Global average sea surface temperatures have risen at unprecedented rates for the past three decades, with far-reaching consequences for coral reefs.

New research explores how lower-latitude oceans drive complex changes in the Arctic Ocean, pushing the region into a new reality distinct from the 20th-century norm.

A Montana State University professor’s research on plant chemistry in the Northern Great Plains and Northern Rockies has been published in Global Change Biology, a prominent journal that promotes exploration of the connections between biological processes and environmental change.

NASA used satellite data to create an animation of Fay’s development and progression over the past few days, showing how the storm organized into a tropical storm.

NASA’s Aqua satellite revealed better organization and colder cloud top temperatures in Tropical Storm Cristina, indications that the storm was strengthening.

On July 10 at 4:35 a.m. EDT (0835 UTC), the MODIS instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite analyzed Tropical Storm Cristina’s cloud tops in infrared light. Infrared data provides temperature information, and the strongest thunderstorms that reach high into the atmosphere have the coldest cloud top temperatures.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite found that the most powerful thunderstorms were east and south of the center of circulation, where temperatures were as cold as or colder than minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56.6 Celsius). These cloud top temperatures had become colder than they were over the previous day. Cloud top temperatures that cold indicate strong storms with the potential to generate heavy rainfall.

Read more at: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

On July 10 at 4:35 a.m. EDT (0835 UTC), the MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite gathered temperature information about Tropical Storm Cristina's cloud tops. MODIS found a small area of powerful thunderstorms (red) where temperatures were as cold as or colder than minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56.6 Celsius). (Photo Credit: NASA/NRL)

New research revealed that tiny, sunlight-absorbing particles in wildfire smoke may have less impact on climate than widely hypothesized because reactions as the plume mixes with clean air reduce its absorbing power and climate-warming effect.

Extremely cold and wet conditions in the mesosphere have led to abundant noctilucent clouds.

Rapid changes in atmospheric conditions or sea surface temperatures will influence rainfall patterns in 2020 and the potential for synchronized impacts from hurricanes and fires.

Stanford scientists find the growth of phytoplankton in the Arctic Ocean has increased 57 percent over just two decades, enhancing its ability to soak up carbon dioxide.

While ocean acidification was initially perceived as a threat only to the marine realm, the authors of a new publication argue that it is also an emerging human health issue.