New research has revealed that the process of ‘peopling’ the entire continent of Sahul — the combined mega continent that joined Australia with New Guinea when sea levels were much lower than today — took 10,000 years.
Tag: Climate Modeling
Scientists find iron cycling key to permafrost greenhouse gas emissions
The interaction of elemental iron with the vast stores of carbon locked away in Arctic soils is key to how greenhouse gases are emitted during thawing and should be included in models used to predict Earth’s climate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists found.
Skiing over Christmas holidays no longer guaranteed – even with snow guns
For many people, holidays in the snow are as much a part of the end of the year as Christmas trees and fireworks. As global warming progresses, however, white slopes are becoming increasingly rare.

Novel atlas shows vast urban infrastructure divide between Global South and Global North
New data from an international research team adds another dimension – literally – to understanding the economic and environmental impacts of how cities are built. Using satellite mapping, researchers measured the height of built-up infrastructure in urban areas across the globe, which could improve projections of energy use and emissions and inform city planning and economic development efforts, including progression toward the United Nations sustainable development goals.
Scientists uncover new clues about the climate and health impact of atmospheric particles
Peering inside common atmospheric particles is providing important clues to their climate and health effects, according to a new study by University of British Columbia chemists.
Lights, Hurricane, Action: Preparing for and Enduring Big Storms
Scientists at PNNL are working to better prepare authorities, emergency responders, communities and the grid in the face of increasingly extreme hurricanes.
Taking it to the streets: ORNL models climate solutions for U.S. cities
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers are deploying their broad expertise in climate data and modeling to create science-based mitigation strategies for cities stressed by climate change as part of two U.S. Department of Energy Urban Integrated Field Laboratory projects.

MIT engineers build a battery-free, wireless underwater camera
Scientists estimate that more than 95 percent of Earth’s oceans have never been observed, which means we have seen less of our planet’s ocean than we have the far side of the moon or the surface of Mars.
New report ensures hydropower sustainability amid climate change
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has provided hydropower operators with new data to better prepare for extreme weather events and shifts in seasonal energy demands caused by climate change.
Story tips: Tailor-made molecules, better battery electrolytes, beyond Moore’s Law and improving climate model accuracy
ORNL Story tips: Tailor-made molecules, better battery electrolytes, beyond Moore’s Law and improving climate model accuracy

FAU Experts for the 2022 Hurricane Season
With the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season forecast to be above average activity with a higher probability of major hurricanes making landfall along the continental U.S. coastline, several FAU faculty experts are available to discuss various issues surrounding hurricane preparedness, evacuation and aftermath.
ORNL brings big science to address the climate challenge
Tackling the climate crisis and achieving an equitable clean energy future are among the biggest challenges of our time. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the largest Department of Energy science and energy laboratory in the country, is deeply invested in the big science capabilities and expertise needed to address the climate challenge on multiple fronts.
Project aims to improve accuracy of climate change models
With a three-year, $500,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), scientists are working to improve climate models on which future water projections are based.
ORNL expertise supports latest IPCC report and efforts to understand, address climate change
Improved data, models and analyses from Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists and many other researchers in the latest global climate assessment report provide new levels of certainty about what the future holds for the planet and highlight the urgency of decarbonization to avoid the most severe impacts.
Story tips: Getting to the root, empowering savings potential and hotter urban hydrology
ORNL story tips: Getting to the root, empowering savings potential and hotter urban hydrology
Argonne, New York Power Authority plan for the future in a changing climate
Argonne and the New York Power Authority are collaborating to determine how the utility’s infrastructure may be affected by extreme weather and other hazards.
Argonne’s Macal named Fellow of the Society for Computer Simulation International
Charles M. “Chick” Macal, a modeling and simulation expert at Argonne, garnered the distinguished title of Fellow of the Society for Computer Simulation International for his 20 years in the field and his recent studies on COVID-19 spread.
DOE Awards $15.6 Million for Atmospheric Research to Improve Climate Modeling
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today awarded $15.6 million for new research studying the properties, formation, and interactions between atmospheric clouds and the aerosols that form them.
For Earth Systems Scientists, Every Day is Earth Day
Research on Earth’s systems can help scientists better understand our planet’s past and future. The Department of Energy’s Office of Science supports work to gather observations, improve models, and feed them into computer simulations.

For Better Predictions, Researchers Evaluate Tropical Cyclone Simulation in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model
Infrastructure planning requires accurately predicting how tropical cyclones respond to environmental changes. To make those predictions, researchers use Earth system models. In this research, scientists analyzed tropical cyclones simulated by the Department of Energy’s Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM). They found that high resolution is critical to simulating tropical cyclones and their interactions with the ocean.

Tiny raindrops pose big challenges: Argonne researchers improve climate models, prediction of climate change
Drizzle in marine clouds is a key parameter for achieving more accurate climate predictions. Argonne developed novel techniques to retrieve drizzle properties and will expand its research to the aerosol impact on clouds and precipitation.

Explosive Origins of ‘Secondary’ Ice—and Snow
Where does snow come from? This may seem like a simple question to ponder as half the planet emerges from a season of watching whimsical flakes fall from the sky–and shoveling them from driveways. But a new study on how water becomes ice in slightly supercooled Arctic clouds may make you rethink the simplicity of the fluffy stuff. It describes definitive, real-world evidence for “freezing fragmentation” of drizzle as a major source of ice in slightly supercooled clouds. The findings have important implications for forecasting weather and climate.

Story tips: Urban climate impacts, materials’ dual approach and healing power
ORNL identifies a statistical relationship between the growth of cities and the spread of paved surfaces. // ORNL successfully demonstrates a technique to heal dendrites that formed in a solid electrolyte. // ORNL combines additive manufacturing with conventional compression molding.
Argonne National Laboratory climate model helps Pacific Gas and Electric Company combat climate change impacts, including wildfires
Scientists at Argonne developed a climate model that projects future conditions at neighborhood-level scale across the entire United States to help PG&E plan for extreme weather events in California.
Tiny Particles that Seed Clouds Can Form from Trace Gases Over Open Sea
New results from an atmospheric study over the Eastern North Atlantic reveal that tiny aerosol particles that seed the formation of clouds can form out of next to nothingness over the open ocean. Understanding the process will improve how aerosols and clouds are represented in models that describe Earth’s climate.

Four Decades of Advancing Computing for Discovery
Forty years of the Office of Science’s investments in applied mathematics and computational sciences are paying off in world-class infrastructure and research, as described in the [email protected] report.

Eight ways Argonne advanced science in 2020
Throughout 2020, Argonne answered fundamental science questions and provided solutions for the world.

Urban Land and Aerosols Amplify Hazardous Weather, Steer Storms Toward Cities
Urban landscapes and human-made aerosols have the potential to not only make gusts stronger and hail larger; they can also start storms sooner and even pull them toward cities, according to new research exploring the impact of urban development on hazardous weather, led by PNNL researchers.

Error Correction Means California’s Future Wetter Winters May Never Come
California and other areas of the U.S. Southwest may see less future winter precipitation than previously projected by climate models. After probing a persistent error in widely used models, PNNL researchers estimate that California will likely experience drier winters in the future than projected by some climate models, meaning residents may see less spring runoff, higher spring temperatures, and an increased risk of wildfire in coming years.

Bridging the Model-Data Divide for Elusive Clouds
Combining large-scale atmospheric models and observations is a long-standing challenge, in part because of the mismatch between different spatial and temporal scales. For example, shallow convective clouds are so small that typical atmospheric models cannot represent individual clouds. The Department of Energy’s Large-Eddy Simulation Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Symbiotic Simulation and Observation activity seeks to bridge these scale gaps.

Polar ice, atmospheric water vapor biggest drivers of variation among climate models
A Florida State University researcher is part of a team that has found varying projections on global warming trends put forth by climate change scientists can be explained by differing models’ predictions regarding ice loss and atmospheric water vapor.

New climate model helps researchers better predict water needs
New research from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering combines climate and land use projections to predict water availability, information that is crucial for the preparations of resource managers and land-use planners.

New Great Lakes modeling improves operational forecast system
Forecasting the water levels, temperatures, and currents of the Great Lakes is important because conditions on the lakes affect commerce, recreation, and community well-being. These forecasts comprise the Great Lakes Operational Forecast System (GLOFS), an automated model-based prediction system operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Michigan Tech helps NOAA improve the GLOFS model.

Physical Scientists Turn to Deep Learning to Improve Earth Systems Modeling
The role of AI in science is at a turning point, with weather, climate, and Earth systems modeling emerging as an exciting application area for physics-informed deep learning. In this Q&A, NERSC’s Karthik Kashinath discusses what is driving the scientific community to embrace these new methodologies.

Novel Measurement and Forecasting Systems Make ‘Weathering the Storm’ More Precise
In the last several decades, more than half of the deaths associated with tropical cyclones in the U.S. were due to inland flooding. Unfortunately, current forecasting capabilities are limited. Researchers are developing a warning system for more accurate and timely detection and forecasting of inland and coastal floods, under a variety of precipitation regimes. The technology will enable local and state governments to more effectively plan and respond to tropical storms.

Study: Climate Scientists Create Model for Global Forest Growth Through 2060
In a new study, researchers at the University at Albany have turned to more than a century’s worth of data (from 1901 to 2012) in NOAA’s International Tree Ring Data Bank to both analyze historical tree growth at 3,579 forests around the world and create a model for future projections (from 2045 to 2060).

Columbia Researchers Provide New Evidence on the Reliability of Climate Modeling
Observational data of equatorial circulation pattern confirms that the pattern is weakening, a development with important consequences for future rainfall in the subtropics. Columbia Researchers Provide New Evidence on the Reliability of Climate Modeling Observational data of equatorial circulation pattern…