Paul Voosen
@voosen.me
Dad of two. Earth, climate, and planetary science reporter @Science.org magazine. Mistrusts narratives; still writes them.
https://www.science.org/content/author/paul-voosen
https://sciencemastodon.com/@voooos
[email protected]
Signal: @voosen.01
https://www.science.org/content/author/paul-voosen
https://sciencemastodon.com/@voooos
[email protected]
Signal: @voosen.01
Pinned
Paul Voosen
@voosen.me
· Mar 5
Finally pinning this. To reach me on Signal, while using your personal device, scan this QR code or click this link:
signal.me#eu/U1ryqcv4c...
signal.me#eu/U1ryqcv4c...
My latest: Let's start with the easy part. Yes, long-lived airplane contrails warm the Earth and it's great to not do that. But just how much they warm, and where -- and how much more CO2 you can add to the atmosphere to avoid them?
That's where it gets harder.
That's where it gets harder.
Airplane contrails may not be the climate villain once feared
Studies raise questions about the benefits of adjusting flight paths to minimize heat-trapping clouds
www.science.org
November 21, 2025 at 7:45 PM
My latest: Let's start with the easy part. Yes, long-lived airplane contrails warm the Earth and it's great to not do that. But just how much they warm, and where -- and how much more CO2 you can add to the atmosphere to avoid them?
That's where it gets harder.
That's where it gets harder.
Reposted by Paul Voosen
Hi freelancers, I just posted a call for pitches for @technologyreview.com's upcoming print issue. The theme is Nature. Pitch deadline is December 5. More info here! www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
#writingopportunity | Rachel Courtland
#WritingOpportunity: MIT Technology Review is seeking pitches for an upcoming print issue. The theme is Nature.
We're looking for pitches for longer pieces: narrative features, compelling investigati...
www.linkedin.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Hi freelancers, I just posted a call for pitches for @technologyreview.com's upcoming print issue. The theme is Nature. Pitch deadline is December 5. More info here! www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
(I have no actual conclusion from this.)
November 18, 2025 at 7:03 PM
(I have no actual conclusion from this.)
You sent me down a rabbit hole that I had to peel out of ASAP. I had never looked at the RCP SO2 numbers. Interesting that while they all end around the same place, 4.5 and 8.5 are most similar, while 6.0 is higher than either in the midcentury.
From Fig 2:
acp.copernicus.org/articles/15/...
From Fig 2:
acp.copernicus.org/articles/15/...
November 18, 2025 at 7:02 PM
You sent me down a rabbit hole that I had to peel out of ASAP. I had never looked at the RCP SO2 numbers. Interesting that while they all end around the same place, 4.5 and 8.5 are most similar, while 6.0 is higher than either in the midcentury.
From Fig 2:
acp.copernicus.org/articles/15/...
From Fig 2:
acp.copernicus.org/articles/15/...
One other point on this that just occurred to me: Much work on climate impacts has moved to using warming levels, rather than absolute timelines, following the CMIP6 hot models. So while the headline issue of using RCP8.5 is there, I imagine all of the MESACLIP runs will have useful information.
November 18, 2025 at 6:35 PM
One other point on this that just occurred to me: Much work on climate impacts has moved to using warming levels, rather than absolute timelines, following the CMIP6 hot models. So while the headline issue of using RCP8.5 is there, I imagine all of the MESACLIP runs will have useful information.
Reposted by Paul Voosen
Science People: We at NSF are still recovering/catching up/getting our lives together. But the agency posted these FAQs about post-shutdown resumption of operations which might answer a lot of Qs for you: www.nsf.gov/resumption-o...
Resumption of Operations at NSF
Information for NSF staff and the research community regarding the agency's resumption of operations after a lapse in appropriations.
www.nsf.gov
November 18, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Science People: We at NSF are still recovering/catching up/getting our lives together. But the agency posted these FAQs about post-shutdown resumption of operations which might answer a lot of Qs for you: www.nsf.gov/resumption-o...
Yeah -- partially this is a consequence of setting these runs up *last* decade, so before wide awareness that RCP8.5 was overstated. They do have single runs of 2.6 and 4.5, but not 10 member ensembles like 6.0 and 8.5.
(The team computed the RCP6.0 stat for us -- the paper only has 8.5.)
(The team computed the RCP6.0 stat for us -- the paper only has 8.5.)
November 18, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Yeah -- partially this is a consequence of setting these runs up *last* decade, so before wide awareness that RCP8.5 was overstated. They do have single runs of 2.6 and 4.5, but not 10 member ensembles like 6.0 and 8.5.
(The team computed the RCP6.0 stat for us -- the paper only has 8.5.)
(The team computed the RCP6.0 stat for us -- the paper only has 8.5.)
The results have spurred NCAR to make sure its next climate model, CESM3, can run well at similar resolutions, and the authors hope other centers will follow suite -- a big ask.
(Other climate models have been run at even higher resolutions, BTW -- what's new here is creating a whole CMIP-ish run.)
(Other climate models have been run at even higher resolutions, BTW -- what's new here is creating a whole CMIP-ish run.)
November 18, 2025 at 2:45 PM
The results have spurred NCAR to make sure its next climate model, CESM3, can run well at similar resolutions, and the authors hope other centers will follow suite -- a big ask.
(Other climate models have been run at even higher resolutions, BTW -- what's new here is creating a whole CMIP-ish run.)
(Other climate models have been run at even higher resolutions, BTW -- what's new here is creating a whole CMIP-ish run.)
They also seem to suggest the Bering Strait could play an important role in Arctic amplification, and show an Atlantic overturning circulation that seems to be more resilient than seen in coarser models.
November 18, 2025 at 2:42 PM
They also seem to suggest the Bering Strait could play an important role in Arctic amplification, and show an Atlantic overturning circulation that seems to be more resilient than seen in coarser models.
There are other insights baked in there, too. They reflect the strange cooling seen in the eastern Pacific and Southern Ocean in recent decades, which other models have struggled to replicate -- and they suggest it could be a knock-on effect, in part, of the ozone hole.
November 18, 2025 at 2:41 PM
There are other insights baked in there, too. They reflect the strange cooling seen in the eastern Pacific and Southern Ocean in recent decades, which other models have struggled to replicate -- and they suggest it could be a knock-on effect, in part, of the ozone hole.
By better reflecting the influence of ocean eddies and storm systems like hurricanes and atmospheric rivers, these runs could be a huge boon to those attempting to project climate change regionally, including its influence on extreme weather.
(The caveat being, of course, this is just one model.)
(The caveat being, of course, this is just one model.)
November 18, 2025 at 2:39 PM
By better reflecting the influence of ocean eddies and storm systems like hurricanes and atmospheric rivers, these runs could be a huge boon to those attempting to project climate change regionally, including its influence on extreme weather.
(The caveat being, of course, this is just one model.)
(The caveat being, of course, this is just one model.)
My latest for @science.org: A remarkable set of high-resolution climate model runs, computed over 900 (!) days of supercomputing time, are revealing how warming-induced changes to Earth's wind patterns due can prime huge spikes in extreme rainfall.
But the MESACLIP runs also do much more than that.
But the MESACLIP runs also do much more than that.
High-resolution climate model forecasts a wet, turbulent future
With details as fine as short-term weather forecasts, model achieves newfound accuracy
www.science.org
November 18, 2025 at 2:35 PM
My latest for @science.org: A remarkable set of high-resolution climate model runs, computed over 900 (!) days of supercomputing time, are revealing how warming-induced changes to Earth's wind patterns due can prime huge spikes in extreme rainfall.
But the MESACLIP runs also do much more than that.
But the MESACLIP runs also do much more than that.
Reposted by Paul Voosen
❄️The Antarctic field season has officially started! EarthScope engineers at McMurdo Station are kicking things off by testing seismometers and magnetotelluric equipment before these instruments are installed in the field. #FieldworkFriday
📷Photo: Sam Jannke/EarthScope
📷Photo: Sam Jannke/EarthScope
November 14, 2025 at 3:25 PM
❄️The Antarctic field season has officially started! EarthScope engineers at McMurdo Station are kicking things off by testing seismometers and magnetotelluric equipment before these instruments are installed in the field. #FieldworkFriday
📷Photo: Sam Jannke/EarthScope
📷Photo: Sam Jannke/EarthScope
Looking forward to reading this and remembering/grieving my teenage days of IRC, Usenet, and arcane John Carmack .finger updates on OpenGL.
At least we still have RSS (though yes that was a later thing).
At least we still have RSS (though yes that was a later thing).
November 13, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Looking forward to reading this and remembering/grieving my teenage days of IRC, Usenet, and arcane John Carmack .finger updates on OpenGL.
At least we still have RSS (though yes that was a later thing).
At least we still have RSS (though yes that was a later thing).
Reposted by Paul Voosen
Huge. If this is successful, it would seem to open the door to these cars really starting to become a viable transportation option.
Anyway, Waymo is going to do rides on freeways now www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovat...
Waymo says its self-driving taxis will take customers on freeways for the first time
Waymo, a spinoff from Google, is expanding its autonomous vehicles rapidly in the face of competition from Tesla’s planned robotaxi service.
www.nbcnews.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Huge. If this is successful, it would seem to open the door to these cars really starting to become a viable transportation option.
We covered it in Science earlier this year, though the story didn't catch on too much:
Japan’s new seafloor monitors could reveal how ‘slow slip’ earthquakes turn into big ones
Network could add 20 minutes of tsunami warning at dangerous Nankai Trough
www.science.org
November 10, 2025 at 6:08 PM
We covered it in Science earlier this year, though the story didn't catch on too much:
As our coverage last year pointed to, using AI to combine SWOT-derived gravity measurements from space with seafloor sonar soundings is already producing stellar global bathymetry models. One new example here:
SWOT Global Bathymetry Modeling Using Deep Neural Networks Trained on Multiple Geophysical Features
BathDNN25 is a global bathymetry model trained with a deep neural network using SWOT-derived geophysical features Multiple input features (gravity anomalies, vertical gravity gradient, band-pass ...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:42 PM
As our coverage last year pointed to, using AI to combine SWOT-derived gravity measurements from space with seafloor sonar soundings is already producing stellar global bathymetry models. One new example here:
Reposted by Paul Voosen
Today's the big day — we're officially on strike all day! We'll be picketing from 8am to 8pm at 1776 Massachusetts NW. Come show your support! @wbng.org @newsguild.org
November 5, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Today's the big day — we're officially on strike all day! We'll be picketing from 8am to 8pm at 1776 Massachusetts NW. Come show your support! @wbng.org @newsguild.org
Reposted by Paul Voosen
Per NOAA/AOML/HRD’s Sim Aberson, the 219 kt reading will be the fastest wind ever measured by a dropsonde if it passes final quality-control checks.
This is hands down the most extraordinary dropsonde in Atlantic recon history.
October 28, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Per NOAA/AOML/HRD’s Sim Aberson, the 219 kt reading will be the fastest wind ever measured by a dropsonde if it passes final quality-control checks.
ICYMI: NSF has followed through with its plan to end the lease on its Antarctic icebreaker, many years before necessary, with almost no congressional pushback. Now there's a mad scramble to fill the gap with less capable ships. @science.org's Jeff Mervis followed the story up:
Doing research in Antarctica was plenty hard before NSF cancelled its lease on its main ship, the Nathaniel Palmer. Read how scientists are coping. www.science.org/content/arti...
How NSF hopes to keep Antarctic scientists afloat without an icebreaker
Ending Palmer lease is one of many belt-tightening moves amid budget uncertainty
www.science.org
October 27, 2025 at 2:14 PM
ICYMI: NSF has followed through with its plan to end the lease on its Antarctic icebreaker, many years before necessary, with almost no congressional pushback. Now there's a mad scramble to fill the gap with less capable ships. @science.org's Jeff Mervis followed the story up:
Another interesting cut: the surface warming of the ocean might actually reflect more ship noise than before, swamping the acidification signal and potentially making it quieter (for now).
pubs.aip.org/asa/jasa/art...
pubs.aip.org/asa/jasa/art...
Ocean soundscapes and trends from 2003 to 2021: 10–100 Hz
We analyze ocean ambient sound from a global network of hydrophones installed and maintained by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. We proce
pubs.aip.org
October 25, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Another interesting cut: the surface warming of the ocean might actually reflect more ship noise than before, swamping the acidification signal and potentially making it quieter (for now).
pubs.aip.org/asa/jasa/art...
pubs.aip.org/asa/jasa/art...
Yeah, when the story was a few hundred words longer it went through the flurry of work that Hester et al kicked off in 2008, and how it ultimately found the effect was real but a small threat to the soundscape. But editors etc
Unanticipated consequences of ocean acidification: A noisier ocean at lower pH
We show that ocean acidification from fossil fuel CO2 invasion and reduced ventilation will result in significant decreases in ocean sound absorption for frequencies lower than about 10 kHz. This eff...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 25, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Yeah, when the story was a few hundred words longer it went through the flurry of work that Hester et al kicked off in 2008, and how it ultimately found the effect was real but a small threat to the soundscape. But editors etc
If you listen closely enough, the sea can tell you how humanity is changing it.
Like, literally. The sound of breaking waves can now be used to measure ocean acidification.
Like, literally. The sound of breaking waves can now be used to measure ocean acidification.
Ambient noise can track dangerous ocean acidification
Acoustic technique could make it easier to monitor threat to marine life stemming from rising carbon emissions
www.science.org
October 24, 2025 at 6:48 PM
If you listen closely enough, the sea can tell you how humanity is changing it.
Like, literally. The sound of breaking waves can now be used to measure ocean acidification.
Like, literally. The sound of breaking waves can now be used to measure ocean acidification.