NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory / Preparing the nation for change by studying the ocean, earth & atmosphere Wed, 22 Jul 2026 16:34:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.5 /wp-content/uploads/2018/09/NOAA_logo_512x512-150x150.png NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory / 32 32 To align or not align: decades of Hurricane Hunter radar data yield insights on rapid intensification /decades-of-hurricane-hunter-radar-data-yield-insights-on-rapid-intensification/ Wed, 22 Jul 2026 16:34:29 +0000 /?p=105024 Leveraging 27 years of radar scans from Hurricane Hunter aircraft, NOAA and partners reveal new insights into one of the most elusive phases of the tropical cyclone lifecycle – vertical alignment of the vortex, a critical precursor to rapid intensification. This study is the first to use decades of radar observations to identify the storm […]

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]]> Scientists at AOML push boundaries to investigate coral resilience of mesophotic reefs  /scientists-at-aoml-push-boundaries-to-investigate-coral-resilience-of-mesophotic-reefs/ Mon, 20 Jul 2026 17:11:10 +0000 /?p=104389 Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) consists of 160 miles of dispersed banks with underwater mountains, ridges, and troughs over 80 miles off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, and it hosts the highest recorded coral cover of any reef within the greater U.S. Atlantic region. While the relatively shallow coral reef caps of […]

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]]> Adopt a Drifter Program grows this summer /adopt-a-drifter-program-grows-this-summer/ Tue, 07 Jul 2026 17:55:55 +0000 /?p=104851 More than 20 years after the first teacher adopted a drifter, NOAA’s Adopt a Drifter Program , co-led by the Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing Program (GOMO) and the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), continues to grow and evolve this summer. 

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]]> New study directly quantifies air-sea momentum exchange in hurricane force winds for the first time /new-study-directly-quantifies-air-sea-momentum-exchange-in-hurricane-force-winds-for-the-first-time/ Thu, 11 Jun 2026 16:22:09 +0000 /?p=104714 In recent years, uncrewed surface vehicles (USV) have become vital tools used to collect observations to improve hurricane forecasts. To fully understand how storms intensify, scientists need data at the air-sea interface where energy is transferred from the ocean to tropical cyclones. This data is most effectively collected by USVs because of their unique ability to operate in dangerous environments and extreme conditions. In a new study, scientists are able to directly quantify the air-sea momentum exchange (termed ‘wind stress’) and related frictional drag effect that acts to slow a hurricane’s rotating winds. These direct measurements of this process are the first to be collected over the ocean in hurricane-force winds.  

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]]> Traversing the South Atlantic to assess long-term changes across an entire ocean basin /traversing-the-south-atlantic-to-assess-long-term-changes-across-an-entire-ocean-basin/ Wed, 10 Jun 2026 20:59:46 +0000 /?p=104697  In early May, the 273-foot research vessel Roger Revelle docked in Cabo Verde with an international team of scientists after 53 days at sea, crossing the open Atlantic along a cruise path known as A16S.  With scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) and the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) […]

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]]> How does El Niño Impact Atlantic Hurricane Season /how-does-el-nino-impact-atlantic-hurricane-season/ Tue, 02 Jun 2026 20:10:17 +0000 /?p=104605 NOAA has released their seasonal outlook for the 2026 hurricane season –  spanning from June 1st to November 30th – reporting a 55% probability of a below average season. This prediction is primarily driven by several factors including a strong El Niño event expected to emerge in the Pacific basin. This phenomenon will disrupt typical […]

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]]> New drone data improves hurricane intensity forecasts /new-drone-data-improves-hurricane-intensity-forecasts/ Tue, 19 May 2026 13:38:13 +0000 /?p=104481 For the first time, data from a small uncrewed aircraft system (sUAS) – Black Swift Technologies’ S0 – will be integrated into NOAA’s hurricane forecast model during the 2026 hurricane season. Scientists from the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) and NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) determined that incorporating sUAS data […]

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]]> NOAA Ocean Exploration and AOML collaborate to release first eDNA data from Okeanos Explorer /noaa-ocean-exploration-and-aoml-collaborate-to-release-first-edna-data-from-okeanos-explorer/ Tue, 05 May 2026 17:29:53 +0000 /?p=104417 This story is adapted from NOAA Ocean Exploration. See the full story here. In April, NOAA Ocean Exploration, in partnership with NOAA’s National Systematics Laboratory at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the Northern Gulf Institute, and the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, released its first deep-sea environmental DNA (eDNA) datasets. These biological data […]

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]]> Scientists at AOML monitor the impacts of ocean acidification on reefs with new series of buoys  /ocean-acidification-on-reefs-with-new-series-of-buoys/ Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:07:17 +0000 /?p=97100 Divers drop over the gunnel. Tanks, weights, divers, and a mesh bag full of tools all descend in emerald waters beneath grey skies. Off the vessel’s bow, a yellow beacon blinks with a red flashing light and a thin data cable stretching to the seafloor, all connected to a suite of sensors twenty feet below […]

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]]> Alongshore winds drive variability of key biogeochemical processes /alongshore-winds-drive-variability-of-key-biogeochemical-processes/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:23:20 +0000 /?p=104162 There’s a unique interplay between surface winds, the Gulf Stream current, and the continental shelf in the South Atlantic Bight (SAB), that has long been overlooked. Researchers have often speculated that the strength of the Gulf Stream and proximity to the coast impacts primary production and other processes driving essential ecosystems. However, to what degree […]

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