Supermoon to wash out best meteor shower of the year Tuesday night

The biggest meteor shower of the year peaks on Tuesday night, but cloudy weather and the bright supermoon will create poor viewing conditions.

The Geminid meteor shower, known for producing as many as 120 meteors an hour at its peak, is one of the most popular showers of the year.

“It’s usually one of the best opportunities for kids who don't stay up late, because it gets going around 9 or 10 p.m. local time,” NASA said. 

Thick clouds will make for poor viewing conditions across many areas of the United States, but it will still be difficult to see meteors in areas where there are few clouds due to the superman. 

http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2016/12/12/supermoon-to-wash-out-best-meteor-shower-year-tuesday-night/

Man vs. nature: 20 photos from 2016 that display humankind's resiliency

Through hurricanes, severe storms, wildfires and blizzards, humans display pure grit when braving the elements nature unleashes.

Here are 20 of the best pictures from 2016 that display human nature's resolute determination to overcome whatever Mother Nature has in store.

http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2016/12/12/man-vs-nature-20-photos-from-2016-that-display-humankind-resiliency/

Sept. 22 Reddit AMA: The Science of Hurricane Hunting to Improve ForecastsHurricane scientist Frank Marks, Sc.D., (left) director of the Hurricane Research Division at NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) and P-3 hurricane hunter pilot Commander Justin Kibbey of the NOAA Corps will take your questions during a Reddit Science AMA chat September 22, 2016. With hurricane season in full swing, NOAA will host a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) on "The Science of Hurricane Hunting to Improve Forecasts" September 22, 2016. Hurricane scientist Frank Marks, Sc.D., the director of the Hurricane Research Division at NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, and P-3 hurricane hunter pilot Commander Justin Kibbey of the NOAA Corps will answer your questions. The first half of hurricane season has produced a significant number of storms in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, and the AMA is a great opportunity to learn more about how and why NOAA studies these storms.

With hurricane season in full swing, NOAA will host a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) on "The Science of Hurricane Hunting to Improve Forecasts" September 22, 2016.

Hurricane scientist Frank Marks, Sc.D., the director of the Hurricane Research Division at NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, and P-3 hurricane hunter pilot Commander Justin Kibbey of the NOAA Corps will answer your questions. The first half of hurricane season has produced a significant number of storms in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, and the AMA is a great opportunity to learn more about how and why NOAA studies these storms. 

http://www.noaa.gov/news/sept-22-reddit-ama-science-of-hurricane-hunting-to-improve-forecasts

Q&A: What do Arctic ice and Atlantic hurricanes have in common?

The weather has been making a lot of headlines lately. According to NOAA scientists and our partners: the past twelve months have been the warmest on record for the globe; wintertime Arctic sea ice measured an all-time low; and the hurricane season is expected to be near-average for the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

Scientists like Tom Delworth at NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey, work to understand our climate and future conditions as the world continues to warm. The journal Nature Geoscience published a paper by Delworth and his colleagues examining how a natural atmospheric force--the North Atlantic Oscillation--may be changing ocean currents in the North Atlantic. Among other impacts, the stronger ocean currents increase the amount of heat flowing toward polar areas, which could speed up Arctic ice melt and affect how hurricanes form.

http://research.noaa.gov/News/NewsArchive/LatestNews/TabId/684/ArtMID/1768/ArticleID/11764/QA-What-do-Arctic-ice-and-Atlantic-hurricanes-have-in-common.aspx

Capturing the genesis of Tropical Storm Hermine

NOAA Hurricane Hunters are flying back-to-back missions to study the newly developed Tropical Storm Hermine in the Gulf of Mexico, capturing its evolution from a cluster of thunderstorms into a tropical storm. Getting data during such transitions can help improve hurricane models which currently don’t predict transitions well. Our understanding of the physical processes of early storm development remains limited, largely because there are few observations.  

“Several of the hurricane models have been predicting this particular system would develop into a tropical storm or hurricane for over a week,” said Robert Rogers, hurricane researcher at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.  “We’d like to understand why it did not intensify days earlier as predicted with a goal of improving the models’ ability to better predict these weak systems.” 

http://research.noaa.gov/News/NewsArchive/LatestNews/TabId/684/ArtMID/1768/ArticleID/11854/Capturing-the-genesis-of-Tropical-Storm-Hermine.aspx

Climate and human evolution

Rick Potts is the director of the Smithsonian Institution’s Human Origins Program. He has researched human origins since the 1980s, and oversees the National Museum of Natural History’s What Does It Mean To Be Human? exhibition, which opened in 2010.

Potts developed the variability selection hypothesis of human origins, linking key human traits to a process of adaptation to climate variability and uncertainty. Climate.gov interviewed Dr. Potts by telephone on September 29, 2016. Here are his lightly edited responses.

Climate.gov: What is variability selection?

Potts: Variability selection is a form of natural selection that explains adaptation as a response to dramatically increased variability in the environment. When climate and other aspects of the environment vary dramatically, it can really affect the survival and success of an organism and its offspring over time. The effects can be evident in the gene pool and adaptations of an organism over time. Ultimately, organisms that can cope with widely varying conditions have a better chance of surviving novel and unpredictable environments.

https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-and/climate-and-human-evolution

Dam bypass spells victory for Russian River salmon

Salmon conservation achieved a major victory this October as construction finished on a fish passage and stream restoration project in Mill Creek, California. After California Sea Grant identified that a flashboard dam was stopping endangered coho salmon from moving upstream, a recovery plan by the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service billed it as the highest priority barrier for remediation in the Russian River.
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/features/dam-bypass-spells-victory-russian-river-salmon

Does the Paris climate deal sideline business?

The Paris Agreement on climate change has been widely hailed as a historic moment, but the business community could be forgiven for feeling a little marginalised by the substance of the deal.

In the whole 12-page document, there is just one reference to the private sector, tucked away in Article 6, where it talks of enhancing "public and private sector participation in the implementation of nationally determined contributions".

By way of contrast, much attention is paid to the roles of such organisations as the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts, as well as the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35093559

Six graphics that explain climate change

1. What is the problem?

The world is getting warmer

The average temperature of the Earth's surface has increased by about 0.85°C (1.4F) in the last 100 years. Thirteen of the 14 warmest years were recorded in the 21st Century, with 2015 on course to set another record.

2. Why is this happening?

Greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide

Scientists believe that gases released from industry and agriculture (known as emissions) are adding to the natural greenhouse effect, the way the Earth's atmosphere traps some of the energy from the Sun.

Human activities such as burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas are increasing the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. Carbon-absorbing forests are also being cut down.

The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is now higher than at any time in the last 800,000 years and reached a record high in May this year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-5aceb360-8bc3-4741-99f0-2e4f76ca02bb

COP21 climate change summit reaches deal in Paris

A deal to attempt to limit the rise in global temperatures to less than 2C has been agreed at the climate change summit in Paris after two weeks of intense negotiations.

The pact is the first to commit all countries to cut carbon emissions. 

The agreement is partly legally binding and partly voluntary. 

Earlier, key blocs, including the G77 group of developing countries, and nations such as China and India said they supported the proposals.

President of the UN climate conference of parties (COP) and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said: "I now invite the COP to adopt the decision entitled Paris Agreement outlined in the document. 

"Looking out to the room I see that the reaction is positive, I see no objections. The Paris agreement is adopted."

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35084374

Baby Turtles Survive Deep Freeze

Watch the moment when Sir David Attenborough and BBC filmmakers filmed the extraordinary emergence of baby turtles.

Even better, you can watch a further 1000 more memorable moments, for free, anytime, on your smartphone or tablet, via Attenborough's Story of Life app, which is now available to download via Google Play, or Apple's app store.

Find out more at http://www.bbc.com/earth/storyoflife.

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161205-baby-turtles-survive-deep-freeze

Trump nominee to rekindle climate battle?

The nomination of Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt to be the next head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has two important ramifications.

The first is a clear signal from the incoming Trump administration that environmental regulations, especially as they apply to the production of energy, are set for fundamental reform.

The second implication of Mr Pruitt's nomination is that the Trump camp is not willing to accept that many aspects of the science of climate change are now settled.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38249208

Methane surge needs 'urgent attention'

Scientists say they are concerned at the rate at which methane in the atmosphere is now rising. 

After a period of relative stagnation in the 2000s, the concentration of the gas has surged. 

Methane (CH4) is a smaller component than carbon dioxide (CO2) but drives a more potent greenhouse effect. 

Researchers warn that efforts to tackle climate change will be undermined unless CH4 is also brought under tighter control. 

"CO2 is still the dominant target for mitigation, for good reason. But we run the risk if we lose sight of methane of offsetting the gains we might make in bringing down levels of carbon dioxide," said Robert Jackson from Stanford University, US.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38285300

Ice loss spreads up Antarctic glaciers

The scale and pace of change now taking place in West Antarctica is captured in a new, long-term satellite record. 

Scientists have combined nearly a quarter of a century of observations to show how the region's great glaciers are losing height by up to 7m per year.

The satellite data also traces the way this thinning behaviour has spread up the length of the ice streams.

The glaciers concerned all terminate in the Amundsen Sea and are significant contributors to global ocean rise.

Their names are Pine Island, Thwaites, Pope, Smith, and Kohler.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38256932

NOAA’s advanced GOES-R weather satellite launching this month

This month NOAA will be launching its most advanced weather satellite to date, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R). The first of NOAA’s long-awaited, next generation weather satellites, the GOES-R will allow for significant improvements with tracking and forecasting the weather.

On November 19, 2016, at approximately 5:42pm EST, the GOES-R will be launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida onboard an Atlas V 541 rocket. The satellite will undergo a checkout and validation phase during its first year in orbit, and will then transition to operations immediately after.

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/news/160711_goes-r_%20weather_satellite.html

Improving the Communication of Flood Risk for Better Decision-Making

The Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) published a study in its September 2016 edition titled, “Effectively Communicating Risk and Uncertainty to the Public.” The study was jointly funded by NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) and Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) to study how residents in Easton and Lambertville, Pennsylvania perceive and respond to risk communication in NWS flood forecast products. The study’s findings reveal tools and thought processes people use to make decisions about their safety, in response to floods. The study also suggests ways NWS can adapt its flood products and messages to motivate people to take action.
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/news/161121_flood%20_risk.html

Observing and Predicting the 2015-2016 El Niño

Alongside colleagues in Australia and Peru, NOAA scientists involved with observing and predicting the 2015-2016 El Niño co-authored an article about the event and prediction for the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS), which was released on Nov. 21. They found that the El Niño event was one of the strongest since 1950, rivaling the events of 1982-83 and 1997-98. Predictions of the event were very good compared to recent past events, with global alerts posted throughout the first half of 2015. This event was associated with significant temperature and precipitation impacts globally, and there were also global impacts that weren’t clearly related to El Niño, such as a poleward shift in the jet stream across both hemispheres.

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/news/162211_observing_predicting.html

Experimental Snowfall Graphics

NOAA’s National Weather Service is expanding its local Winter Weather Pages – a one stop shop for winter weather information. These pages, now available at 44 of the 122 local NWS office webpages, include three experimental forecast products to explain the range of snowfall possibilities from oncoming storms extending three days before a storm. 
Explaining the range of possibilities allows everyone to make better decisions on what action to take, based not only on the most likely expected snowfall, but also on the maximum and minimum potential of the storm. Knowing the forecast and adequately preparing can lessen the impacts associated with hazardous winter weather.
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/news/160712_winter_probabilistic_snow.html

Extreme Weather

Weather Gone Wild

Rains that are almost biblical, heat waves that don’t end, tornadoes that strike in savage swarms—there’s been a change in the weather lately. What’s going on?

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/09/extreme-weather/miller-text

(Video) HEAVY SNOWFALL BLANKETS HAWAIIAN VOLCANOES

Sunny weather is what one typically pictures when they think of Hawaii. But parts of the island paradise were hit with lots of snow over the weekend.

Hawaii's Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa volcanoes were blanketed in snow, with the harsh winter conditions forcing the closure of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. A Winter Storm Warning called for "new accumulations of 20 to 30 inches" of snow through Saturday, according to AccuWeather.

While snow in Hawaii seems unusual, Mauna Loa typically gets snow in December, February and April, AccuWeather says.

http://abc7chicago.com/weather/heavy-snowfall-blankets-hawaiian-volcanoes/1640966/