2000 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| AN OBSERVATORY AIMED AT HOME - TERRA SEES EARTH ANEW
| G00-028 | 04/12/00 | 00:34:11 | Curiosity about our home planet has never been greater. Similarly, the need to understand the interrelations of complex planetary processes has never been more important. With the launch of Terra, scientists will have a wealth of new tools to pursue vital questions about the Earth. Launched on December 18, 1999, the school bus sized spacecraft is actually a five-instrument platform, designed to gather data that can be used in concert. In February 2000, Terra reached its final orbit, where its various instruments began to acquire images of the Earth. They're designed to look at the atmosphere, oceans, land, life, and radiant energy. The vehicle is expected to perform for six years. In that time, researchers hope to gain a deeper understanding of how the Earth
works as a complex system, in terms of natural processes and human effects on the environment.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): The Future of Earth Science Awakens in Orbit - - Terra is a multi-national orbiting research platform managed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. By synchronizing a sophisticated suite of sensors and instruments, Terra will help researchers pursue some of the grandest and most complex questions about the nature of our home planet.
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| ITEM (2): Terra Reveals North America in Layers - Terra is more than just the next incarnation of Earth observing research satellites. It's a geometric leap in scientific capability. The five instruments on the platform will allow scientists the opportunity to explore synergistic avenues of research in new and novel ways. This animation shows North America in a succession of layers, each one highlighting a different type of observed data. The data layers shown are as follows:
Surface Reflectance
Vegetation
Carbon Monoxide
Reflected Solar Energy
Total Radiated Energy
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| ITEM (3): North American Highlights - Using MODIS and ASTER, two of Terra's five instruments, surface color and high resolution topography paint a striking picture of San Francisco, portions of Nevada and the Baja peninsula.
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| ITEM (4): Science Synergy-The Five Instruments in Concert - By combining data from the five instruments researchers can trace enviromental interconnectedness to specific regions. Here we see the Indian subcontinent draped with different data sets and a population map (in red). The data shows enviromental features that correspond to population density and the edge of the Himalayas.
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| ITEM (5): Showing the Earth in Different Colors - These rotating globes highlight the different kinds of data that the five instruments on Terra will be able to gather. The globes shown are as follows: 1) Surface reflectance 2) Sea surface temp 3) Sea surface temps w/surface reflectance 4) Global vegetation 5) Global vegetation & sea surface temp
6) Carbon monoxide 7) Total radiated energy.
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| ITEM (6): MODIS - The Instrument - From a distance, color is a powerful scientific indicator. Seen from space, the colors of Earth offer a wealth of information in a wide number of environments.
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| ITEM (7): A Colorful Planet- MODIS's First Image - This "first light" image stretching from the Great Lakes to the Yucatan Peninsula is what MODIS saw on February 24, when its instrument team began operations. The colors represent natural reflectance from the planetŐs surface.
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| ITEM (8): Comparing MODIS & AVHRR-Chesapeake Bay - The capabilities of MODIS are significantly improved from previous instruments designed to study reflected radiation. It has much in common with the current workhorse model, called AVHRR. But as shown by these two images of the Chesapeake Bay area, MODIS (on the right) can resolve features in much greater detail, and with more precise color accuracy.
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| ITEM (9): Iceberg Breaks From Antarctic Coast - On the southernmost continent, changes to the land's icy skin show up clearly to an instrument like MODIS. Recently an iceberg twice the size of Delaware broke off the edge of Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf and plunged into the sea. From space, MODIS can trace the crack that separates the berg from where it began, and clearly demonstrate its capabilities for collecting spectral data about the planetŐs surface.
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| ITEM (10): Chlorophyll Fluorescence - The Oceans in a New Light - Ours is a water planet. Life springs from the ocean, and an understanding of the first rung on the ladder is vital to appreciating the planet's health. For the first time, an orbiting instrument will be able to monitor phytoplankton from space. By measuring fluorescent signals from under-productive phytoplankton, MODIS will be able to take the ocean's pulse on a daily basis. The following sequence of images showing the Arabian Sea demonstrates this ability. The third image in this sequence showswhere phytoplankyton are not photosynthisizing efficiently. The blue areas show high levels of photosynthisis. Where the phytoplankton is struggling, it is converting sunlight into fluorescence instead of growth and appears red.
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| ITEM (11): Chlorophyll Fluorescence: What's Happening - All plants fluoresce. Hold an ordinary houseplant under a black light and it glows red. Florescent intensity is dependent on how successfully a plant is using sunlight. Plants in environmentally challenging places will convert that light into radiative energy, or fluorescence. The greater the glow, the less efficiently the plant is photosynthesizing. By measuring fluorescence from space with MODIS, researchers will be able to deductively ascertain a whole range of issues about the health of the worldŐs phytoplankton.
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| ITEM (12): Chlorophyll Fluorescence: A Simulation -A researcher places a vial of water saturated with phytoplankton in front of a high intensity lamp. Filters block all but the fluorescent wavelengths of light emitted by the suspended cells. By adding an herbicide specifically tailored to curtail photosynthesis, we see via time lapse a gradual increase of fluorescence as the cells less efficiently convert sunlight into growth. Seen on a global scale, this kind of research will enable scientists to study the oceans in various ways, from food chain issues to dispersal of pollutants.
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| ITEM (13): Sea Surface Temperature - With seventy percent of the Earth's surface covered by water, the surface temperature of the oceans play an important role in the planet's biosphere. Here we see the ocean temperature as visualized from space by MODIS.
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| ITEM (14): Cirrus Clouds - The filigreed strands of ice floating high in the sky are cirrus clouds. Images created by MODIS can separate these high clouds from lower ones. To fully understand the way the Earth regulates heat, weather, and other complex subjects, an understanding of clouds is vital. By effectively stripping the high cirrus clouds off this picture taken of the north eastern coast of South America, researchers can study lower atmospheric features hidden beneath.
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| ITEM (15): Cloud Particle Radius - MODIS is unique in its ability to measure cloud composition in terms of water droplet and ice crystal size. Ice crystals usually compose thicker clouds made of large particles, while thinner clouds made of small particles are built by water droplets. In this image of the southern tip of Africa, red clouds are thicker and blue clouds are thinner. These studies are important to understanding how clouds reflect and absorb radiation.
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| ITEM (16): Water Vapor over the Indian Subcontinent -The complex subject of how anthropogenic aerosols affect the climate is currently an intense area of research. In step with understanding aerosols, the relationship of water vapor to a region's atmosphere is equally vital to understanding how humans shape their environment. MODIS presents a view of atmospheric water vapor over India, helping atmospheric scientists better understand how the sky is related to life on the ground.
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| ITEM (17): Aerosol & Dust over the Indian Subcontinent - In this visualization, MODIS looks at aerosols and dust over the Indian sub-continent, showing different gradations of color from microscopic particles scattering and reflecting sunlight as it falls on Earth.
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| ITEM (18): MODIS - MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer - In science, color is information. MODIS collects images of the Earth's surface, reading the various spectra (or color) of reflected radiation from different points on the globe. Primary MODIS investigations include the study of surface temperature (including fire detection), ocean sediment and phytoplankton concentrations, vegetation maps, pollution, snow cover, and more.
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| ITEM (19): MISR - The Instrument - Like MODIS, MISR also looks at color. But MISR is unique. Just as a visitor to an art museum might perceive entirely different attributes about a statue by standing in different places in the gallery, MISR's nine cameras see its subjects in complex relief, collecting images from different angles as the instrument passes overhead.
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| ITEM (20): Sunrise over Greenland - This visualization shows sunrise over Greenland and Baffin Bay. MISR gathered the data for this scene on March 2, 2000. The instrument can detect objects as small as 275 meters, or about the size of a sports stadium as it scans the Earth in swaths roughly 400 kilometers wide.
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| ITEM (21): Multiple Angles Build Sophisticated Images - These images of Hudson Bay and James Bay, Canada were taken on February 24, 2000. On the left we see a normal color image showing little color variation in the winter landscape taken while looking straight down from MISR. On the right, we see a composite image using multiple angles from the instrument. The colors represent different amounts of angular reflectance, highlighting surface structure and texture.
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| ITEM (22): Revealing Data by Shifting Perspective - This series of images shows an area stretching from Lake Ontario to Georgia, flying over the Appalachian Mountains. As the viewing angle increases, the haze over the mountains becomes more apparent. This is similar to the effect obtained while looking out an airplane window at different angles: perspective plays a big role in what can be perceived.
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| ITEM (23): Himalayan Haze - This pair of images demonstrates the effectiveness of MISR's multiple camera angles for resolving atmospheric features. Looking south from the Tibetan Plateau to the Ganges Basin of India, we see data from two cameras draped over surface topography. The first picture comes from the vertical camera. The second, taken by a camera pointed at an oblique angle, emphasizes the pollution haze over the Indian subcontinent.
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| ITEM (24): Measuring Cloud Height - This signature sequence highlights all nine cameras aboard MISR. Florida and Cuba are turned on their side here. Although the clouds appear to move, it is in fact an illusion created by the changing perspective of the camera angles. The principle is called parallax, and it is what allows for depth perception and stereoscopic vision. By measuring the apparent displacement, researchers can determine cloud height, which in turn enables further research. |
| ITEM (25): MISR (Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer) - MISR is unique. A series of nine cameras, each pointed at a different angle, looks at a the same slice of the Earth from a different perspective. The cameras make their observations in four wavelengths of light: blue, green, red, and near-infrared. MISR can determine both how sunlight behaves and interacts with Earth's environment. |
| ITEM (26): ASTER - The Instrument - ASTER adds to Terra's overall sum by being able to take precise images of terrain and map overall thermal reflection and absorption. The instrument will view the ground in stereo, thus enabling complex relief surfaces to be shown in visualizations. |
| ITEM (27): San Francisco - ASTER Sees in High Resolution - ASTER adds to Terra's overall sum by being able to take precise images of terrain and map overall thermal reflection and absorption. The instrument will view the ground in stereo, thus enabling complex relief surfaces to be shown in visualizations. |
| ITEM (28): Mauna Loa, Hawaii - ASTER's ability to resolve surface images in terms of thermal radiation allows researchers to study fine features of volcanoes, such as the great peak of Mauna Loa in Hawaii. The different thermal bands and extremely high spatial resolution facilitate sophisticated visualizations, higlighting both geomorphology and topography. |
| ITEM (29): Mt. Fuji, Japan - This visualization of the area around Mt. Fuji, Japan demonstrates the extremely high spatial resolution capabilities of the instrument. ASTER provides high-resolution images of land surface, water, ice, and clouds using three separate sensor subsystems covering 14 multi-spectral bands from visible to thermal infrared. |
| ITEM (30): Tokyo, Japan - ASTER's ability to resolve surface features as small as 15 meters makes it the instrument most suited for carefully targeted regions, as demonstrated by these high resolution images of Tokyo. It's three separate sensor subsystems cover 14 multi-spectral bands from visible to thermal infrared. |
| ITEM (31): Mt. Usu, Japan - The recent eruption of a Japanese volcano called Mt. Usu provided a good target for ASTER to demonstrate some of its abilities. In this image, notice the stripes of ash that have settled on the area surrounding the volcano's slopes. |
| ITEM (32): ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) - ASTER is a collaborative effort between NASA and the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry. It's designed primarily to collect data based on the reflection and absorption of heat from the planet below. With its ability to generate stereoscopic images, ASTER will be able to create digital elevation maps. |
| ITEM (33): MOPITT- The Instrument - MOPITT looks at the Earth in large sections at a time. By monitoring carbon monoxide and methane levels in the lower atmosphere, researchers are working to better understand how pollution affects the greater biosphere. |
| ITEM (34): Collecting Pollution Data on a Global Scale - MOPITT collects data from areas no smaller than 24 square km. Each orbital sweep takes in an informational path 600 km wide. In this visualization, red indicates high carbon monoxide areas and blue indicates low level areas. These images provide a sense of how MOPITT will be able to survey carbon monoxide around the world. As the satellite moves around the planet, data will be filled in to the spaces currently blank. |
| ITEM (35): Sources of Carbon Monoxide - Industrial activity is a large cause of CO, the reason highest concentrations of the gas appear over northern, industrialized countries. Natural fires can produce high levels of carbon monoxide, as shown by the high concentrations over western Africa. After the map unfolds, the orange points on the ground show areas where open burning sent CO into the sky. |
| ITEM (36): Pollution over the Indian Subcontinent - MOPITT's ability to resolve levels of carbon monoxide and methane provide the most accurate readings of those gasses for this heavily populated area. Since both of those gasses are often associated with human influences on the environments, MOPITT provides researchers a powerful tool to study how highly concentrated population centers are affecting the world around them. |
| ITEM (37): MOPITT (Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere) - MOPITT's main purpose is to measure carbon monoxide and methane levels in the lower atmosphere. Various sources of these gases include industrial zones, herds of cattle, decomposition of biomass, and others. By studying where atmospheric gasses are concentrated, how they behave, and how they form, scientists hope to gain a better understanding about how atmospheric pollution interacts and affects the environment. |
| ITEM (38): CERES - The Instrument - CERES measures reflected sunlight; it also measures energy emitted by the Earth's surface and atmosphere. By studying the Earth's "radiation budget" CERES seeks to improve our understanding of climate and it's relation to the biosphere. |
| ITEM (39): Total Radiated Energy - This image shows warm surfaces in yellow. Where the surface is colder, the image appears blue. The polar regions receive less energy from the Sun than the they emit to space, hence they are colder. The temperature difference between the tropics and the poles create winds and ocean currents that circulate heat and moisture. |
| ITEM (40): Reflected Solar Energy - Different surfaces on the Earth reflect more or less energy back into space. Reflectivity is described in terms of albedo. In the first of these two images CERES observes clouds and blowing sand off the coast of West Africa. Both are highly reflective of the Sun's energy. |
| ITEM (41): Reflected Solar Energy over the Indian Subcontinent - Heavy clouds over the Himalayas are highly reflective, while the more heavily vegetated and populated areas to the south are less so. |
| ITEM (42): Sahara Dust Crosses the Ocean - This animation shows how fine particles of sand caught in winds sweeping the Sahara Desert can get blown into the atmosphere above the Atlantic Ocean. Observations show that many of these particles can even reach the shores of the Americas. Using instruments on Terra such as CERES, researchers hope to better understand how events in one part of the world can affect other areas thousands of miles away. |
| ITEM (43): CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) - CERES looks at clouds. More specifically, CERES studies the radiation balance on Earth--how much heat is absorbed and reflected in different areas. By looking at how different cloud formations absorb or reflect various amounts of energy, scientists can develop new predictive models about weather systems and how the Earth maintains its delicate temperature balance. |
| ITEM (44): Terra Launch - A two and a half stage Lockheed-Martin Atlas II medium capacity rocket boosted the Terra satellite into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base California on December 18, 1999. |
Earth Science Gallery