To kick off #EarthMonth we are bringing you stunning views taken by NOAA’s South Pole researchers as they said goodbye to the sun for the season! 👋
Did you know that South Pole station staff experience just 1 sunrise and 1 sunset per year?!
"The sunset marks a shift for the station. Winter is here and with it the long, cold night. Last month, the final planes departed, leaving behind the 45 winterovers that will remain isolated for eight months. Spirits are high and there is much excitement for the dark night sky to arrive. We will miss the sun, but not too much." said NOAA technician Luke Longren.
“Watching the sun trace the horizon over night and day, sinking lower as time passes, feels as if we’ve left our world for one far less familiar. It’s truly a privilege to experience something so few people get to witness." said NOAA station chief LT Mike Doneghey.
Learn more about @noaagml South Pole research at the link in our bio.
Scientists with NOAA and NASA have ranked this year’s ozone hole over the Antarctic as the fifth smallest since 1992 — the year that the Montreal Protocol, a landmark international agreement to phase out ozone-depleting chemicals, began to take effect.
Learn more at the link in our bio.
Credit: Dr. Simeon Bash (University of Chicago/South Pole Telescope)
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The global average surface concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) for 2024 was 422.7 ppm, according to a NOAA analysis. During 2024, CO2 concentrations grew by 3.7 ppm. Methane and nitrous oxide also grew, but not as quickly.
Each spring, scientists at NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) calculate global CO2 trends and annual calendar-year increases based on the analysis of air samples collected weekly in special flasks at remote sites with well-mixed air located around the globe.
To learn more, visit the link in our bio.
What are #greenhouse gases? They are those gases in the atmosphere such as #carbondioxide and #methane that create a "greenhouse effect", trapping heat on #earth, preventing it from escaping our atmosphere.
The NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory collects data on greenhouse gases using a variety of tools including aircraft, ships, buoys, and unmanned systems.
Learn how NOAA Research is leading the world in greenhouse gas monitoring at the link in our bio.
#ABCsNOAA
NOAA’s South Pole researchers have said goodbye to the sun for the season! 👋
On March 20th the Northern Hemisphere had its first full day of spring. But for researchers and staff at NOAA’s South Pole Observatory, that day brought austral autumn, and along with it the last appearance of the sun at the South Pole for 6 months.
South Pole station staff experience just 1 sunrise and 1 sunset per year.
Learn more at the link in our bio.
Image 1: A wave of snow frames Dark Sector telescopes, giving a final glimpse of sunlight before 6 months of darkness at NOAA’s South Pole Atmospheric Baseline Observatory. Credit: Ian Crocker/NOAA.
Image 2: A green sky and nearly full moon above the Dark Sector and Ceremonial South Pole. The Dark Sector is a designated area where light and electromagnetic interference are minimized to support sensitive scientific instruments. Credit: Ian Crocker/NOAA.
September 20 was a special day for the team at NOAA's South Pole Observatory: after 6 months of darkness, “the sun is finally back.” GML's Krystian Kopka captured the moment. See link in bio.
@NOAA has been collecting data on carbon dioxide (CO2) levels for 50 years! Each year more and more CO2 is emitted into our atmosphere, leading to significant changes in our #climate. Learn how @noaagml is researching CO2 and other greenhouse gases at the link in our bio.
Today’s the last day in our Understanding Carbon Dioxide series! Watch to the end for a really cool answer to the question many of you have been asking: “How do we know what conditions were like before we started collecting data?”
Here are Boulder County's Climate Stripes (based on data from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information). The rows of colored stripes show our yearly temperature and precipitation from 1895 to 2023 compared to the long-term average: red=warm, blue=cool; green=wet, brown=dry. The darker the color, the bigger the difference from average. See link in bio.
New research by a team including GML and @CIRESnews scientists has shown that atmospheric concentrations of a class of #ozone-depleting chemicals peaked in 2021 and are now declining as nations comply with the Montreal Protocol.
Link in bio.
Emissions of nitrous oxide, the third most important human-made greenhouse gas, rose 40 percent from 1980 to 2020, according to a new study in the journal Earth System Science Data co-authored by Xin (Lindsay) Lan and Geoff Dutton, @CIRESnews scientists in GML.
Link in bio. Photo credit: Turnover Hall Farm, 26 October 2009. Jim Walton /wiki/File:Turnover_Hall_Farm_-_panoramio.jpg#/media/File:Turnover_Hall_Farm_-_panoramio.jpg
