Overview
Research at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) emphasizes a broad study of global change, which is an interdisciplinary initiative addressing natural and man-made changes in our environment that occur on various time scales — from one-time forcings such as volcanic explosions, to seasonal and annual effects such as El Niño, and on up to the millennia of ice ages — and that affect the habitability of our planet.
GISS is located at Columbia University in New York City. The institute is a laboratory in the Earth Sciences Division of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and a unit of the Columbia University Earth Institute.
Announcements
Featured Story
Earth's Energy Budget Remains Out of Balance
A new NASA study underscores the fact that greenhouse gases generated by human activity — not changes in solar activity — are the primary force driving global warming. (2012-01-30)
More Research News & Features
NASA Scientists Elected 2012 AGU Fellows
GISS's Anthony Del Genio is one of three NASA Goddard Space Flight Center scientists to be distinguished as Fellows of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in 2012.
(2012-01-30)
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NASA Finds 2011 Ninth-Warmest Year on Record
The global average surface temperature in 2011 was the ninth warmest since 1880, according to NASA scientists. This continues a trend in which nine of the 10 warmest years in the modern record have occurred since 2000.
(2012-01-19)
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Health, Food Security Benefit from Climate Change Actions
A new study by NASA highlights air pollution control measures that, if implemented, could slow the pace of global warming, improve health and boost agricultural production.
(2012-01-12)
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Ancient Dry Spells Offer Clues on Future Drought
As parts of Central America and the U.S. Southwest endure some of the worst droughts in decades, scientists have found new evidence about ancient dry spells that suggest the future could bring even more serious shortages.
(2011-12-05)
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Understanding Ice Formation in Arctic Clouds
Airborne and ground-based measurements from an International Polar Year field project were used to revisit a long-standing problem in cloud physics: what is the primary source of ice crystals in mixed-phase clouds?
(2011-11-07)
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NASA Scientist Receives Climate Communications Award
Gavin Schmidt, a climate scientist based at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City, has received the inaugural Climate Communications Prize from the American Geophysical Union.
(2011-10-24)
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Impact of Tropical Atlantic Temperatures on Rainfall
A regional climate model study examines the influence of warm ocean surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Atlantic in summer to see what an increase of a few degrees Celsius does to rainfall.
(2011-08-10)
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Recent Publications
Philandras, C.M., P.T. Nastos, J. Kapsomenakis, K.C. Douvis, G. Tselioudis, and C.S. Zerefos, 2011: Long term precipitation trends and variability within the Mediterranean region. Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 11, 3235-3250, doi:10.5194/nhess-11-3235-2011.
Spurr, R., J. Wang, J. Zeng, and M. Mishchenko, 2012: Linearized T-matrix and Mie scattering computations. J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiative. Transfer, 113, 425-439, doi:10.1016/j.jqsrt.2011.11.014.
Schmidt, G. A., J. H. Jungclaus, C. M. Ammann, E. Bard, P. Braconnot, T. J. Crowley, G. Delaygue, F. Joos, N. A. Krivova, R. Muscheler, B. L. Otto-Bliesner, J. Pongratz, D. T. Shindell, S. K. Solanki, F. Steinhilber, and L. E. A. Vieira, 2012: Climate forcing reconstructions for use in PMIP simulations of the Last Millennium (v1.1). Geosci. Model Dev., 5, 185-191, doi:10.5194/gmd-5-185-2012.
Mickley, L.J., E.M. Leibensperger, D.J. Jacob, and D. Rind, 2012: Regional warming from aerosol removal over the United States: Results from a transient 2010-2050 climate simulation. Atmos. Environ., 46, 545-553, doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.07.030.
Kurita, N., D. Noone, C. Risi, G.A. Schmidt, H. Yamada, and K. Yoneyama, 2011: Intraseasonal isotopic variation associated with the Madden-Julian Oscillation. J. Geophys. Res., 116, D24101, doi:10.1029/2010JD015209.
