1997 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| El NINO IN 3-D | G97-032 | 10/9/97 | 00:07:46 | Dramatic new 3-D animation examines El Nino from several different perspectives. The visualizations show the correlation between sea surface temperature, wind patterns and sea surface height.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): WEATHERING THROUGH THE STORM WITH EL NINO - This 3-D data visualization combines data of sea surface height (3-D elevation) , wind patterns (black arrows) and sea surface temperature (colors) to give new insights into the complex El Nino Event. The data, which are changes from normal conditions, are presented for period extending from September 96 through September 97. The animations show an eastward moving wave which raises the sea level in response to wind changes a third of the way around the globe in the far western Pacific. By summer, the wave has arrived at the coast of South America reducing the normal upwelling of cold water in the region and increasing the temperature near Galapagos by as much as 9 degrees (F). Intense convection, associated with the warming near the Equator, causes the local winds to converge reducing the strength of the trade winds.
Data of surface height - NASA TOPEX radar altimetry satellite
Sea surface temperature data - NOAA's AVHRR satellite
Wind data - FSU Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Predictrion Studies (COAPS) ship measurements
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| ITEM (2): 3-D EL NINO TEMPERATURE AND SEA SURFACE HEIGHT ANOMALIES - This 3-D visualization combines a sea surface height with sea surface temperature. The height has been greatly exaggerated to illustrate the correlation between the temperature anomaly and the upwelling of warm water near the Equator.
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| ITEM (3): SEA SURFACE HEIGHT AND WIND STRESS ANOMALIES -Wind Data from Florida State University Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS) ship measurements.
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| ITEM (4): SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE ANOMALIES - Sea Surface Temperature data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument on board the NOAA-7 satellite.
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| ITEM (5): SEA SURFACE HEIGHT ANOMALIES - Sea Surface Height data from Topex Poseidon Altimeter.
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| ITEM (6): EL NINO B-ROLL - TRMM radar integration.
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| ITEM (7): INTERVIEW - TONY BUSALACCHI, CHIEF, LABORATORY OF HYDROSPHERIC PROCESSES, GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER - Discusses the complex El Nino Event.
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