NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research

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NOAA Research provides the research foundation for understanding our planet. Visit www.research.noaa.gov to learn more about why NOAA Research matters.

NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) or "NOAA Research" provides the research foundation for understanding the complex systems that support our planet. Working in partnership with other organizational units of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a bureau of the Department of Commerce, NOAA Research provides better forecasts, earlier warnings for natural disasters and a greater understanding of the Earth. Our role is to provide unbiased science to better manage the environment, nationally and globally. Visit https://www.noaa.gov/stay-connected/social-media-commenting-policy to learn more about our social media commenting policy.

10/30/2026

Uh oh, it's the night before Halloween and you just remembered you don't have a costume yet! Don't worry, NOAA Research has costumes that will guarantee you 1st place in any costume contest!

Learn more about our research: https://research.noaa.gov/

10/23/2026

: A recent study looks at how measuring ozone concentrations over the Arctic is more complex than measuring concentrations over the Antarctic.

This research highlights the importance of long-term data sets of ozone measurements obtained simultaneously from a variety of ground-based instruments. Although ozone recovery has started to be observed in the Arctic, continued monitoring is necessary to further assess the impact of changing temperatures, which may undermine the efforts undertaken since the Montreal Protocol agreement, despite the successful reduction of ozone-depleting substances worldwide. Learn more: https://research.noaa.gov/detection-of-ozone-recovery-in-the-arctic-from-ground-based-measurements/

10/16/2026

Spooky Season: The case of the missing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). In a recent study, scientists investigated where atmospheric HFC-23 concentrations were originating from since concentrations in our atmosphere greatly exceed levels of reported emissions.

They explored if these compounds were developing in the atmosphere directly, rather than entering the atmosphere via emissions.

Learn what they found: https://research.noaa.gov/?p=36360&preview=true&_thumbnail_id=36361

10/14/2026

A small fleet of Saildrones are embarking on a new mission: circumnavigating Antarctica!

These uncrewed surface vehicles departed from Hobart, Tasmania, marking the start of an ambitious, five-year effort to collect data that will help scientists develop more confident estimates of carbon dioxide absorption in the ocean, while gaining insights to one of Earth’s most inhospitable environments.

Learn more about this project: https://www.noaa.gov/news/saildrone-research-fleet-to-circle-antarctica-for-5-years

(images courtesy of Saildrone)

10/12/2026

First light - South Pole - 2026 observations from the field:

"The departure of the long night has been like saying goodbye to a friend.
We won't see them for a while, but they'll be back around soon enough.
While saying farewell to the stars and aurora has been sad, the month-long sunrise is a beautiful sight.
Spending the winter at the bottom of the world fulfilling NOAA's mission has been a privilege."
Luke Longren - NOAA Technician

Learn more about the South Pole Observatory and the research done there: https://gml.noaa.gov/obop/spo/

10/08/2026

New depths = new insights

Closed circuit rebreathers, or rebreathers for short, are allowing scientists with NOAA and CIMAS to achieve new depths and greater bottom times at key mesophotic reef ecosystems in NOAA's Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary .

Rebreathers work by capturing a diver’s exhaled gas and removing the carbon dioxide with a chemical scrubber, typically soda lime. The system then adds oxygen as needed and recirculates the breathing gas. Because the gas is reused rather than continuously exhaled into the water, rebreathers can greatly extend underwater time compared with traditional scuba.

While the use of rebreathers requires advanced training, they are an essential tool for scientific surveys at depth, like those being done as part of the new NOAA-funded RESTORE Project in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS). This highly collaborative project investigates the remarkable resilience of corals at FGBNMS, which has the highest recorded coral cover of any reef within the greater U.S. Atlantic region.

Photos 1 & 3-6 Credit: NOAA/Allie Ceurvorst
Photo 2 Credit: NOAA/Marissa Nuttall

10/02/2026

: In a recent study, scientists showed how nighttime cold fronts can shift wildfire smoke plumes, dispersing smoke to areas over a hundred miles away. This dispersion impacts air quality and can have impacts on human health.

This research helps improve our understanding of nocturnal atmospheric processes and can provide critical insights for improving air quality forecasting and validating aerosol transport in dispersion models.

Learn more: https://research.noaa.gov/how-a-nocturnal-cold-front-amplified-wildfire-impacts-on-near-surface-air-quality-downwind-of-the-second-largest-u-s-wildfire/

09/25/2026

: The “salty-gets-saltier, fresh-gets-fresher” theory predicts that an intensifying water cycle should freshen the climatologically fresh Southern Ocean. In a new study, scientists show the opposite: sea surface salinity increased across latitudes 40–50°S during 2004–2024.

They attribute this salinification to the poleward expansion of the southern subtropical gyres, which transports salty subtropical water into latitudes of steepest meridional salinity gradient.

Learn about gyres, ocean circulation, and sea surface salinity: https://research.noaa.gov/subtropical-gyre-expansion-causes-southern-ocean-salinification-contrary-to-freshening-predictions/

09/18/2026

: The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a system of ocean currents that transports heat within the Atlantic Ocean and influences ocean conditions across the basin. In a recent study, the authors examine how North Atlantic tropical cyclones respond to AMOC weakening caused by external freshwater forcing. Because tropical cyclones are influenced by oceanic and atmospheric conditions, changes in large-scale ocean circulation can affect where storms form and how they evolve.

Learn more: https://research.noaa.gov/non-uniform-reduction-of-the-north-atlantic-tropical-cyclones-in-response-to-the-amoc-weakening-under-external-freshwater-forcing/

09/18/2026

Happy Friday! Here's a feel-good story for your newsfeed today, from the team at NOAA Fisheries:

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