a visualization of global weather conditions

forecast by supercomputers

updated every three hours ocean surface current estimates

updated every five days ocean surface temperatures and

anomaly from daily average (1981-2011)

updated daily ocean waves

updated every three hours aurora

updated every thirty minutes

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atmospheric pressure corresponds roughly to altitude

several pressure layers are meteorologically interesting

they show data assuming the earth is completely smooth

note: 1 hectopascal (hPa) = 1 millibar (mb)

1000 hPa 00, ~100 m, near sea level conditions 850 hPa 0 ~1,500 m, planetary boundary, low 700 hPa 0 ~3,500 m, planetary boundary, high 500 hPa 0 ~5,000 m, vorticity 250 hPa ~10,500 m, jet stream 70 hPa ~17,500 m, stratosphere 10 hPa ~26,500 m, even more stratosphere

the "Surface" layer represents conditions at ground or water level

this layer follows the contours of mountains, valleys, etc. overlays show another dimension of data using color

some overlays are valid at a specific height

while others are valid for the entire thickness of the atmosphere

about ocean waves Significant Wave Height is the average height of the highest 1/3 of waves at a particular point in the ocean. There's a great writeup here describing what this means. Peak Wave Period is the (inverse) frequency of the most energetic waves passing through a particular point, whether wind generated or swells. Certainly, there are many more groups of waves moving through an area, each in different directions, but trying to show them all rapidly becomes complex. Instead, we show the one wave group contributing the most energy. This has the effect, though, of creating "boundaries" between regions of ocean where the #1 wave group suddenly switches to second place. Often these boundaries represent swell fronts, but other times they are just artifacts of the ranking mechanism.

about CO 2 concentrations

for dates earlier than 2017-01-24 04:30 UTC While implementing the visualization of CO 2 surface concentration, I noticed the NASA GEOS-5 model reports a global mean concentration that differs significantly from widely reported numbers. For example, from the run at 2015-11-23 00:00 UTC, the global mean is only 368 ppmv whereas CO 2 observatories report concentrations closer to 400 ppmv. GEOS-5 was constructed in the 2000s, so perhaps the model does not account for accumulation of atmospheric CO 2 over time? This is simply speculation. I am just not certain. To bring the GEOS-5 results closer to contemporary numbers, I have added a uniform offset of +32 ppmv, increasing the global mean to 400 ppmv. This is not scientifically valid, but it does allow the visualization to become illustrative of the discussion occurring today around atmospheric CO 2 . Without question, I would welcome a more rigorous approach or an explanation why the GEOS-5 model produces the data that it does. From 2017-01-24 04:30 UTC, this adjustment is no longer necessary because GEOS-5 appears to have been upgraded.

disclaimer GEOS-5 data (covering all Chem and Particulates layers) comes with the following disclaimer: Forecasts using the GEOS system are experimental and are produced for research purposes only. Use of these forecasts for purposes other than research is not recommended.

about aerosols and extinction An aerosol is air containing particles. Common particles are dust, smoke, soot, and water droplets (clouds). These particles affect sunlight primarily through absorption and scattering, which combine to reduce the amount of light reaching the ground. This loss of light as it passes through the atmosphere is called extinction. One common measure of extinction is aerosol optical thickness (AOT), which is (the log of) the ratio between the power of incoming light and the power of transmitted light. This helps us understand how "thick" the air is with particulates.

keyboard shortcuts

e show the menu escape close dialog/menu k go forward one time step shift-k go forward several time steps j go backward one time step shift-j go backward several time steps n go to now (the most recent data) shift-c show the date selection calendar i go up one pressure level shift-i go up to the stratosphere m go down one pressure level shift-m go down to the surface g toggle the grid on/off p toggle the animation on/off shift-h enable/disable high definition mode

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Selected for inclusion in the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) collection of educational resources.

The GEOS-5 data used on this site have been provided by the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center through the online data portal in the NASA Center for Climate Simulation

Generated using Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service Information 2017-2020. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of this information.