Feedback loops play an important role in interactions among parts of the climate system. Positive feedback loops can sometimes result in irreversible change as climate conditions cross a tipping point.
Resource Type: Information
The sea level is rising due to melting ice sheets and glaciers, as well as thermal expansion of seawater. As global temperatures continue to go up, how much will sea levels rise?
Resource Type: Information
Discover how a weather front can cause clouds and storms with rain or snow.
Resource Type: Videos
After years of drought, California got so much precipitation in 2017 that about half the state was free from drought. How much precipitation was needed to stop the drought? The amount was different from place to place.
The direct measures of climate tend to be mostly the same as the measurable aspects of weather - temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed and direction - only over much longer periods of time.
Get prepared for your visit to the NSF NCAR Mesa Lab Visitor Center by reviewing what we have to offer onsite.
Factors that have the power to change global climate can be natural, like volcanic eruptions and changes in solar energy, or caused by humans, like the addition of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
Resource Type: Information
Weather Channel coverage of a winter storm that traveled across much of the U.S. in February 2017.
Resource Type: Videos