Geomagnetic correction of submarine cable measurement revealed no significant trend in the Gulf Stream transport since 1982

The Florida Current (FC) refers to the Gulf Stream across the Florida Straits between Florida and the Bahamas. Its volume transport has been measured continuously since 1982 using submarine cables across the Florida Straits at 27°N by NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML). A previous study (Piecuch and Beal, 2023) reported that the FC... Continue Reading →

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Hurricane season got quiet (so far) & Sahel got wet

Recent news articles from the Washington Post "Why hurricane season is suddenly quiet — and what’s in store" and "A rare deluge could hit parts of the Sahara that almost never get rain this time of year" discussed two seemingly unconnected climate conditions around the tropical North Atlantic and West Africa. For the former, some... Continue Reading →

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Increasing ocean stratification intensifies sea surface temperature variability

As the surface ocean warms and polar ice sheets melt due to increasing anthropogenic greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, near-surface ocean stratification is increasing almost everywhere. In tropical and subtropical oceans, in particular, enhanced near-surface stratification inhibits the mixing between warmer surface water and cooler subsurface water, leading to a shallower surface mixed layer. In... Continue Reading →

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Increasing frequency of “moist” heatwaves

Heatwaves usually come with dry conditions because the regions under the so-called heat dome, which is typically responsible for severe heatwave events, are deprived of moisture and rainfall. However, in the southern US states under semi-tropical environments, "moist" heatwave events may occur, causing both the temperature and humidity stresses on human physiology. But, you may... Continue Reading →

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Human-induced ozone depletion has acted to enhance the La Niña-like SST trend pattern

During the satellite era (1979-present), the tropical Pacific Ocean has warmed significantly less than the other tropical oceans in response to increasing greenhouse gases (GHGs). This La Niña-like warming trend in observations is in disagreement with the El Niño-like warming trend projected by the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) models for both the 20th and... Continue Reading →

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ENSO forecasts extended to 18 months?

According to the recharge-discharge oscillator theory (Jin, 1997), the leading mode of tropical Pacific upper ocean heat content anomalies is a predictor (or a precursor) for the onset of El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO) at the interannual time scale. A new study published in Nature (Zhao et al., 2024) utilized multiple global sea surface... Continue Reading →

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Atlantic Niña brewing: An implication for the 2024 hurricane season

Currently (as of June 22, 2024), a phenomenon known as Atlantic Niña is brewing in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. As the Atlantic counterpart of La Niña in the Pacific, Atlantic Niña is characterized by the appearance of cold sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) in the eastern equatorial Atlantic. It is known to reduce rainfall and... Continue Reading →

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Quad-State Tornado Outbreaks promoted by a long-lived PNA

On December 10, 2021, one of the most destructive winter tornado outbreaks developed in northeastern Arkansas. This tornado outbreak, later coined as the Quad-State Tornado Outbreaks by the news media, struck portions of the Ohio Valley, including Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, and Kentucky, from December 10 to 11, 2021. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric... Continue Reading →

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AMOC collapse is unlikely in the near future

A new study published in Science (Zhou and McManus, 2024) reconstructed the land ice melting (or discharge) rate during the intermittent events of ice melting in the last glacial period (i.e., Heinrich events). The study showed that the present-day Greenland Ice Sheet melting rate (since the 1980s) is comparable to that during weak-to-moderate strength Heinrich events. This... Continue Reading →

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Letter to a Young Ecologist

This short essay by Daniel C. Laughlin is beneficial not only for young ecologists but also for all scientists both young and old. The author spoke of three elements of ecology: natural history, quantitative reasoning, and communication. If you are an oceanographer or climate scientist, you may want to substitute "natural history" with "observational data" for... Continue Reading →

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