2002 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| NASA PARTNERS WITH VOLVO OCEAN ADVENTURE IN A RACE TO INCREASE OCEAN AWARENESS | G02-019 | 4/10/02 | 00:12:21 | NASA is teaming with the Volvo Ocean Adventure, the educational component of the international Volvo Ocean Race, to teach schoolchildren and adults about oceanography. The eight 60-foot sailboats participating in the Volvo Ocean Race are currently in Baltimore, as part of their 11-day Chesapeake area stopover. The Volvo Ocean Race is the grand prix of ocean yacht racing, subjecting the sailboats and their crews to some of the planet's most grueling seas, including the southern ocean, as they make their circumnavigation. NASA's SeaWiFS Project has been supporting the Volvo Ocean Adventure by providing near real-time satellite data of the ocean regions being traversed by the race boats. Each yacht is equipped with an instrument package to measure sea surface temperature and ocean color. This data is transmitted several times a day to the Southampton Oceanography Centre in England and transmitted to the SeaWiFs Project where it is combined with the recent SeaWiFS satellite data. The combined information is then posted on the Volvo Ocean Adventure website.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): Studying The Ocean Takes Local And Global Effort - In the past, the wild seas have been studied from buoys, platforms, ships, space, and now from racing yachts! The Volvo Ocean Race is an international, around the world yacht race that began in England in September 2001, and will travel through 32,000 miles of the most rough and remote regions of the world's oceans. The yachts are currently in Baltimore, Maryland, and will travel to Annapolis on April 26. The restart of the race will take place off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on April 28 as the yachts head for France, Sweden, and the finish in Germany in June. Each of the yachts is equipped with an instrument package to measure sea surface temperature and ocean color, which will aid scientists in understanding Earth's complex systems.
Courtesy: Volvo Ocean Race
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| ITEM (2): Space-Eye View of Baltimore Inner Harbor Visualization - This unique view of the Baltimore region was created, by combining data from NASA's Terra and Landsat satellites, as well as data from the Space Imaging Ikonos satellite.
Courtesy: NASA
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ITEM (3): NASA Satellites Collect a Range of Data - To help scientists understand all the elements involved, NASA satellites make many different kinds of measurements to help better understand the intricate connections affecting our global climate.
a. Winds, changes in sea level, and waves
b. Water vapor and clouds
c. Hurricane Fran
d. Thunderstorm over Florida
e. Sea Surface Temperatures throughout the Seasons
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| ITEM (4): Winds Initiate Upwelling Animation - Winds drive currents, but they also initiate a process called upwelling where cold and nutrient rich waters are brought from the depths of the sea and up to the surface. The ocean is full of tiny plants called phytoplankton, which feed on these nutrients. They are the basic element of the food chain and are responsible for producing most of the oxygen that we breathe and regulate the climate on Earth. These plants are also capable of turning the water different colors and so satellites are able to capture life as it changes throughout the seasons adding more data to the big climate picture.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (5): Earth's Climate System is Driven By The Sun Animation - The sun is responsible for virtually all the energy here on Earth. More energy falls on the tropics than near the poles, yet the tropics are not getting warmer and the poles are not getting colder. Why? The atmosphere and ocean act as equal partners in moving that heat around. We feel this movement as wind and currents in the ocean. This visualization of the Sun was captured with the EIT instrument on the SOHO spacecraft.
Courtesy: NASA
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ITEM (6): Satellites Collect Data to Develop Climate Models:
a. TERRA - Observes the cycling of water, trace gases, energy, nutrients, clouds, water vapor, and small particles in the atmosphere
b. SeaWiFs Satellite - Looks at ocean color to measure phytoplankton
c. TRMM - Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
d. Quickscat - Wind Speed and Direction
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| ITEM (7): Interview Excerpts With Gene Feldman, Oceanographer, GSFC
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| ITEM (8): Interview Excerpts With Dr. Timothy Liu, Quickscat Project Manger, JPL
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| ITEM (9): Additional Stuff:
Volvo Presentation
Volvo Presentation with Titles
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Earth Science Gallery