1998 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| SEAWIFS "DRAMATIC PORTRAIT OF OUR PLANET" | G98-045 | 9/17/98 | 00:45:28 | For the first time in history, NASA is releasing dramatic mages documenting the Earth's changing biology, both on land and in the oceans, as observed from space for one continuous year.
The changing seasons of life, the "pulse of the planet," are being monitored by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), which was launched on Aug. 1, 1997, and has continuously produced data since Sept. 18, 1997. The SeaWiFS mission is the first NASA Earth Science data purchase in which
industry led the development of the full mission.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
ITEM (1a): "PULSE OF THE PLANET" - NASA scientists have rendered an entire year of global SeaWiFS data into a series of animated sequence. The images highlight the life and death of the Earth's plant life which seem to pulse with each change in the seasons. The red and yellow areas in the ocean represent regions with high concentrations of chlorophyll and, therefore, high numbers of microscopic green plants called phytoplankton. On land, heavily vegetated areas are dark green and areas with little or no vegetation are colored brown. Each sequence contains four seasonal averages -- Sept.-Nov. (Fall), Dec.-Feb. (Winter), Mar.- May (Spring) and June-Aug. (Summer).
- Cut 1: Global View [Earth spin showing seasonal transitions]
- Cut 2: Earth Spin to U.S. View [Earth spins and slows to U.S.]
- Cut 3: Global View [Flat sequence]
- Cut 4: Western Hemisphere
- Cut 5: North America Wide View
- Cut 6: North America
- Cut 7: South America
- Cut 8: Europe
- Cut 9: Africa
- Cut 10: Asia
- Cut 11: Australia
ITEM (1b): "PULSE OF THE PLANET - NORTH ATLANTIC BLOOM" - During the winter, storms and surface cooling mix the surface waters of the Atlantic, replenishing the nutrient supply from the deep, cold, nutrient rich waters. Once sunlight is sufficient to support plant growth, phytoplankton populations explode and persist for nearly 3 months until nutrients are depleted. This bloom migrates northward in synchrony with the Sun throughout the summer.
ITEM (1c): "PULSE OF THE PLANET - REBOUND FROM EL NINO" - SeaWiFS enabled scientists to witness the ocean transition from El Ni–o (first image) to La Ni–a (second image) conditions in the Equatorial Pacific. The cooler upwelled nutrient-rich waters associated with the demise of El Nino also brought a huge plankton bloom along the equator.
ITEM (1d): "PULSE OF THE PLANET - EXPLOSION IN THE GALAPAGOS" - SeaWiFS images documented the rapid demise of El Nino in the waters around the Galapagos Islands. The images show a explosion in plankton growth as the warm El Nino waters blamed for choking off essential ocean nutrients are replaced by deep cold upwelled waters. The false color images, which document plankton concentrations a period from May 9 - 24 1998, show that life in the region to the west archipelago has returned in remarkable abundance. High concentrations are shown red. Areas occluded by clouds are shown in white.
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ITEM (2): U.S. REGIONAL IMAGES - Scientists have produced a series of high-resolution images to help them better understand seasonal changes in ocean and land-based plant life in regions around the U.S. Each sequence begins with true color images from selected dates and transitions to computer-enhanced images which highlight plankton and sediment concentrations. The images focus on seventeen coastal regions around the U.S. including:
- Cut 1: Boston and Cape Cod
- Cut 2: Buffalo and Great Lakes
- Cut 3: Charleston area
- Cut 4: Chesapeake Bay and Eastern Shore
- Cut 5: Chicago and Great Lakes
- Cut 6: Detroit and Great Lakes
- Cut 7: Cape Hatteras and Outer Banks region
- Cut 8: Los Angeles
- Cut 9: Miami region
- Cut 10: New Orleans and Gulf Coast
- Cut 11: New York and Long Island area
- Cut 12: Portland area
- Cut 13: San Francisco Bay area
- Cut 14: San Diego area
- Cut 15: Seattle/Vancouver
- Cut 16: Tallahassee area
- Cut 17: Tampa/St. Petersburg region
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ITEM (3): AN EYE FOR DISASTERS - SeaWiFS provided a unique perspective to a variety of natural disasters, including fires in Florida, Mexico, and Indonesia, floods in China and the progress of Hurricanes such as Bonnie and Danielle.
- Cut 1: Florida Fires - June 1998
- Cut 2: Mexico Fires - May 1998
- Cut 3: Indonesian Fires - October 1997
- Cut 4: Flooding on the Yangtze River - August 1998
- Cut 5: Hurricane Bonnie - September, 1998>
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ITEM (4): SEAWIFS HIGH-RESOLUTION FLYOVERS
- Cut 1: East Coast
- Cut 2: East Coast and Great Lakes
- Cut 3: Mississippi River
- Cut 4: Gulf Coast
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| ITEM (5a): SEAWIFS ANIMATION - Animation of NASA's Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) onboard the SeaStar Satellite.
ITEM (5b): SEAWIFS LAUNCH - he SeaWiFS instrument was launched on a Pegasus rocket on August 1, 1998.
ITEM (5c): VIEWING PLANKTON FROM SPACE - - Plankton bloom in such numbers that they actually change the color of the ocean enough to be observed from space. Scientists use computers to examine the subtle color shifts in the oceans and determine plankton concentrations.
ITEM (5d): PLANKTON B-ROLL -Phytoplankton makes up the base of the important marine food chain.
ITEM (5e): SEAWIFS RESEARCHERS B-ROLL
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