NASA On Air: NASA’s Carbon Dioxide Plumes - World Map (11/21/2014)

In one remarkable pass on September 2, 1998, TRMM captured data from four hurricanes: Howard, Isis, Earl, and Danielle. ||

These compelling images are from Hurricane Bonnie showing a cumulonimbus storm cloud, towering like a sky scraper, 59,000 feet (18 kilometers) into the sky from the eyewall. Thes images were obtained on Saturday, 22 August 1998, by the world's first spaceboarne rain RADAR aboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), a joint U.S.-Japanese mission. Launched November 27, 1997, the TRMM spacecraft continues to provide exciting new insight into cloud systems over tropical oceans. By comparison, the highest mountain in the world, Mt. Everest, is 29,000 feet (9 kilometers) and the average commercial jet flies at barely one-half the height of Bonnie's cloud tops. Scientists believe that towering cloud structures like this are probably precursors to hurricane intensification. This was the situation with Bonnie whose central pressure dropped from 977 millibars to 957 millibars in the subsequent 24 hours. TRMM is a joint NASA and NASDA mission that was launched November 27, 1997 from the Japanese Space Center, Tanegashima, Japan. ||

A narrated tape on the 1997 El Niño, showing the effects of El Niño through animations. ||

A slow flyby of the SeaStar satellite orbiting the Earth. The imagery on the Earth was taken by the SeaWiFS instrument onboard the SeaStar satellite. || a000397.00090_print.png (720x480) [532.1 KB] || hd000397_720p_pre.jpg (320x240) [12.8 KB] || a000397_thm.png (80x40) [5.7 KB] || a000397_pre.jpg (320x238) [11.1 KB] || a000397_pre_searchweb.jpg (320x180) [74.8 KB] || hd000397_720p.mpg (1920x1080) [45.5 MB] || hd000397_720p.webmhd.webm (960x540) [4.7 MB] || a000397.dv (720x480) [348.9 MB] || a000397.mp4 (640x480) [20.1 MB] || a000397.mpg (352x240) [13.0 MB] ||

This animation shows the onset of the very strong 1997 El Niño, followed by its collapse and replacement by La Niña. Anomalously warm waters slosh across the Pacific in late 1997 as El Niño begins and the equatorial trade winds diminish in strength. In May 1998, the El Niño event disperses and is rapidly replaced by its reciprocal phenomenon, La Niña, with anomalously cold water along the eastern equatorial Pacific and a reversal of the wind flow patterns. ||

These scenes shows Landsat Thematic Mapper data of the cities of Oakland and Berkeley, as well as the San Francisco Bay Area. The first image, which is predominately brown in color, is a 'natural color' image which uses the Thematic Mapper bands 3, 2, and 1 displayed as red, green, and blue respectively. This yields a color scheme approximately the same as those seen by the human eye. The other two scenes use data from the infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum to maximize the range of wavelengths shown. These images use the shortwave infrared (TM band 5), infrared (TM band 4), and visible green (TM band 2) channels. Digital elevation data was used in the two city scenes to create three dimensional terrain, which is vertically exaggerated by a factor of three to show the relief of the land. The city in the foreground and slightly to the left is Oakland, with Alameda on the island seperated from Oakland by the narrow strip of water. The island south (left) of Alameda is filled land on which the Oakland International Airport has been built. The Bay Bridge carries Interstate 80 across the Bay and into downtown San Francisco to the right of the image center. Berkeley sits between the hills and bay to the north (right) of the Bay Bridge. San Francisco, Angel Island, Tiburon, Marin County, and the Golden Gate are all visible on the far side of the bay. The strong brown/gray tone of the natural color image is a result of the data being taken during the early autumn when ground cover is very dry and the land tends to appear somewhat barren. In the TM 542 scenes, barren exposed land appears red to pink, vegetation appears green, and water is dark blue. ||

For years scientists have known of the 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 (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) satellite have developed a technique for looking through clouds that is likely to enhance forecasters' abilities to predict hurricane intensity before their massive energies fully develop. A hurricane gathers energy from warm waters found in tropical latitudes. As Hurricane Bonnie crosses the Atlantic, it leaves a cooler trail of water in its wake. As 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. As Danielle crosses Bonnie's wake, however, winds speeds increase due to temperature increases in surface water around the storm. ||

For years scientists have known of the 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 (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) satellite have developed a technique for looking through clouds that is likely to enhance forecasters' abilities to predict hurricane intensity before their massive energies fully develop. A hurricane gathers energy from warm waters found in tropical latitudes. As Hurricane Bonnie crosses the Atlantic, it leaves a cooler trail of water in its wake. As 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. As Danielle crosses Bonnie's wake, however, winds speeds increase due to temperature increases in surface water around the storm. This version Includes a speed bar showing Danielle's wind speed and a date annotation. ||

By monitoring the color of reflected light via satellite, scientists can determine how successfully plant life is photosynthesizing. A measurement of photosynthesis is essentially a measurement of successful growth, and growth means successful use of ambient carbon. Until now, scientists have only had a continuous record of photosynthesis on land. But following three years of continual data collected by the SeaWiFS instrument, NASA has gathered the first record of photosynthetic productivity in the oceans. By taking three years of continuous data as a whole, experts have been able to map trends and anomalies in the global circulation of carbon to a degree of detail than has never been done before. It is a baseline measurement to by which all future measurements will be compared. ||

Using data from different spacecraft and some powerful computer technology, visualizers at the Goddard Space Flight Center present you with a collection of American cities in a way you have never seen them before. Starting with our camera high above the Earth, we rush in towards the surface at what would be an impossible speed for any known vehicle. Passing though layers of atmosphere, the colors of our destinations shimmer with their own unique characteristics, and suddenly we find ourselves floating in virtual space just above the ground. ||