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As you might know, NASA came out with a statement that July 2016 was the hottest month on record, ever! Since the 2015-2016 El Niño event began in October 2015, each month has set a new record for the hottest month on record. Even though we are currently in a period of neutrality, we are on the tails of an El Niño and quite possibly about to enter a La Niña. "Since October 2015, every month has set a new global record for hottest temperatures. It coincides with an unusually strong El Niño Pattern which caused severe heat and drought across Southeast Asia, as well as raising...

I just read a fascinating article from National Geographic that was published yesterday entitled "How La Nina Could Affect the Spread of Zika": http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/will-la-nina-affect-the-spread-of-zika-/. Before you read the article, stop and consider how the temperature and precipitation patterns in your local region changed as a result of the El Nino. In my area, the greater Wash., D.C. metropolitan area, we had warmer temperatures and more precipitation. Then consider how the change in weather patterns might impact mosquitos- which in my case would mean more...

Plants need light to grow. They also require nutrients. For tiny marine plants, called phytoplankton, those nutrients are often brought up from the ocean’s cold, deep waters to the surface by mixing. But this normal circulation gets disrupted during El Niño years, when huge masses of warm water—equivalent to about half of the volume of the Mediterranean Sea—slosh east across the Pacific Ocean towards South America. The change can have fatal consequences for phytoplankton in the eastern equatorial Pacific. Here is the full story with associated images and video!

Check out the latest and greatest images, from NASA, associated with the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event. These images that you will see show sea surface height anomalies with the seasonal cycle (the effects of summer, fall, winter, and spring) removed. The differences between what we see and what is normal for different times and regions are called anomalies, or residuals. When oceanographers and climatologists view these "anomalies" they can identify unusual patterns and can tell us how heat is being stored in the ocean to influence future planetary climate events. Each...

US La Nina forecast: Snowy winter on tap for East; Dry weather to alleviate flood woes in South Central! Check this out!

10. El Niño Student Campaign Refresher and Update -  Wednesday, September 21st, 2016 8:00 pm EDT (12:00 am September 22nd UTC) In this hour-long webinar, participants will get a refresher on this campaign, and will hear from several GLOBE teachers who have been involved with their classes from the start of the campaign. We will discuss the need for ongoing data collection and share the current state of the ENSO cycle.  We will have a NASA scientist discuss the current state of the ENSO cycle and what it might mean for weather conditions for the remainder of this campaign. ...

A heat lamp and reflector socket with a spring clamp may be purchased on-line for as little as $26. The amount of time required to dry samples depends on many things including the wetness of the initial sample, the soil characteristics, the relative humidity, and the temperature to which the sample is heated. GLOBE protocols specify that samples are not to be heated above 105 o C. In using a heat lamp, the temperature to which the sample is heated depends on the wattage of the bulb and the distance between the heat lamp and the sample bag. I have tried drying a sample using this...

Phenology: Community Storytelling in Action (This is a continuation of my blog about Rising Voices. Click  here  to see the first blog entry in this series.) "How healthy is our reef?" The following day, after meeting Aunty Pua Case and hearing about the sacredness of Mauna Kea and touring the Mauna Loa Observatory, we went to the Ka’upulehu Interpretive Center to learn about place-based learning in Hawai’i. There, we met Aunty Lei - another powerful educator and leader who talked about the educational center that they created in their community and some of the...

Blog Two (This is a continuation of my blog about Rising Voices. Click here to see the first blog entry in this series.) Part One: Mauna Kea “Let’s do something that is right for our mountain, and our people, and our mountain.” Location: Pu’uhuluhul, base of the Mauna Kea Mountain, en route to Mauna Loa Observatory We arrived at the base between two mountains: Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. We met Aunty Pua Case, who shared the importance of Mauna Kea to the people of Hawai’i and led us through a cultural protocol to recognize the sacredness of the space. Similar to ...

Blog One: Rising Voices: Collaborative Science with Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Solutions Credit: Craig Elevitch     Nana ka maka, look with your eyes. Ho'olohe ka pepeiao, hear with your ears (not your Heart). Paa ka waha, shut your mouth. Hana i ka lima, work with your hands.         According to the United States National Climate Assessment 2014 , “c limate change threatens Native Peoples’ access to traditional foods and adequate water. Alaskan Native communities are increasingly exposed...