Tag: Climate

On Saturday, September 15, NASA successfully launched the Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2), a mission meant to measure the changing height of Earth’s ice over the next 3-7 years. This comes at a critical time, as the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets rapidly lose ice and contribute to sea level rise, requiring continuous monitoring. ICESat-2 will carry the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), an instrument that will send 10,000 laser pulses a second to …

A collaboration between AOSC/ESSIC professor Sumant Nigam and AOSC associate research professor Alfredo Ruiz-Barradas was published in the American Meteorological Society’s Journal of Hydrometeorology last May.  The paper uses a simple hydrologic model driven by high-resolution precipitation of observations and forecasts to analyze precipitation and streamflow in the Mekong River Basin.  It assesses the true origin of the water, revealing that China’s influence on the Mekong is likely …

ESSIC assistant research scientist Augustin Vintzileos has developed a new experimental product that provides global excessive heat outlooks two and three weeks in advance. Although still a pilot program, the outlook system could eventually be a vital early warning tool for relief agencies who respond to critical weather emergencies and disasters. For example, relief agencies could begin planning for extended operation of cooling centers and the reinforcement of drinking water supplies …

ESSIC assistant research scientist Augustin Vintzileos recently visited the Tunisian Department of Agriculture for 10 days where he worked on climate applications. Vintzileos trained personnel and students at the Tunisian National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology on reforecasts and led a seminar on the global subseasonal excessive heat outlook system. He also developed new relationships with Tunisian climate professionals including members of the Tunisian Weather Service. The …