Paul Voosen
@voosen.me
15K followers 1.7K following 270 posts
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
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Pinned
voosen.me
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 QR code. Link: https://signal.me/#eu/U1ryqcv4cmcII_ZlclH9E9xv1Af1Zv-RQNv85yUbg16N1eSrmrZEaJzFAse0upjc
Reposted by Paul Voosen
voosen.me
Okay okay back to feature writing.
voosen.me
I don't see any language in there protecting the Nathaniel Palmer research icebreaker, however.
voosen.me
It also specifically calls out continuing NOAA Research (OAR) at current levels, "including for research laboratories, cooperative institutes,and scientific awards," and renewing cooperative agreements.
voosen.me
Just in from the @planetarysociety.bsky.social: The counter CR proposed by the Dems to keep the government open includes language protecting NASA missions in "operation, including extended operations, or under development or formulation."

This is not in the CR proposed by House Rs. So we'll see.
democrats-appropriations.house.gov
Reposted by Paul Voosen
ticeonmars.bsky.social
I've been asked a few times over the last few days what I think the chances are that the "leopard spots and poppy seeds" on Mars will turn out to be actual evidence of life. People are naturally skeptical given the history of possible signs of life on other planets. Strap in: long thread ahead...
Image collected by WATSON on the Perseverance rover of "Cheyava Falls," a rock on Mars containing potential biosignatures
Reposted by Paul Voosen
elisecutts.bsky.social
I'd love to follow other early-career and early-ish-career science journalists on here.

Who's out there? What do you write about?

Please say hi and maybe post a recent story you're proud of — or shout-out someone who's writing great stuff.

#scicomm
Reposted by Paul Voosen
climateofgavin.bsky.social
Online chatter suggests that the DOE Climate Change (Denying) Working Group has been disbanded and the report will be withdrawn. 😂

Seems that violating FACA and the Information Quality Acts have consequences.

Not seen any official announcement though.
Reposted by Paul Voosen
jfoust.bsky.social
What's more newsworthy: a NASA briefing about analysis of a Mars rock sampled by Perseverance, or that the briefing will include Sean Duffy, who has not participated in any NASA pressers since being named acting administrator 2 months ago?

www.nasa.gov/news-release...
NASA to Share Details of New Perseverance Mars Rover Finding - NASA
NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 10, to discuss the analysis of a rock sampled by the agency’s Perseverance Mars rover
www.nasa.gov
Reposted by Paul Voosen
climate.us
In the 1st half of 2025, @climate.noaa.gov 's staff were terminated, shutting down daily operations.

Now, former members have joined w/ nonprofit partners to launch Climate.us, where climate info can be safeguarded from politics.

Check out our website and join the effort today.
Reposted by Paul Voosen
atthenius.bsky.social
Every climate model out there has a different AMOC sensitivity to the relatively freshwater introduced by the pacific water flowing in to the North Atlantic (it’s about a psu less).

But wait - how does that scale with the freshwater input by arctic rivers. (Half as important PI) -
voosen.me
My latest looks at an audacious new geoengineering proposal: Damming the Bering Strait to save the Atlantic's overturning circulation from collapse.

It would bring all the ecological, social, and political problems -- and it could cause the collapse it's trying to forestall. (Or not.)
Could a giant dam save the Atlantic currents that keep Europe warm?
Geoengineering scheme that would block the Bering Strait could kill the ocean circulation it’s meant to protect, researchers warn
www.science.org
voosen.me
Yup. (And while I'm not well-sourced on the military, I can only imagine what the Navy would think about it )
Reposted by Paul Voosen
arcticdatactr.bsky.social
The Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS) put together an anonymous survey to better understand the challenges faced by Arctic researchers under the current U.S. landscape to determine how to best support researchers. Complete the survey here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Survey on Recent Policies Impacting U.S. Arctic Research
The Arctic research community is experiencing significant impacts from recent U.S. policy actions, affecting funding, careers, international collaboration, and long-term U.S. Arctic research capacity....
docs.google.com
voosen.me
Note also: it's a very open question if AMOC would ever collapse, rather than gradually weaken.

And as always with geoengineering, the first best answer is to not do this -- and curb CO2 emissions instead.
voosen.me
My latest looks at an audacious new geoengineering proposal: Damming the Bering Strait to save the Atlantic's overturning circulation from collapse.

It would bring all the ecological, social, and political problems -- and it could cause the collapse it's trying to forestall. (Or not.)
Could a giant dam save the Atlantic currents that keep Europe warm?
Geoengineering scheme that would block the Bering Strait could kill the ocean circulation it’s meant to protect, researchers warn
www.science.org
voosen.me
I'm not a scientist and didn't any interviews on this, which is the terrain I'm more comfortable on, so take it all with a grain of salt and I'd be happy to have anyone correct me.
voosen.me
It's a big big scientific question whether TWS will recover back to the levels seen before the 15/16 El Nino or whether the decline is tied to temperature rise since then and there's no going back -- and whether that 10% contribution to SLR will therefore grow.
voosen.me
For example, this pub late last year led by the GRACE/FO hydro guru Matthew Rodell found that 20-year decline in TWS was dominated by Asia, "largely driven by drought and exacerbated by human extraction of groundwater."
voosen.me
The caveat to the study is that GRACE can't partition how much of the drying/wetting trend is GW pumping vs other factors. That's done through hydrological modeling. That doesn't mean its wrong--GW extraction is *definitely* part of it! But I'd be more cautious in how you use it.
voosen.me
Sorry, was on deadline. Trying to separate the importance of drying vs wetting regions for a global phenomenon (sea level rise) seems bound to confuse. The non-glaciated continents contribute ~%10 to annual SLR, less than the glaciers and GIS/AIS individually.
Reposted by Paul Voosen
daralind.bsky.social
This is incredible work.

In a just world it would win some major reporting awards. I’m saying that now bc I don’t think it will. There’s a particular kind of scoop you only get by being a really effing good beat reporter for a long time who sources trust. Investigative reporting doesn’t prize that.
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
🚨EXCLUSIVE:

Federal judges tell NBC News the Supreme Court has got to do a better job of explaining emergency rulings, with frequent decisions in favor of Trump at least appearing to validate harsh criticism of the judiciary at a time of rising threats:

www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...
In rare interviews, federal judges criticize Supreme Court's handling of Trump cases
Ten judges tell NBC News the Supreme Court needs to explain its rulings better, with some urging Chief Justice John Roberts to do more to defend the judiciary against external criticism.
www.nbcnews.com
voosen.me
Brown is the dryer areas and blue is the mostly counteracting wetter areas. Red is the melting glaciers. There's nothing to counter that.

Groundwater pumping is totally an important issue! But this framing seems a little problematic.
voosen.me
A lot of people are being misled by that paper. They separate the continents into areas getting dryer or wetter -- but then only emphasize the dry while leaving out how the wetter areas are subtracting from SLR.

Look at this graphic from it.
Bar chart showing positive red and brown bars and a negative blue bar.