Advancing scientific understanding of climate, improving society’s ability to plan and respond
Advancing scientific understanding of climate, improving society’s ability to plan and respond
Wildfires play a prominent role in the boreal forests of Alaska during the summer season. While most wildfires are created by humans, approximately 90% of the area burned each year by wildfires are caused by lightning strikes.
How Will Climate Change Impact the Alaskan Wildfire Season? Read More »
Learn more about Natalie and her project involving MAPP Task Forces
MAPP Welcomes Summer Intern, Natalie Baillargeon Read More »
During the summer of 2018, Northern Europe experienced a devastating heatwave and drought; with unprecedented forest fires in Sweden, excessive heat in Germany, and water restrictions in England, these events had far-reaching economic and ecological impacts.
The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a phenomenon where atmosphere and ocean dynamics couple to change the temperature of waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, the circulation of the tropical atmosphere, and the global atmospheric circulation. A new study sheds light on ENSO teleconnections and impacts on U.S. summertime.
ENSO Teleconnections and Impacts During U.S. Summertime Read More »
During this transformation, a cyclone’s wind and precipitation area increases in size, and the storm may produce large waves and swell as it accelerates forward, which are important changes to understand and predict for risk assessment
Can We Expect More Extratropical Transitions in a Warming Climate? Read More »
Using climate projections to assess climate change risks remains challenging, in part due to the large associated uncertainties, such as those for extreme events.
ESSM supports effort to address climate projection uncertainties through large ensembles Read More »
With the United States experiencing the largest number of annual tornado events of any country, it’s critical for atmospheric studies to continue to enhance tornado outlooks and projections for our country. New research accepted for publication, funded by the MAPP Program, shows that different phases of the Madden-Julian Oscillation’s (MJO) — an eastward moving tropical rainfall pattern — global trek can produce more or less favorable conditions for U.S. tornado activity.
Is There a Connection Between MJO and Tornadoes in the United States? Read More »
A paper just published in Science Advances, funded by the MAPP Program, identified a key climate pattern responsible, in part, for large uncertainties in projections of the South Asian summer monsoon (SASM). The SASM is the strongest component of the global monsoon system and contributes about 80% of South Asia’s annual rainfall and provides the water supply for more than a billion people.
The South Asian Summer Monsoon: What Our Climate Projections Tell Us Read More »
Despite major progress in monitoring and understanding the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), an alternating climate pattern of abnormally warm and cool ocean temperatures across the tropical Pacific, scientists’ ability to predict it has not shown steady improvement over the past few decades. Helping to solve this mystery, a new review article funded by the MAPP Program found that a shift in ENSO properties around 1999/2000 may account for the lower prediction skill.
A shift in ENSO is causing worse prediction skill Read More »
New research evaluates method to improve snow depth and snow cover estimations: The potential improvements could help water managers better understand and anticipate changes in the snow reservoir
New MAPP Research evaluates method to improve snow depth and snow cover estimations Read More »