The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

Preparing for a changing climate : the potential consequences of climate variability and change

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/This report summarizes the key findings and recommendations of the Pacific Islands Regional Assessment of the Consequences of Climate Variability and Change (the Pacific Assessment). The Pacific Assessment was conducted as a regional contribution to the first U.S. National Assessment of the Consequences of Climate Variability and Change (the National Assessment). The Pacific Assessment sought to nurture the critical partnerships necessary to develop and use climate information to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by climate variability and change. Based on extensive involvement of exerts and stakeholders from diverse knowledge groups, the assessment aimed to combine research and analyses with dialogue and education. The Assessment was an exciting and highly interactive process involving over 200 participants who were engaged through small discussion groups and two key workshops organized to encourage and accommodate broad-based regional participation in research and dialogue. The Pacific Assessment sought to achieve two, mutually supportive objectives: development of a more complete understanding of the regional consequences of climate variability for Pacific Island jurisdictions, considering economic, social and other environmental stresses; and, support for a dialogue among scientists, governments, businesses and communities in the Pacific Region that promotes the use of climate information to support decision-making. This dialogue allows diverse stakeholders to develop a shared understanding of climate effects and possible responses, and to use climate information to support decision-making. The concept of shared learning and joint problem-solving emerged as a defining characteristic of the Pacific Assessment and reflects an evolving paradigm of assessments as a process of dialogue among scientists and stakeholders.Sponsors: National Science Foundation (NSF grant OCE9907547), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the East-West Center.Introduction -- Pacific Islands region -- Challenges and opportunities -- Planning for the 21st century -- Appendix A. Overview of the national assessment -- B. Members of the Pacific Assessment Core Scientific Team -- C. Members of the Pacific Assessment Steering Committee -- D. Overview of the Workshop on Climate and Island Coastal Communities, November 2000 -- E. Overview of the Workshop on the Consequences of Climate Variability and Change for Hawaii and the Pacific: challenges and opportunities, March 1998 -- F. Proclamation by the Governor of Hawaii

On the Desirability and Feasibility of a Global Reanalysis of Tropical Cyclones

What: Accurate records of historical tropical cyclones are invaluable for scientific research and risk quantification. Yet most tropical cyclone data were collected in aid of operational forecasting with mixed attention to their use as a climate archive. To remedy this, as far as possible, a comprehensive reanalysis of Atlantic tropical cyclones was undertaken and is enjoying widespread use. To explore the feasibility of undertaking a similar effort for the rest of the globe, covering about 88% of all tropical cyclones, a workshop was convened, involving 12 scientists from around the world, including researchers, data analysts, and forecasters. When: 22–23 May 2017 Where: Asheville, North Carolin

State of the Climate in 2012

For the first time in serveral years, the El Nino-Southern Oscillation did not dominate regional climate conditions around the globe. A weak La Ni a dissipated to ENSOneutral conditions by spring, and while El Nino appeared to be emerging during summer, this phase never fully developed as sea surface temperatures in the eastern conditions. Nevertheless, other large-scale climate patterns and extreme weather events impacted various regions during the year. A negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation from mid-January to early February contributed to frigid conditions in parts of northern Africa, eastern Europe, and western Asia. A lack of rain during the 2012 wet season led to the worst drought in at least the past three decades for northeastern Brazil. Central North America also experienced one of its most severe droughts on record. The Caribbean observed a very wet dry season and it was the Sahel's wettest rainy season in 50 years. Overall, the 2012 average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces ranked among the 10 warmest years on record. The global land surface temperature alone was also among the 10 warmest on record. In the upper atmosphere, the average stratospheric temperature was record or near-record cold, depending on the dataset. After a 30-year warming trend from 1970 to 1999 for global sea surface temperatures, the period 2000-12 had little further trend. This may be linked to the prevalence of La Ni a-like conditions during the 21st century. Heat content in the upper 700 m of the ocean remained near record high levels in 2012. Net increases from 2011 to 2012 were observed at 700-m to 2000-m depth and even in the abyssal ocean below. Following sharp decreases in to the effects of La Ni a, sea levels rebounded to reach records highs in 2012. The increased hydrological cycle seen in recent years continued, with more evaporation in drier locations and more precipitation in rainy areas. In a pattern that has held since 2004, salty areas of the ocean surfaces and subsurfaces were anomalously salty on average, while fresher areas were anomalously fresh. Global tropical cyclone activity during 2012 was near average, with a total of 84 storms compared with the 1981-2010 average of 89. Similar to 2010 and 2011, the North Atlantic was the only hurricane basin that experienced above-normal activity. In this basin, Sandy brought devastation to Cuba and parts of the eastern North American seaboard. All other basins experienced either near-or below-normal tropical cyclone activity. Only three tropical cyclones reached Category 5 intensity-all in Bopha became the only storm in the historical record to produce winds greater than 130 kt south of 7 N. It was also the costliest storm to affect the Philippines and killed more than 1000 residents. Minimum Arctic sea ice extent in September and Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent in June both reached new record lows. June snow cover extent is now declining at a faster rate (-17.6% per decade) than September sea ice extent (-13.0% per decade). Permafrost temperatures reached record high values in northernmost Alaska. A new melt extent record occurred on 11-12 July on the Greenland ice sheet; 97% of the ice sheet showed some form of melt, four times greater than the average melt for this time of year. The climate in Antarctica was relatively stable overall. The largest maximum sea ice extent since records begain in 1978 was observed in September 2012. In the stratosphere, warm air led to the second smallest ozone hole in the past two decades. Even so, the springtime ozone layer above Antarctica likely will not return to its early 1980s state until about 2060. Following a slight decline associated with the global 2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production reached a record 9.5 +/- 0.5 Pg C in 2011 and a new record of 9.7 +/- 0.5 Pg C is estimated for 2012. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations increased by 2.1 ppm in 2012, to 392.6 ppm. In spring 2012, 2 concentration exceeded 400 ppm at 7 of the 13 Arctic observation sites. Globally, other greenhouse gases including methane and nitrous oxide also continued to rise in concentration and the combined effect now represents a 32% increase in radiative forcing over a 1990 baseline. Concentrations of most ozone depleting substances continued to fall

Sea Level Variability and Change

Land surface albedo represents the fraction of solar radiation scattered backward by land surfaces. In the presence of vegetation, surface albedo results from complex nonlinear radiation transfer processes determining the amount of radiation that is scattered by the vegetation and its background, transmitted through the vegetation layer, or absorbed by the vegetation layer and its background. Anomalies in mid- and high latitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere result mainly from interannual variations in snow cover extent and duration in winter and spring. The large negative anomalies over the United States reflect the lack of snowfall and snowpack over the Rockies, the Midwest, and much of the eastern half of the country.JRC.H.7-Climate Risk Managemen