USGCRP Archives
February 2005 - March 2005

February 2005 - March 2005

Changes in Ecosystems

Human Contributions and Responses

Climate Variability and Change

Paleoenvironment & Paleoclimate

NOAA's 
Image of the Day 

For documents from the Intergovern-
mental Panel on Climate Change, 
see our IPCC page.

Scientists Confirm Earth's Energy Is Out Of Balance.  Press release (dtd 28 April 2005) from The Earth Institute at Columbia University. (28 April 2005)

Strategic Plan for the U.S. Integrated Earth Observation System. [PDF]  Report (dtd April 2005) from the Interagency Working Group on Earth Observations
NSTC Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.  (posted 28 April 2005)

Climate Change Assessment: Administration Did Not Meet Reporting Deadline [PDF].  Report (dtd 14 April 2005; publicly released 22 April 2005) from the U.S. Congress, Government Accountability Office. (posted 22 April 2005)

Funding Opportunity Announcement: NOAA Climate and Global Change Program for FY 2006.  Announcement published in the Federal Register on 22 April 2005 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  Letter of Intent Due Date: May 20, 2005. (link posted 22 April 2005)

Preparation of Fourth U.S. Climate Action Report.  Federal Register notice from the U.S. Department of State, 8 April 2005.  The U.S. Government is currently preparing its fourth national communication to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).  The report is due by 1 January 2006. This announcement solicits contributions and input on the issues to be covered in the report. Written comments should be received on or before noon, April 29, 2005.  The State Department intends to make available for public review a draft report in summer 2005. (link posted 18 April 2005)

Invitation to Comment on Draft Prospectus for Product 4-7.  Invitation (from from James R. Mahoney, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere & Director, U.S. Climate Change Science Program) to comment on the draft prospectus for Synthesis & Assessment Product 4.7, Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure: Gulf Coast Study.  The deadline for comments is 5 May 2005. (posted 4 April 2005)

Arctic Climate Impact Assessment Scientific Report.  Pre-release versions of select chapters (other chapters will follow soon). All are PDF files. (links posted 5 April 2005)

• Chapter 1: Introduction to the ACIA
• Chapter 2: Arctic Climate - Past and Present
  Chapter 2 Commentary: Arctic Temperature Change
• Chapter 3: Changing Arctic: Indigenous Perspectives
• Chapter 4:  Future Climate Change: Modeling and Scenarios

After Two Large Annual Gains, Rate of Atmospheric CO₂ Increase Returns to Average, NOAA Reports. Press release (dtd 31 March 2005) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Winners of Tyler Environmental prize announced. Press release (dtd 24 Mar 2005) from University of Southern California. Charles David Keeling and Lonnie G. Thompson will share the leading environmental prize, administered by the University of Southern California. See also Scripps Global Climate Change Pioneer to Receive Tyler Prize. Press release (dtd 30 March 2005) from Scripps Institute of Oceanography. (link posted 4 April 2005)

AGU Journal highlights. Press release (dtd 23 March 2005) from the American Geophysical Union. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Climate change poorly understood by US public, MIT survey finds. Press release (dtd 23 March 2005) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). See also World Views of Science, audio Segment (dtd 18 March 2005) from National Public Radio (NPR). (link posted 4 April 2005)

Satellite Sees Ocean Plants Increase, Coasts Greening. Article (dtd 2 March 2005) from NASA's Earth Observatory News. (link posted 4 April 2005)

NASA'S "Great Earth Observatory" Marks Five Years Of Climate Discoveries. Article (dtd 28 February 2005) from NASA's Earth Observatory News. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Regional Centers for the National Institute for Climatic Change Research.  Grant notice (posted 24 Feb 2005) from the Office of Biological and Environmental Research (OBER) of the Office of Science (SC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).  Announces OBER's interest in receiving applications from U.S. universities to host one of four Regional Centers of the new DOE National Institute for Climatic Change Research (NICCR; formerly National Institute for Global Environmental Change, NIGEC) Applicants are required to submit a two-page preapplication. All preapplications must be received by April 5, 2005.(link posted 4 April 2005)

Richard Moss recognized by Secretary of Energy for leadership in global and climate change research.  Press release (dtd 17 February 2005) from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.  Richard Moss, director of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program Office, has received the Distinguished Associate Award from the Department of Energy. (posted 8 March 2005)

Scientific American Frontiers: Hot Planet - Cold Comfort Web site with links to articles, video segments, a teaching guide, etc. (dtd 16 Feb 2005) from the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Premiered 16 Feb. 2005. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program.  Grant notice (posted 16 Feb 2005) from the Office of Biological and Environmental Research (OBER) of the Office of Science (SC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).  Announces OBER's interest in
receiving applications for experimental and theoretical studies of the effects
of clouds on the atmospheric radiation balance in conjunction with the
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program as part of the U.S. Global
Climate Change Science Program (USCCSP). Application due date 12 April 2005.

U.S. Committed to Addressing Challenges of Global Climate Change. Press release (dtd 15 Feb 2005) from the United States Department of State. See also Climate Change [PDF], Research and Development Funding in the President’s 2006 Budget.  Fact sheet (dtd 7 Feb 2005) from Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).  (link posted 4 April 2005)

Whole Earth Systems: Science, Technology and Policy. Speaker Abstracts. [PDF] From symposium (10-12 Feb 2005, Stanford University) sponsored by Stanford Institute for International Studies. (link posted 4 April 2005)

NOAA’s Newest Generation of Weather and Climate Supercomputers Debuts. Press release (dtd 10 Feb 2005) from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (link posted 4 April 2005)

Vital Climate Graphics - Update.  Launched in February 2005, this collection is based on the Third Assessment Report (TAR) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that was published in 2001. "This Vital Climate Graphics package seeks to translate the incredibly complex subject of climate change into material that can be useful to a broad range of readers." (link posted 4 April 2005)

Methane Hydrate.  Funding opportunity announcement (posted 25 January 2005) from Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), for projects that to increase understanding of the role of methane hydrates in the environment and their potential as a future energy resource.  Due date for applications: 18 April 2005. (link posted 4 April 2005)

NASA Helps Students Learn About Climate Change. Press release (dtd 12 Jan 2005) from the United States Department of State. (link posted 4 April 2005)

NASA Scientist [William B. Rossow] Wins AMS [American Meteorological Society] Award. Press release (dtd 10 Jan 2005) from NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). (link posted 4 April 2005)

After Two Large Annual Gains, Rate of Atmospheric CO₂ Increase Returns to Average, NOAA Reports. Press release (dtd 31 March 2005) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Solar Wind Hammers the Ozone Layer - The Arctic Ultraviolet Shield Took a Batter. Article (dtd 3 March 2005) from news@nature.com. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Huge 2004 Stratospheric Ozone Loss Tied to Solar Storms, Arctic Winds. Press release (dtd 1 Mar 2005) from the University of Colorado at Boulder. (link posted 4 April 2005)

350 Year History of Carbonyl Sulfide Shows Substantial Increase Since 1850. Press release (dtd 25 Feb 2005) from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory (CMDL). (link posted 4 April 2005)

Wolves alleviate impact of climate change on food supply, finds new study. Press release (dtd 21 March 2005) from University of California, Berkeley. (link posted 4 April 2005)

World's largest rainforest drying experiment completes first phase. Press release (dtd 21 March 2005) from Woods Hole Research Center. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Satellite Sees Ocean Plants Increase, Coasts Greening. Article (dtd 2 March 2005) from NASA's Earth Observatory News. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Modeled Climate and Land-Use Change Threatens Plant Species. Press release (dtd 28 Feb 2005) from the American Institute of Biological Sciences. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Scientists Discover How Climate Change Causes the Simultaneous Boom or Bust of Multiple Populations. Press release (dtd 17 Feb 2005) from The Pennsylvania State University. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Desertification Alters Regional Ecosystem Climate Interactions. Press release (dtd 18 Jan 2005) from Blackwell Publishing, Ltd. (link posted 4 April 2005)

U.S. GLOBEC. Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics: Synthesis in the Northwest Atlantic/Georges Bank Program and the Northeast Pacific / Coastal Gulf of Alaska Program.  Program solicitation (published 13 Jan 2005) from the National Science Foundation (NSF).  Full proposal deadline: 9 May 2005.  (link posted 4 April 2005)

After Two Large Annual Gains, Rate of Atmospheric CO₂ Increase Returns to Average, NOAA Reports. Press release (dtd 31 March 2005) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Sediments in Northern Gulf of Mexico Not Right for Methane Gas Hydrate Formation. Press release (dtd 24 March 2005) from the National Science Foundation (NSF). (link posted 4 April 2005)

DOE Commissions Voyage of Discovery for Vast New Resource. "DOE commissions an expedition that will take the next major step in understanding a potentially huge energy resource trapped in methane hydrates."  News release (dtd 1 March 2005) from the Department of Energy (DOE), Fossil Energy Techline.  (link posted 4 April 2005)

Methane Hydrates [PDF].  Two-page fact sheet (dated January 2005) from the US DOE Office of Fossil Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Breakthrough in Climate Research. Press release (dtd 19 Jan 2004) from University of Bristol. A long standing puzzle that has haunted climate researchers looking at the fate of carbon stored in the world's soils, has now been resolved. The research suggests that climate warming may be occurring even faster than previously recognized. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Introduction to the Special Issue on Spatial Modeling to Explore Land Use Dynamics. [PDF] Article (dtd February 2005) from International Journal of Geographic Information Science. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Forest transitions: Towards a global understanding of land use change.  Article (dtd 2005) from Global Environmental Change. (link posted 4 April 2005)

NASA & National Park Service Partner on Earth Research. Article (dtd 18 February 2005) from NASA's Earth Observatory News. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Invitation to Comment on Draft Prospectus for Product 4-7.  Invitation (from from James R. Mahoney, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere & Director, U.S. Climate Change Science Program) to comment on the draft prospectus for Synthesis & Assessment Product 4.7, Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure: Gulf Coast Study.  The deadline for comments is 5 May 2005. (posted 4 April 2005)

Earth Institute Launches New York Area Climate Change Information Portal. Press release(dtd 28 March 2005) from The Earth Institute at Columbia University. (link posted 4 April 2005)

New Research Indicates a 'Troubled' Greenhouse Is Brewing. A geologist’s analysis of an ancient greenhouse event suggests that the contrast between the rainy season and the dry season will increase dramatically. Press release (dtd 23 March 2005) from NASA's Earth Observatory News. (link posted 4 April 2005)

New Greenhouse Gas Reporting Guidance For Farms And Forests. Press release (dtd 23 March 2005) from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). (link posted 4 April 2005)

Seattle Plans for Drought. Audio segment (broadcast 22 March 2005) from National Public Radio (NPR), Morning Edition.  "NPR's Martin Kaste reports that normally wet Seattle is beginning to consider the possibility that droughts may be more common than they used to be. City officials are planning for the possibility that global warming may mean less rain and snow, which means a smaller water supply." (link posted 4 April 2005)

G8 Meeting Targets Climate Change in Africa, Illegal Logging. Press release (dtd 21 March 2005) from the U.S. Department of State. (link posted 4 April 2005)

U.S. Exports Nitrogen Pollution Beyond Its Borders, Europe’s Nitrogen Deposited Close to Sources. Press release (dtd 15 March 2005) from National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). (link posted 4 April 2005)

Sunlight Robbery. "Health benefits of sunlight are denied by current public health policy in the UK." Report (dtd March 2005) from the Health Research Forum (UK). See also Sunbathing can help prevent more than 25 chronic diseases and save billions, press release (dtd 21 March 2005) from the Health Research Forum (UK). (links posted 4 April 2005)

New Brunswick Sea Levels.  (1.45 Kb .MP3) (262 Kb .RM).  Audio file (dtd March 2005)from Environment Canada's Planet Update.  A changing climate will make itself felt in many different ways in Canada -- it will be different in the prairies, the Arctic along the Great Lakes and near the oceans.  In New Brunswick, there is already evidence of rising sea levels in the southeastern part of the province. It is expected this will accelerate as the result of the warming effect of climate change. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2003. Draft inventory (published February 2005) from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (link posted 4 April 2005)

Climate's Long-term Impacts on Metro Boston (CLIMB). Media summary and full report (published February 2005).   "This study culminates a four-year, one million dollar research effort, funded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and conducted by 10 experts at Tufts University, the University of Maryland, and Boston University in consultation with officials from the EPA, the State of Massachusetts, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and local government officials throughout the Boston metropolitan region."  See also:  (links posted 4 April 2005)

• Geography profs: Storm Flooding to Devastate Boston as Globe Warms, article (dtd 25 March 2005) from B.U. Bridge (Boston University). 
• Climate Extremes May Hit Boston Area. Article (dtd 29 March 2005) from The Tufts Daily. 

ASU Researcher Says We Should Better Prepare for Future Calamities. Press release (dtd 18 Jan 2005) from Arizona State University. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Weather, Climate, Water and Sustainable Development [PDF].  Thirty-four page brochure (dtd 2005) from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

NASA Develops Central American Monitoring System. Article (dtd 4 February 2005) from NASA's Earth Observatory News. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Action to tackle climate change: Results of the joint Defra/DFID Study on Climate Change in Africa. "A report commissioned by the UK Government to review African climate science, policy and options for action."  Announcement of African Climate Report [PDF] (dtd Dec 2004) from UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs & Department of International Development.  (link posted 4 April 2005)

Changes in Earth's tilt control when glacial cycles end. Press release (dtd 29 Mar 2005) from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. (link posted 4 April 2005)

New Research Indicates a 'Troubled' Greenhouse Is Brewing. Press release (dtd 23 March 2005) from NASA's Earth Observatory News. (link posted 4 April 2005)

NASA Study Suggests Giant Space Clouds Iced Earth. Article (dtd 5 March 2005) from NASA's Earth Observatory News. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Antarctic ice shelf retreats happened before. Press release (dtd 23 Feb 2005) from the British Antarctic Survey.  (link posted 4 April 2005)

NZ volcanic ash could unlock secrets of last Ice Age. Press release (dtd 23 Feb 2005) from National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA). (link posted 4 April 2005)

For lots of other links especially useful to students and teachers, see our general page on Educational Resources

Up-to-Date Weather, Climate & Wildfire Summaries

Some highlights of Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAA): (links posted 4 April 2005)

• Stark Effects From Global Warming. Article (dtd 16 March 2005) Chemical and Engineering News.
• Scripps Researchers Find Clear Evidence of Human-Produced Warming in World's Oceans. Article (dtd 18 Feb 2005) from NASA's Earth Observatory.

Climate Change Prediction: A Challenging Scientific Problem [PDF]. This paper "explains how predictions of future climate change are made using climate models."  By Alan J. Thorpe, Professor of Meteorology at the University of Reading (UK). Published (2005) by the U.K. Institute of Physics.  See also Britain's top climatologist backs global warming claims, press release (dtd 28 March 2005) from Institute of Physics. (link posted 4 April 2005)

What's Causing the Cold?. "Scientists at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center have isolated the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation, or NAO, as a major contributing factor to this late-season winter weather."  Press release (dtd 14 March 2005) from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (link posted 4 April 2005)

Report Shows Clear Warming in Trends Across Northeast. Press release (dtd 7 Mar 2005) from Environmental Media Services (EMS) News Release Distribution Center. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Canada's Shrinking Ice Caps.  Press release (dtd 4 March 2005) from NASA. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Weather in the oceans. "Marine experts from around the UK have pooled their knowledge on how the world's ocean systems work, to launch the National Centre for Ocean Forecasting (NCOF)."  Press release (dtd 1 March 2005) from UK Met Office. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Antarctic ice shelf retreats happened before. Press release (dtd 23 Feb 2005) from the British Antarctic Survey.  (link posted 4 April 2005)

Trial of the Century. "People can be convicted of murder on the basis of overwhelming circumstantial evidence, as the public has been reminded recently. The same is true of three odious, though not odorous, `greenhouse gases,' which have been observed lurking in the Earth's atmosphere."  Article (dtd February 2005) from NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). (link posted 4 April 2005)

Scientists Advance in Detection and Attribution of Climate Change. Press release (dtd 18 Feb 2005) from the U.S. Department of Energy (DO) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Access to the next generation of climate change experiments has helped scientists obtain more comprehensive estimates of the expected "signal" of human influences on climate. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Climate Change Desiccating the Planet, Researchers. News brief (dtd 12 Jan 2005) from Scientific American.com. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Recent Atmospheric Conditions & Impacts:

• Up-to-Date Weather, Climate & Wildfire Summaries
• Energy Demand Decreases as U.S. Experiences Tenth Warmest Winter, Precipitation Near Average for the Nation. Press release (dtd 16 March 2005) from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (link posted 4 April 2005)
• Global Hazards and Significant Events: February 2005. Report (updated 15 March 2005) from the National Climatic Data Center. (link posted 4 April 2005)
• Bureau releases annual climate report for 2004. Press release (dtd 11 March 2005) from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's National Climate Centre. (link posted 4 April 2005)
• No Relief for Pacific Northwest Drought. Press release (dtd 15 March 2005) from Oregon State University. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Hurricanes

Hurricanes; A Compendium of Hurricane Information.  Our collection of links related to hurricanes, including a section on hurricanes and climate change.

Global Fresh Water.  "Today, more than a billion people on Earth lack access to safe water. Up next -- a scientist talks about managing the global supply of fresh water in this century."  From Earth & Sky.  Daily science radio series, currently funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Both transcripts & audio files are provided.  Originally broadcast on 1 March 2005. (link posted 4 April 2005)

Iceberg B-15A (links posted 4 April 2005):

• Giant Iceberg B-15A Edges Past Floating Ice Pier. Press release (dtd 18 March 2005) from the European Space Agency (ESA).
• Largest Iceberg on Earth Runs Aground. Article (dtd 21 Jan 2005) from New Scientist.
• B-15A Iceberg's Close Encounter Monitored by Envisat. Press release (dtd 19 Jan 2005) from the European Space Agency (ESA).

New Iceberg Breaks off of Larsen Ice Shelf. Press release (dtd 4 Feb 2005) from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (link posted 4 April 2005)

Antarctic glaciers thinning fast. Press release (dtd 1 Feb 2005) from the British Antarctic Survey.  (link posted 4 April 2005)

Rivers of Change. Press release (dtd 19 Jan 2005) from the UK Met Office. See also Arctic Rivers Discharge More Freshwater into Ocean, Reflecting Changes to Hydrologic Cycle. Press release (dtd 19 Jan 2005) from the American Geophysical Union (AGU). (links posted 4 April 2005)