Latest news with #WalterMeier
American Military News
01-08-2025
- Climate
- American Military News
US military reverses end to satellite weather sharing program
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed on Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Defense will no longer end the sharing of critical satellite weather information this year after the military's plan to stop distributing forecast data from three old military satellites during hurricane season was met with pushback. Last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a notice, saying, 'Due to recent service changes, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) will discontinue ingest, processing and distribution of all DMSP data no later than June 30, 2025.' According to USA Today, the U.S. military's decision to stop providing satellite weather information over a year prior to the anticipated end of the program led to widespread backlash and resulted in the U.S. military extending the deadline to July 30. ABC News reported that the U.S. Navy told the outlet that its Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center had initially 'planned to phase out the data as part of a Defense Department modernization effort.' However, the Navy said that 'after feedback from government partners, officials found a way to meet modernization goals while keeping the data flowing until the sensor fails or the program formally ends in September 2026.' READ MORE: US Air Force contracts with AI company to 'fingerprint' satellites In an updated alert on Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said, 'The Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) has announced plans to continue distribution of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) data beyond July 31, 2025. As a result, there will be no interruption to DMSP data delivery.' According to USA Today, Walter Meier, a research scientist at the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center, explained that the three Department of Defense Satellites that provide data to weather forecasters use microwave sounders to track rain and wind. Scientists told the outlet that while the U.S. military and federal agencies use the information for computer modeling purposes, the information is also viewed as critical for documenting details regarding the Earth's polar regions and for obtaining hurricane data. Following Wednesday's confirmation that the aging military satellites would continue to distribute information to weather forecasters, Michael Lowry, National Hurricane Center Storm Surge Unit meteorologist, released a statement assuring the public that the agency's 'hurricane forecast tools should stay in tact.' Lowry added that a 'crisis' was 'averted' by the military reversing its original decision.
USA Today
31-07-2025
- Science
- USA Today
Military now won't cut off satellite data used by hurricane forecasters, climate scientists
Microwave data from a trio of defense department satellites will continue flowing to NOAA to help inform sea ice research and hurricane forecasts. A plan that would have stopped the flow of essential forecast data from a trio of aging military satellites during the middle of hurricane season has been nixed after widespread pushback. Statements from the U.S. Navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed on July 29 that data flow from microwave sounders on the trio of Department of Defense Satellites would continue until sometime next year as originally planned, backtracking from earlier announcements in May and June. The sounders track rain and winds over the oceans and ice, said Walter Meier, a senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado. Federal agencies and the military use the non-classified data for an array of computer modeling, but the information is considered vital for providing regular details about the polar regions, scientists told USA TODAY. Additionally, numerous scientists have pointed out the importance of the microwave satellite data for logging information about moisture inside hurricanes, although NOAA emphasized the agency has a "robust suite" of other hurricane forecasting tools. For monitoring sea ice, the microwave instruments provide "complete coverage of the polar regions every day and can 'see' at night,' Meier said. They are not affected by what gets reflected or refracted in the atmosphere and have operated continuously since 1987. 'That's almost 38 years-worth of sea ice data being used to track conditions in the Arctic,' he said. Scientists have similar continuity for Antarctica. Losing the microwave data would make it difficult to keep the long-term records intact. Aging satellites will continue providing data, for now The three satellites have been flying since at least 2009, Meier said. Typically planned to last three to five years, these missions have 'kind of been living on borrowed time.' So it wasn't a surprise when the military sent out notifications earlier this year that it would stop processing and distributing the data in September 2026. Just a few weeks later, for reasons that were never fully explained, the military announced it would stop providing the data on June 30, 2025, more than a year earlier than expected. That kicked off frantic discussions among Meier and hurricane forecasters about how to replace that data. In response to a huge backlash, the military extended its deadline to July 30, 2025. But on July 29, one day before the data transmissions were scheduled to stop, the Navy stated that after "feedback from government partners, officials found a way to meet modernization goals while keeping the data flowing until the sensor fails or the program formally ends in September 2026." The decision was initially reported by Michael Lowry, a meteorologist and hurricane specialist in Miami. NOAA stated there would be "no interruption" to the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program data and the agency would continue to have access to the data for the duration of the program's life span. Why satellite moisture data is important for hurricane forecasts When a hurricane is far out at sea, the microwave sensors are one of the only ways to diagnose a storm's internal structure, said Andy Hazelton, an associate scientist at the University of Miami. A current NOAA satellite with a microwave instrument has different frequencies, and does not provide the same information, the scientists said, and polar orbiters aren't as effective because they sample less frequently. Hazelton said things change fast inside tropical cyclones and forecasters need as much data as possible. Losing the microwave data would degrade hurricane forecasts, said John Cortinas, a former deputy assistant administrator for science with NOAA's Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. 'Typically, fewer observations mean less accuracy.' Losing half the microwave data available to forecasters decreases the ability to identify the most dangerous storms, the ones that intensify quickly and catch forecasters and the public off guard, said Jeff Masters, a former Hurricane Hunter research scientist and co-founder of Weather Underground. Rapid intensification: Some hurricanes suddenly explode in intensity Masters was among those who found it troubling that the loss of data could occur at a time when the frequency 'of this most dangerous type of hurricane is increasing,' There were nine such storms in the Atlantic last year, tying the record for the most in 45 years. Even the original one-month extension would have been too little time to arrange for, and fine-tune, other instruments to match the previous data for scientific continuity, Cortinas said. 'Fingers crossed' The satellite instruments, called Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounders, are fairly low resolution and don't do a whole lot for security and warfighting support, so they aren't a priority for an agency with a mission of national security and defense, Meier said. But he wishes there had been "more recognition of the value of the products to U.S. civilians." Because the satellites are considered "very old," they're not as secure as they should be or as secure as a new system, Meier said. It's also likely the military didn't feel like it was worth it to upgrade the satellites, he said. For now, he's keeping his "fingers crossed" that the data will continue to flow and give them an extended period to find a way to replace the microwave data and ensure continuity for long-term sea ice records at the ends of the Earth. One possibility, he previously told USA TODAY, includes an agreement to use data from another government, such as the Japanese Space Agency. Dinah Voyles Pulver covers climate change, hurricanes, violent weather and other news for USA TODAY. Reach her at dpulver@ or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
World's sea-ice falls to record low
The world's frozen oceans, which help to keep the planet cool, currently have less ice than ever previously recorded, satellite data shows. Sea-ice around the north and south poles acts like a giant mirror by reflecting much of the Sun's energy back into space. But as rising temperatures cause this bright layer to shrink, the dark ocean below can absorb more heat, warming the planet further. This latest sea-ice low appears to have been driven by a combination of warm air, warm seas and winds breaking apart the ice. Over the 5 days to 13 February, the combined extent of Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice was 15.76 million sq km (6.08 million sq miles), according to BBC analysis of data from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). This breaks the previous 5-day record low of 15.93 million sq km (6.15 million sq miles) from January-February 2023. Arctic sea-ice is currently at its smallest recorded extent for the time of year, while Antarctic sea-ice is close to a new low in satellite records going back to the late 1970s. The decline of Arctic sea-ice in response to a warming planet is well-established. Its end-of-summer extent fell from an average of 7 million sq km in the 1980s to 4.5 million sq km in the 2010s. But until the mid-2010s, Antarctic sea-ice had been remarkably resilient, defying predictions that it would shrink. Since then, Antarctica has shown a series of very low sea-ice extents, although there is still lots of natural variability. "Every year, every data point that we get suggests that this isn't a temporary shift, but something more permanent, like what we've seen in the Arctic," Walter Meier, senior research scientist at NSIDC, told BBC News. "It is indicating that the Antarctic has moved into a new regime of lower ice extents." Antarctic sea-ice is relatively thin and mobile - being surrounded by ocean rather than continents like the Arctic - so it can be particularly sensitive to winds breaking up the ice. But warmer air and warmer waters look to have played a key role in this latest 2025 low, towards the end of the southern hemisphere summer. The Antarctic ice-shelves – ice flowing off the Antarctic continent, rather than sea-ice – appears to have had a particularly extreme season of surface melting, driven by high air temperatures. "Atmospheric conditions in December and January looked like they were strongly promoting surface melting on the ice-shelves," said Tom Bracegirdle, research scientist at the British Antarctic Survey. "That could also have contributed to what we've seen in Antarctic sea-ice, and ongoing ocean warming is setting the backdrop to all of this as well." Antarctica's record sea-ice low of 2023 would have been a one-in-2,000 year event without climate change, according to a recent study. Yet 2025 is not far from eclipsing it. At the other end of the planet, the Arctic should be reaching its annual maximum, with cold winter temperatures helping the oceans to freeze over. But current sea-ice extent is nearly 0.2 million sq km below anything previously recorded for the time of year, and has been tracking very low since late 2024. This is partly as a result of a late freeze-up of ice around Hudson Bay, with unusually warm ocean waters taking a long time to cool down. As well as warmer seas, some storms also disrupted ice around the Barents and Bering Seas, with the consequences likely amplified by long-term reductions in sea-ice thickness. "A thinner ice cover is more responsive to weather [… so] weather events can have a stronger impact than they used to," said Julienne Stroeve, professor of polar observation and modelling at University College London. In recent weeks, Arctic sea-ice has moved even further below average. Temperatures around the north pole were about 20C above normal in early February, leading to melting conditions in places like Svalbard. This "is quite astonishing" for the time of year, according to Dr Bracegirdle. This very low winter extent doesn't necessarily mean the Arctic will end up with record conditions throughout 2025, as conditions can change quickly at the poles. But, with the Arctic warming nearly four times faster than the global average, declines over the coming decades are almost inevitable. The Arctic is expected to be essentially free of sea-ice at the end of its summer at least once before 2050, according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Some recent studies suggest it could happen sooner. Declining sea-ice at both poles not only has implications for local wildlife like polar bears and penguins, but also the Earth's climate. Polar sea-ice has already lost around 14% of its natural cooling effect since the early-to-mid 1980s, as the area of bright, reflective ice has declined, according to a study published last year. "If you significantly change the sea ice distribution in and around Antarctica, you modify that part of the planet which is actually helping us fight against climate change," said Simon Josey, a professor at the National Oceanography Centre. Sea-ice also plays an important role in the great ocean conveyor, the mass movement of water that helps distribute heat around the planet and keeps places like the UK and north-west Europe relatively mild. "If we see another strong winter loss [of Antarctic sea-ice], people are going to start to worry about what it's doing to the ocean circulation," said Prof Josey. Additional reporting by Becky Dale Trouble in Arctic town as polar bears and people face warming world Antarctic ice at 'mind-blowing' low alarms experts Antarctica sea-ice hits new record low Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to get exclusive insight on the latest climate and environment news from the BBC's Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, delivered to your inbox every week. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.
BBC News
15-02-2025
- Science
- BBC News
World's sea-ice falls to record low
The world's frozen oceans, which help to keep the planet cool, currently have less ice than ever previously recorded, satellite data around the north and south poles acts like a giant mirror by reflecting much of the Sun's energy back into as rising temperatures cause this bright layer to shrink, the dark ocean below can absorb more heat, warming the planet latest sea-ice low appears to have been driven by a combination of warm air, warm seas and winds breaking apart the ice. Over the 5 days to 13 February, the combined extent of Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice was 15.76 million sq km (6.08 million sq miles), according to BBC analysis of data from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).This breaks the previous 5-day record low of 15.93 million sq km (6.15 million sq miles) from January-February 2023. Arctic sea-ice is currently at its smallest recorded extent for the time of year, while Antarctic sea-ice is close to a new low in satellite records going back to the late decline of Arctic sea-ice in response to a warming planet is well-established. Its end-of-summer extent fell from an average of 7 million sq km in the 1980s to 4.5 million sq km in the until the mid-2010s, Antarctic sea-ice had been remarkably resilient, defying predictions that it would then, Antarctica has shown a series of very low sea-ice extents, although there is still lots of natural variability."Every year, every data point that we get suggests that this isn't a temporary shift, but something more permanent, like what we've seen in the Arctic," Walter Meier, senior research scientist at NSIDC, told BBC News."It is indicating that the Antarctic has moved into a new regime of lower ice extents."Antarctic sea-ice is relatively thin and mobile - being surrounded by ocean rather than continents like the Arctic - so it can be particularly sensitive to winds breaking up the warmer air and warmer waters look to have played a key role in this latest 2025 low, towards the end of the southern hemisphere Antarctic ice-shelves – ice flowing off the Antarctic continent, rather than sea-ice – appears to have had a particularly extreme season of surface melting, driven by high air temperatures."Atmospheric conditions in December and January looked like they were strongly promoting surface melting on the ice-shelves," said Tom Bracegirdle, research scientist at the British Antarctic Survey."That could also have contributed to what we've seen in Antarctic sea-ice, and ongoing ocean warming is setting the backdrop to all of this as well."Antarctica's record sea-ice low of 2023 would have been a one-in-2,000 year event without climate change, according to a recent study. Yet 2025 is not far from eclipsing it. At the other end of the planet, the Arctic should be reaching its annual maximum, with cold winter temperatures helping the oceans to freeze current sea-ice extent is nearly 0.2 million sq km below anything previously recorded for the time of year, and has been tracking very low since late is partly as a result of a late freeze-up of ice around Hudson Bay, with unusually warm ocean waters taking a long time to cool well as warmer seas, some storms also disrupted ice around the Barents and Bering Seas, with the consequences likely amplified by long-term reductions in sea-ice thickness."A thinner ice cover is more responsive to weather [… so] weather events can have a stronger impact than they used to," said Julienne Stroeve, professor of polar observation and modelling at University College recent weeks, Arctic sea-ice has moved even further below average. Temperatures around the north pole were about 20C above normal in early February, leading to melting conditions in places like "is quite astonishing" for the time of year, according to Dr Bracegirdle. This very low winter extent doesn't necessarily mean the Arctic will end up with record conditions throughout 2025, as conditions can change quickly at the with the Arctic warming nearly four times faster than the global average, declines over the coming decades are almost Arctic is expected to be essentially free of sea-ice at the end of its summer at least once before 2050, according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Some recent studies suggest it could happen sea-ice at both poles not only has implications for local wildlife like polar bears and penguins, but also the Earth's sea-ice has already lost around 14% of its natural cooling effect since the early-to-mid 1980s, as the area of bright, reflective ice has declined, according to a study published last year."If you significantly change the sea ice distribution in and around Antarctica, you modify that part of the planet which is actually helping us fight against climate change," said Simon Josey, a professor at the National Oceanography also plays an important role in the great ocean conveyor, the mass movement of water that helps distribute heat around the planet and keeps places like the UK and north-west Europe relatively mild."If we see another strong winter loss [of Antarctic sea-ice], people are going to start to worry about what it's doing to the ocean circulation," said Prof Josey. Additional reporting by Becky Dale Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to get exclusive insight on the latest climate and environment news from the BBC's Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, delivered to your inbox every week. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.
