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global change news
President Announces Clear Skies & Global Climate Change Initiatives
On 14 February, President George W. Bush announced a new approach to the
challenge of global climate change. According to the White House, this
approach is designed to harness the power of markets and technological
innovation. In a speech delivered at NOAA offices in Silver Spring,
Maryland, the President said, ". . . we must clean our air, and we must
address the issue of global climate change. We must also act in a serious
and responsible way, given the scientific uncertainties. While these
uncertainties remain, we can begin now to address the human factors that
contribute to climate change. Wise action now is an insurance policy
against future risks." The President's announcement included a proposed
effort to cut power plant emissions, called the Clear Skies Initiative,
as well as other initiatives designed to reduce greenhouse gas intensity,
spur investments in renewable energy, and stimulate development of
technologies to combat global climate change.
White House. The full text of the President's
speech and additional information about the proposed initiatives are
available as follows:
Scientists have unraveled a mystery about hydrogen peroxide that may
lead to a more accurate way of measuring a gas that contributes to
depletion of Earth's protective ozone layer. Scientists have long known
that reactive hydrogen gases destroy stratospheric ozone. Too little
ozone may lead to unwelcome changes in climate and to more ultraviolet
radiation reaching Earth's surface. Ideally, atmospheric scientists would
like to make global maps of the distribution of these gases, because
there is increasing concern that their abundances may be rising due to
increases in stratospheric humidity. These gases--comprising hydroxyl
(OH) and hydroperoxyl (HO2)--cannot be easily
measured from space, but a product of their reaction, hydrogen peroxide,
is detectable. However, a large, nagging discrepancy has existed between
computer models of hydrogen peroxide abundance and actual atmospheric
measurements, suggesting that a complete understanding of the chemistry
has been lacking. Now scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif., the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and
the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass. have
resolved much of this disparity. The results could ultimately allow
concentrations of reactive hydrogen gas to be inferred by monitoring
hydrogen peroxide from space or the ground.
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL). Press release available here.
global change data
CDIAC Releases Data from WOCE Cruise in South Atlantic Ocean
Measurements include carbon dioxide and nutrients from R/V Meteor cruise
The Department of Energy's Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center
(CDIAC) has released a new Numeric Data Package (NDP) resulting from a
World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) cruise in the South Atlantic
Ocean. Titled Carbon Dioxide, Hydrographic, and Chemical Data
Obtained During the R/V Meteor Cruise 28/1 in the South Atlantic
Ocean (WOCE Section A8, March 29-May 12, 1994) and designated
NDP-079, the data package contains measurements made during the
WOCE cruise which began in Recife, Brazil, and ended in Walvis Bay,
Namibia. The measurements include total carbon dioxide (TCO2) and the
fugacity of CO2 (fCO2), plus additional
hydrographic and nutrient variables. This data base supports studies of
the transport of carbon dioxide within the ocean and movement of
CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere.
Dept. of Energy, Carbon Dioxide
Information Analysis Center. The Numeric Data
Package (NDP) may be obtained here.
global change news
In Midst of Drought, Scientists Hunt for Water Vapor
Massive research study based in Norman, Oklahoma
Humidity doesn't guarantee rainfall, especially in a drought. Chasing a
target that's not only moving but invisible, over 100 researchers will
profile the water vapor that feeds heavy rain and thunderstorms across
Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas as part of the large, complex International
H2O Project (IHOP2002). Although drought
conditions in parts of the study area may make water vapor even
more elusive than usual, scientists expect to find it nevertheless.
Over two years of planning have gone into IHOP, which runs from May 13
to June 25. This planning is being led by the Atmospheric Technology
Division within the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR/ATD)
and the Joint Office for Science Support (JOSS), part of the University
Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). Because of IHOP2002's scope
and complexity, JOSS teamed directly with the scientists and technical
staff at NCAR/ATD to form a project office team that has tackled a wide
range of issues, such as negotiating with farmers for the placement of
soil moisture sensors to changing the scanning strategies of satellites.
National Center for Atmospheric Research
(NCAR), Atmospheric Technology Division (ATD) and Joint Office for
Science Support (JOSS). Press release available here.
The National Ice Center in Suitland, Md., confirms an iceberg broke
off from the Lazarev Ice Shelf, a large sheet of glacial ice and snow
extending from the Antarctic mainland into the southeastern Weddell Sea.
The iceberg, D-17, is currently located near 69.4°S 15.9°E and
measures 30 nm (nautical miles) long by 6 nm wide (34.5 statute miles by
6.9 statute miles, or about 238 square miles). It is about the size of
St. Lucia Island in the Caribbean Sea. The National Ice Center confirmed
calving of D-17 using a satellite image from the Defense Meteorological
Satellite Program's Operational Line Scan Infrared sensor.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). Press release available here.
global change data
CDIAC Updates Temperature Deviations Dataset
Corresponding data package also
updated
The Department of Energy's Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis
Center (CDIAC) has updated the section of its Trends Online
publication focussing on temperature deviations derived from radiosonde
records. The corresponding data package, Annual and Seasonal
Global Temperature Deviations in the Troposphere and Low Stratosphere,
1958-2001 (NDP-008) was also updated to reflect the new measurements.
Data from a global network of 63 radiosonde stations were used to estimate
temperature deviations from 1958 through 2001. These estimates are
categorized vertically (for the near-surface, troposphere, tropopause,
low stratosphere, and the near-surface up to 100 mb) and horizontally
(for the globe, the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and the North and
South Polar, North and South Temperate, North and South Subtropical,
Tropical, and Equatorial latitudinal zones). Based on this network,
during 1958-2001 the global mean, near-surface air temperature warmed
by 0.15°C/decade and the 850-300 mb troposphere layer warmed by
0.08 C/decade. The global mean 300-100 mb tropopause layer cooled by
approximately -0.2°C/decade, driven mainly by large changes in the
Polar zones, and the 100-50 mb low-stratospheric layer experienced a
global mean cooling of about -0.6°C/decade.
Dept. of Energy, Carbon
Dioxide Information Analysis Center. The
Trends Online section is available here,
and the Numeric Data Package (NDP) may be obtained here.
On 15 May, five science teachers boarded the Research Vessel Thomas
G. Thompson in Seattle, Washington, to set sail on a eight-day
scientific cruise to expand their research experience alongside
researchers. This cruise is aimed at development of proto-experiments
toward the establishment of a the NEPTUNE cabled, underwater
observatory. The teachers are part of the Research and Education:
Volcanoes, Exploration and Life (REVEL) Project. The essence of the
REVEL Project is the interaction of highly-motivated science teachers
hungry for opportunities to engage in science and innovative scientists
pursuing cutting-edge research. The scope of the research encompasses a
wide variety of scientific problems that rnage from the origin of life
to new aspects of biotechnology. During each of the cruises, the
teachers will answer questions from their audience and post them and
their responses in their daily log on the REVEL website.
University of Washington, REVEL Project.
REVEL Project and daily logs available here.
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