2002 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| LOOKING FORWARD,
LOOKING BACK: EARTH SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS 2002 | G03-006 | 02/28/03 | 00:88:22 | 2002 brought anniversaries to many of NASA's Earth Science Projects. From one year reached by the Jason sea-surface measurements satellite to 30 years of Landsat taking detailed pictures of the planet's land surfaces, NASA Earth Science researchers saw the continued successes of many of their projects.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| REPORTER PACKAGE NASA's Earth Science Researchers celebrated years of successes in 2002 as many projects reached important milestones. In 1960, NASA scientists started studying the Earth from space. Our picture of Earth has improved significantly since then, and with it, our knowledge. We now better understand the interconnectedness of Earth's many systems. Air, water, land, and life all influence each other. In 1972, the Landsat program began the longest-running record of Earth's continental surfaces as seen from space -- a record unmatched in quality, detail, coverage and importance. 30 years later, the pictures from the latest version help us "zoom in" on life on the surface, at the Grand Canyon, our nation's capital, or that famous landmark in Hollywood. December 7, 2002 marked the thirtieth anniversary of another dramatically different view of Earth: in 1972, on the last Apollo moon mission, the crew captured the first fully illuminated full-disk photograph of Earth. That iconic image stays with us today as NASA's most requested Earth picture and the model for nearly every image of the entire Earth against the backdrop of space. 2002 witnessed a 10-year-old satellite still going strong. Engineers initially designed the TOPEX/Poseidon mission to map ocean surface heights for only six years. In December 2001, NASA launched JASON-1, the next generation sea-surface measuring system, and moved TOPEX/Poseidon into a new, complementary orbit. A year later, the old and new operate in tandem. The hits kept on coming: SeaWiFS turned five, still taking the "pulse of the planet" as it monitors carbon, an essential element for life. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission turned in our latest and greatest views of worldwide land to date. The next generation of satellites herald the future of the agency's Earth Science Enterprise. The Earth Observing System program launched Aqua with new technologies enabling it to "see" through clouds like never before. At the end of 2002, ICESat stood poised to become the coolest spoke in the Earth Observing wheel as it begins revolutionary surface measurements of the planet's ice. Then the newest SeaWinds instrument will monitor ocean winds from aboard Japan's Adeos 2 satellite. Besides cutting edge science, call SeaWinds NASA's contribution to surfers, helping them find the next big wave.
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TOPEX/POSEIDON TURNS 10 (JPL, AVC2002-132, 8/13/02)
On August 10, 1992, NASA and the French Space Agency launched a joint experiment to study ocean currents called TOPEX/Poseidon. Its precise radar altimeter measures sea surface topography to within 4 centimeters (less than 2 inches) over 90 percent of Earth's ice-free oceans. Designed to fly three to five years, the ten-year-old spacecraft has become the world's longest-running Earth-orbiting radar mission and still enriches oceanography and climate research.
ITEM (1): Watching For El Nino - This time series animation of sea-surface height data spans May 2001-Aug. 2002. Sea-surface heights indicate how much heat the ocean below stores that could influence planetary climate events. Since May 2001, a series of eastward- moving "Kelvin" ocean waves appeared that cross the equatorial Pacific in about two months. A sizable one arrived at the South American coast in February 2002, raising the ocean temperature by 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 deg. Fahrenheit) and triggering the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's forecast for a mild El Nino in 2002.
ITEM (2): Measuring Ocean Hills And Valleys - Variations in ocean surface height, called ocean topography, appear as hills and valleys in this simulated flight. Higher points are red and white, lower points blue and magenta. The white balls represent water flow around the highs and lows. The flight starts at the north Atlantic, home to the Gulf Stream gyre, and moves to the highest point in the western Pacific - the world's warmest water. The Indian Ocean and the cliff around Antarctica follow, where a drop in elevation of about 1 meter (3.3 feet) results from the giant circumpolar current.
ITEM (3): Monitoring Ocean Circulation - This animation illustrates the currents of the world's oceans based on 10 days of data. Simulated drifters, shown here as black arrows, indicate flow. These drifters follow the ocean currents and reveal their pathways, allowing oceanographers to visualize the workings of ocean circulation. Visible are major current systems such as the Kuroshio current south of Japan, the Gulf Stream east of the United States and the Antarctic circumpolar current. Red and white indicate high elevations; blue and magenta indicate
low points.
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SHUTTLE RADAR TOPOGRAPHY MISSION BEGINS RELEASE OF
DATA (JPL, AVC 2002-008, 1/22/02; AVC 2002-102, 7/11/02)
NASA released high-resolution topographic data of the Earth collected during the February 2000 Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, including images and 3-D animations. The digital elevation model data will help to create the world's most accurate topographic map, covering 80 percent of Earth's land mass where 95 percent of the world's population reside. The data have military and civilian applications ranging from development of better flight simulators to urban planning and disaster recovery. The mission is a cooperative project between NASA, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, and the German and Italian space agencies.
ITEM (1): Volatile Virunga - This simulated flyaround begins with an overhead view of the Virunga volcanic chain in east Africa. It uses GTOPO30 data, the best global digital elevation data available until now. It zooms in on Nyiragongo, a volcano that erupted in January 2002. The volcano is not recognizable until the picture dissolves to
shuttle radar data, and the three distinct central craters, or calderas, become clear. Then comes a flyover of the whole chain made from shuttle radar data.
ITEM (2): Before And After - These side-by-side images show the same areas, with the "before" images on the left made from the best global digital elevation data available before SRTM. The "after" images on the right use the new SRTM data.
a) Lake Balbina, Brazil
b) Kerguelen Island, southern Indian Ocean
c) Manila Bay, Philippines
ITEM (3): California Dreamin' - These simulated flyovers and images of California combine Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data and Landsat satellite images.
a) Flyover - Mt. Shasta south to San Diego
b) Image - Mt. Shasta, California's tallest volcano
c) Image - Palm Springs with golf courses
ITEM (4): River Uprising - Analysts use elevation maps to predict the effects of flooding. This shaded relief map from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data shows a 100-kilometer (62-mile) stretch of the Missouri River west of St. Louis. Green indicates low elevations, brown higher, then red and white highest. The blue line is the river
in the dark green flood plain. The simulation shows the river rising, breaking levees and inundating the surrounding plain and adjoining valleys.
ITEM (5): Radar Data And Aviation Safety - NASA plans to use data collected by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission to supply aircraft with an extensive world terrain map. This animation of a possible futuristic cockpit includes a mountainous Synthetic Vision display. Synthetic Vision Systems will use Global Positioning System signals, terrain databases and advanced sensors to give pilots a clear, electronic picture of what's outside, no matter what the weather or time of day.
ITEM (6): Shuttle Boom Deployment - The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission's 60-meter (approximately 200-foot) mast is depicted deploying from Space Shuttle Endeavour's payload bay. The X-band outboard antenna located at the end of the mast was used in conjunction with a C-band antenna in Endeavour's payload bay to create the 3-D topographic
measurements.
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| APOLLO 17 ANNIVERSARY: CELEBRATING THIRTY YEARS OF
EARTH OBSERVING (GSFC, G02-089, 12/03/02)
December 7, 2002, marked the thirtieth birthday of one of the most breathtaking photographs ever taken. On that day in 1972, NASA launched the final Apollo lunar-landing mission: Apollo 17. The legacy of Apollo 17 lives on through its crew, its discoveries, and a single photograph taken during its journey. This snapshot has become one of the most widely recognized and requested photographs of all time. It represents not only a milestone in space exploration but also a giant stepping-stone in the quest to understand and protect our home planet. Today, with innovative satellite technologies and sophisticated computer modeling, we see and understand our planet in completely new ways.
ITEM (1): Here's Looking At You, Kid - Planet Earth - look familiar? Perhaps that's because this is one of the most widely recognized and
reproduced photographic images of all time. Cruising towards the Moon at nearly 30,000 miles away from Earth, Apollo 17 found itself aligned with the Earth and the Sun, enabling the crew to take this 70 mm full-disk photograph of the planet. For the first time in an Apollo mission, the Antarctic continent was lit by the Sun and visible to the astronauts. The photograph became a symbol of environmental awareness during the 1970's, making its way onto posters, flags, and T-shirts with the slogan, "It's the only one we've got."
ITEM (2): Apollo 17: The Mission - Just after midnight on December 7, 1972, a Saturn V rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center, carrying the crew of Apollo 17. Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison "Jack" Schmitt journeyed to the moon to study its geology and to obtain the greatest number and variety of photographs of any Apollo mission thus far. To this day, Cernan and Schmitt are the last two people to have set foot on the Moon. The following clips are video and audio highlights from the Apollo17 mission.
ITEM (3): The Greatest Earth on Show - In the thirty years since Apollo 17 looked back at Earth, we have continuously increased our ability to see the planet in greater detail. The most detailed image of the entire Earth to date is the new "Blue Marble" image, created in 2002. To form the Blue Marble, NASA scientists and visualizers stitched together months of satellite observations of the land surface, oceans, sea ice, and clouds into a seamless, true-color mosaic of every square kilometer (.386 square miles) of our planet. What follows is a brand new one-minute flying tour of the spectacular Blue Marble.
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| TOP EARTH EVENTS SEEN BY SEAWIFS (5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY)
(GSFC, G02-061, 7/31/02)
Right now, tiny single-celled sea plants called phytoplankton produce almost half the oxygen you breathe. 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.
ITEM (1): Pulse Of The Planet - If the Earth has a heartbeat, SeaWiFS has just taken its pulse. Using five years of continual data from the orbiting instrument, 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.
ITEM (2): North Atlantic Bloom - Every spring, phytoplankton spread 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.
ITEM (3): Explosion In The Galapagos - 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 phytoplanktonís 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.
ITEM (4): 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.
ITEM (5): Whiting Event - SeaWiFS captured a mysterious flush of color spreading across Lake Michigan July to 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. Such a whiting event occurs reguarly in Lake Erie, but this ghostly appearance of white sediment in Lake Michigan is unusual.
ITEM (6): 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.
ITEM (7): Deep Water Feast: Nutrients On The Rise - Large blooms tend to coincide with natural phenomena that drive cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface. In a process called upwelling, winds coming off major landmasses push surface layers of water away from shore. Deeper water rushes toward the coast into the wind-driven void, bringing with it nutrients for life to bloom. It's different on the equator, where water currents on either side move in opposite directions. 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.
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| LANDSAT PAINTS A PORTRAIT OF OUR CHANGING PLANET
(GSFC, G02-059, 7/22/02)
Thanks to Landsat satellites, we now have a 30-year record of the Earth's surface. These satellites, along with documentation of our planet, provide valuable information that will help us understand and protect our home planet. No other current or planned remote-sensing system, public or private, fills the role of Landsat in global change research or in civil and commercial applications. The thirty-years of data acquired by the Landsat satellites constitutes the longest continuous record of the Earth's continental surfaces.
ITEM (1): Earth As Art - Landsat imagery is beautiful not only as useful information but also as art. In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of Landsat, NASA and the United States Geological Survey created an exhibit called "Earth as Art." The exhibit highlights images selected on the basis of aesthetic appeal. These images use the visceral avenue of art to convey the thrilling perspective of the Earth that Landsat provides to the viewer. The images, created by the USGS EROS Data Center, introduce the world to the Landsat Program administered jointly by USGS and NASA.
Images
a) Atlas Mountains, Morocco 6/22/01
b) Garden City, Kansas 9/25/00
c) Great Sandy Scars - Western Australia 8/22/00
d) Kilimanjaro, Kenya 2/21/00
e) Malaspina Glacier - Alaska 8/31/00
f) Mayn River - Siberia 10/25/00
A LEGACY OF CHANGE
Data from Landsat spacecraft show dramatic changes to the environment from natural events and human influence. By collecting images of the same areas over long stretches of time, remote- sensing enables complex trend analyses to a degree unattainable otherwise. Observing urban areas over time with Landsat imagery shows urban planners just where growth occurs. Farmers and land managers use Landsat data to increase crop yields and cut costs while reducing environmental pollution. Scientists study land surfaces and coastal regions to determine how global and regional climate change affects distinct environments.
ITEM (2): Breidamerkurjokull, Iceland - Images taken by Landsat 1 on September 22, 1973 and Landsat 7 on September 23, 2000 show the almost two kilometer (1.2 mile) recession of the Breidamerkurjˆkull over the 27-year period. You can see the creation of icebergs in the lake in front of the glacier. A closer view shows the changes over three years, August 13, 1997 (Landsat 5), to September 23, 2000 (Landsat 7). The endpoint, or terminus, of the glacier shows the most obvious change. Bare glacier ice surfaces appear bluish- white, those covered in snow bright white. Water is dark blue and land reddish.
. It's so large that zooplankton - microscopic animals in the sea and the next link on the food chain - can't eat it all.
ITEM (3): Desert Blooming: Las Vegas Growth - Las Vegas is one of the fastest- growing cities in the United States. Over a period of 27 years, a series of Landsat satellites has taken pictures of Las Vegas from space. Seen in sequence, the series vividly displays powerful forces of urban growth there. Spreading out from the center of town, we see how construction and its effects has changed the nature of the surrounding area, replacing natural features in many parts, and simply altering characteristics in others.
ITEM (4): Fifteen Years Of A Shrinking Lake - When it thrived, Lake Chad seemed to defy the vast ocean of sand directly to its north. Persistent drought dropped the lake from its position as the world's sixth-largest lake; it is now one-tenth its former size. The most dramatic decrease in the size of the lake came in the fifteen years between January 1973 and January 1987. Between 1983 and 1994, the amount of water diverted for irrigation quadrupled compared to the previous 25 years. Red denotes vegetation on the lakebed and the ripples on the
western edge of the lake denote sand dunes formed by
the wind.
ITEM (5): Mt. St. Helens Over Time - The explosion of Mt. St. Helens volcano in Washington State on May 18, 1980 sets the scene for one of Landsat's most important capabilities. As a means for archiving surface features, researchers can study how the Earth changes over time. In this sequence, pictures of the mountain taken in 1973, 1983, and 2000 show how the eruption changed the surrounding area. Notice how the north face of the mountain dramatically changed following the blast. The crater's mouth elongated, and significant ash deposits altered the down slope terrain.
ITEM (6): Continental Changes in China
A) False color sequence: Shenzen, China transforms from a regional urban center to a metropolitan powerhouse in roughly ten years. The actual outline of the southern peninsula changes, with huge structures emerging in the waters off-shore. Massive growth alters lakes and mountains in the area, adding sediment and changing borders. As construction goes up, something has to come down. Red indicates plant life, and vegetation all but disappears over the last ten years. Using data like this, researchers better understand the causes of environmental change and better monitor a region's overall health. Landsat 5 collected the data.
B) True color before and after images: These true color images, the first and last frames of the preceding animations, emphasize the scope of change tothe Shenzhen region in a period of the last ten years.
ITEM (7): Losing Forests in Bolivia
- This scene starts in space, high above South America. Zooming in, the national outlines of Bolivia come into view. By focusing on one particular region, we're able to see effects of deforestation in the equatorial forest. The sequence that follows shows two images of the Santa Cruz region of Bolivia, the first from 1984. Landsat 7 took the second in 2000. In just a few short years, intense agricultural development transformed the forest.
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| AQUA'S MODIS FIRST LIGHT BEGINS MOST COMPREHENSIVE GLOBAL EXAMINATION EVER UNDERTAKEN
(GSFC, G02-065, 8/15/02)
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) instrument, one of six tools aboard NASA's Aqua satellite, opened its Earth-view door on June 24, 2002 and took its first look at our planet. This event, called "first light," marks a milestone in Earth observation, allowing scientists to conduct the most comprehensive daily examination of our planet ever by providing two MODIS instruments on sister satellites in Earth orbit. MODIS' twin flies aboard NASA's Terra satellite, launched in December 1999. Aqua launched May 4, 2002, to study Earth with an emphasis on water.
ITEM (1): First Day in The Life Of Aqua's MODIS In its first day of operations, June 24, 2002, Aqua MODIS observed significant Earth events all over the globe. As Typhoon Chataan rapidly approached Japan, severe flooding drenched southeast Texas and a vast, thick pall of smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed most of the U.S. East Coast. MODIS collected and beamed to Earth these images in very near real-time.
a) 6/24/02 Aqua MODIS data on Earth map
b) Super Typhoon Chataan
c) Flooding in southeast Texas (Terra image before transitions to Aqua image of flooding)
d) Smoke from Canadian wildfires
ITEM (2): Smoke From Oregon Fires - Aqua MODIS image taken August 12, 2002 of smoke plumes from Oregon fires.
ITEM (3): Flames, Fumes, And Floods - NASA's Earth Science researchers watched the skies in 2002, interested in our all-encompassing atmosphere as it changes life on the surface. Fires, pollution, and extreme weather were only a few of the subjects under scrutiny for their impacts on air and in turn on the planet's climate.
Text of Reporter Package-
In 2002, the air up there held the attention of NASA's Earth Science researchers as they aimed to understand how our atmosphere interacts with water, land, and life on our planet.
One obvious result of the interaction is weather. Wild weather proved a boon for the Antarctic in 2002. The seasonal ozone 'hole' there opened as predicted, but disorganized winds in the stratosphere kept chemicals from doing too much damage to the ozone layer. The 'hole' stayed its smallest size since 1988 and even split in two.
The Arctic, however, may face rougher skies ahead. Researchers predict that the North Pole could incur a volcanic ozone 'hole' each year for several years if volcanic eruptions coincide with colder Arctic winters. Ozone-destroying compounds in volcanic smoke remain in the atmosphere for years- Mt. Pinatubo's 1991 eruption led to an Arctic ozone 'hole' two years later. Since an Arctic ozone 'hole' could stretch over populated areas, residents of the far north might face higher doses of ultraviolet radiation
normally absorbed by ozone. Scientists will keep their eyes on the plumes from Sicily's Mt. Etna and Ecuador's El Reventador, both of which erupted in late 2002.
But volcanoes couldn't be called the only smoking guns of the year. In 2002, NASA released the first global picture of Earth's annual fire cycle. Using data from satellites that detect heat, the space agency's near-daily maps will establish a yearly baseline. Then scientists can determine how fires change Earth's climate, and how climate changes in turn affect fire behavior. Thanks to these studies, researchers learned some new details about how fires affect rainfall., such as how soot from burning leads to flooding and drought.
NASA continues its quest to understand the atmosphere, launching new tools like the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder aboard the Aqua satellite. This "thermometer in the sky," captures temperature and humidity information even through cloud cover. Researchers expect to gain three-dimensional insights into weather systems that should vastly improve short-term weather prediction especially for severe weather. Wherever and whenever our atmosphere changes, NASA will keep watch.
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FIRE TOWERS IN THE SKY: NEW MAPS SHOW GLOBAL FIRE PORTRAIT OVER A YEAR
(GSFC, G02-068, 8/29/02)
New satellite maps show fire activity across the entire Earth for the past year, providing a unique picture of seasonal and yearly fire activity. A milestone in the use of satellite data, the maps are creating a long-term fire record crucial for understanding the impact of fire on life and climate. This video collection contains highlights from the new global maps and some of the most dramatic satellite pictures from the active 2002 U.S. fire season. The images, a collaboration between NASA, the University of Maryland and the USDA Forest Service, come from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Rapid Response System.
ITEM (1): Fiery Planet - Global Planet Of Fire - These Terra maps demonstrate fire behavior that would surprise most people. High-profile fires in the western United States each year draw a lot of attention, but most of the African continent south of the Sahara Desert appears to burn each year. Each year, fires that burn in Africa, Asia, and Brazil dwarf even the most significant fire season in the western United States in number and total acreage. Terra's sensors picked up about one million fires fromAugust 2001 to August 2002.
Images
a) Globe View - Feb 1, 2001 to August 20, 2002
b) b) Flat Views - August 21, 2001 to August 20, 2002
ITEM (2): The Fire Season - Regional Views These regional images show the mesmerizing patterns of fire during the course of a year on a continental scale. Each fire detected by Terra is in yellow and red.
a) United States
b) South America
c) Africa
d) Asia
e) Australia
ITEM (3): Smoke And Fire - 2002 U.S. Fire Season
- Terra images have become a regular part of the National Interagency Fire Center's firefighting toolkit. The images help the center track fires on a daily basis and allocate precious firefighting resources. The data for these images come from Terra's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument. MODIS looks through smoke to locate active fire areas (red).
a) Colorado Haymen Fire; June 8, 2002
b) Rodeo Chediski, Arizona; June 19-24, 26 and 30
ITEM (4): Fire Recovery Efforts - Forest officials use satellite images to access active fire regions and to analyze the fire's burn scar, helping them quickly plan recovery strategies to protect watersheds and reseed denuded patches of forest. On June 21, 2002, the Rodeo (left) and Chediski (right) fires in Arizona were separate. Over the weekend, the fires merged into a single 300,000+ acre blaze. This true-color scene from the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus onboard the Landsat 7 satellite shows massive quantities of smoke streaming from the fires. The second image penetrates the smoke show to active flame area. The third image shows burned areas.
ITEM (5): Tracking Smoke and Fire Pollution - Fires can create dense blankets of pollution which impact human health. Scientists track carbon monoxide generated by worldwide fires and other human activities with satellite instruments. These images show how high concentrations of carbon monoxide (red), travel across continental boundaries. The observations form a powerful new tool for identifying and quantifying pollution sources associated with fire and for observing the transport of pollution on international and global scales. Terra's Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument collected data for these images.
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SEEING DOUBLE: UNUSUAL WEATHER SPLITS 2002 ANTARCTIC OZONE 'HOLE' (GSFC, G02-076, 9/30/02)
For the first year on record, the Antarctic ozone 'hole' has split in two in September, due to
abnormally active winter weather, NASA and NOAA scientists report. In addition to the early split, the 'hole' is the smallest since 1988 and ozone amounts have not dipped as low as recent years. The split and smaller hole do not signal a recovery of the ozone layer from yearly damage due to human-produced compounds like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), but rather result from peculiar winter weather conditions in the stratosphere over Antarctica.
ITEM (1): 2002 Antarctic Ozone 'Hole' to Date - This series shows the 2002 Antarctic ozone 'hole' thin, widen, and eventually split. A warmer winter moderated the formation of stratospheric clouds necessary for ozone- depleting chemical reactions to occur. The ozone 'hole' (dark blue) averaged about 15 million square kilometers (sq. km) (6 million sq. miles) during mid- September. In 2000 and 2001, the 'hole' averaged over 24 million sq. km (9 million sq. mi.), an area three times as big as the United States. The lowest point thus far this year reached only 140 Dobson units September 9, the highest minimum since 1988. Normal readings are 275 Dobson units or more, measuring the thickness of the ozone layer by Reporting the total amount of ozone in a column above a point on Earth. The 'hole' (shown in dark blue) has ozone levels of 220 Dobson units or fewer. Data come from NASA's Earth Probe Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (EP-TOMS).
ITEM (2): 'Hole' 2002 Vs. 2001 - This image compares this year's Antarctic ozone 'hole' to the near-record-size 'hole' of 2001. Here, the hole is colored dark blue and magenta. In 2001, the ozone layer thinning over Antarctica reached 26.5 million square kilometers, larger than the size of the entire North American continent. Due to higher Antarctic winter temperatures, the 2002 'hole' seems to be about 40% smaller. This is reminiscent of the extent of thinning last seen in 1988, also due to warm temperatures and lower chlorine and bromine levels.
ITEM (3): Bucking The Trend - This series shows the maximum ozone 'hole' area for each year 1979 to 2001, excluding 1995, for which no data are available. The annual thinning of the ozone layer over Antarctica has grown steadily larger. This year's smaller, split 'hole' is an anomaly due to higher temperatures at the edge of the polar vortex. The vortex allows clouds to form in the stratosphere that are necessary for the chemical reactions that deplete ozone. NASA first collected data on Antarctic ozone in 1979 with the Nimbus 7 satellite.
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NORTHERN OZONE 'HOLE' MAY FORM AFTER LARGE VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS (ARC, AAV-1779; GSFC, G02-016, 3/04/02)
An ozone 'hole' could form over the northern polar regions after periods of high volcanic activity, according to the March 5, 2002 cover story of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A northern ozone hole could be significant because more people live in Arctic regions than near the South Pole.
ITEM (1): The Arctic Ozone 'Hole' - Blue in this sequence depicts the depleted region of ozone over the North Pole that occurred in the winter of 2000. Though ozone 'holes' appear each year over the South Pole, low levels of ozone only occasionally form over the northern polar regions during very cold winters. Scientists say the northern ozone hole may reappear for several consecutive years after a period of high volcanic activity. A northern ozone hole could be significant because more people live in Arctic regions than near the South Pole. The Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer on the Earth Probe satellite collected this data.
ITEM (2): Volcanic Plume Spreads - This computer model shows the dispersion of the volcanic plume from the Mt. Pinatubo volcano. The 1991 Pinatubo eruption was sulfur-rich, producing volcanic clouds that lasted a number of years in the stratosphere. The Pinatubo eruption widely expanded the area of ozone loss over the Arctic and Antarctic. Red indicates higher elevations and blue indicates lower elevations for the plume.
ITEM (3): Stratospheric Ozone-Destroying Clouds
- Large volcanic eruptions pump sulfur compounds into the Earth's atmosphere. This artist's concept depicts the formation of sulfuric acid clouds after an eruption which can damage the Earth's ozone near the polar regions.
ITEM (4): Sulfur Dioxide After the Eruption
- The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo blasted a huge cloud of sulfur dioxide, shown in red, into the stratosphere. This data taken from NASA's Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument shows that initial burst of sulfur dioxide and its international path in the days following the eruption, from June 16 - 30, 1991. The sulfur gas cloud dissipates as the gas turns into droplets of sulfuric acid. Both the gas and subsequent acid contributed to ozone depletion and a dust cloud that cooled the global climate.
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URBAN HEAT ISLANDS INCREASE RAINFALL AROUND CITIES (GSFC, G02-048, 06/18/02)
NASA researchers used a rainfall-measuring satellite to confirm that "urban heat-islands" create more summer rain over and downwind of major cities,. Scientists found that urban areas with high concentrations of buildings, roads and other artificial surfaces retain heat, leading to warmer surrounding temperatures and creating urban heat-islands. Increased heat may promote rising air and alter the weather around cities. Since a July 2002 United Nations study estimates that 80% of the world's population will live in cities by 2025, a better understanding of the impact of urban land use change on Earth's water cycle system is vital.
ITEM (1): Urban Rainfall Shadows - Using the world's first space-based rain radar, scientists found that average monthly rainfall rates (blue) within 35 miles downwind of cities were, on average, 28% greater than upwind regions. In some cities, the downwind area exhibited increases as high as 51%. The first image depicts the urban rain effect east of the Interstate-35 corridor in Dallas, Texas and the second shows the Atlanta/Birmingham region.
ITEM (2): Urban Rainfall Effect Animation - Cities tend to be warmer than surrounding suburbs and rural areas by one to ten degrees Fahrenheit. The added heat can destabilize and change air circulation around cities. The added heat creates wind circulations and rising air that can produce clouds or enhance existing ones, largely during the warmer months. Under the right conditions, these clouds evolve into rain-producers or storms. Researchers suspect that converging air due to surfaces of varying heights, such as buildings, also promotes rising air that produces clouds and rainfall.
ITEM (3): Urban Heat Islands - Using a specially-outfitted Learjet, NASA researchers collected thermal data about the Atlanta metro area, aligning aircraft data from May 11-12, 1997 with a Landsat 5 satellite image. The "natural" color image immediately transitions to a daytime temperature reading, with white indicating highest temperatures, red lower, and blue lowest. Daytime air temperatures reached only 80 degrees Fahrenheit, but surface temperatures rose to 118. Buildings cast shadows across pavement and walls of surrounding structures, cooling small areas. The data fades to a nighttime reading with the same color scale - heat remains locked in the developed areas; air temperatures cooled to 50 degrees, but surfaces remained near 75.
ITEM (4): Urban Heat Island - Cloud Formation
- This animation shows the outlines of Atlanta and Hartsfield Airport; the tiny dot in the lower left corner of town is the downtown skyline. Observed by a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), clouds form over the city and pick up strength and size as they develop, moving east. As the city holds onto heat at night, the heat sink creates a low-pressure system, with hot air rising and cooler surrounding air rushing in to replace it. That cooler air condenses and forms thunderclouds. Evidence suggests the phenomenon may be more intense over heavily urbanized areas than in undeveloped places. Red shows the heaviest concentration of precipitation with thick, high clouds; green shows less intense storm areas, and white shows dense surrounding clouds.
ITEM (5): Urban Growth Fuels Heat Islands - In the past 17 years, urban growth in Atlanta has spread and blossomed. Large patches of cropland gave way to commercial and residential developments, and industrialization along some of the main roadways has dramatically altered the face of Georgia's largest city. In this visualization, red and orange points indicate areas of highest urban growth. Researchers assembled data from Landsat satellites in the early 70's to the late 90's and created plots of growth over time, providing valuable context for more detailed studies of air quality, climate changes, and urban planning.
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RAIN REACTION
Rain, be it gentle or punishing, impacted lives, crops, oceans, lands, and air in 2002. NASA's Earth Scientists kept their eyes on these influences, aiming to understand the interactions and predict short- and long-term changes from rain.
Text of Reporter Package - Whatever the weather, NASA's paying close attention. While El Nino and La Nina made themselves scarce in 2002, their legacy of extreme weather remained. The space agency's Earth scientists tracked droughts and floods, hurricanes and heavy rains, lost lives and billion-dollar damage. Their goal: decipher causes of extreme weather, including rainfall's role in the planet's changing climate.
In 2002, Earth scientists linked two factors to increased rain: cities and soot. Urban areas concentrate artificial surfaces and soot into heat-absorbing centers. Trapped heat alters regional air currents over cities. Warm air rises over cities, increasing clouds and rainfall, both locally and downwind. As a result, cold air moves in to upwind areas, inhibiting rainfall there, often to the point of drought.
Why is this important? For one thing, changes in rainfall patterns impact plant growth. Scientists know droughts deprive plants of necessary water. But less obviously, too much rain hurts crops as well. Heavy rains saturate soil, interfering with root growth, leading to crop losses. Within 30 years, U.S. agricultural losses from extreme rain could double to $3 billion annually if current
rainfall predictions prove accurate.
Fewer plants could worsen the problem of excess rain, starting a vicious cycle. As plants grow, they take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. Fewer plants mean more carbon dioxide in the
air. Carbon dioxide, like soot, absorbs the Sun's heat and causes even more rain.
But NASA scientists have been developing tools to foresee these climatic events. The El Nino Prediction Index tracks changes in rainfall patterns in the Indian Ocean, aiming to give forecasters
months of notice for big events. Coupled with new knowledge of how precipitation impacts climate, policy makers can better plan water usage and crop planting. Armed with information, NASA watches the
rain for El Nino's imminent return.
CLIMATE CHANGE BRINGS EXTREME RAIN AND CROP LOSSES (GSFC, G02-080, 10/28/02)
In the U.S. Corn Belt, when it does rain, it often pours. Crops drown. Soggy fields delay harvests and plantings and increase the risks of plant diseases and insect infestation. Scientists tracking rainfall found that extreme rainfall events increased in the U.S. over the last century. A new study using climate and crop models predicts the frequency of extreme rain events may continue to increase. Scientists foresee doubling of crop damage due to excess soil moisture in US Corn Belt states over the next 30 years. This is the first climate impact study that takes a close look at how soil moisture impacts crop production.
ITEM (1): Wet Soil More Damaging Than Floods - Heavy rains damage crops because saturated soils hamper root growth, according to new NASA computer models. Floods cause localized and immediate damage, whereas excess soil moisture from heavy rain causes more widespread damage. The computer simulated corn growth in nine US Corn Belt states, 85 percent of total US corn production. The model limited a plant's ability to grow roots after three consecutive days of intense rain. Images show projected rainfall increases (blue) and decreases (red).
a) Projections for 2020, 2050 and 2080, assuming high population and greenhouse emissions growth rates.
b) Projections assuming moderate growth rates.
ITEM (2): Landsat 1993 Midwest Floods - Extreme rain events like the "once-in- a-hundred-years" 1993 Midwest floods may become more frequent. About 70 percent of total crop losses in upland areas resulted from saturated soils from sustained heavy rains according to insurance data (Rain and Hail Insurance Service, historic database). Crop losses totaled $6 billion to $8 billion. Images from Landsat.
a) Mississippi River animation before and during flooding
b) Junction of the Mississippi, Illinois, and Missouri rivers - Aug. 1991 and Aug. 1993 (near peak flooding)
c) Missouri River near Gasconade, MO - Sept. 1992 and Sept. 1993
ITEM (3): B-Roll of 1993 Flooding of the Mississippi
River - The Army Corps of Engineers recorded this aerial helicopter video of the 1993 Mississippi River Floods.
ITEM (4): Studying the Rain
- A complete accounting of the world's total rainfall has long been a major goal of climate researchers. Rain acts as the atmosphere's fundamental engine for heat exchange; every time a raindrop falls, the atmosphere gets churned up and latent heat flows back into the total climate system. As rainfall is the primary driving force of heat in the atmosphere and two-thirds of all rain falls in the tropics, these measurements improve our understanding of overall climate. This rendering of satellite data shows a monthly global rain map from Jan. 1979 to Jan. 2001, combining 22 years of satellite data and ground-based sources.
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SOOT IS SINGLED OUT FROM THE 'ASIAN BROWN CLOUD' FOR INTENSIFYING FLOODS AND DROUGHTS IN CHINA AND INDIA
(GSFC, G02-075, 9/26/02)
Research published in the September 27, 2002 issue of Science magazine highlights the 'Asian Brown Cloud' and singles out soot for intensifying floods and droughts in China and India. Industrial pollution, traffic, outdoor fires and household burning of coal and biomass fuels produce soot, also called black carbon, as a byproduct of low-temperature burning. Soot absorbs the Sun's energy, heating the air. The heated air rises and makes the atmosphere unstable. Clouds begin to form, bringing rain to heavily polluted regions. At the same time, air in neighboring regions sinks to compensate. Since clouds can no longer form, these regions dry out to the point of drought.
ITEM (1): The 'Asian Brown Cloud' Alters Rainfall in
China And India - Soot, a major ingredient of the "Asian Brown Cloud," alters the regional climate, intensifying droughts, dust storms and floods in China and India. The "Asian Brown Cloud," a cocktail of soot, aerosols and many other pollutants, extends over large portions of China and India. Images taken by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) onboard the Orbview 2 satellite.
a) China Haze - January 11, 2002
b) b) Bay of Bengal - March 23, 1999
ITEM (2): Soot Changes Ground Temperatures - Soot blocks the Sun's energy, cooling Earth's surfaces. This image combines data from the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) climate computer model and aerosol data from 46 ground stations in China. It shows black carbon's effect in lowering surface temperatures during the summer (June - August). This map shows cooling (blue) of about 1 or 2 degrees Fahrenheit over China and warming temperatures in the rest of the world (yellow). As soot heats the air over China, some of this warm air gets transported to other regions of the world and warms those surfaces.
ITEM (3): Soot Intensifies Flooding And Droughts - Black carbon aerosols soak up the Sun's rays, heating up the atmosphere in polluted areas. Air rises and creates rain clouds overhead. To balance the rising air, in neighboring regions, air sinks and dries the land. When air sinks, clouds and rain cannot form, creating dry conditions.This image, derived from the GISS climate computer model and aerosol data from 46 ground stations in China, shows how black carbon can change rainfall patterns over the northern and southern regions of China during the summer. Blue regions show where the simulations predict rainfall increases of up to 10 inches. Brown regions see decreases in rainfall.
ITEM (4): Sunblock Reduces Crop Yields - Soot can block the Sun's energy from the ground and reduce crop yields. This image, derived from the NASA GISS climate computer model, and aerosol data from 46 ground stations in China, shows the decrease in solar energy reaching the ground (in black) during the summer months (June, July and August). Yellow shows where the sunlight has increased. White represents no change.
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NASA LOOKS A HURRICANE'S TEMPERATURE IN THE EYE (GSFC, G02-031, 4/30/02)
The eye of a hurricane may be the calm of the storm, but it also houses the heat that fuels the strength of its fury. NASA researchers improved hurricane forecasting by taking the temperature of the eye of Hurricane Erin in 2001. They found that the warmest portion around a hurricane's eye corresponds with falling pressure, causing winds to spiral inward at destructive speeds. The new data help scientists understand the inner workings of hurricanes at very high altitudes, where the secrets to storm intensity spin to life.
ITEM (1): Hurricane Erin "Cat Scan" - Here is the first look at the three- dimensional distribution of temperatures at the eye of a hurricane. Here, we first see Erin's rainfall distribution, with red being the area of highest activity and blue lowest. The image then fades to clouds and the hurricane's heat engine appears, shaded in red. The warm, humid, rising air gives the hurricane its power. The rising air draws in air from the surface to take its place, creating intense winds.
ITEM (2): Storm Thermometers - Researchers dropped sensors called 'dropsondes' into Hurricane Erin from NASA ER-2 aircraft to measure temperature, pressure, moisture, and wind readings throughout different locations in the hurricane. Variations in temperatures within a hurricane provide clues about the storms intensity. For example, strong storms are characterized by a warm center marked by a large temperature contrast compared to the rest of the hurricane.
ITEM (3): Hurricane Erin - Hurricane Erin was the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2001 season, heating up on September 8. A category-three hurricane, it brushed Bermuda, moved east and then northeast before dissipating off the Newfoundland coast. The Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra spacecraft saw it on September 9, 2001.
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POLLUTION'S EFFECT ON STORMY SKIES (GSFC, G02-032, 5/01/02)
Pollution may adversely affect thunderstorms that typically deliver much-needed rain during spring and summer, says one scientist. Using instruments like the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) and other NASA spacecraft, a researcher from Yale University found that pollutant aerosols impair the formation of large cumulonimbus clouds and may alter their subsequent ability to produce rain.
ITEM (1): A Cog In The Cloud Process - Tiny airborne particles of pollution affect storm clouds from their very beginnings. Water molecules cling to particles that dissolve easily, such as sea salt, to start cloud formation. But pollution- based aerosols shrink ice crystals and increase their number in thunderclouds. Smaller crystals don't fall out of clouds as rain, evaporating instead. In areas of South America that burn biomass, the diameter of ice crystals shrinks as much as 20%. Smaller ice crystals in clouds also increase water vapor in the upper atmosphere, which can destroy ozone. In this animation, the left side shows natural cloud formation, the right shows aerosols from biomass burning hindering development of a cloud.
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| OUR CHANGING PLANET
How Clouds Shield And Insulate The Earth - NASA Earth Science researchers studied all aspects of Earth's interconnected systems in 2002. The interplay of the planet's geosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere directed their efforts.
REMOTE SENSING TRACKS WEST NILE VIRUS
(GSFC, G02-077, 10/08/02)
Thanks to NASA research, public health officials may one day be better able to track and predict the spread of West Nile Virus. Scientists hope to understand the seasonal migration of this emerging infectious disease in the United States and expand their research to other parts of the globe. Mosquitoes transmit the virus from infected birds to other birds, animals, and humans. Variations in temperature and vegetation levels dictate where these mosquitoes and birds thrive, and satellites can monitor such climate data over time. Health officials hope to combine this data with case studies to anticipate and prevent areas of outbreak.
ITEM (1): The Spread of West Nile Virus In The U.S. - West Nile Virus first appeared in the Western Hemisphere in New York during the summer of 1999, after milder than normal weather allowed mosquito larvae to survive the winter. Since then, the virus has infected humans in 34 states, the District of Columbia, and parts of Canada.
ITEM (2): How To Build A Risk Map - Mosquitoes and birds that carry West Nile Virus require very specific environmental con- ditions to thrive. As temperature and precipitation levels rise and fall throughout the year, these conditions "migrate." Satellite instruments measure land surface temperature and vegetation distribution from space, giving scientists a unique perspective from which to monitor seasonal changes in habitat. These images show data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument, onboard the Polar Orbiting Earth Science (POES) series of satellites.
Step 1: The first image shows land surface temperature data over a twelve-month period. Red indicates high temperatures, and blue indicates low.
Step 2 : The second image shows vegetation index levels over the same twelve-month period. Green indicates high vegetation density, which is a good indicator of precipitation and moisture levels. Yellow and brown indicate lower levels of vegetation density.
ITEM (3): Infected Crows - Across the country, crows and other wild birds have been infected with West Nile Virus. State health departments, in cooperation with the CDC, have kept record of infected birds over the past four years. Health officials use regional maps of infected crow cases to determine where the virus is most prevalent.
ITEM (4): Risk Map Simulation - This sequence is a simulation of how scientists and health officials have combined disease control data and satellite data to determine areas at risk for West Nile Virus.
ITEM (5): Satellites Tracking Mosquitoes - Staying ahead of West Nile Virus may be more complicated than scientists predicted. Over thirty species of mosquito have tested positive for the virus, and a number of these have been implicated in its transmission from animals to humans. Each of these species, or vectors, has its own set of prime conditions for survival and reproduction, allowing them to carry the virus to such widespread geographical locations as the Gulf coast, Canada, and California. Satellites "track" mosquitoes by focusing on the geographical regions of the species' most favorable conditions. Conventional techniques in mosquito tracking already produce maps showing these favorable regions. Recent satellite data matches the published mosquito habitats almost identically. Red shows habitats determined by satellite data. Yellow outlines mosquito distribution maps determined by means other than satellite surveillance. The four species represented here tested positive for West Nile Virus in each of the past four years.
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| MASSIVE ICEBERGS MAY AFFECT ANTARCTIC SEA LIFE AND FOOD CHAIN(GSFC, G02-028, 4/23/02)
Large icebergs breaking off from Antarctica reduced the magnitude of the 2000-2001 plankton bloom by 40 percent in one of Antarctica's most biologically productive areas. The B-15 iceberg broke off the Ross Ice Shelf and drifted into the southwestern Ross Sea. As large as the state of Connecticut (about 10,000 square kilometers or 3,861 square miles), B-15 impeded normal ice flow in the area, altering wind and current patterns. The resulting ice jam reduced the area of open water available for phytoplankton reproduction. This NASA-funded research using satellite data is the first study of the ecological impact of icebergs.
ITEM (1): Antarctic Blooms 2000 & 2001 - Two massive icebergs, initially designated B-15 and C-16, broke away from the Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000 and migrated west to a point northeast of McMurdo Sound. After the calving of B-15 researchers used NASA's SeaWiFS (Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor) satellite imagery and Defense Meteorological Satellite Program data to study the effect that large icebergs have on phytoplankton (minute floating plants) blooms. These images compare the Antarctic spring/ summer blooms of 2000 and 2001. Dark blue represents open water (SSMI data), lighter blues show ice cover; chlorophyll data lays on top. Coastline from TerraMODIS.
ITEM (2): Three Year Comparison - This side-by-side graphic shows the chlorophyll content during the normal 1998 and 1999 seasonal blooms and the effect the B-15 iceberg and its pieces had on the bloom in 2000.
ITEM (3): Sequence Of B-15 Calving - The MODIS instrument aboard the Terra Satellite captured these images of the B-15 iceberg calving in March 2000.
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| GLOBAL PHYTOPLANKTON DECLINE (GSFC, G02-063, 8/08/02)
The lowest rung in the ocean food chain is shrinking. Scientists at NASA and NOAA say phytoplankton concentrations in the ocean declined by 6 percent since the early 1980s. Warmer ocean temperatures and low winds may deprive the tiny ocean plants of necessary nutrients. Scientists monitor ocean and planetary health by studying these diverse species of microscopic free-floating plants.
ITEM (1): Phytoplankton Around The World - Satellite data show that phytoplankton numbers declined significantly in the northern oceans over the last 20 years, up to 30 percent in the Pacific and 14 percent in the Atlantic. The change could indicate a shift in Earth's climate. Warm ocean temperatures and declining winds may deprive phytoplankton of food necessary for growth. This world map compares satellite data collected between July and September from 1979 to 1986 and 1997 to 2000. Though reds indicate phytoplankton increases, this can't make up for blues showing the greatest losses in the north.
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| NASA SCANS COFFEE PLANTATIONS FROM ABOVE TO HELP GROWERS (ARC, AAV-1803, 3/11/02)
Researchers from NASA Ames Research Center and Clark University, Worcester, Mass., tested the commercial use of a solar-powered uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV) in agriculture. Pathfinder Plus, an environmentally-friendly remotely-piloted aircraft, flew over Kauai Coffee Plantation in Hawaii like a mobile satellite, equipped with cameras designed for Earth resource monitoring. The craft's long-duration flights can be used for agriculture management and disaster relief by providing near-real-time high- resolution imagery. **Images approved for news and public affairs use. Other uses: sherwitz@clarku.edu
ITEM (1): Blushing Beans - As these images from the aircraft of the Kauai Coffee Plantation show, different fields of coffee beans ripen at different times. By comparing the colors in the image, growers determine which fields are ready for harvesting.
a) True color image
b) Infrared image
ITEM (2): B-Roll - Pathfinder Plus Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle
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| SATELLITES
Satellites form the cornerstone of NASA's Earth Science Research program.
a) Aqua
b) Earth Probe/Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer
c) Landsat-7
d) SeaWIFS on Orbview-2
e) Terra
f) Topex/Poseidon
g) Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)
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Earth Science Gallery