Randy Showstack
Verified
As seen in:
The New York Times,
Color Research & Application,
Wiley Online Library,
Oxford University Press (OUP),
EcoWatch,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,
Charleston Gazette-Mail,
RealClear Science,
Offrange,
AGU's Eos
and
Covers:
environment, Earth science, climate change, science policy, space science, energy, federal science agencies, STEM education, ocean pollution, plastics pollution
Environment, science and health journalist, editor, communication consultant. Past President,DC Chapter, Society of Professional Journalists. RandyShowstack.com
Randy Showstack’s Journalist Portfolio
View as a gridWaiting on the next freshwater flush
whoi.edu
—
The Arctic, as one of the fastest changing oceans and regions on Earth, "lends an urgency to understanding it better," including understanding the Beaufort Gyre, says WHOI physical oceanographer Isabela Le Bras, a principal investigator on the Beaufort Gyre Observing System (BGOS). The gyre is a massive clockwise ocean circulation pattern in the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska.
Biden's Justice40 initiative picking up speed after slow start - The New Lede
The New Lede
—
More than a year and a half after the Biden administration unveiled a sweeping commitment to bring opportunities and aid to disadvantaged communities, environmental justice advocates are calling on the White House to move faster with its implementation of its Justice40 Initiative.
Academy Report Affirms Emergence of Biological Physics
BioScience Magazine
—
On 15 March 2022, William Bialek gave a talk to some 200 people at a business meeting of the American Physical Society's (APS) Division of Biological Physics. His address updated them about a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) that would be published the following week.
Climate Change Likely Driving Crop Insurance Costs Up | Ambrook
ambrook.com
—
"Climate change is already having an impact on the crop insurance program." "The odds of there being more extreme years is going up as a result of global warming." "Risks from climate change, and any other factors, are automatically incorporated as part of normal program maintenance."
Climate Change Likely Driving Crop Insurance Costs Up | Ambrook
Ambrook Research
—
"Climate change is already having an impact on the crop insurance program." "The odds of there being more extreme years is going up as a result of global warming." "Risks from climate change, and any other factors, are automatically incorporated as part of normal program maintenance."
Commercial ship tracks Gulf of Mexico's hurricane heat potential
whoi.edu
—
When the commercial ship, M/V Bulk Xaymaca was in dry dock earlier this year, the owners of the oceangoing dry bulk carrier voluntarily cut a hole in its bottom to install a scientific sensor to measure water current speeds at various ocean depths. Now, as the 225-meter-long ship plies its...
Landsat 9 Satellite Continues Half-Century of Earth Observations: Eyes in the sky serve as a valu...
BioScience Magazine
—
When the Landsat 9 satellite lifted off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on the foggy morning of 27 September, mounted atop an Atlas V rocket, Virginia Norwood, 94, had tears of emotion. The satellite aimed ultimately for an orbital altitude of 438 miles to add to a nearly five-decades-long continuous record of Earth monitoring by the Landsat series of satellites.
Satellite Altimetry Mission Promises Huge Advances for Physical Oceanography and Hydrology - Wood...
whoi.edu
—
Thomas Farrar, the oceanography science co-lead for the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, says that when the satellite launches in late 2022, it will provide huge advances for physical oceanography and revolutionize hydrology. The $754.9 million spacecraft and its precise satellite altimeter will detect ocean features with 10 times better resolution than current technologies.
WHOI scientists monitor the ocean with innovative tools and techniques to improve hurricane forec...
whoi.edu
—
By Randy Showstack Steve Jayne says that flying through hurricanes on a Lockheed-Martin WC-130J Weatherbird aircraft with the U.S. Air Force Reserve's Hurricane Hunters sounds more exciting than it is. He's never felt in any danger, though sometimes the turbulence associated with the rising air in a storm's eyewall "can get a little spicy," he said.
Accessible Oceans: Making ocean science accessible to the visually impaired
Oceanus Magazine
—
Oceanographer Amy Bower, legally blind since 1993, wants more people with disabilities to have the same opportunities that she has had to do something exciting like studying ocean science. "It's just heartbreaking to think that there could be a kid who has the same curiosity and interest in the world but can't access stuff because they're blind.
A rare mission north
whoi.edu
—
Serendipitous science mission aboard the Polar Star provides "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to collect critical ocean data below the ice
Science RoCS Initiative increases ocean monitoring capacity
whoi.edu
—
A commercial ship's mid-May deployment of two tube-shaped Argo robotic instruments to measure the temperature, salinity, and other properties of the North Atlantic opens a new chapter in ocean monitoring. The deployment of the free-drifting instruments by a merchant vessel is the first collaboration under a new effort-the Science Research on Commercial Ships (Science RoCS) initiative-between research institutions and industry to monitor the vast and open ocean.
The coastal ocean can intensify atmospheric rivers, researchers find
whoi.edu
—
Atmospheric rivers (ARs) above the Pacific Ocean are double-edged swords. The elongated plumes bring intense water vapor content from the tropics toward the mid-latitudes and play a huge role in the global hydrological cycle. When the rivers reach the U.S.
Amidst pandemic, researchers deploy new monitoring station in tropical Pacific
whoi.edu
—
After two attempts in 2020 to replace a monitoring station of the coast of Chile, WHOI researchers and colleagues successfully deployed the moored system despite pandemic-related challenges. This extends a 20-year ongoing presence of a monitoring buoy in this otherwise data-sparse area of the Pacific.
Ensuring that Science Has a Seat at the Table
Oxford Academic Journals
—
With the world still gripped by the coronavirus, with devastating weather and climate disasters, and with attacks on science being spread through disinformation campaigns, there has never been a greater need for scientific engagement with public policy. Leaders in the scientific community are calling for better ways to incorporate science into decision-making during periods of crisis and beyond.
Tracking changes in the Arctic Ocean
whoi.edu
—
The stage has been set, the authors state, for another big release of freshwater to lower latitudes, with accompanying climate impacts, including changes in sea ice conditions, ocean circulation, and sub-Arctic ecosystems. "You'd like to think that what you are investigating has some larger societal importance, and certainly global warming and the future of the planet are important to society," adds John Toole, a WHOI senior scientist who co-developed the ice-tethered profilers.
Tracking changes in the Arctic Ocean
whoi.edu
—
The stage has been set, the authors state, for another big release of freshwater to lower latitudes, with accompanying climate impacts, including changes in sea ice conditions, ocean circulation, and sub-Arctic ecosystems. "You'd like to think that what you are investigating has some larger societal importance, and certainly global warming and the future of the planet are important to society," adds John Toole, a WHOI senior scientist who co-developed the ice-tethered profilers.
Convergence Accelerator could help to meet "An Ocean of Need"
whoi.edu
—
Huge societal challenges related to the oceans require innovative thinking, and a new National Science Foundation (NSF) program, called the Convergence Accelerator, is a promising initiative to help confront these challenges, said Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution President and Director Peter de Menocal at the Smart Oceans 2020 conference in October.
North Atlantic Ocean yields clues for better weather predictions
whoi.edu
—
When Young-Oh Kwon was a graduate student in physical oceanography about 20 years ago, scientists knew a fair amount about how the atmosphere influences the ocean, and many felt that ocean variability doesn't affect the atmosphere in a meaningful way outside of the tropics.
UN Report: 2019 Was Likely the Second-Warmest Year in Recorded History - Eos
AGU's Eos
—
In response to the World Meteorological Organization analysis, United Nations head António Guterres called 2020 a pivotal year to address climate change.
Bill Calls for Dramatically Cutting Plastic Pollution - Eos
AGU's Eos
—
With just 8% of plastic waste in the United States currently being recycled, the bill aims to set up an effective plastic recycling program and limit single-use plastic.
Helping Alaskan Communities Facing Climate Risks - Eos
eos.org
—
Scientists examine how best to use science to help communities respond to rapid climate change in the Arctic.