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The U.S. Climate Modeling Summit brought together representatives from the Nation’s major research and operational climate modeling programs

A new white paper highlights outcomes from the first annual U.S. Climate Modeling Summit. The Summit brought together leadership from the country’s six premier climate modeling centers to strategize around priorities of national interest—from experimental efforts that move science forward to forecasts and projections that inform on-the-ground decisions.

Thawing permafrost releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere

A new synthesis published in Nature suggests that thawing Arctic permafrost will release greenhouse gases gradually, rather than in a sudden "bomb". The gradual rate of these natural emissions may give society more time to adapt to their effects, but they remain a challenge for climate mitigation.

Artist's rendering of the SMAP satellite in orbit

Although the amount of moisture stored in soil is just a small fraction of Earth’s water, it plays a big role in the Earth system. NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite, launched into orbit this morning, will collect unprecedented measurements of soil moisture around the globe.

A new report investigates the causes of extreme weather and climate events that occurred around the world in 2013, finding evidence for both human and natural influences.

NASA image of the ozone hole over Antarctica

New NASA research shows that Earth's atmosphere contains an unexpectedly large amount of carbon tetrachloride (CC14), an ozone-depleting chemical that was banned worldwide decades ago. According to the study, global emissions of CCl4 average 39 kilotons per year—approximately 30 percent of peak emissions prior to its banning.

Early this morning, NASA launched the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2), a new science satellite that will measure Earth's output and uptake of carbon dioxide—the leading greenhouse gas responsible for climate change.

Both NASA and NOAA have ranked May 2014 as the planet’s hottest May since records began in 1880. UPDATE: Since this article was published, June 2014, August 2014, September 2014, and October 2014 have also set records for monthly average temperatures.

What does the future of climate look like where you live? For the first time, maps and summaries of temperature and precipitation projections for the 21st century are accessible at a county-by-county level, thanks to a website developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in collaboration with the College of Earth, Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University.

Using previously published large-scale climate model projections, a team of scientists from NASA has recently released monthly climate projections for the United States at a scale of one half mile (800 meters), or approximately the size of a neighborhood.

Two recently released animated NASA visualizations developed to support the forthcoming third US National Climate Assessment show projections of Earths temperature and precipitation patterns from today through the year 2100, revealing how low versus high emission scenarios would impact the planets climate.

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Latest News

Modeling Summit Bridges Weather & Climate, Research & Operations

From Thawing Permafrost, Slow but Steady Emissions Likely

SMAP Into Action: Satellite to Measure Soil Moisture From Space

Extreme Weather Events of 2013: Human-Caused or Natural Variability?

Ozone-Depleting Chemical Persists in Atmosphere, Source Unknown

Carbon Observatory Heads Into Orbit

Last Month Was Earth's Hottest May on Record

New USGS Website Has Climate Projections for Your County

NASA Supercomputer Generates Closer Look at Future Climate Conditions in U.S.

New NASA Visualizations Show Two Futures of Climate Change