Tag: Observing
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Record-breaking winds confirmed for Hurricane Melissa
As Hurricane Melissa approached Jamaica last month, a NOAA Hurricane Hunter airplane dropped a fleet of weather instruments called dropsondes into the depths of the storm. When the National Hurricane Center received the dropsonde data from the plane via satellite and processed the 252 mph reading, they cautiously began referring to the measurement as a potential record. In order to verify the reading, they contacted researchers at the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR), where dropsondes were developed, and asked them to verify the data.
- Weather
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Taking to the skies to track urban air quality
This past summer, if New Yorkers looked up from the hustle and bustle of urban life, they may have spotted a C-130 research aircraft flying above the skyscrapers. The plane was doing research flights over the tri-state area to collect data on urban air quality for a scientific research field campaign called GOTHAAM. No classic villains or superheroes here, just researchers studying the composition of the air in both the light and dark of the New York metro area.
- Air Quality
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Study shows Tijuana River water pollutes the air
Newly published research indicates that poor water quality can drastically affect air quality—an observation with important implications for global waterways.
- Air Quality,
- Water
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Understanding the lifecycle of a hailstone
The In-situ Collaborative Experiment for the Collection of Hail In the Plains (ICECHIP) field campaign was the first major U.S. hail field campaign in over 40 years. Over 10,000 hailstones were collected, a selection of which are now being analyzed at the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR).
- Weather
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Shedding light on the source of solar storms
Scientists at the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR) are developing COSMO to address the need for more advance warning of CMEs heading towards our planet. The ground-based solar observatory would transform humanity’s fundamental understanding of the formation of solar eruptions and other space weather that can affect technologies – and therefore the lives and livelihoods of people – on Earth.
- Sun + Space Weather