2001 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID |
Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| AEROSOLS AND THE PLANET HEATING THE ATMOSPHERE,
COOLING THE SURFACE | G01-060 | 08/13/01 |
00:11:20 | Aerosol pollution produced by humans can
impact global climate as well as seasonal cycles of rainfall
according to a multi-national field experiment and NASA satellite
data. These pollutants absorb sunlight, providing a cooling effect
on the Earth's surface three times greater than the warming effect of
greenhouse gases. While the particles reduce the amount of sunlight
reaching the ground, they ultimately increase the amount of solar
energy absorbed by the atmosphere by fifty percent. Global climate
and rainfall could be significantly impacted as these human-produced
particles continue to absorb sunlight, cooling the surface while they
heat the atmosphere.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): Layers of Reflection
- Aerosols affect the climate in a large area near the
Indian Ocean as seen here by the MODIS instrument on Terra and CERES
on the TRMM spacecraft. The upper left box shows aerosols, with high
levels of pollutants depicted in white, medium in green and low
levels in blue. Albedo is the total light reflected back into space.
Atmospheric forching shows the absorption of the aerosols into the
atmosphere, with red areas experiencing high levels of absorption and
blue areas less absorption, in the lower left frame. The resulting
reduction in sunlight reaching the surface, or surface forcing, is
shown in the lower right frame.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (2): Reflection Over
Time - As seasons progress, so does the amount of sun energy
being reflected by the man-made aerosols. This visualization looks
at the reflection and absorption of sunlight during a two-month
interval, from January 8 to March 21, 2001, using data from NASA's
Moderate -resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Clouds
and Earth's Radiant Energy System (Ceres), aboard the Terra
satellite. As the year progresses, warming in the atmosphere and
cooling at the surface correspond with an increase in
pollution.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (3): Albedo: Sunlight
Lost? - Aerosols do not capture all the sunlight aimed toward
the earth. Some light is reflected by clouds back into space.
Heating of the atmosphere occurs when these pollutants absorb more
light than they reflect away. In the Indian Ocean experiment area,
man-made pollutants reflected more light back into space than pure
skies, but also absorbed twice as much radiation in the atmosphere.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (4): Aerosol: Dry Days
Ahead? - Aerosols from biomass burning and human production
not only serve to cool the Earth, but affects rainfall as well. Rain
falls freely through clear skies on the left of the following
animation, while human-made pollutants and the smoke from bio-mass
burning choke off rain on the right. Scientists know that aerosols
have a net cooling effect on the planet's surface, but are not sure
what this will mean for the long-term well being of our climate
system.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (5): Water Cycle
Changes - Scientists know that aerosol absorbs sunlight and
heats the atmosphere. This stored heat could, in the long-term, could
have drastic effects on our water cycle, affecting rainfall and
evaporation. NASA's Geostationary Operational Environmental
Satellites (GOES) caught this global image of water vapor..
Courtesy: NASA/NOAA
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| ITEM (6): Aerosol And
Africa - Fires raged in southern Africa in September 2000,
resulting in large amounts of aerosols covering the continent.
NASA's Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS), aboard the Earth
Probe spacecraft, observed these aerosols which allow up to ten
percent less sunlight to reach the surface of the Earth, resulting in
cooler ground temperatures. Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (7): Mexican
Fires - NASA's Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) shows
that aerosol does not only affect the climate where it is initially
released. Smoke and aerosols from the 1998 Mexican fires drifted
into the United States as far away as Florida and out over the
Pacific Ocean over nearly a one month period.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (8): Sunlight
Reflectivity Over Time - NASA's Clouds and Earth's Radiant
Energy System (CERES) instrument provides this global picture of an
entire year's sunlight reflectivity from March 2000-May 2001 data.
Areas of white show where the most sunlight is reflected into space,
green areas reflect less, and blue areas have the least reflectivity.
Clear areas over the oceans absorb the most sunlight. CERES is
housed on the TERRA and TRMM spacecraft. Courtesy:
NASA
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| ITEM (9): Aerosol
B-Roll - Man-made pollution and biomass burning are two of
the main sources of aerosols that affect global climate. Scientists
are not sure what the long-term effects of surface cooling due to
aerosols may be, but they do know the Earth's surface is getting
cooler.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (10): CERES
Instrument - NASA's Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy
Systems (CERES), aboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
(TRMM) and Terra satellites, measure reflected sunlight and energy
from Earth's surface and atmosphere. CERES data from TRMM, along
with aerosol data from NASA's Moderate -resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS), provided data for this project along the
Indian Ocean.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (11): TRMM
Spacecraft - Launched in 1997 as a joint project between
NASA and NASDA, the the National Space Development Agency of Japan,
NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) provides scientists
twenty-four hour rainfall and climate data.
Courtesy: NASA/NASDA
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| ITEM (12): TERRA
Spacecraft - NASA's Terra spacecraft carries five
instruments that allow scientists to get a better picture of our
planet from space. Terra travels from pole to pole, passing the
equator at the same local time every morning when the view of the
Earth's surface is typically the clearest.
Courtesy: NASA
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Earth Science Gallery