2003 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| 2003 NATURAL DISASTERS | G03-008 | 3/03/04 | 00:44:58 | In 2003, NASA satellites captured dramatic pictures of wildfires, storms and unique natural events. These images are not only beautiful, but provide valuable information to weather forecasters, wildfire managers and scientists.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): WILD FIRES: ARIZONA FIRES: Aspen Fire - June 19, 2003 - Twenty miles north of Tucson (in purple), Arizona, the Aspen Fire rages through the Coronado National Forest. According to reports, thousands of acres have burned, including an unknown number of homes and businesses in a resort community on Mount Lemmon. Officials evacuated hundreds of people from the area as firefighters struggle in difficult terrain under hot, dry, windy conditions. In this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the Aqua satellite, June 19, 2003, several fires burn across the Southwest. The Aspen Fire, south of center, has the largest smoke plume of the fires.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (2): WILD FIRES: ARIZONA FIRES: Aspen Fire - June 22, 2003 - June 22, 2003 - Gusty winds, steep and rocky terrain, low humidity, and water shortages slow firefighters as they work to contain the Aspen Fire northeast of Tucson, Arizona. The fire has burned hundreds of homes and other structures in communities on Mt. Lemmon. After beginning on June 17 of unknown causes, the fire grew to more than 11,000 acres by Monday, June 23. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite on June 22, 2003, 1:00 P.M. local time, shows the Aspen Fire and farther north, the Picture Fire northeast of Phoenix. The smoke plume extends over 100 miles.
SUPER: NASA
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| ITEM (3): WILD FIRES: ARIZONA FIRES: Aspen Fire - June 24, 2003 - The Aspen fire, 17 miles northeast of Tucson, Arizona, continues to burn in the Coronado National Forest. The fire has already burned nearly 350 homes, other structures, and pine forests on Mount Lemmon. Winds died down somewhat, reducing smoke from the blaze Tuesday morning, which now stretches over 25,000 acres and is about 25 percent contained. This zoom and still images come from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on June 24, 2003, 11:15 A.M. local time. Tucson and Phoenix are enhanced in gray in the zoom. Three still images follow.
SUPER: NASA
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| ITEM (4): WILD FIRES: ARIZONA FIRES: Aspen Fire - June 19-26, 2003 - This series of MODIS images from Aqua and Terra shows the growth of the Aspen Fire over the weekend of June 19-24, 2003. Other smaller fires in the area are also visible. Aqua and Terra each make near-daily observations of the entire Earth.
SUPER: NASA
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| ITEM (5): WILD FIRES: ARIZONA FIRES: Aspen Fire - June 25, 2003 - The Aspen Fire in the Coronado National Forest outside Tucson, Arizona, continues to grow to 30,000 acres. Firefighters contained 35 percent early Thursday, June 26, 2003. To date, the blaze has caused over $5.5 million in damages and burned at least 350 homes in the area. These images come from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite on June 25, 2003, 1:30 P.M. local time.
SUPER: NASA
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| ITEM (6): WILD FIRES: ARIZONA FIRES: Aspen Fire - June 19-26, 2003 - Images from NASAÕs Terra and Aqua satellite 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 are used in allocating precious firefighting resources. These satellite images show the Aspen Fire progression from June 19 to 26, 2003. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the NASA satellites acquired the data for these images.
SUPER: NASA
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| ITEM (7): WILD FIRES: ARIZONA FIRES: Kinishba Fire - July 16, 2003 - National Interagency Fire Center officials report that the Kinishba Fire on the Fort Apache Reservation northeast of Phoenix, Arizona grew to over 17,500 acres by July 16, and it was 15 percent contained. The fire threatens at least 700 residences; officials are evacuating over 5,000 people. The Sea-viewing Wide-Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) aboard the OrbView-2 satellite took this image 12:30 P.M.. local time July 16. The remnants of Hurricane Claudette can be seen over west Texas, which fire officials hope will help douse the Kinishba flames. The fire is very near the site of last year's Rodeo-Chedeski blaze, in the upper left of the close-up image here.
Super: NASA/ORBIMAGE
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| ITEM (8): WILD FIRES: NORTHWEST-WASHINGTON & MONTANA: Missouri Breaks - July 20, 2003 - The Missouri Breaks Complex fire, four fires in close proximity, grew to 62,500 acres as of this morning, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Firefighters have contained 10 percent of the fire. The fires are located 35 miles northwest of Jordan, Montana. The complex consists of the Big Coulee, Ghost Coulee, Indian, and Germaine fires. Twenty-three residences were evacuated, say officials. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite caught this image at 4:30PM July 20, 2003. In the first and third sequences, red pixels show the active fire regions.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (9): WILDFIRES: NORTHWEST-WASHINGTON & MONTANA: Fawn Peak, WA - July 21, 2003 - Dry vegetation, steep terrain, hot weather and little or no access will make firefighting difficult at Fawn Peak Complex Fire in Washington, according to fire officials. Weather forecasters expect temperatures to reach 103'F. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite caught this image late afternoon July 21, 2003. The yellow pixels in the first two sequences show active fire regions.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (10): WILD FIRES: NORTHWEST-WASHINGTON & MONTANA: Fawn Peak, WA - July 27, 2003 - Over the weekend, Washington State's Fawn Complex Fire grew by another 5,000 acres to 63,597 as of late July 27, said National Interagency Fire Center officials. The complex of three fires, started by lightning on June 29, 2003, remains only 35 percent contained, with an estimated containment date unknown, according to officials. The two smallest fires, Sweetgrass and Fawn Peak, are 100 percent contained, but the Farewell Creek Fire still burns, as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiomer (MODIS) saw July 27.
a) Terra satellite, 11:35 A.M. PDT
b) Aqua satellite, 1:35 P.M. PDT
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (11): WILD FIRES: NORTHWEST-WASHINGTON & MONTANA: Glacier National Park - July 27, 2003 - Fast-moving forest fires continued to race through terrain at the front range of the Rocky Mountains in northern Montana and Alberta, Canada, on July 27, 2003. In Montana, fires forced thousands of tourists and staff to evacuate Glacier National Park (center) late last week, said fire officials. In Canada, many residents of the small community of Hillcrest, southwest of Calgary, evacuated Sunday. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiomer (MODIS) captured these images.
a) Terra satellite, 11:50 A.M. PDT, July 27
b) Aqua satellite, 1:30 P.M. PDT, July 27
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (12): WILD FIRES: CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: Southern California - October 26, 2003 - NASA satellites capture dramatic images of smoke pouring out of Southern California wildfires. Images from Terra and Aqua have become a regular part of the National Interagency Fire Center's firefighting toolkit. The images help the center track fires all over the United States on a daily basis and are used in allocating precious firefighting resources. The data for these images was collected by Terra's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument October 26, 2003. MODIS has the ability to see through the smoke to locate active fire areas (seen in red).
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (13): WILD FIRES: CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: Southern California - October 27, 2003 - NASA satellites capture dramatic images of smoke pouring out of Southern California wildfires. Aqua's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument captured these images October 27, 2003.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (14): WILD FIRES: CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: Southern California - October 28, 2003 -Thick smoke blankets the Southern California coastline as multiple brush and forest fires continue to burn near Los Angeles and San Diego. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor on the Terra satellite detected three major clusters of fires, marked with red boxes, on October 28, 2003.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (15): WILD FIRES: CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: Southern California - October 23-29, 2003 - Terra Satellite October 28, 2003:
a. Southern California
b. San Bernadino
c. Los Angeles
d. San Diego
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (16): WILD FIRES: CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: Southern California - October 28, 2003 - Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites provided the images for this animated sequence of wildfires moving across Southern California. This animation includes images taken October 23,25,26, 27, 28, 29.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (17): WILD FIRES: CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: California Smoke Trails - The 2003 California fires had an impact on air quality as far east as Maine. This animation cycles through the Terra and Aqua MODIS imagery of the devastating Californian fires from October 23, 2003, through October 29, 2003. Then the animation resets to October 23, 2003, and zooms out to see the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) aerosol sequence. TOMS can distinguish among aerosols from fires, dust and pollution. This ability allows scientists to assess the impact of human-produced and natural aerosols on climate change.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (18): WILD FIRES: AUSTRALIAN FIRES: Australian Wildfires Rage Out of Control - January 23, 2003 - Blankets of smoke cover southeast Australia as wildfires burn out of control. More than 500 homes have been destroyed, and several towns have fires within one or two kilometers of the city limits. This Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Aqua satellite acquired this image January 23, 2003.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (19): WILD FIRES: RUSSIAN FIRES: Russian Fires Choke Asian Skies - NASA scientists release satellite images of intense smoke over Asia. A large number of fires have been burning out of control for weeks in eastern Russia, producing a tremendous amount of smoke. Thick smoke almost completely obscures the land surface over much of northeastern Asia. In addition to presenting a potentially serious respiratory hazard to local residents, the smoke pollution also presents a significant navigation hazard to air traffic flying to and from the region. The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) instrument on board the Orbview-2 satellite acquired the first image May 19, 2003. The Aqua satellite acquired the second image May 21, 2003.
Super: NASA/ORBIMAGE
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| ITEM (20): HURRICANES: Typhoon Etau - August 7, 2003 - NASA satellites got a bird's-eye view of Typhoon Etau as it was buffeting the southern island chain of Okinawa, Japan, affecting airlines, a refinery and other industries. In this image, the center of Etau is located just north of Nago city and is moving north at 20 kilometers per hour with sustained winds of 144 kilometers per hour. Forecasters are predicting the storm will reach Kagoshima city on Kyushu island tomorrow and then veer off to the Sea of Japan, avoiding Tokyo. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on board NASA's Terra satellite caught this image August 7, 2003.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (21): HURRICANES: Hurricane Fabian - September 3, 2003 - - Hurricane Fabian, currently a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane strength scale, is projected to reach Bermuda by early Saturday, says the U.S. National Hurricane Center. They also predict Fabian will strengthen somewhat, leading to maximum sustained winds higher than 120 mph. The Gulf Coast of Florida is under a tropical storm warning. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on board NASA's Terra satellite caught this image September 3, 2003.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (22): HURRICANES: Hurricane Fabian - September 4, 2003 - The wide-angle lens of the Sea-viewing Wide-Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) instrument on the Orbview-2 satellite captured this picture of Fabian Sept. 4, 2003, near Bermuda but not too far from the United States' East Coast. SeaWiFS monitors the health of the world's oceans by studying color.
Super: NASA/ORBIMAGE
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| ITEM (23): HURRICANES: Hurricane Isabel - September 11, 2003 - The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument onboard NASA's Terra satellite captured this bird's-eye view of Hurricane Isabel September 11, 2003. In this image Isabel is located 530 miles east-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands and was packing maximum sustained winds near 150 mph, just short of a category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (24): HURRICANES: Hurricane Isabel - September 14, 2003 - The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument onboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured this bird's-eye view of Hurricane Isabel September 14, 2003. In this image Hurricane Isabel is approximately 400 mi north of Puerto Rico in the image.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (25): HURRICANES: Hurricane Isabel - September 15, 2003 - The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument onboard NASA's Terra satellite captured this high resolution image of Hurricane Isabel September 15, 2003.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (26): HURRICANES: Hurricane Isabel - September 8-17, 2003 - NASA satellites capture many different perspectives of Hurricane Isabel. Twice a day, two satellites fly over the planet capturing highly detailed images of the Earth. This animated sequence shows eight days of high-resolution images of Hurricane Isabel. These images are so detailed that you can see the wind vortices inside the eye. This animated sequence includes images from September 8, 10,11,12,14, 15, 16, and 17, 2003. NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument onboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellite acquired the data for these images.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (27): HURRICANES: Hurricane Isabel - Aug 22 -Sept 15, 2003 - Warm water fuels hurricanes. Hurricanes drive on 82 'F or warmer sea surface temperatures. NASA satellites can detect sea surface temperatures through clouds and help determine if a tropical cyclone is likely to strengthen or weaken. In this visualization, Hurricane Fabian runs through a large patch of warm water, orange and red indicate 82' F and warmer, and leaves a blue cold trail behind. Cold trails can sometimes weaken tropical storms. However, Hurricane Isabel took a different path fueling up on warm water next to Fabian's cold trail, and leaving another cold trail behind. Aqua satellite's Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) provided sea surface temperatures for this animation. Data runs from August 22 till September 15, 2003. AMSR-E was developed by NASA and the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (28): HURRICANES: Checking Under Isabel's Hood - The eye of a hurricane may be the calm of the storm, but it also houses the engine that drives the storm. NASA and the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite looked under Isabel's hood and showed scientists the pistons that power the hurricane, giving them an idea of the intensity and distribution of rainfall. The world's first and only spaceborne rain radar allows scientists to create 3-D views of precipitation, height of the rain column and warmth of the core inside powerful hurricanes. Red color indicates rain rates in excess of 2 inches per hour.
Super: NASA/NASDA
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| ITEM (29): SNOW & ICE: East Coast Snow - February 20, 2003 - Three days after record snowfalls blanketed the Middle Atlantic and Northeast U.S., life is slowly returning to normal. Final storm totals indicate parts of Western Maryland received up to 4 feet of snow, while New York City topped out at just over 25 inches. This true-color image, acquired on February 20, 2003 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Terra satellite, shows a white blanket covering the East.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (30): SNOW & ICE: - Snow Fall Over Eastern U.S. - NASA satellites captured several true color images of snowfall over the Eastern United States. These true-color images were acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites.
January 24, 2003
February 12, 2003
February 13, 2003
February 20, 2003
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (31): SNOW & ICE: Frozen Great Lakes - With spring just a few weeks away, the North American Great Lakes are locked in winter. The March 9, 2003, image shows ice almost completely covering several lakes, including the largest lake, Lake Superior. Ice cover on Lake Erie is not uncommon, since it is the shallowest of all the lakes, but the big lakes, Superior and Huron, rarely freeze completely over. The big freeze has interrupted shipping and ferry lanes in the region. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Aqua and Terra satellites provided the images that show the ice building up this winter.
a. Sept. 16, 2002
b. Dec. 3, 2002
c. Dec 10, 2002
d. January 27, 2003
e. March 9, 2003
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (32): DUST: China Haze - Jan 10, 2003 - This NASA satellite image shows a dense blanket of polluted air over central eastern China -- dense enough that the coastline around Shanghai virtually disappears. The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) on board the Orbview 2 satellite captured this image January 10, 2003.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (33): DUST:
Saharan Dust - March 2-6, 2003 - An intense African dust storm sent a massive dust plume westward over the Atlantic Ocean March 2, 2003. Dust storms and the rising warm air can lift dust 10,000 feet or more above the African deserts and then out across the Atlantic, reaching as far west as the Caribbean, South America, or even Florida. Scientists have linked illnesses, harmful algae blooms in the Gulf of Mexico, and the decline of the coral reefs in the Caribbean to the increasing frequency and intensity of Saharan dust events. These March 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 true-color images, acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASAÕs Terra and Aqua satellites, show thick dust plumes (light brown) blowing westward over a span of days during the first week in March 2003.
Super: NASA
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| ITEM (34): DUST: Dust and Oil Fires in Iraq - March 20-21, 2003 - These images of Iraq, Kuwait, and parts of Saudi Arabia and Iran were acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on March 20 & 21, 2003 (late morning local time in Baghdad). The March 20, 2003 image shows dust spreading over the Persian Gulf. The March 21, 2003 shows large plumes of black smoke spreading over the Gulf. The sources of the plumes are consistent with known oil well locations. The third image shows thermal anomalies, marked with red dots. It is not uncommon for MODIS to see thermal signatures at the numerous oil wells in the area; however the amount of smoke being produced is larger than normal.
a. March 20, 2003
b. March 21, 2003
c. March 21, 2003
Credit: NASA
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| ITEM (35): UNIQUE IMAGERY: Fluff Over Florida - July 9, 2003 - Thunderclouds don't always look menacing, at least from space - this NASA satellite image of the southeastern United States looks like someone scattered cotton balls over it. The larger fluffy "balls" are actually summertime thunderstorms over Florida. The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) on board the OrbView-2 satellite captured this image July 9, 2003.
Credit: NASA/ORBIMAGE
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| ITEM (36): UNIQUE IMAGERY: Iceberg Splits - October 7&9, 2003 - NASA satellite images confirm that a 100-mile long iceberg in the Ross Sea, known as B-15A, split in two. University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists were among the first to notice the fracture that created two giant icebergs. Since B-15A first broke off the Antarctic's Ross Ice Shelf in 2000, the enormous iceberg has been trapping sea ice near Ross Island, home to McMurdo Station, one of the main U.S. scientific outposts in the Antarctic. The trapped ice has made shipping and the delivery of fuel and supplies to McMurdo increasingly difficult. These images are from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites, 10/7 & 10/9/2003.
Credit: NASA
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| ITEM (37): UNIQUE IMAGERY: Earth's Night Lights - NASA researchers use these images of nighttime lights to study weather around urban areas. 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. These images are actually a composite of hundreds of pictures made by U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellites Program (DMSP), compiled from October 1994 - March 1995. Data was collected when moonlight was low.
Credit: NASA
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| ITEM (38): UNIQUE IMAGERY: Satellite Sees a Smaller Lake Mead - NASA and partnering agencies provide important tools to aid the difficult decisions that water managers must make each year. A new system that incorporates satellite data and computer models helps federal and state Bureaus of Water Reclamation discern, on a daily or seasonal basis, how much water will be available for distribution in the American West.
A joint NASA/United States Geological Survey satellite captured dramatic pictures of the dwindling water supplies in the drought-stricken western United States. The Landsat 7 satellite took these images of Lake Mead in May 2000 and 2003, showing clearly less water this year. According to the Bureau of Reclamation, the Colorado Basin is enduring its fourth year of drought, and computer models project water levels will go down another 15 to 20 feet by next year. Despite low water levels, National Park Service Rangers say water recreation has not suffered.
Credit: NASA/USGS
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| ITEM (39): UNIQUE IMAGERY: What a Difference a Year Makes - This image shows differences in rainfall between spring/summer 2002 and 2003. Red and yellow indicate areas drier in 2003, blue and green show areas wetter in 2003. Most of the West remains short of water through the first half of this year, with several spots worse off than before. On the other hand, the spring deluge in the East shows up as a huge increase over last year's drought conditions. Data represent April 1 - July 31 rainfall amount differences, as measured by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite and other instruments.
Credit: NASA/NASDA
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| ITEM (40): UNIQUE IMAGERY: U.S. Snowfall 2001 - 2002 - Because much of the West consists of deserts and semi-arid regions, droughts plague certain areas. That makes winter snowfall all the more important in water availability for the year. Here, the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite shows animation of snowfall from December 2001 and February 2002. The new modeling system utilizes NASA's and other agencies' Land Surface Models (LSMs) and NASA satellite data to determine snowpack levels, soil moisture and evapotranspiration rates, key variables in the water cycle. Regional officials at the Rio Grande and Columbia River Basins currently use the models.
Credit: NASA
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| ITEM (41): Satellite Animation ;
Terra
Aqua
TRMM
SeaWiFS
Credit: NASA
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