Earth Science Gallery
2002 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES
Tape Title
Record ID
Date Produced
TRT:
Synopsis
TOP 10 EARTH EVENTS SEEN BY SEAWIFS (5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY) G02-061 7/31/02 00:17:52
Right now, almost half the oxygen you breathe is produced by tiny single-celled sea plants called phytoplankton. With the launch of the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) five years ago on board the Orbview 2 satellite, scientists have a new tool for studying how these plants interact with the world. Their discoveries are revolutionizing our understanding of our planet.
TAPE CONTENTS:
ITEM (1): Pulse of The Planet (G01-023) - If the Earth had a heartbeat, it's pulse has just been taken. Using fives years of continual data from an orbiting instrument called SeaWiFS, NASA scientists have amassed a first look at how carbon moves through the biosphere. Carbon is one of the most essential elements for life, and experts say that this research is a major step in the effort to monitor overall planetary health, from climate change to the rhythms of life in oceans and on land. This video highlights the most remarkable and graceful participants in this dance of life.
Credit: NASA/ORBIMAGE
ITEM (2): North Atlantic Bloom (G02-023) - Every spring phytoplankton spreads across the North Atlantic, like flowers spreading across open meadows. These explosive growths of phytoplankton are called "blooms" and the North Atlantic has one of the largest regular blooms in the world. How big is it? In this visualization the area covered in green is larger than the Amazon rainforest in South America. It's so large that zooplankton -- microscopic animals in the sea and the next link on the food chain--can't eat it all.
Credit: NASA/ORBIMAGE
ITEM (3): Explosion in The Galapagos
(G01-023) - This sequence shows an explosion of phytoplankton around the Galapagos Islands, signaling the beginning of a La Nina. Cold, nutrient-rich waters from the ocean's depths replaced the warm El Nino waters that had choked off the phytoplankton's food. This color-enhanced image documents plankton concentrations during May 9-24, 1998, and shows life returning in remarkable abundance. High phytoplankton concentrations are shown in red.
Credit: NASA/ORBIMAGE
ITEM (4): Rebound From El Nino
(G01-023) - The bloom associated with the 1997 to 1998 El Nino to La Nina transition event splashed across the Pacific Ocean like pigment thrown across empty canvas. Jetting from west to east for about 10,000 km, the explosive, yet short-lived growth spurt coincided with significant rising of cold, nutrient-rich waters brought about by La Nina. During the powerful 1997 El Nino event, SeaWiFS recorded little or no significant growth of phytoplankton in the equatorial Pacific.
Credits: NASA/ORBIMAGE
ITEM (5): Harmful Algae Bloom (HAB) - Red tide is phytoplankton's opposite number. On March 28, 2001, scientists at NASA released satellite pictures of a cloud of algae that was blamed for killing hundreds of tons salmon in the Atlantic. The harmful red tide algae bloom was first detected on March 19, 2001. The first image is a true-color shot of the area; the second image is color-enhanced, where the red indicates high concentrations of the poisonous chattonella algae along with phytoplankton.
Credits: NASA/ORBIMAGE
ITEM (6): Sahara Dust Reaches The U.S. - Dust from the annual Sahara sand storms the size of Spain reaches all the way to Florida. Scientists speculate that these dust storms may be linked to red tides in the Gulf. Eating shellfish poisoned by red tides can lead to paralysis and memory problems.
Credits: NASA /ORBIMAGE
ITEM (7): Amazon River Outlet Gives Life
(G01-023) - After a 4000-mile journey through South America, the outflow from the Amazon River gives life to phytoplankton. The sea plants thrive on the nutrients provided by the river. Along the Eastern side of South America, a bright red tail waves against the largely blue-green background of surrounding Atlantic Ocean. That's the signature of intense photosynthesis. Billions of phytoplankton making their home in those currents, feeding off carbon saturated foodstuffs and turning sunlight into energy for life.
Credits: NASA /ORBIMAGE
ITEM (8): Black Water Event - When a slimy black gelatinous mass swept through Florida Bay in early 2002 threatening coral and marine life, SeaWiFS captured the scene from above. Images taken February 4, 2002, at the height of the black water event show different colors of water in Florida Bay. Scientists have linked the black water to a large algae bloom fed by land run-off. The development, growth and decline of the event can be seen in the images taken January 9, February 4 and March 28, 2002.
Credits: NASA /ORBIMAGE
ITEM (9): Whiting Event - NASA's SeaWiFS captured a mysterious flush of color spreading across Lake Michigan summer 2001 (July, August, September, 2001), probably caused by elevated levels of calcium carbonate (chalk) sediment. For most of the year the calcium carbonate remains dissolved in the cold water, but as the lake warms, the calcium carbonate precipitates out of the water, forming clouds of very small solid particles that from above appear as bright swirls. Lake Erie is known for its white sediment, but this ghostly appearance in Lake Michigan is unusual. A whiting event is caused when high concentrations of calcium carbonate lead to the formation of chalky white clouds of the material underwater, which "rain" calcium carbonate on the lake bottom.
Credits: NASA /ORBIMAGE
ITEM (10): Poster Child, Falkland Islands - This picture showing a region near the Falkland Islands is one of the most colorful portraits of the ocean with a variety of deep blues, aqua and greens.
Credits: NASA /ORBIMAGE
ITEM (11): Bering Sea - One of the first images returned by the SeaWiFS instrument was of a bright blue light emanating from the Bering Sea. It was a persistent and widespread bloom of coccolithophorid. This type of bloom is usually short-lived, but the bloom in the Bering Sea, seen the summer of 1997, persisted into October. It reappeared the following spring and summer. This phenomenon indicated that significant changes were occurring in the Bering Sea -- changes that were related to larger alterations in the Pacific Ocean and the global climate.
Credits: NASA/ORBIMAGE
ITEM (12): Lions in The North Atlantic - From space, this phytoplankton looks like a bright blue tiger. Found off the coast of Newfoundland, scientists speculate it's a coccolithophore bloom.
Credits: NASA /ORBIMAGE
ITEM (13): Launch of SeaWiFS (G98-042)
(G01-023) - SeaWiFS was launched into space August 1, 1997, on board the Orbview 2 satellite. The satellite was aboard a Pegasus rocket that was released from an airplane at 40,000 feet, and took the satellite to its initial, parking orbit at 278 kilometers altitude. Through a series of rocket firings, the satellite's orbit was slowly raised to its operational altitude of 705 kilometers above the Earth. SeaWiFS is a low-cost mission compared to other Earth observing instruments. In scientific terms, however, this little instrument has proved to be one of NASA's star performers, with it's highly focused mission parameters netting huge scientific returns for researchers studying a wide variety of questions.
Credits: NASA /ORBIMAGE
ITEM (14): Carbon's Movement Through The Biosphere (G01-023) - By monitoring the color of reflected light via satellite, in this case. SeaWiFS, scientists can determine how successfully plant life is photosynthesizing. A measurement of photosynthesis is essentially a measurement of successful growth, and growth means successful use of ambient carbon. Phytoplankton currently accounts for about half of the Earth's carbon sink, a process whereby the ocean plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air for growth; this may reduce. The absorption of carbon dioxide by phytoplankton plays a mitigating role in unrestrained global warming.
Credit: NASA
ITEM (15): Think Small: Phytoplankton and The Carbon Cycle's Foundation (G01-023) - Phytoplankton, tiny, single celled plant organisms, form the root of the oceanic food chain. For years, researchers have only been able to study phytoplankton in discrete areas and synthesize a variety of suppositions about how it interacts with the natural world. A global look at these miniscule plants has not been possible, until now.
Credit: NASA
ITEM (16): Deep Water Feast: Upwellings Bring Nutrients to The Surface(G01-023) - Large phytoplankton blooms tend to coincide with natural phenomena that drive cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface. The process is called upwelling. Here's what's happening: winds coming off principal land masses push surface layers of water away from the shore. Into the resulting wind-driven void deeper water underneath the surface layers rushes in toward the coast,
bringing with it nutrients for life to bloom. It's different on the equator. There, water currents on either side of the hemispheric dividing line are generally moving in opposite directions -- due to planetary rotation and the Coriolis effect. As those currents rush past each other they "peel back" the surface of the ocean, creating a void for deeper water to rush into and take its place.
Credit: NASA
ITEM (17): Interview Excerpts With Gene Feldman, SeaWiFS Project Manager(G01-023)
Credit: NASA
[Pulse of the Planet Movie]
[North Atlantic Bloom Movie]
[Explosion in the Galapagos Movie]
[Rebound From El Nino Movie]
[Harmful Algae Bloom Movie]
[Sahara Dust Movie]
[Amazon River Movie]
[Black Water Movie]
[Whiting Event Movie]
[Carbon Cycle Movie]
[Phytoplankton Movie]
[Upwelling Movie]
NOTE: The material advertised on this page is a "Video File" and is strictly recommended for the media and production companies. This is NOT a finished production but does contain some narration.
[HOME]
[Return to the Earth Science Catalog]
[How to order videotapes]
Earth Science Gallery
2002 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: | Synopsis |
| TOP 10 EARTH EVENTS SEEN BY SEAWIFS (5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY) | G02-061 | 7/31/02 | 00:17:52 | Right now, almost half the oxygen you breathe is produced by tiny single-celled sea plants called phytoplankton. With the launch of the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) five years ago on board the Orbview 2 satellite, scientists have a new tool for studying how these plants interact with the world. Their discoveries are revolutionizing our understanding of our planet. |
TAPE CONTENTS: |
||||
| ITEM (1): Pulse of The Planet (G01-023) - If the Earth had a heartbeat, it's pulse has just been taken. Using fives years of continual data from an orbiting instrument called SeaWiFS, NASA scientists have amassed a first look at how carbon moves through the biosphere. Carbon is one of the most essential elements for life, and experts say that this research is a major step in the effort to monitor overall planetary health, from climate change to the rhythms of life in oceans and on land. This video highlights the most remarkable and graceful participants in this dance of life. Credit: NASA/ORBIMAGE | ||||
| ITEM (2): North Atlantic Bloom (G02-023) - Every spring phytoplankton spreads across the North Atlantic, like flowers spreading across open meadows. These explosive growths of phytoplankton are called "blooms" and the North Atlantic has one of the largest regular blooms in the world. How big is it? In this visualization the area covered in green is larger than the Amazon rainforest in South America. It's so large that zooplankton -- microscopic animals in the sea and the next link on the food chain--can't eat it all. Credit: NASA/ORBIMAGE | ||||
| ITEM (3): Explosion in The Galapagos (G01-023) - This sequence shows an explosion of phytoplankton around the Galapagos Islands, signaling the beginning of a La Nina. Cold, nutrient-rich waters from the ocean's depths replaced the warm El Nino waters that had choked off the phytoplankton's food. This color-enhanced image documents plankton concentrations during May 9-24, 1998, and shows life returning in remarkable abundance. High phytoplankton concentrations are shown in red. Credit: NASA/ORBIMAGE | ||||
| ITEM (4): Rebound From El Nino (G01-023) - The bloom associated with the 1997 to 1998 El Nino to La Nina transition event splashed across the Pacific Ocean like pigment thrown across empty canvas. Jetting from west to east for about 10,000 km, the explosive, yet short-lived growth spurt coincided with significant rising of cold, nutrient-rich waters brought about by La Nina. During the powerful 1997 El Nino event, SeaWiFS recorded little or no significant growth of phytoplankton in the equatorial Pacific. Credits: NASA/ORBIMAGE | ||||
| ITEM (5): Harmful Algae Bloom (HAB) - Red tide is phytoplankton's opposite number. On March 28, 2001, scientists at NASA released satellite pictures of a cloud of algae that was blamed for killing hundreds of tons salmon in the Atlantic. The harmful red tide algae bloom was first detected on March 19, 2001. The first image is a true-color shot of the area; the second image is color-enhanced, where the red indicates high concentrations of the poisonous chattonella algae along with phytoplankton. Credits: NASA/ORBIMAGE | ||||
| ITEM (6): Sahara Dust Reaches The U.S. - Dust from the annual Sahara sand storms the size of Spain reaches all the way to Florida. Scientists speculate that these dust storms may be linked to red tides in the Gulf. Eating shellfish poisoned by red tides can lead to paralysis and memory problems. Credits: NASA /ORBIMAGE | ||||
| ITEM (7): Amazon River Outlet Gives Life (G01-023) - After a 4000-mile journey through South America, the outflow from the Amazon River gives life to phytoplankton. The sea plants thrive on the nutrients provided by the river. Along the Eastern side of South America, a bright red tail waves against the largely blue-green background of surrounding Atlantic Ocean. That's the signature of intense photosynthesis. Billions of phytoplankton making their home in those currents, feeding off carbon saturated foodstuffs and turning sunlight into energy for life. Credits: NASA /ORBIMAGE | ||||
| ITEM (8): Black Water Event - When a slimy black gelatinous mass swept through Florida Bay in early 2002 threatening coral and marine life, SeaWiFS captured the scene from above. Images taken February 4, 2002, at the height of the black water event show different colors of water in Florida Bay. Scientists have linked the black water to a large algae bloom fed by land run-off. The development, growth and decline of the event can be seen in the images taken January 9, February 4 and March 28, 2002. Credits: NASA /ORBIMAGE | ||||
| ITEM (9): Whiting Event - NASA's SeaWiFS captured a mysterious flush of color spreading across Lake Michigan summer 2001 (July, August, September, 2001), probably caused by elevated levels of calcium carbonate (chalk) sediment. For most of the year the calcium carbonate remains dissolved in the cold water, but as the lake warms, the calcium carbonate precipitates out of the water, forming clouds of very small solid particles that from above appear as bright swirls. Lake Erie is known for its white sediment, but this ghostly appearance in Lake Michigan is unusual. A whiting event is caused when high concentrations of calcium carbonate lead to the formation of chalky white clouds of the material underwater, which "rain" calcium carbonate on the lake bottom. Credits: NASA /ORBIMAGE | ||||
| ITEM (10): Poster Child, Falkland Islands - This picture showing a region near the Falkland Islands is one of the most colorful portraits of the ocean with a variety of deep blues, aqua and greens. Credits: NASA /ORBIMAGE | ||||
| ITEM (11): Bering Sea - One of the first images returned by the SeaWiFS instrument was of a bright blue light emanating from the Bering Sea. It was a persistent and widespread bloom of coccolithophorid. This type of bloom is usually short-lived, but the bloom in the Bering Sea, seen the summer of 1997, persisted into October. It reappeared the following spring and summer. This phenomenon indicated that significant changes were occurring in the Bering Sea -- changes that were related to larger alterations in the Pacific Ocean and the global climate. Credits: NASA/ORBIMAGE | ||||
| ITEM (12): Lions in The North Atlantic - From space, this phytoplankton looks like a bright blue tiger. Found off the coast of Newfoundland, scientists speculate it's a coccolithophore bloom. Credits: NASA /ORBIMAGE | ||||
| ITEM (13): Launch of SeaWiFS (G98-042) (G01-023) - SeaWiFS was launched into space August 1, 1997, on board the Orbview 2 satellite. The satellite was aboard a Pegasus rocket that was released from an airplane at 40,000 feet, and took the satellite to its initial, parking orbit at 278 kilometers altitude. Through a series of rocket firings, the satellite's orbit was slowly raised to its operational altitude of 705 kilometers above the Earth. SeaWiFS is a low-cost mission compared to other Earth observing instruments. In scientific terms, however, this little instrument has proved to be one of NASA's star performers, with it's highly focused mission parameters netting huge scientific returns for researchers studying a wide variety of questions. Credits: NASA /ORBIMAGE | ||||
| ITEM (14): Carbon's Movement Through The Biosphere (G01-023) - By monitoring the color of reflected light via satellite, in this case. SeaWiFS, scientists can determine how successfully plant life is photosynthesizing. A measurement of photosynthesis is essentially a measurement of successful growth, and growth means successful use of ambient carbon. Phytoplankton currently accounts for about half of the Earth's carbon sink, a process whereby the ocean plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air for growth; this may reduce. The absorption of carbon dioxide by phytoplankton plays a mitigating role in unrestrained global warming. Credit: NASA | ||||
| ITEM (15): Think Small: Phytoplankton and The Carbon Cycle's Foundation (G01-023) - Phytoplankton, tiny, single celled plant organisms, form the root of the oceanic food chain. For years, researchers have only been able to study phytoplankton in discrete areas and synthesize a variety of suppositions about how it interacts with the natural world. A global look at these miniscule plants has not been possible, until now. Credit: NASA | ||||
| ITEM (16): Deep Water Feast: Upwellings Bring Nutrients to The Surface(G01-023) - Large phytoplankton blooms tend to coincide with natural phenomena that drive cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface. The process is called upwelling. Here's what's happening: winds coming off principal land masses push surface layers of water away from the shore. Into the resulting wind-driven void deeper water underneath the surface layers rushes in toward the coast, bringing with it nutrients for life to bloom. It's different on the equator. There, water currents on either side of the hemispheric dividing line are generally moving in opposite directions -- due to planetary rotation and the Coriolis effect. As those currents rush past each other they "peel back" the surface of the ocean, creating a void for deeper water to rush into and take its place. Credit: NASA | ||||
| ITEM (17): Interview Excerpts With Gene Feldman, SeaWiFS Project Manager(G01-023) Credit: NASA | ||||
[Pulse of the Planet Movie] [North Atlantic Bloom Movie] [Explosion in the Galapagos Movie] [Rebound From El Nino Movie] [Harmful Algae Bloom Movie] [Sahara Dust Movie] [Amazon River Movie] [Black Water Movie] [Whiting Event Movie] [Carbon Cycle Movie] [Phytoplankton Movie] [Upwelling Movie]
NOTE: The material advertised on this page is a "Video File" and is strictly recommended for the media and production companies. This is NOT a finished production but does contain some narration.
[HOME] [Return to the Earth Science Catalog] [How to order videotapes]