<
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/17/trump-cuts-to-have-chilling-effect-on-climate-science-and-degrade-australias-ability-to-forecast-weather>
"Staff cuts and a freeze on international collaborations at a leading US
science agency will have a “chilling effect” on climate science and may
“severely degrade” Australia’s ability to accurately forecast the weather,
scientists have warned.
The Trump administration fired 880 workers at the US National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) on 27 February, and reportedly plans to cut
1,000 more staff.
Australian meteorologists and scientists rely on Noaa data and software for
both operational weather forecasting and long-term predictions of the climate,
with collaborations between the two countries dating back decades.
Atmospheric data from Noaa satellites informs the Bureau of Meteorology’s
weather forecasts, as part of an international agreement through the World
Meteorological Organization. Prof David Karoly, a decorated scientist and
climate councillor with the Climate Council, said: “That is used by essentially
all countries around the world, not just Australia.”
Noaa satellites provide the BoM with timely sea surface temperature (SST)
observations, which are crucial for making El Niño and La Niña forecasts.
Dr Helen Beggs, a senior research scientist who retired from the BoM last week,
said any significant decrease in Noaa funding “may well reduce the availability
of accurate SST observations for operational and climate applications both
globally and in seas surrounding Australia”.
Although the BoM also relies on Japanese and European satellite data, Noaa’s
satellites provide the most accurate and spatially detailed SST data the bureau
uses operationally, Beggs said.
Noaa is also the main contributor to a global network of ocean observing
platforms, including the Argo program of about 3,600 floats that record
temperature and salinity in the world’s oceans. Cuts affecting that SST
observation network “would result in gaps not just for Australia, but also the
world,” Beggs said."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
