A balloon-borne instrument sailing in the Arctic stratosphere in June obtained some of the best observations to date on the high-speed, Sun-driven winds that howl through the thermosphere more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) above Earth.

A small but active group of discipline-crossing specialists are analyzing the response of disease transmission to temperature, moisture, and other atmospheric variables.

New research that involves NCAR's Bette Otto-Bliesner questions conventional wisdom with regard to massive iceberg discharges in the North Atlantic Ocean during the last glacial period, pointing toward climate rather than ice sheet instability as a cause.

Sea ice could stabilize or even expand for periods of several years, but it will ultimately melt as the climate warms.