1998 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synposis |
| TAKING THE PULSE OF EL NINO: FIRST GLOBAL PRECIPITATION IMAGES HIGHLIGHT DEVASTATING EFFECTS | G98-008 | 1/25/99 | 00:12:30 | New images from NASA illustrate the effects of El Nino on the distribution of global precipitation during 1997 and early 1998. Regional close-ups highlight areas devastated by floods or droughts, and illustrate the effects the early February storms that repeatedly slammed into the California Coast.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): GLOBAL PRECIPITATION ANOMALIES - The animation highlights global rainfall anomalies associated with the 1997-98 El Nino. Green regions are wetter than normal and red regions are drier than normal. The data were collected by the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) on board the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) series of satellites.
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| ITEM (2): REGIONAL PRECIPITATION ANOMALIES - The animation highlights regional rainfall anomalies associated with the 1997-98 El Nino. Green regions are wetter than normal and red regions are drier than normal. Close-ups of North America, South America, Pacific Basin, Indonesia and Australia regions.
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| ITEM (3): AGGREGATE PRECIPITATION ANOMALIES - The next segment presents the cumulative distribution of these rainfall anomalies added together beginning in January 1997 to the present. The accumulated effect of El Nino on global rainfall patterns indicate over the past 12 months there has been a surplus of rainfall between 6-8 feet in the eastern tropical Pacific and a deficit of rainfall between 5-7 feet over Indonesia. The data were collected by the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) on board the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) series of satellites.
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| ITEM (4): 3-D EL-NINO - Dramatic 3-D animation examines El Ni–o from several different perspectives. The visualizations show the correlation between sea surface temperature, wind patterns and sea surface height. This 3-D data visualization combines data representing 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 though 02/07/98. 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.
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| ITEM (5): SEA LEVEL ANOMALIES
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| ITEM (6): SIDE-BY-SIDE EL NINOŐS - Comparison of temperatures from the 1982-83 El Nino with this yearŐs event. The images show that this yearŐs El Nino developed much earlier and than the 82-83 event. The 1982-83 eventually reversed and developed into a La Nina pattern towards the end of 1983. Temperatures in a La Nina are actually lower than normal. Scientists use data from previous El Ninos to develop models that help them better predict the evolution of this yearŐs El Nino event.
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| ITEM (7): SEAWiFS IMAGE: INDONESIAN FIRES - Image from NASAŐs Sea Viewing Wide Field Sensor (SeaWiFS) of showing smoke and clouds over Indonesia last October. El Nino has been blamed for widespread drought in parts of southeast Asia.
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| ITEM (8): TOMS VIEW OF INDONESIAN FIRES - Fires over Indonesia as seen from NASAŐs Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS).
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| ITEM (9): GALAPAGOS ISLANDS - El Nino is not just changes in ocean temperature, wind, and rainfall. It also has a significant impact on the biosphere. This sequence show a series of images that show the biological changes in the marine ecosystem brought to the Galapagos region by El Nino. The sequence illustrates the dramatic biological changes in the marine ecosystem around the Galapagos Islands by comparing plankton concentrations at the end of the large 1982-1983 El Ni–o (first image) with an image from this yearŐs powerful El Nino (second image). The colors in the images represent the concentrations of microscopic plants (phytoplankton) that makeup the lowest levels of the oceanŐs food chain. Higher concentrations are shown in red and yellow.
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| ITEM (10): B-ROLL OF SCIENTISTS WORKING - B-Roll of scientists working with El Nino images.
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| ITEM (11): TOPEX ANIMATION
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| ITEM (12): SEAWiFS ANIMATION
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| ITEM (13): INTERVIEW W/ANTONIO BUSALACCHI, RESEARCH OCEANOGRAPHER
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| ITEM (14): INTERVIEW W/JOEL PICAUT, RESEARCH DIRECTOR OF THE FRENCH INSTITUTE ORSTOM
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