It has been 1 year since the release of the third U.S. National Climate Assessment. What has been learned over this year, and how can you help to inform the public about these important results?
Climate variability
Protecting the Science of Climate Change
A scientist recalls the politically motivated editing of climate change science in government reports, offering insight into why the reality of climate change was hard for officials to accept.
A Database of African Precipitation from 1983 Onward
Satellite infrared observations are used to reconstruct African precipitation records for the past 30 years in an attempt to infer rainfall variability.
Warming Hiatus Periods to Become Increasingly Unlikely
Anthropogenic climate change is reducing the likelihood of the Earth seeing another slowdown in the rate of surface warming.
El Niño Fades Without Westerly Wind Bursts
Pacific Ocean conditions brought El Niño winter forecasts in early 2014, but the chances faded by late summer. New research places blame on shifting winds.
Rapid Coordination Extends Space-Based Sun-Climate Record
Faced with the prospect of a large data gap in solar irradiance records, scientists take steps to ensure that this key climate variable stays monitored.
Methane Leaks from Oil and Gas Fields Detected from Space
Methane hot spots were detected in the atmosphere near North Dakota’s Bakken formation and the Eagle Ford formation in Texas after oil and gas production ramped up starting in 2009.
Changes in Earth’s Radiation Balance Between 1985 and 2012
A comparison of shortwave and longwave radiation in the atmosphere shows Earth’s heating rate is increasing even though temperatures are rising at a slower rate now than 30 years ago.
A Community-Driven Framework for Climate Reconstructions
Scientists involved with the Past Global Changes (PAGES) project have developed goals and recommendations for studying the paleoclimate of the past 2000 years.
