Category: Archive

An unassuming-looking rod on a rooftop in Beltsville, Md., connected with wires to specialized computer equipment in the building below, is helping scientists pinpoint the location of lightning as it flashes during a thunderstorm. Working in tandem with nine other identical devices installed throughout the Washington, D.C., area, these sensors promise to help usher in a new era of severe weather prediction. Called the Washington D.C. Lightning Mapping Array (DC LMA), the devices detect, in …

There’s a big difference — $700 million — between how much money the Senate Appropriations Committee wants to allocate for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and how much the House Appropriations Committee is willing to spend. But there’s one big bipartisan element that both House and Senate appropriators agree on, and that’s the need for NOAA to spend a big chunk of its budget on improving weather forecasting. The Senate version of the bill, which passed through full …

ESSIC Director, Professor Antonio Busalacchi, welcomed "weather campers" from Howard University's NOAA Center for Atmospheric Sciences' (NCAS) to the center this week. The NCAS camp offers rising high school juniors and seniors first hand exposure to educational and career opportunities in atmospheric sciences. NOAA's Dr. Scott Rudlosky, an ESSIC visiting assistant scientist, collaborated with NOAA's outreach office to bring the campers to ESSIC for the …

ESSIC Research Associate, Joseph Munchak, was recognized at an annual NASA / GSFC Earth Sciences Division – Atmospheres (Code 610) awards ceremony, which highlights the contribution of contractors. Munchak was selected as “Best Senior Author Publication” for his paper, “A Modular Optimal Estimation Method for Combined Radar-Radiometer Precipitation Profiling.” The paper provides an overview of different methods of sensor precipitation retrievals over various surfaces. The “Best Senior Author …

While the rest of the world nervously watches temperatures grow more extreme, wine producers in Washington state and Oregon may benefit from global climate change, a university researcher found. In his research on climate change and global viticulture, the cultivation of grapevines, Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center Director Antonio Busalacchi found wine producers in the cooler regions of Washington and Oregon, as well as Chile, Argentina, Germany and New Zealand, will see more …

An unusual heat wave struck Alaska this past June (2013), with temperatures reaching well into the  80’s and 90’s throughout the state. Instead of temperatures in the mid-60s, the average in places near Anchorage, people were basking in the sun and visiting local beaches in response to the unusually high temperatures. Unofficial readings of 98°F were recorded in northern parts of Alaska near Talkeetna, which would tie the highest recorded temperature in the area. Anchorage felt the heat …

ESSIC Director and Council on the Environment Chair, Antonio Busalacchi, recently participated in a two-day workshop in Cork, Ireland, where he spoke on the role of the oceans in climate. The workshop was attended by a group of approximately 30 scientists, who met to discuss how Ireland – a country of comparatively small size – can utilize its own unique resources to participate in “big science.” The workshop was co-chaired by UM Vice President of Research Pat O’Shea. “This was an initial …

ESSIC Director and ConE Chair, Professor Antonio Busalacchi, was interviewed in a recent televised Fox news segment, regarding aging U.S weather satellites. In the report, FOX stated that 14 of the 22 U.S. satellites currently used to monitor weather, have already reached their designed expiration dates. Aging satellites could be particularly problematic in the near-term, given NOAA’s recent prediction of an active hurricane season. Estimates include 20 tropical weather systems this year, …

Science Direct published two articles that ESSIC/AOSC Professor Raghu Murtugudde contributed to in their June 2013, vol. 5 issue 2 edition of Current Opinion of Environmental Sustainability. The first article, A global science–policy partnership for progress toward sustainability of oceanic ecosystems and fisheries, explained the problems associated with deterioration of oceanic fisheries, and the causes, which include over-fishing and climate change among other issues. The piece proposed …