of the Pacific, likely helping this current Kelvin wave form. The complexity of the ocean- atmosphere system, where changes in one feed back into the other, means it's difficult to diagnose a "cause" o ...

set a record for having large areas of both temperature extremes. Looking back at what the atmosphere was doing during this time period quickly reveals at least part of what was going on: the polar je ...

polar vortex" or the tropospheric jet stream (the troposphere is the lowest layer of the atmosphere between earth's surface and the stratosphere). Among climate scientists, the "polar vortex" is usual ...

due to excess greenhouse gases may overtake natural variability as the main driver of heat waves in different parts of the country. The map (top) shows population density along with the location of fo ...

are excellent vocabulary words! - timeline stepping / graphing is a great tool Suggestions: - CO2 concentrations should be updated to reflect current years (the resource lists data from 2013) CO2 is ...

environment matters, too. Wind shear (changes in wind direction and speed with height in the atmosphere), moisture, and the general stability of the atmosphere (more unstable means more storms) have d ...

Front Range," Wolter explains. The heaviest multi-day rain events happen when the large-sale atmosphere circulation pushes air up those steep gradients from the east. The faster and higher the air ris ...

Scientific strengths: - plethora of information on climate change effects on the cryosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere. Resource is a media-rich online textbook about climate science. Sti ...

from the Arctic, documenting changes in the physical environment—including sea ice, the atmosphere, snow, the Greenland Ice Sheet, and carbon stored and released by permafrost—and the impacts on peopl ...

ever. This report intends to take up the latest and most essential scientific findings published in an extraordinary year—the climate science year in review. URL to Main Site for Report : ...