Oceanography
How Does a Coral Reef Ecosystem Work?
A coral reef ecosystem is a network of corals, algae, fishes, invertebrates, microbes and physical processes that recycle energy and nutrients in nutrient-poor tropical…
Noaa
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Articles about Noaa
96 published items.
Oceanography
Why Are Coral Reefs Important?
Coral reefs matter because their physical structure and biological productivity support diverse marine communities and provide services to people. Their value is ecologi…
Oceanography
What Is Coral Bleaching?
Coral bleaching happens when stressed corals lose or expel much of the symbiotic algae living in their tissues. Because those algae provide color and a major share of th…
Oceanography
What Are Hydrothermal Vents?
Hydrothermal vents are places on the seafloor where seawater circulates through hot, chemically reactive ocean crust and returns to the ocean carrying dissolved minerals…
Oceanography
What Is the Deep Sea?
The deep sea is the vast ocean environment below the sunlit surface layers, commonly including waters deeper than about 200 meters. It is cold, dark, under high pressure…
Environment
How Do Weather Forecasting Models Work?
Weather forecasting models are computer simulations that estimate how the atmosphere will evolve from an analyzed starting state. They translate physical laws into numer…
Environment
How Do Tornadoes Form?
Tornadoes are violently rotating columns of air that extend from a thunderstorm to the ground. Most strong tornadoes form from supercell thunderstorms, but not every sup…
Environment
How Do Hurricanes Form?
Hurricanes form over warm tropical oceans when the atmosphere and ocean supply a specific combination of heat, moisture, rotation and organized thunderstorms. In other r…
Space science
What Is a Geomagnetic Storm?
A geomagnetic storm is a prolonged disturbance of Earth's magnetosphere caused by enhanced energy transfer from the solar wind. The most significant storms are often ass…
Space science
What Is a Solar Flare?
A solar flare is a rapid release of magnetic energy in the Sun's atmosphere. Flares can brighten dramatically in X-rays and extreme ultraviolet radiation and can acceler…
Oceanography
Giant whale carcass washes up on Alaska beach
A giant fin whale that washed ashore near a coastal trail in Alaska's largest city has attracted the curiosity of many.
Environment
The moment an American expert braved the danger of flying through superstorm Milton
On October 9, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shared a clip recording the moment a plane carrying US meteorological experts shook violently…
Videos
Superstorm Milton seen from satellite, unprecedented number of lightning strikes
Satellite imagery provides additional views of Hurricane Milton from space as the storm approaches Florida.
1001 mystery
Mystery of dozens of giant circular structures at the bottom of Lake Michigan
The Great Lakes Environmental Laboratory (GLERL) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has confirmed the existence of about 40 mysterious circula…
Environment
This year's hurricane season could see many record-breaking hurricanes
Scientists at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have issued their highest forecast yet for the Atlantic hurricane season: 17 to 25 named stor…