2001 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| SATELLITES SHED LIGHT ON A WARMING WORLD
| G01-074 | 12/04/01 | 00:11:28 | Researchers using data from satellites and weather stations around the world have found that the air temperature near the Earth's surface has warmed by 1 degree F(0.6)C) globally, on average, over the last century, and they cite human influence as at least a partial cause.
Although global warming has been determined by previous researchers, James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, NY, and Mark Imhoff of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, along with five other researchers are making a special effort to minimize any distortion of the record by heat island effects. It is recognized that recorded temperatures at many weather stations are warmer than they should be because of human developments around the station. Hansen and Imhoff used satellite images of nighttime lights to identify stations where urbanization was most likely to contaminate the weather records.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): Global Nightlights - U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellites measure the brightness of nighttime lights on the Earth. NASA researchers used these images of nighttime lights to determine where urbanization was most likely to effect weather records. Weather stations were classified as urban, near-urban or rural depending on the brightness around them and their records adjusted to account for human influence.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (2): U.S.A. Lights - The bustling U.S. East Coast is ablaze in nighttime light, with its cities growing closer and closer together. As the asphalt jungle expands, concrete and buildings replace plants and trees that work as natural air-conditioners. As the sun beats down during the day, these man-made marvels trap heat. They continue to radiate this heat at night, keeping the city hotter longer and falsely affecting temperature readings.
Courtesy:NASA
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| ITEM (3): European Lights - Dr. James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, NY expects 2001 to be the second warmest year in the 150-year instrumental record. "The rate of warming of the past 35 years is unusually rapid and almost surely is due, at least in part, to the continuing increases of human-made greenhouse gases," Hansen said. Europe, like America, is a hotbed of nighttime lights, signaling the presence of heat-emitting cities and human activity.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (4): 1998: Hottest Year on Record - Global surface temperatures in 1998 set a new record for the period of instrumental measurements, reported researchers a the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, who analyzed data collected from several thousand meteorological stations around the world. This visualization shows surface temperature anomalies from 1950 - November 1998. The 1998 warmth was associated partly with a strong El Nino that warmed the air over the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean in the first half of the year and, in turn, affected weather around the world. Red and yellow colors indicate warmer than normal conditions, and blue colors indicate colder than normal conditions.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (5): Global Temperature - The largest temperature anomalies in 1998 occurred in North America in a pattern that commonly occurs in El Nino years. This visualization shows surface temperature anomalies from 1950 through November 1998. Scientists used data from rural stations to correct urban influence on reported temperatures. Red and yellow colors indicate warmer than normal conditions and blue indicates cooler than normal.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (6): Urban Heat Island - This fly-by of Atlanta, GA, courtesy of the LANDSAT spacecraft, shows the city growth in this lush green area. This urban oasis sucks up so much heat from the sun that it creates it's own weather patterns. Trees and plant growth that provide shade and cool the air through evaporation have been covered over, keeping the city hotter for longer periods of time.
Courtesy: NASA
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