western Pacific Ocean. Reefs in the area had only suffered relatively few episodes of bleaching because the naturally warm waters had remained stable, they observed. more... Field Guide to: Climate's Impact on Coral & Reef Systems Coral Reefs and Climate Change Home to a diverse variety of plant and animal species, coral reefs are the rainforests of the sea. More than simply tourist attractions or economic drivers that add $30 billion to local economies, these formations also protect nearby shorelines from storm surges and coastal erosion, and create habitats for other important marine ecosystems such as mangroves and seagrass beds. But, because coral reefs are sensitive to environmental perturbations, reef degradation is increasingly common worldwide. Slight changes in incoming sunlight, water temperature, salinity, and acidity affect coral’s ability to thrive. Human impacts, both indirect (greenhouse gas emissions) and direct (sewage or sediment runoff flowing into the ocean, or blast fishing using dynamite) stress these ecosystems and may threaten the long-term survival of many coral species. more... NCAR study: Coral reef may be sparedPacific fighting climate change with natural 'thermostat'Daily Camera by Steve Graff (February 12, 2008)
A new study from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder found evidence that a natural ocean phenomenon may be keeping sea-water temperature in check, helping to protect the largest and most biologically diverse coral reefs from being destroyed as a result of climate change. more... Other Online Articles: |
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Affordable avenues to research and educationSherri Heck is another key player in the Africa Initiative. This graduate student from the University of Colorado at Boulder is analyzing regional fluxes of carbon dioxide, a critical part of the global climate puzzle. By working with local schools in poorly served areas of Kenya, Heck hopes to entrain students in gathering data that could prove vital to climate research. A boon for Heck’s research is the Autonomous Inexpensive Robust CO2 Analyzer (AIRCOA), a new tool developed by NCAR’s Britton Stephens and colleagues. Standard CO2 samplers can cost upwards of $40,000, but each AIRCOA unit runs less than $10,000. The device gathers and relays CO2 readings every 2.5 minutes, and it can be run without human intervention for months at a time. All these qualities make the device nearly ideal for deployment in Africa, where both funding and staffing for long-term measurement campaigns can be a challenge. more... |
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HOLLAND LEAD AUTHOR IN IPCC FOURTH ASSESSMENT 2005 Fellow Elisabeth Holland was one of the lead authors of the 7th Chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis released February 2, 2007. Within the 7th chapter, “Couplings Between Changes in the Climate System and Biogeochemistry,” Holland focused on the carbon cycle, atmospheric chemistry, land surface, and biogeochemical cycles. The IPCC was established by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme in 1988. The IPCC is charged with assessing on a comprehensive, objective, open and transparent basis the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation. The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report includes over 2500 scientific reviewers, 800 contributing authors, 450 lead authors, involvement from 130 countries, 6 years of work, and 4 volumes. Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis is the first volume. |
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Study looks at transportation's effects on global warming Elisabeth Holland, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, who was not part of the study, was impressed with the research: "This is a comprehensive study," she says, "that takes a careful look at how all the emissions from the transport sector are handled." more.... |
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Connecting Earth's water cycle to climate change After graduating from high school, Aiguo Dai applied to the math department at China's Nanjing University. "They didn't want me, so they put me in the meteorology department instead," Aiguo says. "But I think it turned out very well for me." Today, Aiguo is a climate scientist at NCAR. "As a scientist, I get to do work that I really enjoy," he says. "The most interesting thing is that you can always learn something you didn't know yesterday." more... |
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2007 - FY2008 |
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The future of Grand Junction's water system is hardly a subject of debate among Grand Valley water managers. The city's 1996 municipal water supply master plan projects the source of much of the Grand Valley's tap water, the snowpack on Grand Mesa, will be stable and water-rich through 2050. The city has plenty of storage capacity in its reservoirs, and, as long as the city core's population doesn't explode beyond expectations in the coming decades, water supplies are secure beyond doubt, Franklin said. That's why Grand Junction has no mandatory water-use restrictions, unlike the cities of Denver, Las Vegas, Cortez and many others throughout the Rockies and Southwest. more... |
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Spanish perspectives The main theme of the European Meteorological Society (EMS) annual meeting was high impact weather. This includes extreme weather and the predictability of these. The majority of the presentations focused on the science, but aspects such as the utility and the benefit of meteorology and climatology were also discussed. A media session also provided some thoughts about outreach and presented some examples of how weather is presented on TV. While gender and educational issues were discussed, the underrepresentation of other minorities was neglected. A large number of presentations was devoted to the THORPEX-project, studying predictability. The use of so-called 'ensembles' in forecasting and climatology is still a central topic, but there was also some focus on 'targeted observations'. Targeted observations means that scientists use the weather models to estimate which sensitive parts of the world we need to know more exactly for more accurate forecasts. more... |
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Mercury & CO2 Emissions from U.S. Forest Fires - additional articles 
ABC of Carbon: The F word - Climate Change Corp.com (30 January 2008) Smoke alarm - Kat Leitzell, High Country News (9 November 2007) A Week Of California Fires Equivalent To One-Fourth Of State's Emissions - Paul Icamina, AHN (4 November 2007) U.S. fires release large amounts of carbon dioxide, new study shows - Super Computers Online.com (2 November 2007) Wildfires Spew Carbon, Re-Growth Absorbs It - Larry O'Hanlon, Discovery Channel (1 November 2007) California wildfires unleash CO2 - By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent, Reuters (1 November 2007) California fires release 8M tons of CO2 - mongabay.com (1 November 2007) US Fires Release Large Amounts Of Carbon Dioxide - Science Daily (1 November 2007) California fires emitted 25 pc of average monthly CO2 emissions in just a week - California State News (1 November 2007) 
US Fires Release Large Amounts Of Carbon Dioxide - Vitalona (1 November 2007) US Fires Release Large Amounts Of Carbon Dioxide - Learning Freely Network (1 November 2007) Wildfires Spew Carbon, Re-Growth Absorbs It - Larry O'Hanlon, Discovery News (1 November 2007) U.S. Fires Release Enormouse Amounts of Carbon Dioxide - Word Press (1 November 2007) Guessing The Carbon Footprint Of US Wildfires - Scientific Blogging (1 November 2007) U.S. Fires Release Large Amounts of Carbon Dioxide, New Study Shows - NCAR (31 October 2007) U.S. Fires Release Large Amounts of Carbon Dioxide, New Study Shows - YubaNet.com (31 October 2007) Wildfires Release as Much CO2 as Cars - Andrea Thompson, LiveScience Staff Writer (31 October 2007) U.S. Fires Release Large Amounts of Carbon Dioxide - NewsWise (31 October 2007) U.S. Fires Release Large Amounts of Carbon Dioxide, New Study Shows - NCAR (31 October 2007) NCAR Scientists Available to Discuss Wildfire Impacts and Behavior - UCAR Media Kit Tip Sheet (24 October 2007) - summary below Wildfire smoke a culprit in mercury's toxic spread - The Denver Post (19 October 2007) - summary below Scientists Estimate Mercury Emissions from U.S. Fires; West Coast and Southeastern States are Major Emitters - NCAR News Release (17 October 2007) - summary below Forest Fires & Other Similar Blazes Roughly Equal Mercury Emissions From Power Plants - Mercury Emissions Blogspot (17 October 2007) - summary below It Droppeth as the Gentle Rain - Colorado Confidential by Dan Whipple (17 October 2007) - summary below Scientists estimate state-by-state mercury emissions from US fires - Science Codex (17 October 2007) - summary below |
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BOULDER—Forest fires and other blazes in the United States likely release about 30 percent as much mercury as the nation's industrial sources, according to initial estimates in a new study by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Fires in Alaska, California, Oregon, Louisiana, and Florida emit particularly large quantities of the toxic metal, and the Southeast emits more than any other region, according to the research. The mercury released by forest fires originally comes from industrial and natural sources. more... Click on the table for the complete list of Annual Mercury Emissions by State. |
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Forest Fires & Other Similar Blazes Roughly Equal Mercury Emissions From Power Plants A newly released study of forest fires and other blazes reveals that large amounts of mercury are emitted from these fires roughly equal to the amount emitted from coal burning power plants. Scientists, Hans Friedli and Christine Wiedinmyer, from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have plotted state-by-state estimates of mercury emissions from such fires. It is preliminary research that the authors caution may be subject to 50% error but it is extremely useful information in its current state. |
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It Droppeth as the Gentle Rain Science Sunday: Catch CO-2 -- Carbon Dioxide from Fires Christine Wiedinmyer & Hans Friedli Forest fires release about 44 metric tons (about 48 short tons) of mercury into the atmosphere every year, according to a report from Boulder's National Center for Atmospheric Research. Fires in Colorado are responsible for about a half ton of mercury a year, on average, which ranks the state 20th nationally in mercury emissions from fires. The amount of mercury released nationwide -- in the lower 48 states and Alaska -- by fires is about 30 percent of the total emitted by industrial sources. The largest industrial source of atmospheric mercury is coal-fired power plants. Mercury is a toxin that can harm human health and natural ecosystems. Every state except Alaska and Wyoming, for instance, have issued advisories warning about excess mercury in fish caught in some rivers and streams. Mercury and other contaminants like PCBs can accumulate into much higher concentrations in fish than are found in the water. more... | 2nd article |
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Forest fires and other blazes in the United States likely release about 30 percent as much mercury as the nation's industrial sources, according to initial estimates in a new study by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Fires in Alaska, California, Oregon, Louisiana, and Florida emit particularly large quantities of the toxic metal, and the Southeast emits more than any other region, according to the research. The mercury released by forest fires originally comes from industrial and natural sources. more.... |
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UCAR Media Kit Tip Sheet (24 October 2007) Christine Wiedinmyer has developed a computer model that uses satellite observations to generate daily estimates of emissions of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, particles, mercury, and other gases from fires in North America. She also studies the impacts of particles and trace gases from fires on local air quality. Her estimates are used by environmental officials who work on strategies to minimize air pollution. Click on the picture to take you to the Big Elk Fire Simulation page where you can view the model in action. |
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The Denver Post (19 October 2007) Forest fires stir up as much mercury as power plants, scattering the toxic metal after it was originally deposited by industrial smokestacks, according to a study released Wednesday. Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder found that small concentrations of mercury that had landed in soil and been absorbed by vegetation were redistributed by wildfire smoke plumes. This may be an important pathway for the metal to end up in waterways, the researchers said. "This is our first step to understand whether these emissions are big or small. Our first estimates are they are pretty big," said Christine Wiedinmyer, an NCAR scientist who authored the study with colleague Hans Friedli...more
UCAR New Release: Scientists Estimate Mercury Emissions from U.S. Fires; West Coast and Southeastern States are Major Emitters July 2001: Wildfires and mercury pollution: A smoking gun? (Hans Friedli and Larry Radke) |
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Local scientists part of Nobel-winning effort Daily Camera by Laura Snider (12 October 2007) Dozens of Boulder scientists contributed to the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize today along with former Vice President Al Gore. Gore and the U.N. panel won the prize for their efforts to spread awareness of man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for fighting it. more... Boulder's IPCC lead authors On Friday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize would be shared between former Vice President Al Gore and the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Most recently, the IPCC released its fourth assessment report on the state of climate change, which said humans are "very likely" the cause of global warming. Dozens of scientists from Boulder contributed to the assessment, but 14 of them worked as lead authors on chapters for at least one section of the report, writing and incorporating feedback from thousands of comments from their peers. more... |
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Nobel Peace Prize 2007"for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change" 
IPCC Shares Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore(11 October 2007) IPCC Shares Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore Congratulations to the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Al Gore on their Nobel Peace Prize award. Since 1990, the IPCC has issued four reports highlighting the growing understanding of the climate change issue. Scientists both at NCAR and within our wider research community contributed significantly to these reports. Published this year, the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report leverages computer modeling that depicts global climate with unprecedented detail. Through support of the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation's supercomputing centers, and partnership with Japan's Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, the NCAR-based Parallel Climate Model and Community Climate System Model provided a wealth of scientific data to the IPCC report. Related: Article by the Associated Press, Thousands of Scientists Share Nobel....more Kevin Trenberth Webcast discussion of the IPCC Report 
Nobel Peace Prize Press Release Working Group I: Summary Working Group II: Summary General Information Understanding Climate Change (UCAR) A few of the many other press coverage links: Gore says prize must spur action (BBC News, 13 October 2007) |
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Convective organization and the water cycle: Improving global models NCAR Director's Committee presentation -
October 2007 Precipitating convective systems, the atmospheric water cycle, and atmospheric dynamics are intimately interlinked on time and atmospheric dynamics are intimately interlinked on time scales pertinent to the weatherscales pertinent to the weather-climate intersection climate intersection... more (View with Microsoft Internet Explorer browser only, other browsers may not work) |
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UTLS: START-08 campaign
Researchers suggest that natural processes, ocean “thermostat”, appear to be regulating sea surface temperatures in a biologically diverse region of the western Pacific Ocean. This, according to scientists at NCAR and the Australian Institute of Marine Science is leading to the protection of some of the world’s largest coral reefs from the impacts of climate change. At higher temperatures coral lose their algae, becoming "bleached”. This region’s reefs have only suffered a few episodes of bleaching because the naturally warm waters have remained stable. The research team, led by NCAR (ESSL-TIIMES & SERE-ISSE) scientist Joan Kleypas, looked at the Western Pacific Warm Pool, a region northeast of Australia where naturally warm sea-surface temperatures have risen little in recent decades.
Corals are thriving in the Western Pacific Warm Pool because water temperatures aren't changing. (Illustration by Steve Deyo, Copyright UCAR) 
BBC News (8 February 2008)
NCAR Field Guides
Parts of the Pacific Ocean may be combating global warming on their own.
