El Niño Archives - Astrobiology

No words, no numbers—just a powerful visual capturing our planet’s warming. The latest update adds a new dark red stripe for 2024—a color first introduced last year when 2023 shattered all previous records. -- World Meteorological Organization

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Heating Our Home World: NASA Confirms 2024 Was The Warmest Year on Record

by Keith CowingJanuary 10, 2025January 10, 2025

Earth’s average surface temperature in 2024 was the warmest on record, according to an analysis led by NASA scientists.

Considering the globe as a whole, high clouds and cloud-free scenes result in warming of the Earth's atmosphere, as less energy escapes into space than arrives from the sun. For low clouds, it's the opposite, so their decline leads to warming. CREDIT Alfred-Wegener-Institut / Yves Nowak

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Press Release

Rapid Surge In Global Warming Mainly Due To Reduced Planetary Albedo

by Keith CowingDecember 6, 2024December 6, 2024

Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, heatwaves at sea – 2023 set a number of alarming new records. The global mean temperature also rose to nearly 1.5 degrees above the preindustrial […]

Global mean annual sea surface temperature anomalies (°C) against the Changhsingian background state (412 ppm simulation). (A) SST anomalies between 857 ppm and 412 ppm simulations; (B) SST anomalies between 1712 ppm and 412 ppm simulations; (C) SST anomalies between 2568 ppm and 412 ppm simulations; (D) SST anomalies between 4000 ppm and 412 ppm simulations. -- Science

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Habitable Zones, Press Release

New Research Reveals How El Nino Caused The Greatest Ever Mass Extinction

by Keith CowingSeptember 30, 2024September 29, 2024

Mega ocean warming El Niño events were key in driving the largest extinction of life on planet Earth some 252 million years ago, according to new research.

ALVIN takes water samples from a hydrothermal vent producing black “smoke.” The water is black because it contains particulate metal sulfides. These precipitate when the hot fluids mix with cold seawater. (Photo by HOV ALVIN/Woods Hole Oceanographic/Mandy Joye)

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Away Team Update: Exploring Hydrothermal Vents In The Gulf Of California

by Keith CowingJuly 29, 2024July 29, 2024

When Samantha Joye and her fellow researchers once again set sail into the Gulf of California, they weren’t sure what to expect.

temperature map of the Pacific Ocean

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release

Earth-sun Distance Dramatically Alters Seasons In The Equatorial Pacific In A 22,000-year Cycle

by Keith CowingNovember 11, 2022November 11, 2022

Weather and climate modelers understand pretty well how seasonal winds and ocean currents affect El Niño patterns in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, impacting weather across the United States and […]