2001 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| EARTH SCIENCE 2000: YEAR OF PROMISE, YEAR OF CHANGE | G01-001 | 02/28/00 | 00:53:07 | Ecclesiastes says that generations come and go but the Earth endures forever. But what do the sciences say? In 2000, researchers who study the Earth in a variety of disciplines sought knowledge and understanding about a host of interrelated subjects. Some of those subjects concern discrete, focused questions about the world, as in the case of research that looked for "missing" tidal energy in the oceans. But much of the last year's research dealt with topics fundamentally related to each other, essentially describing a complex, interwoven system at the roots of our planet. The Earth may endure, but as passengers on it we humans grow and learn. In that light we present a collection of Earth science highlights to spring from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in 2000. |
TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): EARTH SCIENCE 2000: A YEAR OF FIRSTS - Animation of Retreating Ice - New satellites in space. New techniques for analysis. New successes in science. The year 2000 proved itself a worthy gatekeeper of the new millennium. In 2000 NASA's Earth observing flagship Terra become operational, essentially opening the doors on a full fledged orbiting laboratory. Landsat 7, the land imaging workhorse of the fleet, hit its stride, capturing thousands of images of cities and forests and all spaces in between. Landsat 7 data helped experts develop the first worldwide, comprehensive archive of coral reefs. It also enabled detailed studies of urbanization around the globe, contributing to city planners understanding of urban "heat island" effects, as well as providing data about smarter ways to handle growth. In 2000, the space agency also undertook an ambitious effort to literally map the world. Called the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, or SRTM, the crew of Space Shuttle Endeavour extended a huge radar mast from the shuttle's cargo bay and proceeded to paint the world with radar beams. After 159 orbits of the planet, the mission collected data about more than 95 percent of all land regularly inhabited by people, offering advanced cartographic materials on a planetary scale to a wide range of disciplines. Climate specialists got to see their first three-year worldwide rainfall map from a remarkable instrument called TRMM. Meteorologists looked at hurricanes and typhoons in three-dimensional cross sections, like a surgeon might examine patient CAT scans. And in he fall, NASA launched an experimental, ultra-high tech probe called EO-1, effectively bridging the millennium with an Earth observing instrument built for the future. 2000 helped solidify the growing understanding of Earth as a living, breathing whole, an interconnected and elegant system of systems. As the future envelopes our present, NASA's Earth science efforts in the year just completed stands as a robust foundation for continued growth and discovery. |
| ITEM (2): VOX SCIENTIFICUS: THE LANGUAGE OF EARTH SCIENCE (Reporters Package) - For literature to be well regarded, its written language must be widely understood. Consider then the subtle poetry inherent in understanding climate change. The schemes and tropes of this evolving subject are unfamiliar to many, and contentious to some-for good reason. It can be challenging to make intellectual space for ideas that do not seem to easily relate to our daily lives, and the subject of climate change is about as indirectly related a process as any. It's difficult to find ourselves in direct relation to the land, ocean, and sky. The processes of Earth are huge, and we as individuals are small. But like good poetry, our relationships to the Earth are all about implication. As one element of a planetary system changes, other, sometimes distant parts react. We carefully observe the connection of our actions to a wider world, how we and the Earth effectively write our stories together. And as the art of doing science progresses, we're beginning to develop new and better ways for gathering data about our world. Much of that data collection comes from careful inference about seemingly unrelated observations. An example of this is current divinations about the changing state of the planet's atmosphere. We've learned that topics like atmospheric change can be studied by looking at seemingly unrelated data like forest growth or ocean color. The Earth's systems move in concert, forcing us to listen and to respond. Earth science has traditionally been the domain of people on the ground, digging with work-roughened hands, rocks and weeds and water samples tucked into field packs. But this language is changing, too, with the wider use of sophisticated spacecraft. Ground teams are still vital, but now the tools they carry plug them into a fleet of instruments high overhead. Yet while the daily language changes to accommodate the new techniques, the interconnection of Earth's web remains. The power of discovery remains fresh, and our ability to care for the Earth becomes a respectful dialogue. A common language continues to evolve and the legacy of our literature-scientific and otherwise-endures.
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| ITEM (3): EYES ON THE EARTH: NASA'S REMOTE SENSING FLEET
LANDSAT: Continuing A Legacy Of Earth Observation - From an altitude of 438 miles (730 kilometers), Landsat 7 can see surface features as small as 15 meters, providing world-wide land resource information for a diverse range of uses. The satellite is part of a global research effort NASA calls the Earth Science Enterprise, which seeks to acquire a long term understanding of the changes to our planet. Landsat 7 is the latest in a series of satellites. It roared into orbit aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket on April 15, 1999 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. NASA officially called the first Landsat satellite the Earth Resources Technology Satellite, or ERTS-1, on July 23, 1972. Since then the program has continued to pave the way in research and data acquisition techniques about the surface of our planet.
(2) EO-1: A View From Above - The hexagonal satellite called EO-1 carries a suite of instruments designed to test new technologies while also conducting valuable research about our home planet. Flying almost 438 miles above the Earth, the satellite's scientific hardware can deliver some of the data collection capabilities previously possible only from satellites far larger and more complex. Fully outfitted, EO-1 weighed nearly 1166 pounds at launch. NASA launched it on a Delta 7320-10 rocket from Vandenberg AFB in California.
(3) GOES: News You Can Use - The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) is actually one of a constellation of instruments positioned in fixed orbits over the Earth. GOES monitors large scale weather systems, as well as other aspects of the changing planet beneath. Many people are familiar with imagery from GOES without realizing it. The satellite system provides much of the data we see on moving weather maps on the evening television news.
(4) POES: Advancing Daily Earth Observations - The NOAA-L satellite is the latest in a line of highly successful scientific platforms. Now fully functional on orbit following its September 20, 2000 launch, it joins sibling Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES) in daily efforts to collect information about our planet's changing face. The sophisticated package of instruments is the result of a joint effort by NASA and NOAA. It's designed to study a wide range of atmospheric and terrestrial properties.
(5) Terra: The Modern Flagship The Earth Observing System - Terra is a multinational orbiting research platform managed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. By synchronizing a sophisticated suite of sensors and instruments, Terra is helping researchers pursue some of the grandest and most complex questions about the nature of our home planet. The satellite can simultaneously study clouds, water vapor, aerosol particles, trace gases, terrestrial and ocean properties, and systemic interactions on a planetary scale.
(6) SeaWiFS: Big Returns From A Small Package - SeaWiFS (Sea-Viewing Wide Field of View Sensor) is the scientific portion of the OrbView-2 satellite, orbiting The Earth at an altitude of 423 miles (705 kilometers). By providing a regular picture of the planet's color, SeaWiFS helps researchers learn about the state of the world's interconnected ecosystems. OrbView-2 blasted into space on August 1, 1997 lifted by an extended Pegasus rocket. SeaWiFS is considered a low cost mission, many orders of magnitude less expensive than other Earth observing instruments. In scientific terms, however, this little instrument has proved to be one of the space agency's star performers, it's highly focused mission parameters netting huge scientific returns for researchers studying a wide variety of questions.
(7) TRMM: Watching Rain To Help Explain - The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) is the first Earth Science mission dedicated to studying tropical and subtropical rainfall, precipitation that falls within 35 degrees north and 35 degrees south of the equator. Tropical rainfall comprises more than two-thirds of the world's total. The satellite uses several instruments to detect rainfall including radar, microwave imaging, and lightning sensors. Flying at a low orbital altitude of 217 miles (350 kilometers), TRMM's study of tropical rainfall and attendant processes will help improve our understanding and predictions of global climate change.
(8) TOMS: Probing The Ozone Layer From Above - The current TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) instrument flies on NASA's Earth Probe. Its ozone mapping utility come from the instrument's abilities to monitor reflected ultraviolet light. By making nearly 200,000 daily measurements, the instrument can survey nearly the entire planet on a regular basis, offering scientists a powerful tool for measuring both sudden and long-term climatological changes. NASA launched the satellite in July 1996.
(9) How High The Sea: TOPEX/Poseidon At Work - Launched in 1992, TOPEX/Poseidon's primary mission is to measure global ocean circulation patterns by carefully plotting sea levels on a planetary scale. Data from the joint French and American project is valuable in the study of hurricanes, El Nino/La Nina behavior, marine life, climate forecasting, and more. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the TOPEX/Poseidon mission for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC.
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| THE SKY
ITEM (4): MAPS OF FALLING WATER: THREE YEARS OF TRMM
SYNOPSIS: Ever wonder about the rain? Beyond the practicality of needing an umbrella, climate researchers have wondered about the science of rainfall for a long time. But it's only in the past few years that they've begun to roll back some of its secrets. One of their tools for doing so is a powerful satellite called the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, or TRMM. Now, after three years of continual operation, project scientists have released dramatic new maps of rainfall patterns gathered across a wide band of the Earth. And with measurements from one of the satellite's advanced sensors, meteorologists are now able to calibrate ground-based rain monitoring systems with greater precision than ever before.
(1) Three Year Rainfall Maps - These images show three years of daily rainfall measurements taken by the satellite's unique precipitation radar. It's a revolutionary visualization in that it offers experts the first comprehensive, long duration observations of where it's raining and how much. Considering that rainfall is the primary driving force of heat in the atmosphere, and that two thirds of all rain falls in the tropics, these measurements are significant for our understanding of overall climate.
(2) What's Normal? Using TRMM For Rainfall Averages - Just like the human body maintains a normal but variable temperature, there tends to be a general rainfall average over much of the world. TRMM is at least enabling experts to generate data for tropical rainfall averages taken over the past few years with a measure of accuracy never before possible. The following images show rainfall averages on a monthly time scale for territory beneath TRMM's ground track.
(3) When It Rain, It Pours - About two thirds of all the Earth's rain falls in the tropics. Moreover, the energy released by that rain accounts for the vast majority of energy released in the atmosphere. As we come to better understand the rain on a planetary scale, we also begin to understand the processes describing localized rainfall events around the world. The following visualizations show rainfall anomalies-that is, regions with rainfall amounts that significantly exceed or fall short of averages. Blue regions show low quantities, while yellows and reds show high quantities.
(4) El Nino And Tropical Rain: Causes And Effects - Generally tropical rains in the Pacific fall more heavily on the western part of the ocean. But as seen in this visualization, the El Nino event that recently came to an end caused an observable shift in average rainfall patterns south of the equator. Heavier than normal rains fell east of 150 West, while the western Pacific showed greatly diminished rainfall rates.
(5) Calibrating Ground Based Radar From Orbit (Animation) - Measurements are only as accurate as the instruments that take them. When U.S. and Japanese scientists designed TRMM, they expected to use ground based precipitation radar systems to calibrate the precipitation radar onboard the spacecraft. But after years of continual operation, the TRMM project has determined that the satellite's level of accuracy and consistency is great enough that ground-based systems can, in fact, be calibrated to the system on the spacecraft.
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| ITEM (5): PREDICTING HURRICANE INTENSITY FAR FROM LAND
SYNOPSIS: For years scientists have known of a strong correlation between sea surface temperature and the intensity of hurricanes. But one of the major stumbling blocks for forecasters has been the precise measurement of those temperatures when a storm begins to form. Traditional techniques for sea surface temperature measurement can not see through clouds. Now researchers using the TRMM satellite have developed a technique for looking through clouds with microwaves. This technique is likely to enhance forecasters' abilities to predict the intensity of hurricanes before their massive energies fully develop.
(1) Bonnie's Trail Weakens Danielle - A hurricane gathers energy from warm waters found in tropical latitudes. In this image we see Hurricane Bonnie cross the Atlantic, leaving a cooler trail of water in its wake. When Hurricane Danielle crosses Bonnie's path, the wind speed of the second storm drops markedly, as available energy to fuel the storm's engine drops off. But once Danielle crosses Bonnie's wake, notice how winds speed increase due to temperature increases in surface water around the storm.
(2) Ocean Temperature Through Clouds - The clouds shown in this image were collected by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES). Surface temperatures were gathered by TMI, the TRMM Microwave Imager. Notice how the ocean area directly following each storm registers as slightly cooler than surrounding ocean water. This is due to the nature of hurricanes in that they power themselves on heat found near the surface in tropical oceans.
(3) Cooling Off The Engine - As a hurricane churns up the ocean, it's central vortex draws surface heat and water into the storm. That suction at the surface causes an upwelling of deep water. At depth, tropical ocean waters are significantly colder than water found near the surface. As they're pulled up to meet a storm, those colder waters essentially leave a footprint in the storm's wake which might last as long as two weeks. Forecasters can quantify the difference in surface temperatures between this footprint and the surrounding temperatures and use that information to better predict storm intensity. If another storm intersects with this cold water trail, it's likely to lose significant strength due to the fact that the colder water does not contain as much potential energy as warm water.
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| ITEM (6): NASA SATELLITE IMPROVES RAINFALL FORECASTING ACCURACY -
SYNOPSIS: New research shows that the accuracy of tropical three-day rainfall forecasts can be improved as much as 100% by combining existing forecast models with satellite rainfall data. The research could be particularly valuable in the prediction of hurricane behavior and rain accumulation.
(1) The "Super-Ensemble" Rainfall Model - TRMM has been highly successful in increasing meteorological forecasting capabilities. Project researchers recently announced the "super- ensemble" forecasting technique where TRMM data was added to existing weather prediction information, yielding an increase in rainfall forecasting accuracy of nearly 100%. The overall forecasting trend through time is more significant than precise matching of the rainfall areas depicted by the color map shown. |
| ITEM (7): CLOUD COVER AND TEMPERATURE REGULATION
SYNOPSIS: There's more to clouds than the inspiration of daydreams. As a planet-wide system, clouds are understood to be fundamental in regulating temperature around the globe. Now, new research from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York says that clouds might not have as large a cooling effect on the Earth's climate as had been previously considered. The currently accepted range for global warming over the next century is between 3 and 8 F (1.5 to 4.5 C). But according to the report's author Anthony Del Genio, the minimum overall warming prediction should be revised upwards by 1 degree, a significant increase in overall temperature change. (1) How Clouds Both Shield And Insulate The Earth - A dynamic fabric of suspended water floats above the earth: clouds. Sunlight reaching the Earth bounces off the tops of clouds and is reflected back into space. Most of the rest reaches the Earth, warming the planet and powering the systems of life all around us. But much of that energy then radiates away from the surface of the planet. Clouds floating above act as a blanket, trapping it in the form of valuable heat. This helps maintain a regular temperature range for the Earth. (2) Albedo: Measuring The Earth's Shine - Clouds not only yield rain, but also play an important role in regulating the Earth's temperature. The determining characteristic is called albedo. It's a measure of how much radiation, or light, is reflected from a body. Similar to how a white shirt helps keep a person cooler in the summer than a black shirt, the cumulatively vast area of cloud cover around the world reflects large amounts of solar radiation falling on the planet's surface. (3) A Familiar Look At Clouds: GOES Images - These images show huge regions of the Earth mottled by clouds. We're seeing the images as delivered by one of the GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) satellites managed by NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administrations). If we regard these images as simply brief glimpses of the eternal atmospheric dance, we start to see how changes in clouds might dramatically alter the way the Earth not only looks but behaves.
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| ITEM (8): INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN OBSERVES SIGNIFICANT ARCTIC OZONE LOSS SYNOPSIS: During the preceding winter Arctic ozone concentrations dropped more than 50 percent from their average. But measurements taken during the largest international campaign ever mustered to study the Arctic stratosphere are yielding better insights into the processes that control polar ozone. Called SOLVE (SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment), it included researchers from Europe, Russia, Canada, and the United States. These predictive tools will become more and more important in light of expected chlorine level declines due to the Montreal Protocol and what will likely be increasing levels of greenhouse gasses in coming decades.
(1) A Gap In The Churning Sky - A combination of factors contributed to the dramatic drop in Arctic stratosphere ozone levels. Despite the very dry conditions in the polar stratosphere, temperatures plunged far enough to enable the formation of Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs) at an unusually early date. PSCs are considered the primary culprits for ozone losses around the North Pole. By chemically interacting with the surrounding atmosphere, they convert inorganic chlorine contained in non-harmful compounds into "free radicals", ambient forms of chlorine that can interact destructively with ozone. (2) Cold Clouds - Polar stratospheric clouds form at extremely low temperatures in the upper atmosphere. Should the temperature rise, clouds won't form. In the following visualization, sequential temperature readings taken in the SOLVE research area are plotted against a threshold temperature for PSC formation. These are clouds essentially made of nitric acid, a known ozone destructive substance. Note how the area covered by the clouds thickens as the winter progresses. (3) The Polar Vortex-Watching Ozone Levels Fall - During winter in the Northern Hemisphere, stratospheric winds tend to form a vortex around the pole. Measured ozone losses in the winter of 1999-2000 were unusually severe, propelled by cold temperatures and the commensurate formation of Polar Stratospheric Clouds. NASA's high altitude ER-2 aircraft, and the space agency's DC-8 took measurements of total atmospheric ozone. Readings from NASA's orbiting TOMS instrument showed a clear ozone minimum over the polar region during February and March. (4) SOLVE Deployment Site - Scientists choose Kiruna, Sweden as the SOLVE deployment site for two reasons. First, the Arena Arctica facility at the Kiruna airport is a superb hanger for the ER-2 and DC-8 operations. Second, Kiruna's extreme northern latitude is ideally located for measurements of the lower stratospheric polar vortex. Kiruna, Sweden is noted by the black point on the map, and a 2000 km circle is drawn around it, illustrating the range of both the ER-2 and DC-8. |
| ITEM (9): THE RIVEN SKY: OZONE HOLE WIDENS, DEEPENS SYNOPSIS: This year's Antarctic ozone hole is the largest ever observed. Scientists continue to investigate the phenomenon, raising surprised eyebrows at its scale. Using data from NASA's Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument onboard the Earth Probe satellite, researchers can evaluate and compare current conditions over the south pole to readings taken by other instruments in years past. Continued monitoring of polar ozone levels helps researchers gain a better understanding of how the planet's climate may be changing. (1) The Ozone Hole - This animation shows a huge section of the atmosphere around the south pole that's comparatively devoid of ozone. The gap reached a record size of 29.7 million kilometers squared in late September 2000. The previous record was 28.3 million square kilometers squared recorded on Sept. 19, 1998. The minimum value of ozone dropped to 95 Dobson units on October 1, 2000. The lowest values are typically observed in the late September or early October. (2) A Trend Towards Larger Losses - The following animation shows how ozone loss at the south pole has grown since the mid-80s. Early readings over Antarctica indicated little or no ozone depletion beyond naturally predicted levels. But as the 80s and 90s progress, a clear change in atmospheric chemistry takes place at the bottom of the world. The hole starts small in the late 80s and spreads as subsequent winter cycles break apart ozone molecules.
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| ITEM (10): NOAA-L: MONITORING THE EARTH EACH AND EVERY DAY
SYNOPSIS: Part of NASA's mission is the utilization of space based technologies to study our own planet. In collaboration with its sibling agency NOAA, NASA sent the latest in a series of polar orbiting instruments into space last September. Officially called NOAA-L, it's one of the POES series, for Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite. Working in conjunction with the related GOES series, the research platform helps scientists keep a daily eye on processes affecting the Earth. (1) Rising To Meet The Sun: The Newest Poes Heads To Space - NOAA-L is the latest in a series of polar observing environmental satellites, designed to monitor the earth from a north-south orbit. Launched from Vandenberg AFB in the early morning hours of September 20, 2000, the satellite flies approximately 470 nautical miles (870 kilometers) above the Earth. NOAA-L takes about 102 minutes to complete one sun-synchronous orbit around the Earth. (2) The Daily Checkup: Keeping An Eye On Earth - As remote sensing techniques continue to evolve, ideas of systemic interconnectivity continue to gain scientific traction. NOAA-L capitalizes on this trend by observing the Earth with a wide range of instruments, measuring features from humidity to temperature, ozone, cloud cover and more. The data provided helps weather forecasters and climatologists develop predictions in both short and long term ranges. |
| THE OCEAN
ITEM (11): RESEARCH SUGGESTS DYNAMIC FORCES AT WORK IN ARCTIC ICE
SYNOPSIS: Despite its image as a static, frozen wasteland, the dynamic ice pack above the Arctic Circle plays an important role in regulating the Earth's climate. That's the focus of research conducted at NASA's Laboratory for Hydrospheric Processes at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Unlike Antarctica, the ice covered continent capping the South Pole, there is no land covering the North Pole. But study of the northern pack ice shows that it's not only more complex than initially thought, but also highly influential in the health of the planet.
Measuring Ice Concentrations - Research and data collection of Arctic Ocean ice isn't easy. But using data collected by a number of different satellites from 1978 to 1998, scientists have been able to stitch together a quality controlled record of sea ice in that part of the world. The first visualization displays average ice concentrations in March, the seasonal maximum; the second visualization shows the seasonal minimum, with measurements taken in September. (2) The Dynamic Ice Pack - The northern ice pack is a dynamic and complex environment, showing seasons much like the rest of the world. In spring and summer, the northern ice pack shrinks, and in autumn and winter it grows. Project scientists used observations of seasonal changes in the ice to determine if biannual averages were changing over time. In this visualization, 365 daily measurements of ice concentration are shown for the year 1998. (3) Changes In Ice Over Time - Over a nineteen-year period, the total concentration of ice over the northern part of the globe has decreased, but just slightly. At first glance this visualization appears to be a simple quantitative comparison of North Pole ice over time. In fact it's more subtle. This visualization shows comparative concentration, that is, how much area is covered by ice. Blue represents where ice concentrations were higher in 1979, while red represents where ice concentrations were higher in 1998.
(4) Charting Change In A Computer - Researchers modeled a 5,000 year period to see how polar ice might behave over time depending on several different variables. This visualization shows a 120-year slice of that complete model, essentially offering a research window onto experimental processes that require longer time frames than human lifetimes. From the period between 1940 to 2060, there is evidence to suggest that human factors have had a measurable effect on Arctic ice decreases. (5) The Global Role Of The Polar Caps - The polar caps not only hold much of the planet's total fresh water, but also play an important role in regulating the Earth's temperature. The relevant characteristic is called albedo. It's a measure of how much radiation, or light, is reflected from a body. Were the ice caps to recede, sunlight that otherwise would have been reflected back into space would get absorbed by the darker, denser mass of ocean and land beneath. (6) Is the Ocean Rising? - This animation provides a close-up perspective of the relationship between ice and solar reflectivity. As glaciers, the polar caps, and in this case, icebergs melt, less sunlight gets reflected into space. It's instead absorbed into the oceans and land, thus raising the overall temperature, and adding energy to a vicious circle. Of the many concerns voiced by scientists who study global warming trends, rising ocean levels is one of the most dramatic. An average rise in global ocean levels of just a few inches could have devastating effects on coastal towns, cities, and ecosystems. But since the northern pack ice is already floating its melting would not independently cause ocean levels to rise. However, the attending planetary conditions necessary to facilitate polar melting would likely have other enormous effects on the environment, including the likely melting of the southern polar cap. As the ice over Antarctica is NOT floating, a corresponding rise in the world's sea level would almost certainly result if it melted.
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| ITEM (12): TOPEX/POSEIDON: HIDDEN TIDAL ENERGY REVEALED
SYNOPSIS: Surfers trying to stay ahead of a curling wave this summer might be relieved to know that a long-standing mystery has been solved. Until recently, the total energy imparted to the oceans from the moon's gravitational pull has not been fully accounted for: about 30% had seemingly vanished without mathematical explanation. The total energy dissipating along the world's shallow areas and coasts don't add up to the expected total. But new research using data collected from the U.S./French satellite called TOPEX/Poseidon may have found the answer. (1) Dissipating Energy At The Bottom Of The Ocean - The Moon's gravity tugs at the earth, causing ocean water to slosh back and forth in predictable waves called tides. But as much as 30% of the total energy in the ocean may be scattered by rough topography found at the bottom of the sea. New research suggests that tidal swells break up and dissipate energy as water moves past the rough terrain of undersea mountains and ridges. (2) Mapping The Tides From Space - Using six years of data from TOPEX/Poseidon, scientists derived a 16-day set of predictive data, showing a synthetic view of how the tides move. Blue signifies where the water level is lower than the average reference height, and red shows areas where it's higher. Between the darkest blue and the brightest red is a range of more than 49 feet (15 meters). White areas separating the blues and reds approximate the "zero" point, a reference sea level against which other areas are compared. |
| ITEM (13): LANDSAT 7 SHOWS GLOBAL TROVE OF CORAL
SYNOPSIS: One year, 900 locations, thousands of coral reefs. That's the tally of NASA's Landsat 7 satellite as it continues to deliver cutting edge images and information about the Earth. More than 5000 coral reef scenes have been amassed in the first year of Landsat 7's operation. In that collection, many reefs have been seen more than once, offering scientists an opportunity to study seasonal variations as well as other changes in the reefs caused by hurricanes and climate change. (1) Spires Of Life - Landsat 7 satellite depicts a number of coral reefs like delicate brush strokes of color against an indigo canvas. By detecting light in discrete ranges of color-- or more accurately, electromagnetic bands-- the instrument can tailor images to highlight particular features being studied by experts. The different shades highlight various features specific to each coral colony. Patches of bright red show places where coral reefs are actively populated with living organisms. (2) Telling The Tale Of An Atoll - Generally speaking, atolls are the products of volcanic islands that have eroded away. Coral forms off shore from volcanic islands in tropical latitudes, developing a barrier reef that's separated by a growing lagoon. But over time the surrounding ocean wears away the main body of the island and the coral ring remains. When the island ultimately disappears from view, the remaining lagoon is left with a protective atoll.(3) Diving For Coral With A Plunge From Space - The purpose of this sequence is to demonstrate how different levels of resolution can contribute to a more refined total picture of what actually lives beneath the surface of the world's coastal oceans. The data sets are collected from the following sources, and listed with their corresponding levels of resolution: SeaWiFS (NASA Instrument/U.S. Satellite): 1000 meters MOS (German Instrument/Indian Satellite): 500 meters Space Shuttle photograph: 30-50 meters Landsat 5 (NASA Instrument/U.S. Satellite): 30 meters AISA aircraft instrument: 5 meters Benthic Habitats Map: 2-3 meters
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| ITEM (14): VIRTUAL RAIN, ELECTRONIC STORMS: NEW TOOLS FOR STUDYING CLIMATE
SYNOPSIS: Many in the science community are trying to understand the intricacies of seasonal climate patterns that contributed to the volatile pre-fire season conditions. One way they're working on the puzzle is by manipulation and analysis of virtual weather systems constructed in cyberspace. At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center sunny skies and soggy ground are being simulated by billions of mathematical calculations in the silicon heart of a supercomputer. By analyzing permutations of that artificial climate system, experts are developing more sophisticated tools to understand how weather patterns in one part of the world might dramatically affect conditions elsewhere. (1) New Tools For Studying Climate - Green areas indicate regions that the model says should have had higher than average quantities of soil moisture. Brown areas show places that should have had lower levels of soil moisture. The wispy veil curling through two of the maps depicts estimations of water vapor in the atmosphere-an influential component to overall climate behavior. The maps are shown twice each, with and without visible water vapor. (2) How Soil Moisture Affects Rainfall - There are two important regions to the atmosphere: the planetary boundary layer, and the atmosphere above it. The boundary layer is the air found directly above the ground. It's a roiling, churning section of the atmosphere, mainly stirred up by friction against the surface of the planet. Within the confines of certain variables, the boundary layer's maximum height is limited; the atmosphere above it is generally far calmer and colder. (3) An Affinity For Water - For atmospheric convection during the warm months to yield rain an adequate level of soil moisture is necessary Here we see warm, moist ground being heated by the rising sun. As the temperature climbs, moisture evaporates from the ground, saturating the air. This creates a higher "virtual temperature" for the layer of air close to the ground, as water vapor can store larger amounts of energy than the surrounding air molecules. That energetic, saturated mass rises as it warms until it breaks through the planetary boundary layer, rushing into the colder, less dense upper atmosphere. As it rises, the air rapidly cools, causing the suspended water vapor to condense. This creates the familiar thunderclouds that often accompany summer rains. Continued condensation inside those clouds ultimately form droplets that become too heavy to remain aloft and they fall from the sky as rain. (4) Dry Spring, Dry Summer - Spring and summer seasons that start out dry are likely to remain dry. That's because inadequate soil moisture in the beginning inhibits the production of rain clouds, thus perpetuating an inhibited cycle of rain, evaporation, and condensation. Here's what happens: dry soil heats up during the day. The planetary boundary layer warms and rises. As it rises, it expands. But without the added energy contained in evaporated moisture, it does not have either enough power to break into the upper regions of the sky, nor enough moisture to condense into rain clouds if it does manage to poke through. In other words, the boundary layer expands as it warms, but rain clouds do not form. Dry conditions at the beginning of the season often mean dry conditions for months. (5) MODIS Looks At Western Fires - Consider the following image taken September 4th by an instrument called MODIS onboard NASA's new satellite Terra. In it we see the scale and range of the devastating fires that blackened huge stretches of the American West. While not directly the result of subtle changes in the climate, the risks of western fires greatly increased as drier than normal conditions pervaded much of North America. (6) SeaWiFS Causes Smoke Plume - Heavy smoke and aerosols can be seen travelling as far East as the Great Lakes. The image of the United States and the smoke drifting across it like a gauzy veil were collected by NASA's SeaWiFS instrument. The patches of amber that fade onto the screen show information collected by the space agency's TOMS instrument. The TOMS data show that heavy smoke from the western blazes significantly raised ambient particulate concentrations more than a thousand miles away from the fires themselves. |
| THE LAND
ITEM (15): Urban Growth Seen from Space
SYNOPSIS: Ask anyone who lives in D.C. or New York or Phoenix: urban growth is booming and it's having profound effects on people's lives. Now research data confirms it. Using sophisticated remote sensing systems, scientists have evidence of significant changes to regional geography. At this year's annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C., researchers present findings about their study of wide scale urbanization. While some of their work demonstrates common sense causes and effects from growth, others provide startling evidence for heavy urban growth apparently causing major changes to local weather and climate patterns. (1) The Atlanta Heat Island - Using a specially outfitted Lear Jet, NASA researchers collected thermal data about the Atlanta metro area. As shown here, that aircraft data is lined up with a larger image, taken from the orbiting Landsat 5 satellite. The image starts in "natural" color and immediately transitions to a daytime temperature reading, with white and red indicating highest temperatures, respectively, and blues indicating cooler temperatures. Notice how the buildings themselves help keep small areas cool, casting shadows across the pavement and walls of surrounding structures. As the city rotates, the data fades to a nighttime reading. Using the same color scale, you can see how much heat remains locked in the developed areas of the city, a phenomena which becomes instantly apparent as the picture zooms out again to show the long stripe of data draped across the terrain. While daytime air temperatures on that date were only about 80 degrees, surface temperatures reached as much as 118 (F); nighttime air temperatures hovered between 50 and 55, but due to the heat sink, surface temperatures hung on as high as 75 degrees. (2) Patterns Of Urban Growth - In the past 17 years, urban growth in Atlanta has spread and blossomed, but not without dramatic changes to the surrounding area. Large patches of crop land have given way to commercial and residential developments, and industrialization along some of the main roadways have dramatically altered the face of Georgia's largest city. In this visualization, red and orange points indicate areas of highest urban growth. (3) Cloud Formation - One of the most dramatic areas of study concerns the way intense development may be affecting Atlanta's climate. In the following animation, we see the outlines of the city and Hartsfield Airport; the tiny dot in the lower left corner of Atlanta is the downtown skyline. As observed by one of the GOES satellites clouds begin forming over the city and pick up strength and size as they develop, moving east. Research suggests that as the city holds onto heat at night, it 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. But now there's evidence suggesting the phenomenon may be more intense over heavily urbanized areas than in naturally occurring places. In the animation, red indicates the heaviest concentration of precipitation with thick, high clouds; green are less intense storm areas, and the thick white areas are dense surrounding clouds. (4) Portland, Oregon And Metro Area - The city of Portland has strictly controlled how urbanization can spread. As a result, the vast majority of new construction has taken place inside the city boundaries, largely preserving the patchwork pattern found outside the blue border you see on the screen. Across the Columbia River along the northern border of the city, signs of wide spread growth in Washington State appear immediately from the red points sprouting all through town. These images were created from one set of data and shows progressive growth from 1986-1996. (5) Washington D.C. And Metro Area - The city limits are highlighted in purple. Surrounding it in blue is the infamous Washington Beltway, a heavily traveled, highly interconnected loop of road that runs around city. As the visualization flies over various locations, notice how growth progresses over time. It's partially as a result of this explosive growth that population and total number of vehicles in the D.C. area have increased roughly 13% and 22% respectively since 1990. (6) Spreading Urbanization - These Landsat 5 images show rapid growth around Shenzhen, China. Notice how roads, bridges, and massive construction projects transform the landscape. New structures appear off the southern coast, and highways grow less distinct against the background as think construction projects spread along the sides of the roads. Also notice how the massive growth alters lakes and mountains in the area, adding sediment to the water and changing borders of natural features. . (7) Changes In Vegetation - As construction goes up, something has to come down. Red indicates density of plant life, and as becomes immediately apparent, vegetation all but disappears across the region over the last ten years. By using data like this, researchers can better understand the causes of environmental changes they find in cities like Shenzhen. By better understanding the causes, researchers and policy makers hope to be able to better monitor a region's overall health.
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ITEM (16): FIRES IN AFRICA PROMPT RESEARCH FROM SPACE
SYNOPSIS: The goals of the SAFARI 2000 project was to better understand the nature of emission products (gases and aerosol particles) from fires in Africa. Researchers used ground-based instruments and sensors mounted on aircraft to measure emissions from the fires, the extent and severity of the burn scar, and to estimate how much biomass was consumed by flame. That data was then compared with data from the Terra and Landsat 7 spacecraft to measure the impacts of fire on climate and the environment on a global scale. Findings from the Safari 2000 project will lead to improved air pollution policies in the region and a better understanding of the pollution and its impact on climate change.
(1) Controlled Burn - Here we see the plot of an experimental, controlled burn in Kruger National Park in South Africa taken on August 15. Researchers lit a few acres within the plot that had been used to study various aspects of the regional ecosystem for several decades. Researchers used NASAs ER-2 airplane, two South African Weather Bureau planes, the University of Washington's Convair-580 and NASA's Terra and Landsat 7 spacecrafts. (2) Satellite View Of Fires - Researchers involved in the SAFARI 2000 mission planned each day according to data from instruments like the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) onboard NOAA's Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite (POES). The data here includes Angola, Congo, Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania, home to some of Africa's heaviest fires. (3) Orbiting Eyes On Aerosols - Here we see multiple fires are burning across the southern part of the African continent in September 2000, as shown by data from the AVHRR instrument on board the NOAA-14 satellite. The unprecedented amount of fires generated large amounts of aerosols, (overlaid on top,) which were observed with the Earth Probe Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument.. (4) Aerosols Absorb, Aerosols Reflect - Some aerosols sampled in the Safari 2000 campaign were more heat absorbing than expected, thus creating conditions that may have contributed to warming of the regions atmosphere. But other aerosols can reflect sunlight, creating cooling conditions. Part of the Safari 2000 mission was to learn how the process worked in Southern Africa. The following two animations illustrate the process. (5) Line Of Fire In Madikwe Game Reserve - Using data taken from a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) airborne simulator aboard NASA's ER-2 aircraft, the same burning region in the Madikwe Game Reserve is highlighted. The region is shown first in visible light, with smoke plumes. The simulator then peers through the smoke to view the fires. |
| ITEM (17): TERRA SEES EARTH ANEW SYNOPSIS: Curiosity about our home planet has never been greater. With the launch of Terra, scientists will have a wealth of new tools to pursue vital questions about the Earth. 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. Theyre designed to look at the Earths atmosphere, oceans, land, life, and radiant energy as the spacecraft flies above. The vehicle is expected to perform for six years. With it, researchers hope to gain a deeper understanding of how the Earth works.
(1) Terra Reveals North America - Terra is more than just the next incarnation of Earth observing research satellites. Its a geometric leap in scientific capability. In this first animation, we present a piece of North America in layers, each layer providing a different perspective about the territory observed. The slices show surface reflectance, water vapor, cloud cover, carbon monoxide, and radiative flux. (2) The Eastern United States From MODIS - Seen by MODIS, a slice of the United States stretching from the end of Florida to the edge of the Great Lakes shows wispy cirrus clouds above Tampa Bay, and folded terrain running the length of the Ozarks and Appalachians. (3) Comparing MODIS to AVHRR - MODIS is the most recent instrument to join a successful history of research tools designed to study reflected radiation. It has much in common with the current workhorse model, called AVHRR. But the two instruments are different in certain important respects. Most immediately we see how the new instrument on Terra can resolve surface features with greater clarity than the AVHRR system.
(4) Chlorophyll FluorescenceThe Oceans In A New Light - We live on land, but by any measure 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 planets health. For the first time, an orbiting instrument will be able to monitor that first rungphytoplankytonfrom space. By measuring fluorescent signals from under-productive phytoplankyton, MODIS will be able to take the pulse of the ocean on a daily basis.
(5) Chlorophyll Fluorescence - The intensity of a plants fluorescence is dependent on how successfully it uses sunlight to grow. Plants in environments that do not have the proper elements for photosynthesis will convert that light into radiative energyfluorescence. The greater the glow, the less capable the plant is able to photosynthesize. By measuring the glow from space with MODIS, researchers will be able to deductively ascertain a whole range of issues about the health of the worlds phytoplankyton.
(6) Sea Surface Temperature - With seventy percent of the Earths surface covered by water, the surface temperature of the oceans play an important role in the planets biosphere. Here we see the ocean temperature as visualized from space by MODIS, plus a measure of land vegetation called NDVI.
(7) Water Vapor Over The Indian Ocean - The complex subject of how anthropogenic aerosols affect the climate is currently an intense and important area of research. Continuing with research begun with the multi-agency INDOEX experiment in the Indian Ocean, MODIS presents a view of atmospheric water vapor in that region, demonstrating its ability to help atmospheric scientists better understand how the sky is related to life on the ground.
(8) Aerosols Over The Appalachians - By looking at a particular area from different angles, features that might otherwise have gone undetected are now available for observation. In this visualization we see two views of aerosols over the Appalachian Mountains taken by MISR. In the first view, the image is derived from data taken by the nadir camera, pointing almost directly downward at the area being studied. The second image is from the oblique camera, all the way off to the side, aimed at an angle at the study area.
(9) Blink To See: Cloud Height Parallax Over Florida - Using the multi-angle capabilities of MISR, scientists can measure the height of clouds from space. These images taken over Florida show demonstrate the technique by blinking between different perspectives over the same cloudy area.
(10) Stereo Pictures And Heat Signatures - ASTER adds to Terras 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. In this section we look at three sequences taken from ASTER. In order, they are San Francisco, Tokyo, and Mt. Fuji.
(11) MOPITTMonitoring Air Pollution Over Wide Areas - MOPITT looks at the Earth large areas at a time. By monitoring carbon monoxide and methane levels in the lower atmosphere, researchers are working to better understand how pollution affects the atmosphere and the greater biosphere. 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 fill the spaces currently blank.
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| ITEM (19): TRACKING FIRE TRENDS FROM SPACE
SYNOPSIS: Last summer smoke and flames darkened skies over large portions of the western United States. Limited rainfall and scorching temperatures created ideal conditions for fires, and weary firefighters struggled to combat the blazes. While fire crews converged on hot spots from around the country and beyond, researchers are made observations from space. The following images show both predictive models of fire danger and tools that might help experts better study the effects of fire in the future.
(1) Fire PotentialA National Map - The following animated map shows how fire dangers around the country have changed throughout the spring and summer. Each frame of the animation shows an eight-day period, running from April 28th to July 27th. Red areas indicate where fire potential is greater and green areas show places where the threat is lower. Data for this map comes from NOAAs satellite-based Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer.
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| ITEM (20): GREENLANDS RECEDING ICE SYNOPSIS: Less ice, more ocean. Thats the troubling conclusion emerging from new NASA research to study the condition of Greenlands ice sheet. Using a sophisticated laser altimeter repeatedly flown across the surface of Greenland, experts say the edges of the ice found there may be thinning at the rate of nearly one meter per year. By measuring changes in the ice, experts are looking for clues into broader subjects like global warming and climate changes.
(1) Rising And Falling Ice Levels - In the following series of animations, blues indicate areas where the loss of ice is greatest, and yellows indicate regions that are apparently thickening. Gray areas indicate no significant change in ice thickness there. Notice how the thinning is most severe at the coasts.
(2) Greenland's Thinning Ice - Based on new research using NASA's airborne laser altimeter, scientists have identified pronounced thinning of Greenland's ice cap. As ice melts near the edges, it gives up moisture to the slightly warmer air around it. That air rises to higher altitudes inland and the moisture precipitates out as snow, increasing inland elevations. Thus, a slight thickening in the interior supports observations of a greater net loss to the overall sum of Greenland's ice cap.
(3) Lidar: Using Light To Measure Height - Lidar is a distance measuring system similar to radar, except that instead of radio waves it uses pulses of laser light for range finding. Lidar derives from the words light and radar. The instrument determines precise distances by measuring the amount of time necessary for a pulse of light to leave an emitter, hit a target, and return. In this case, distance measurements helped researchers determine changes in ice thickness.
(4)Ice: The Planets Thermostat - Here we begin with a view of Greenland as it may have looked 100,000 years ago. Moving in, notice what happens as the climate begins to warm. Glaciers surrounding the edge of Greenland begin to slump, then melt, adding billions of gallons to the oceans. The humid air from the coasts rises to the interior, where it cools and dumps snow. When the camera pulls back, we see Greenlands ice cap much reduced in size, resulting in measurable and significant changes to the worlds climate. |
| ITEM (21): NASA RELEASES NEW WAY TO MEASURE DROUGHT
SYNOPSIS: While flooding, storms, and fires can all bring disaster, the long-term wallop delivered by drought can immobilize nations for years, altering geography, food supplies, access to water, and more. Using data collected from NOAAs POES (Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite), scientists have developed a drought index based on plant growth. Used in conjunction with other drought monitoring and forecasting techniques, this newly released method will afford experts a sophisticated tool for predicting where droughts could develop and how long and intensely they might last.
(1) One Year Vegetation Average - Developed nearly twenty years ago, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is a method for measuring how plants absorb or reflect sunlight. NDVI data gathered by NOAAs Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer shows the average annual cycle of vegetation growth and recession across the whole of the United States and Africa. The data is averaged over the years 1981 to 2000.
(2) The Cycle Of Life On Earth - Although life on Earth moves in regular cycles, each year is not precisely identical to the next. Here we see several years of NDVI data moving through seasonal growth and recession. Careful observation of the scintillating colors will show that although there are distinct and strong oscillating signals corresponding to the change of seasons, each year shows unique features as the plants grow and die off. As well see in a few moments, some of these unique features, frozen as still images, show distinct signs of drought.
(3) The Browning Of AmericaDrought Seen From Space - This new drought prediction technique uses a simple bit of visual arithmetic to derive its results. By taking the NDVI average of a particular region of the Earth for the years 1981-2000 and subtracting the NDVI value of that same region during a specific month, we are left with a value that can be placed along a scale that at one end indicates drought. In the following images, we see five specific months of data each displayed in three distinct ways. The first picture in each grouping shows the NDVI average for the 20 year period in the geographical region being studied. The second image shows the NDVI measurement for that same region as measured during a specific month. The final image in each sequence shows the difference between the two NDVI values; its essentially a visualization of the quantified drought anomaly. In the anomaly images, browns indicate drought conditions as compared to the average, while greens indicate plant growth greater than the average.
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| ITEM (22): EO-1 SEES THE FUTURE WHILE LOOKING AT EARTH
SYNOPSIS: In the future, exploration of the Earth will demand research tools that can not only make some of their own decisions, but deliver results faster, better and cheaper than their forebears. NASAs launch of the experimental EO-1 satellite is a significant milestone in that journey. Part of the space agencys New Millennium Program, engineers designed EO-1 to test advanced technologies for instruments pointed at our own planet. The satellite will not only demonstrate significant improvements in data collection capabilities, but will also test methods for dramatically reducing costs and complexity to achieve state of the art goals..
(1) EO-1--A View From Above - The hexagonal satellite called EO-1 carries a suite of instruments designed to test new technologies while also conducting valuable research about our home planet. Flying almost 438 miles above the Earth, the satellites scientific hardware can deliver data previously possible only from satellites far larger and more complex. Fully outfitted, EO-1 weighed nearly 1166 pounds at launch. It was launched on a Delta 7320-10 rocket from Vandenberg AFB in California.
(2) Clearing The View - The Atmospheric Corrector - Between the Earth and any satellite on orbit lies an ocean through which all information must pass. Its the atmosphere, and to the highly precise sensors of delicate orbiting systems, it can be just like looking through a cloudy or warped window. The EO-1 project will test a new device designed to compensate for atmospheric distortion. Its called The Atmospheric Corrector (AC). If proven effective, such a device will likely be applicable to other scientific or commercial remote sensing missions.
(3) The Advanced Land Imager - In many ways, the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) embodies the engineering ideal that less is more. The EO-1 project team designed ALI to deliver Landsat or better quality images at a significant reduction in weight, technical complexity, and cost-- all vital features to facilitating development of advanced Earth observing satellites.
(5) Beyond The PaleHyperion Imaging Spectrometer - The instrument is designed to gather highly complex data from a given region on the Earth by viewing the surface in terms of 220 distinct colors or "bands" of light. Think of looking at a photograph in black in white and then comparing the exact same frame in color. Even though there is no greater resolution to the image, no change in perspective, lighting, or magnification, the amount of data presented to the viewer has greatly increased.
(6) Changing Directions Pulsed Plasma Thruster - This innovative design for a steering thruster uses solid Teflon as a means for changing the satellites spatial orientation. When small amounts of the propellant are turned to plasma by an electrical discharge, its accelerated out of the steering nozzle by an electromagnetic field. Because of the plasma discharge, project managers will test the thruster after most of the other systems on the satellite have put through their paces.
(7)The LANDSAT Duet: Enhanced Formation Flying, Part I - A novel experiment will be conducted with EO-1 and Landsat 7 working in concert. In the first satellite maneuver of its kind, EO-1 and Landsat 7 will assume an orbital "formation", flying approximately one minute apart on the same ground track. In terms of distance, this will place the two spacecraft approximately 270 miles (450 kilometers) apart, plus or minus 30 miles (50 kilometers) or so.
(8) A String of Pearls: Enhanced Formation Flying, Part II - EO-1 will become part of a carefully choreographed constellation, joining Landsat 7, Terra, and SAC-C, an instrument designed and managed by the space agency of Argentina. Enhanced Formation Flying (EFF) tests highly sophisticated software systems, including so-called "fuzzy logic" algorithms to resolve navigational and operational conflicts that inevitably occur in flight.
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