<< Return to main archives page

April

Top Stories

Summer Work Can Be a Launching Pad - Federal Internships Offer Experiences Beyond Filing and Phone Duties
The Washington Post (April 30, 2006) circ. 678,779
. . . So what did Murillo do during her summers to catapult her career into the clouds? She interned in the federal Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science (SOARS) program in Boulder, Colo. She worked shoulder-to-shoulder with leading scientists in state-of-the-art labs analyzing real-time data on hurricanes as they plowed across the United States -- experiences that "helped me realize that hurricanes were my passion," Murillo said.

Call it a space journey - Marketplace (radio)
American Public Media (National) (April 26, 2006)
Russians are making all the runs to the International Space Station because the US space shuttle is still grounded. Congress is hammering out next year's federal budget and a Senate committee spent the day taking a long hard look at NASA. . . . Richard Anthes co-chairs the National Research Council's committee on earth science and applications from space. He says even before Bush announced his moon-Mars ambitions, NASA's focus was shifting away from research like Earth observation satellites. That hampers the ability to predict hurricanes. ANTHES: And to even risk the possibility of a reduction in hurricane warning accuracy or hurricane forecasts, you'd think that that would just not be tolerable.

Experts: Global warming behind 2005 hurricanes
CNN.com (April 25, 2006)
Reuters (April 25, 2006)
MSNBC.com (April 25, 2006)
and these 4 other publications
The record Atlantic hurricane season last year can be attributed to global warming, several top experts, including a leading U.S. government storm researcher, said on Monday. "The hurricanes we are seeing are indeed a direct result of climate change and it's no longer something we'll see in the future, it's happening now," said Greg Holland, a division director at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. Holland told a packed hall at the American Meteorological Society's 27th Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology that the wind and warmer water conditions that fuel storms that form in the Caribbean are "increasingly due to greenhouse gases. There seems to be no other conclusion you can logically draw." His conclusion will be debated throughout the week-long conference, as other researchers present opposing papers that say changing wind and temperature conditions in the tropics are due to natural events, not the accumulation of carbon dioxide emissions clouding the Earth.

The Bay Area at 6
KNTV-TV CH11 (NBC) San Francisco (April 24, 2006) DMA: 6
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Every two years, the global experts on hurricanes get together at a conference. This year the conference was held in Monterey. There is very little debate in the scientific community about global warming. The consensus from the scientists is that it’s happening and that humans are the cause. Is global warming going to impact the hurricane season? I; Greg Holland, National Center for Atmospheric Research, says the ocean temperatures at the North Atlantic are running at all time record highs, and they’ve shown that what happens when those ocean temperatures warm up is that the hurricanes tend to form closer to the equator, down in the Caribbean, and out toward Africa. Those are the ones that cause the Katrina’s, the Wilma’s, and the really intense cyclones. I; Bill Gray, Colorado State University, says there is a trend of global warming, but he believes it’s a natural change.

People in the News
CNN (April 23, 2006)
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
The island of Tuvalu is threatened by the rising waters caused by global warming. . . . Created and constantly refined by more than 300 scientists all over the world, the model here at National Center for Atmospheric Research factors in temperature changes all over the earth in ten-minute increments for the past ten thousand years. It is the basis for a stark forecast. . . . Bill Collins states that all the numbers say it’s warming. “You can argue about if it’s longer or smaller, but all the numbers say it’s warming and that we are definitely changing the chemistry in the atmosphere in a way that is starkly unprecedented.”

Documentary turns the heat on global warming
The Boston Globe (April 22, 2006) circ. 414,225
. . . The show . . . inoculates itself from charges of Hollywood superficiality by presenting a roster of heavyweight talking heads who explain the situation in clear, simple terms. We've got faces from Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, among other august institutions, who argue convincingly that global warming is a reality that must, and can, be countered. . . . ''Too Hot Not to Handle," in other words, is advocacy television.

The big meltdown - Human-caused global warming a reality
Denver Post (April 21, 2006) circ. 264,301
Until quite recently, scientists could only say that humans were having a "discernable" effect on climate. If global warming were to happen, many predicted, the effects would show up first in the polar regions. Today, there's evidence that the polar ice caps indeed are melting. Meanwhile, in a significant step up in their level of certainty, scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research say the majority of global warming that's taken place since 1970 can be attributed to human activities.

Asian pollution may harm Washington air
Forbes (April 21, 2006) circ. 925,959
The Washington Post (April 21, 2006) circ. 678,779
Houston Chronicle (April 21, 2006) circ. 521,419
and these 13 other publications
Pollution from Asian power plants and smoke from burning Siberian forests may be adding to poor air quality in Washington state, scientists say. . . . Dan Jaffe, an atmospheric chemist at the University of Washington's Bothell campus, is heading up an effort to search for international pollution and gauge how serious the problem is. . . . On Monday, a modified C-130 cargo plane from the National Center for Atmospheric Research landed at Paine Field in Everett north of Seattle. And in Hawaii a DC-8 jet from NASA was added to help their efforts.

Warming to Houston as a leader on the environment - City should add 'green' power to its civic résumé
Houston Chronicle (April 21, 2006) circ. 521,419
. . . Within 70 years we have a reasonable probability of an average surface temperature increase of five degrees and an increase in sea level of more than a foot. Even if all human contributions to climate change now were to stop, temperatures and sea levels will keep increasing for at least the next 40 years. An upcoming report from the National Center for Atmospheric Research will announce an increased probability of severe hurricanes following a path into the western Gulf of Mexico, as did hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year.

Rick Kushman: 'Mammoth' undertaking for Sci Fi
Sacramento Bee (April 21, 2006) circ. 290,553
Saturday night, HBO presents a succinct, if terrifying, primer on global warming and our rapidly changing climate in an hour-long documentary called "Too Hot Not to Handle," which details the problem and shows some ways out. The film features nearly two dozen scientists from places like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Yale, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research who are uniform in their warning that we need to start fixing the Earth now. . . . "Scientists are sure that we are changing the climate for the foreseeable future," says William Collins from the National Center for Atmospheric Research. "What we're not sure about is whether we'll be able to live with those changes."

Climate Change Will Be Significant but Not Extreme, Study Predicts
The Washington Post (April 20, 2006) circ. 678,779
San Francisco Chronicle (April 20, 2006) circ. 391,681
and these 3 other publications
. . . [T]he research aims to refine a value known as "climate sensitivity," which is defined as the global average temperature change that can be expected to occur in response to a doubling of carbon dioxide levels. . . . The result: Climate sensitivity almost certainly falls within the more conventional range of current predictions, with only a 5 percent chance that it will exceed 11 degrees Fahrenheit. "This is the first use of several different independent data sets to come up with a constraint on climate sensitivity," said Reto Knutti of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. "It's a very solid piece of science."

Study predicts significant climate change
United Press International (April 20, 2006)
A Duke University study says the earth will undergo significant climate change in the coming century but not as extreme as some fear due to global warming. . . . The study, appearing in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, sought to refine the "climate sensitivity" value or the average global temperature change resulting from the doubling of carbon dioxide levels. . . . A spokesperson at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., told The Post, "It's a very solid piece of science."

Sending 'weather balloons' up - way up - A new constellation of satellites works with GPS orbiters to monitor the atmosphere.
The Christian Science Monitor (April 20, 2006) circ. 59,179
. . . The satellites are up and apparently healthy, heralding what several researchers say will be a new era in weather forecasting and climate monitoring. . . . Balloons have their limits . . . COSMIC, by contrast, is designed to take 2,500 soundings a day and with truly global coverage. . . . The $100 million project is a joint effort between the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., and the government of Taiwan. Indeed, the Taiwanese, who call the mission Formosat 3, put up $80 million.

California tackles greenhouse emissions - Companies could reap huge financial rewards, some say. Others see a net loss of jobs.
The Christian Science Monitor (April 18, 2006) circ. 59,179
. . . Last week, Mr. Schwarzenegger brought together top environmental, political, and business leaders for a "Climate Action Summit" in San Francisco. There, he called for a "market based system" in which companies would receive strict caps on how much ozone-depleting gases (carbon dioxide, methane, and others) they could emit. Companies with emissions below such caps could then sell their unexpelled allotment to others who have exceeded their limits. . . . Sterling Burnett, senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas . . . cites a National Center for Atmospheric Research study that global warming would only be reduced by one-fifth of a degree over 100 years if all signatories to the Kyoto Protocol Treaty met their obligations.

Taiwan looks forward to space cooperation with Japan: Su
The China Post (April 17, 2006) circ. 250,000
Premier Su Tseng-chang said over the weekend Taiwan looks forward to cooperation with Japan in the development of space technology and atmospheric research. . . . FORMOSAT-3, also known as Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC), is a collaborative project between Taiwan and the United States that began in December 1997, Su said. . . . [T]he project will enable Taiwan to exchange climatic information with countries around the world and thus enhance its status in global atmospheric research.

The West's water future may float on cloud plan - Seeding program's cost, effectiveness still being debated
Rocky Mountain News (April 17, 2006) circ. 267,031
Colorado is at the center of an ambitious, multistate cloud-seeding plan that could boost mountain snowpack and potentially make available billions of gallons of new water. . . . Serious questions remain, however, about whether cloud seeding - the practice of shooting silver iodide particles into winter clouds - really produces more water on the ground. "At the local level, there are a lot of pressures to increase precipitation. But there hasn't been enough money for in-depth, statistically validated research," said Dr. Robert [Serafin], a climate researcher at Boulder's National Center for Atmospheric Research. "That's the bottom line. How much more snow actually falls on the ground?"

Climate-monitoring satellites successfully launched into orbit
Philippine Daily Inquirer (April 16, 2006) circ. 5,280,183
USA Today (April 16, 2006) circ. 2,296,335
and these other publications
Six weather satellites successfully reached orbit and were ready to begin their five-year mission to track hurricanes, monitor climate change and study space weather, it was announced Saturday. "Ground stations have received signals from all six satellites," according to an update on the website for the project's manager, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. . . . The mission is known as COSMIC in the United States and FORMOSAT-3 in Taiwan. COSMIC stands for Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate.

Formosat-3 Successfully Lifts Off
Central News Agency (Taipei) (April 15, 2006)
Taiwan's third satellite project -- FORMOSAT-3 -- was successfully launched at 9:40 a.m. Saturday, Taipei time at the Vandenberg [A]ir [F]orce [B]ase in California. . . . FORMOSAT-3, also known as Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC), is an international collaborative project between Taiwan's National Space Organization and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in the U.S. . . . After it becomes fully operational, FORMOSAT-3 will be capable of providing around 2,500 pieces of meteorological data in every 24-hour period, covering all areas of the globe.

Minotaur Rocket Orbits COSMIC Constellation to Scan Earth's Atmosphere
Space.com (April 14, 2006)
. . .  An Orbital Sciences-built Minotaur rocket shot the multi-satellite mission into orbit at 9:40 p.m. EDT (0140 April 15 GMT) from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, where rain and clouds reigned for most of the day. It was the second attempt to loft the spacecraft Friday after a last-minute glitch prevented a liftoff almost 90 minutes earlier. . . . “You guys did a fantastic job,” said William Kuo, director of the COSMIC office at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, to launch controllers just after the sixth COSMIC satellite was deployed in orbit.

Satellites Launched to Study Weather
Washington Post (April 14, 2006) circ. 678,779
Newsday (April 14, 2006) circ. 439,708
The San Diego Union-Tribune (April 14, 2006) circ. 314,279
FoxNews.com (April 15, 2006)
and these other publications
. . . The $100 million mission was funded by Taiwan and several U.S. agencies including the National Science Foundation. The project is managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.The information gathered will be used to enhance research and improve weather forecasting. Scientists hope the refined data from the satellites would help them better track storms and monitor long-term climate change. . . . The mission is known as COSMIC in the United States and FORMOSAT-3 in Taiwan. COSMIC stands for Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate.

Mission Status Center—Follow the countdown and launch of the Orbital Sciences Minotaur rocket with the six COSMIC atmospheric research spacecraft
SpaceflightNow.com (April 12, updated April 14, 2006)
Six tiny satellites sped into space Friday evening aboard an ultra-fast rocket booster, beginning a five-year mission to examine Earth's atmosphere and the underlying hints of climate change by employing a novel technique.The $100 million COSMIC mission that partners the U.S. and Taiwan roared away from the wet and foggy Space Launch Complex 8 on the southern end of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 6:40 p.m. PDT (9:40 p.m. EDT; 0140 GMT). . . . "This is the first time the technique of radio occultation has been used on a large scale in real time to provide nearly continuous measurements of worldwide atmospheric conditions at all altitudes," says William Kuo, director of the COSMIC office at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. . . . "Centers around the world will have access to this new information for both research and operational forecasting," said Richard Anthes, president of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. "User-friendly versions of the data will enable those with less sophisticated systems to benefit as well."

Cosmic constellation to study atmosphere - U.S.-Taiwanese satellites will use novel method to get weather data
MSNBC.com (April 13, updated April 14, 2006)
Space.com (April 13, updated April 14, 2006)
Yahoo! News (April 13, 2006)
. . . The array of spacecraft is rooted on a system design provided by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), based here. UCAR is a consortium of 69 universities focused on atmospheric and related sciences. . . ."I am very excited about the project. The planning for this started in the fall of 1997. Nine years have passed since then. I firmly believe that COSMIC will revolutionize atmospheric remote sensing for weather prediction, climate monitoring, and space weather forecasting. GPS radio occultation technique is very accurate, of high vertical resolution, and is also very cost-effective," [William] Kuo said.

Once a Terminal Case, the North Aral Sea Shows New Signs of Life
Science (April 14, 2006) circ. 126,204
By the early 1990s, much of the area around the northern end of the Aral Sea had become a salt-encrusted wasteland, desiccated by decades of ill-conceived cotton irrigation. Some ecologists seemed ready to write it off, but the World Bank decided in 1999 to support a rescue mission. . . . Just 7 months after the dike's completion, the Small Aral Sea has reached the target level, 42 meters above the level of the Baltic Sea. . . . Michael Glanz, an Aral Sea specialist with the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, calls the North Aral Sea project "a bright spot in a dismal landscape." . . . But now Afghans in the relatively peaceful north are starting to draw from the river for irrigation--and they're planning to draw much more, Glanz says: "Once the Afghans start withdrawing a lot of water, the delta is going to dry up, and people upstream are going to suffer."

Satellite to launch on schedule
Taipei Times (April 9, 2006)
. . . The launching of the FORMOSAT-3 satellite is part of the "Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC)" project, or FORMOSA/COSMIC. It is a joint project between NSPO and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) of the US. . . . The project requires NSPO to supply relevant information on the ground system interface, whereas UCAR will be responsible for constructing remote traction stations and the network control center.

Pollution study produces wealth of data
El Universal (Mexico City) (April 8, 2006)
. . . Scientists and graduate students have been working 14-hour days to measure the giant plume of gases, dust and particles that rise out of Mexico City each day and generally drift to the northeast, sometimes as far as the Gulf of Mexico. . . . "I´m sure we´ll learn things we didn´t expect, answer some hypotheses and in some cases end up with more questions," said Sasha Madronich, a participating chemist from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.

Technique From Outer Space Takes On Earth Observation
Science (April 7, 2006) circ. 126,204
. . . The GPS/MET instrument took to the skies in 1995 aboard NASA's Microlab I satellite; it exceeded everyone's expectations. The experiment produced data for 2 years, and UCAR researchers achieved vertical resolution of 100 meters and temperature accuracy of better than a degree. "GPS/MET was a great success," says Bill Kuo of UCAR, director of the Cosmic project. . . . Despite the evidence that GPS sounding worked and produced valuable data, researchers found it hard to get backing for a constellation of craft to produce enough regular soundings for weather forecasters. "We tried to talk to U.S. agencies, but they were focused on big, established missions," says Kuo. Many atmospheric scientists work for decades on large missions that cost $400 million apiece. A science-grade GPS receiver hardened for space, by contrast, costs only a few hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the whole of Cosmic costs $100 million. "Cheap sounding missions are potentially a threat, so the community is suspicious," says Kuo.

Jesus May Have Walked on Ice, Not Water, Scientists Say
National Geographic (April 6, 2006) circ. 5,431,117
. . . "The Bible I consulted refers to the fishermen in a boat and 'strong headwinds' and 'waves,'" said Kevin Trenberth, who heads the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. "The boat drifted several hundred yards out and tossed in the waves and wind. So the presence of [the] boat strongly suggests there was no ice." "The arguments seem bogus," he added. "They require almost no wind and no mixing for their mechanism to work, but then they cannot get the cooling they require." "By the way," Trenberth added, "the Bible also says Peter got out of the boat and walked on water but then sank. Where did the ice go all of a sudden?"

Just say it's sunny - Why is global warming a forbidden topic for most TV weather reporters? Climate change is "controversial" and bad for ratings.
Salon.com (April 4, 2006)
. . . Until a few years ago, Heidi Cullen was a research scientist at Boulder's National Center for Atmospheric Research -- "an awesome gig, with steady funding," she says. Then the Weather Channel called with an offer Cullen couldn't refuse: a newly created position as in-house climate expert. . . . Through the Weather Channel's "Forecast Earth" series, Cullen has reported on climate change and the Inuit Eskimos in Alaska, melting glaciers in Greenland and the drought in Arizona. "I consider it my job to link weather and climate," she says. "The more long-term we can link the two, the better off we will be."

Scientists try to make flights over Sierra safer for pilots
USA Today (April 3, 2006) circ. 2,296,335
Contra Costa Times (April 4, 2006) circ. 182,834
Reno Gazette Journal (April 3, 2006) circ. 64,862
Monterey County Herald (April 3, 2006) circ. 31,813
Scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the Naval Research Laboratory and other research institutions from the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria and Croatia will be working on the project in Owens Valley through the end of April. . . . Plans call for the $81.5 million HIAPER — the nation's newest and most advanced research aircraft — to fly over rotors as they form above the Sierra. The aircraft, owned by the National Science Foundation, can reach altitudes of 51,000 feet and cruise for 7,000 miles.

How Dangerous Is Hail? Can a grapefruit-sized ice ball kill you?  - Explainer - Answers to your questions about the news.
Slate.com (April 3, 2006)
. . . Three factors contribute to making a hailstorm especially dangerous: the size of the stones, the frequency with which they fall, and the wind speed. The killer hailstorm in Zhengzhou didn't have very big stones, but fierce winds pushed them earthward at very high speeds. More frequent hail increases your likelihood of getting hit in the head or another vulnerable spot. (Size and frequency trade off as a general rule: The bigger the hailstones, the fewer of them there are.) . . . Explainer thanks Randy Cerveny of Arizona State University and Charles Knight of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.

Scientists Focus on Warming Disasters
Washington Post (April 3, 2006) circ. 678,779
Boston Globe (April 3, 2006) circ. 414,225
Cleveland Plain Dealer (April 3, 2006) circ. 339,055
and numerous other publications, including these examples
. . . Nearly two dozen computer models now agree that by 2100, the average yearly global temperature will be 3 to 6 degrees Fahrenheit higher than now, according to Gerald Meehl, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Even if today the world suddenly stops producing greenhouse gases, temperatures will rise 1 degree by 2050, according to NCAR.

Polar Ice Caps Are Melting Faster Than Ever... More And More Land Is Being Devastated By Drought... Rising Waters Are Drowning Low-Lying Communities... By Any Measure, Earth Is At ... The Tipping Point
Time (April 3, 2006) circ. 4,050,589
. . . A similar feedback loop is melting permafrost. . . . In high-altitude regions of Alaska, Canada and Siberia, the soil is warming and decomposing, releasing gases that will turn into methane and CO2. That, in turn, could lead to more warming and permafrost thaw, says research scientist David Lawrence of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. And how much carbon is socked away in Arctic soils? Lawrence puts the figure at 200 gigatons to 800 gigatons. The total human carbon output is only 7 gigatons a year. . . . "There's a school of thought that sea surface temperatures are warming up toward Canada," says Greg Holland, senior scientist for NCAR in Boulder. "If so, you're likely to get tropical cyclones there, but we honestly don't know."

Vicious Cycles
Time (April 3, 2006) circ. 4,050,589
The debate over whether Earth is warming up is over. Now we're learning that climate disruptions feed off one another in accelerating spirals of destruction. Scientists fear we may be approaching the point of no return. . . . Sources: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Third Assessment Report; NOAA; NASA; National Snow and Ice Data Center; Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center; National Center for Atmospheric Research; U.S. Global Change Research Program; Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Roundabout Way of Profiling Earth's Atmosphere—New method of measuring temperature, pressure, and humidity using GPS signals should improve weather forecasting
IEEE Spectrum (April 2006) circ. 385,000
. . . Conceived by Richard Anthes, president of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colo., and several colleagues in Taiwan and the United States, the project is unusual and unprecedented in that the six satellites were assembled in Taiwan and largely paid for by the government of Taiwan. "It is the first mission to demonstrate the use of GPS radio occultation soundings for weather prediction in near real time," says Anthes. . . . According to Bill Kuo, the director of the COSMIC Project at UCAR, the GPS radio occultation technique used by the COSMIC system will . . . deliver a precise measurement.

Other Stories

Modeling the past to predict the future - NOAA hopes to make climate prediction more accurate
Daily Camera (April 27, 2006) circ. 33,311
Climate models are built to predict the future. Alexander "Sandy" MacDonald wants a model that predicts the past. . . . Climate models churn out everything from estimates of Arctic melting to predictions that average global temperature will rise between 2.5 and 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported in 2001. That's not good enough, MacDonald said at his laboratory's annual meeting Wednesday. . . . MacDonald cited recent model-based predictions by National Center for Atmospheric Research scientist [Marika] Holland and others that foresee a "catastrophic drop" in summer sea ice in the Arctic, with complete summer melting by the 2030s.

Global Warming and Your Caribbean Vacation
About.com (April 27, 2006)
. . . If you love the Caribbean as a vacation destination, then urge your lawmakers to take action against global warming. . . . Rising sea temperatures, for example, are blamed for a massive die-off last summer in Caribbean coral reefs; some corals that had been alive since the time of Christopher Columbus died. . . . At a climate conference last week, a U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research expert Greg Holland put the blame for the record 2005 hurricane season squarely on global warming. The wind and water conditions underlying the formation of these storms in the Caribbean are "increasingly due to greenhouse gases," Reuters reported Holland saying. "There seems to be no other conclusion you can logically draw."

Lasers shine light on climate change
The Engineer (London) (April 26, 2006) circ. 31,224
A University of Hertfordshire (UH) team is developing an advanced laser-based instrument to help research into climate change for an atmospheric research aircraft. Professor Paul Kaye, Dr Edwin Hirst and Dr Richard Greenaway at UH’s Science and Technology Research Institute (STRI) have been commissioned by the US University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) to build the instrument for their new HIAPER (High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research) aircraft, based in Colorado. The instrument, which is being tailored to UCAR’s requirements, will be used to study microscopic water droplets and ice crystals in clouds, providing information to meteorologists to help them to make climate prediction models more accurate.

Global demand soaring for Herts hi-tech sensor
Business Weekly Eastern England (April 26, 2006) circ. 27,500
The University of Hertfordshire has been contracted to design an advanced laser-based tool to support research into climate change for one of the world’s leading atmospheric research aircraft. Known as HIAPER (High-performance Instrumented Air-borne Platform for Environmental Research), the £45.6m aircraft has been commissioned by the US University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) to serve the National Science Foundation’s environmental research needs for the next few decades. . . . Professor Paul Kaye, project leader, said . . . “UCAR scientists became aware of this work and asked us to design and build a new instrument for their use. It’s a significant step for us because the HIAPER aircraft is a very exciting development to be contributing to.”

An import from Asia: Bad air
Seattle Times (April 21, 2006) circ. 232,124
The Macon Telegraph (April 26, 2006) circ. 61,033
Using a cramped Beechcraft Duchess airplane launched from Everett's Paine Field, Jaffe and his team of researchers have been continuing a yearslong search for international pollution to gauge how serious the problem is. Now the hunt is getting a big boost with the addition of two huge, state-of-the-art planes, the first concerted federal effort to decipher how the air floating from Asia carries pollutants to America. . . . Monday, a modified C-130 cargo plane from the National Center for Atmospheric Research landed at Paine Field. And in Hawaii, a DC-8 jet from NASA has joined the hunt. In a project spearheaded by NASA, both planes will spend the next month buzzing over the Pacific Ocean, sucking up samples from plumes of pollution from Asia.

Do we care enough to save what's left? - UT biologist Camille Parmesan, an expert on climate change, sees a future with no penguins, no polar bears and one big moral question.
Austin American-Statesman (April 22, 2006) circ. 183,620
"We're definitely seeing species going extinct because of climate change," says [Camille] Parmesan, sitting in her second-floor biology office at the University of Texas . . . "We're going to lose the penguins. We're going to lose the polar bears, no question. . . . I'm seeing high mountain butterflies literally being pushed off the mountains. This is happening. It is not theory. It is not people saying, 'Oh, we think it might happen.' It is happening, and it is incredibly depressing." . . . [Q] Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma has long said global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on America. How do you respond to this, as a scientist? [A] Anyone who says this is a hoax is really, really stupid — or a flat liar or a con artist. At the end of every seminar, I give people a list of science-based Web sites — EPA, NCAR and NOAA — not blogs. And I say, "Look at these. They back up everything I say."

Expert: Humanity has been on an energy "binge"
Earth & Sky Radio Series (April 22, 2006)
DB: This is Earth & Sky, with climate scientist Jerry Mahlman of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. JB: He’ll be the senior review editor for the final draft of an upcoming climate assessment, a report in 2007 from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Jerry Mahlman: So, I'm a person who has a sunny personality. I see the good side of everything. And, yet, when I start talking about global warming, I realize that I sound like an old crank, who's saying, "All you jerks get your act together." And, quite frankly, a number of my colleagues feel the same way.

Interview: Straight talk about climate change. - Jerry Mahlman on dealing with your grandkids' problem.
Earth & Sky Radio Series (April 22, 2006)
Renown[ed] climate scientist Jerry Mahlman . . . now a senior researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research . . . has spent much of his life modeling how Earth's atmosphere responds to the steady buildup of greenhouse gases. In 2007, he'll be a senior editor of the assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the latest science and [consequences] of Earth's warming climate. Mahlman spoke with Earth & Sky's Jorge Salazar about what a warmer world could really mean to you and me.

The Dynamics Of Disaster - Seth McGinnis On The Hurricane Landfall Game
SeriousGamesSource.com (April 21, 2006)
. . . Recently, Serious Games Source took the opportunity to interview Seth McGinnis, an associate scientist in the Institute for the Study of Society and Environment (ISSE) at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), regarding his work on the Disaster Dynamics project. The key component of this project, the Hurricane Landfall game, is a 'serious game' that works to teach players how to deal with events associated with the rebuilding and recovery process following a natural disaster.

National Lambdarail Launches Transit and Peering Project
HPCwire.com (April 21, 2006)
. . . Called National TransitRail, the project aims to use commodity and peering traffic to improve network performance and reduce the overall cost of Internet services to NLR members. . . . "This project offers our FRGP NLR members a new way to increase network performance while, at the same time, lowering costs over time," said Marla Meehl, Manager of the FRGP and networking at University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). "Services like National TransitRail make our investment in NLR further benefit the FRGP members and their thousands of users in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming."

Honest media coverage of issue is too little and too late
Arizona Daily Star (April 17, 2006) circ. 113,296
The Pueblo Chieftain (April 16, 2006) circ. 51,566
The Charleston Gazette (April 17, 2006) circ. 50,924
. . . The Web site Salon recently ran a story on local TV meteorologists being warned away from discussing global warming by their corporate bosses. In one case, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., was being interviewed for a TV weatherman job at a New York City station. After the scientist expressed an interest in covering human influence on global climate change, he was informed that the station’s chief meteorologist did not believe in global warming. The scientist did not get the job.

'Sunspot cycle' causes changes in the corona during eclipse
Alamogordo (New Mexico) Daily News (April 14, 2006) circ. 7,419
. . . One of the major attractions of a total solar eclipse is the chance to see the corona, or outer atmosphere of the sun. . . . The difference in the corona's appearance between the two eclipses has much to do with the sunspot cycle. . . . Earlier this year, a team of scientists led by Mausumi Dikpati at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., announced they have developed a model that accurately portrays the times and strengths of the past eight sunspot cycles.

Satellite network to be launched - Boulder Briefs
Daily Camera (April 13, 2006) circ. 33,311
A constellation of six satellites relying on technology developed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder is scheduled for launch Friday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The low-orbiting satellites will be the first to provide atmospheric data daily in real time over thousands of points on Earth for both research and operational weather forecasting.

Is Colorado's Ski Industry Doomed Due To Global Warming? - Study Says Disaster Possible By 2050
ABC 7 News / The Denver Channel.com (April 13, 2006)
Global warming may spell disaster for much of the Rocky Mountain West’s ski industry by the year 2050, according to a climate-trends model showing dramatic snowpack loss due to climate warming. The climate model results are part of the 2006 Colorado College State of the Rockies Report Card, released this week. . . . The annual Colorado College State of the Rockies Report Card was released at the State of the Rockies Conference, April 10-13 on the Colorado College campus. The climate-change session today included talks by Roger Pielke Sr., . . . former scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research, . . . and Auden Schendler, director of environmental affairs for the Aspen Skiing Company.

US-Taiwan Constellation Of Satellites Will Track Hurricanes, Monitor Climate Change And Accelerate Space Weather Research
Science Daily (April 13, 2006)
. . . The array is based on a system design provided by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). . . . "This is the first time the technique of radio occultation has been used on a large scale in real time to provide nearly continuous measurements of worldwide atmospheric conditions at all altitudes," said William Kuo, director of the UCAR COSMIC office. . . . "Centers around the world will have access to this new information for both research and operational forecasting," said UCAR president Richard Anthes. "User-friendly versions of the data will enable those with less sophisticated systems to benefit as well."

Hurricane experts train sights on aging weather satellites
Asbury Park Press (April 12, 2006) circ. 153,557
Florida Today (April 12, 2006) circ. 88,693
. . . Currently, 10 aging satellites collect weather data. Four that pass over the poles are the most important for hurricane forecasts, meteorologists say. . . . But those satellites have outlived their life span, officials say, increasing odds for failure. "When you start putting holes in that network, you're increasing the risk of catastrophic forecast failure," said Richard Anthes, president of University Corp. for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.

Cold case: Why did the iceman cometh? - Conflicting theories abound to explain chunks such as the one that landed in an Oakland park
The Oakland Tribune (April 11, 2006) circ. 66,811
The Argus (Fremont) (April 11, 2006) circ. 32,189
. . . Martinez-Frias speculates it is a natural phenomenon caused by global warming. According to his studies, every time such an incident occurs, it is precipitated by an unusual atmosphere in which higher altitudes are turbulent and cold. The cold helps create the ice. The turbulence helps keep it together in the sky. As global warming continues to heat the earth, his theory goes, upper atmospheric temperatures become cooler, opening more opportunities for the ice to form. Charles Knight, a leading hail expert at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, told an interviewer in 2002 the "meteorological explanations just don't make sense to me" for creating giant ice balls way up in the dry stratosphere. "I don't like to claim that anything is absolutely impossible, but this comes awfully close," Knight told Science magazine.

Being on cloud nine can be quite heavy - MR. KNOW-IT ALL Gary Clothier
Kane County Chronicle (April 10, 2006) circ. 14,324
Q: I know this is really a tough question, but try if you can to answer it. How much does a cloud weigh? I'm thinking of those nice, puffy, cotton-ball-like clouds. I think they are called cumulus clouds. Not a giant one and not a little-bitty one, either. – H.G., Gibson City, Ill. A: I came across an answer from ABC News. According to Peggy LeMone, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., a typical cloud might weigh 550 tons.

NASA scientist expects wet weather next winter
KVOA-TV News 4 (NBC) Tucson (April 9, 2006)
. . . In a draft paper circulated to colleagues, [James] Hansen argued that ocean conditions now, including a significant warming off the coast of Peru, are similar to those that preceded the extreme El Nino in the winter of 1997-1998. . . . Scientists questioned Hansen's global warming link, noting researchers' predictions on the subject vary widely. Most scientists expressed caution about Hansen's ideas. . . . "The graveyard is filled with missed El Nino forecasts," said Mickey Glantz of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.

NCAR hunts Mexico City smog - Pollution from 'megacities' a global problem
Daily Camera (April 8, 2006) circ. 33,311
. . . By noon, scientist Sasha Madronich says he regularly found his eyes watering and his throat feeling scratchy. "If you go to Mexico City, you will feel the pollution in your body," he says. . . . Madronich led a team from Boulder's National Center for Atmospheric Research and a dozen U.S. universities that included more than 400 scientists in the largest-ever study of urban air pollution. They aim to understand how long and in what forms air pollution persists as it floats away from a megacity. . . . "The pollution is ventilated out by wind almost every day, but then it gets re-polluted each day," Madronich said.

Oh, no – something else to worry about! Solar storms set to sizzle us!!
WestEnder.com.au (April 8, 2006)
. . . Researchers have been imagining and modelling exactly what goes on under the surface of the sun. As the sun steadily stews away, they predict the next cycle of solar storms may be big enough to disrupt us here on Earth. . . . “For the first time we can predict the strength of the 11-year solar activity cycle,” said solar scientist Mausumi Dikpati of the US National Centre for Atmospheric Research.

Even the Emerald City must learn to conserve water - Although snow is abundant this year in the Cascades, authorities say it's time to start planning for the future
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (April 7, 2006) circ. 132,694
. . . As far as Seattle Public Utilities officials are concerned, "Global warming is right here on the ground now," agency spokesman Andy Ryan said. And they've been planning for it. In fact, Seattle appears to be well ahead of the curve on that measure. Last fall, scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research called Seattle a "pioneer" in that respect.

Pups in the den - Wild canine offspring will soon emerge
Daily Camera (April 6, 2006) circ. 33,311
. . . One of the highlights of each spring season is the first appearance of coyote pups at Sawhill Ponds, Boulder Valley Ranch and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Coyotes typically dig their dens in ravines, brushy hillsides or soft earthen mounds. . . . Denning coyotes seem keenly sensitive to human disturbance. At NCAR we once set up a spotting scope 400 yards from a den and watched the comings and goings of the adults for three days. On the fourth day the coyotes had vanished, and we never found the new den.

Next solar cycle may boost blackouts
The Columbus Dispatch (April 4, 2006) circ. 244,280
. . . The cycle also will begin a year later than expected, in late 2007 or early 2008, and peak around 2012, said Mausumi Dikpati, of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. . . . Dikpati said her team tested the new computer model using previous solar cycle data and had 98 percent accuracy.

Earth's Ice Melting Under Blanket of Greenhouse Gases
Environment News Service (April 4, 2006)
. . . Panel members Jean-Pierre Gattuso, Joan Kleypas, Ulf Riebesell and James Orr said that the oceans have so far absorbed about a third of human-caused CO2 emissions, and that this uptake has serious consequences for ocean chemistry. . . .According to Joan Kleypas from the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, we are only just becoming aware of the grave effects of increasing carbon dioxide on ocean organisms. Kleypas said the only solution seems to be to decrease carbon dioxide emissions.

Nature's vengeance
The New Nation (Dhaka, Bangladesh) (April 3, 2006) circ. 15,200
. . . Two joint studies conducted by Jonathan Overpeck of the University of Arizona and Bette Otto Bliesner of Colorado National Center for Atmospheric Research and published in the 24th issue, 2006 of the Science Magazine warn that polar ice sheets are melting faster than expected and could push sea levels up as much as 6 meteres (20 feet) by 2010.

Scientists Focus on Warming Disasters
KFMB-TV News 8 (CBS) San Diego (April 2, 2006)
. . . Nearly two dozen computer models now agree that by 2100, the average yearly global temperature will be 3 to 6 degrees Fahrenheit higher than now, according to Gerald Meehl, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Even if today the world suddenly stops producing greenhouse gases, temperatures will rise 1 degree by 2050, according to NCAR.