Category:Earth Observations

SJS / GreenPolicy360 Siterunner: Beginning in December 1968 with Earthrise and continuing thru 1972 with Apollo's final human-taken image of the Whole Earth, humanity's vision of our place in the universe has shifted as never before. We are beginning to realize we are fellow travelers on Spaceship Earth, our Home Planet, and together we are reshaping the future of life on Earth, for good and bad. In many ways, we now facing existential questions that require 'new ways of seeing'. The Environmental movement is hard at work to create a healthy, sustaining future for generations to come -- and our Earth Observations are key to understanding.

Explore Earth Right Now and follow Earth Science Research from Space... We at GreenPolicy are envisioning New Definitions of National Security and as PlanetCitizen travelers of a green movement, we are communicating and networking in a new era of information technology that is now capable of opening the eyes (and hopefully aiding the wisdom) of all of us here on Earth.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

News / January 2017

Planet Acquires Google’s Satellite Business

Planet Labs Inc. (Planet), a startup that launches small satellites into orbit and sells the imagery, is acquiring the Terra Bella satellite business of Alphabet Inc. (Google)

Planet will receive seven high-resolution satellites that Terra Bella currently has in orbit and plans to launch an additional six of Terra Bella’s satellites. They are larger than Planet’s existing satellites and offer up to six times better imagery resolution...

Google acquired its satellite division, then called Skybox Imaging, for $500 million in 2014.

https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Planet_Labs_Doves_Fly

A New 50-Trillion-Pixel (Terra Bella) Image of Earth, Every Day

Democratizing Earth Science, Earth Research and Earth Observation from Space

http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Democratization_of_Space

http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Micro-satellites

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Pale Blue Dot from Cassini near Saturn, 2013

Far, far away, there we are...

Pale Blue Dot from Voyager near the edge of the Solar System, 1990

○

June 2016: 50th Anniversary of Landsat

Steward Udall proposes 'Earth Observation' program, 1966 launch - http://eros.usgs.gov/udall50thanniversary/udall.php

http://eros.usgs.gov/udall50thanniversary/documents/1966.09.21-DOI-Udall-Earth%20Resources%20Studied%20From%20Space.pdf

President Reagan moves to cancel Landsat, Congressman George Brown acts to continue Landsat

George Brown's political action saved the Landsat program. The Congressman out in front of "big science" for decades was a key figure in the Landsat program, the long-running database of imagery of Earth that is moving on to its fifth decade with Landsat 9 (and open access) as a result of Brown's efforts. On the House science committee for over 30 years, George led an array of science efforts, including one that greens look to as prescient -- he drafted legislation establishing the first national climate change research program via the National Climate Program Act of 1978. The Congressman was a mentor for your GreenPolicy Siterunner from 1964 until his untimely passing in 1999.

Landsat 9 Is Coming

NASA: Earth Sciences

Landsat 9 will propel the program past 50 years of collecting global land cover data

A New Satellite for One of the Great U.S. Space Programs

Landsat 9 will launch in 2023, and promises the continuity of a critical, long-running database for imagery of the Earth's surface

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/04/a-new-satellite-for-one-of-the-great-us-space-programs/390711/

http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/04/21/multiple-satellites-planned-in-long-term-landsat-program/

http://www.gizmag.com/nasa-landsat-9-usgs/37083/

http://spacenews.com/landsat-9-office-opens-at-goddard-procurement-decisions-loom/

○

April 2006: A Tenth-Year Reminder

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Sea-Level Rise: Another Study, Another Warning

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Another in a Series of Satellites Launched to Monitor Planet Change

Ocean Science: Studying Sea-Level Rise

Jason-3 in Orbit - http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/jason-3-launches-to-monitor-global-sea-level-rise

https://blogs.nasa.gov/Jason-3/

Confirmation has arrived via the Fairbanks, Alaska tracking station that Jason-3’s solar arrays are, indeed, out. The twin Jason-3 solar arrays have been extended and the spacecraft is power positive, flying in its planned orbit of 66 degrees to the Earth’s equator : 3:21 pm EST

Earth Science Research from Space

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Jason-3 launching on January 17

The 1,200-pound (550 kg) Jason-3 satellite is the fourth in a series of ocean-monitoring satellites, which are now taking center stage in monitoring Earth's climate. "More than 90 percent of all the heat being trapped in the Earth's system ... is actually going into the ocean," said Laury Miller, Jason-3 lead scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "This makes the ocean perhaps the biggest player in the climate change story."

Scientists can use the information to figure out ocean heights to within 0.2 inches (0.5 cm), said Josh Willis, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "We can really see the rise of the global oceans. This is one of the most important yardsticks we have for human-caused climate change," Willis said, adding that heat, plus runoff water from melting ice sheets, causes ocean levels to climb.

○

Earth Science/Research from Space

The Big Picture: Monitoring Earth's 'Vital Signs' and Future

http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Science_Research_from_Space

http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_and_Space,_Politics

http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Right_Now

http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/New_Definitions_of_National_Security

○

Eyes in the Sky: Green Groups Are Harnessing Data from Space

SkyTruth -- http://skytruth.org/about/history/

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Planet Citizens Are Climate Citizens: Follow #Earth360 News

http://www.planetcitizen.org -- http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Climate_News

http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_and_Space,_Politics

“As scientists, we must go where the evidence takes us, we can’t allow our worries about climate contrarians and how they might seek to misrepresent our work to dictate what we do and do not publish."

-- Michael Mann, 2016

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Christmas Eve, Earth View from DSCOVR

December 24th, 2015

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Nov in DC

Via Vox -- U.S. House Science Committee Talks Conspiracy and Subpoenas

Via Climate Progress -- U.S. Senate Republicans Say 'No' to Paris Climate Accord

Via Politico -- "Republicans seek to strangle Paris climate pact"

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

OCO-2 CO2 Observations-Data

Sept 2015 -- Historic emissions-monitoring data... now available via JPL/NASA....

Orbiting Carbon Observatory climate change satellite mission begins to deliver earth atmospheric science... OCO-2 reports home and JPL/NASA release 'gif' data from 2014/2015

The mission's key objectives: #earthscience and #environmentalsecurity ...Look more closely at our "thin blue layer" ... advance environmental security employing earth observations from space

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Shifting from OCO-2 and the first-generation of earth-satellite observations of earth's atmosphere, as studied from space, we now look at earth's fresh water sources in a first-generation observation of aquifers...

One of the issues rarely confronted when considering high intensive agriculture is the use of water in unsustainable irrigation. The draw down and depletion of aquifers is a rising cost and only recently, with the advent of earth observation and monitoring systems, are technologies becoming available to measure the extent of groundwater basins and recharging capabilities. The new satellite measurements of aquifers/ground water globally, as are now being reported with NASA GRACE satellites, comprise both a warning and a capability of needed sustainable environmental security. Water saving and water security are essential to a sustainable agriculture policy and larger goals of environmental security

http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Aquifers

"Time to depletion" -- "Significant segments of Earth's population are consuming groundwater quickly without knowing when it might run out..."

"Available physical and chemical measurements are simply insufficient," said UCI professor and principal investigator Jay Famiglietti, who is also the senior water scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "Given how quickly we are consuming the world's groundwater reserves, we need a coordinated global effort to determine how much is left."

The studies are the first to comprehensively characterize global groundwater losses with data from space, using readings generated by NASA's twin GRACE satellites.

○

Groundwater Basins in Distress

The GRACE mission reports home -- http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83799955/ -- http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11466534

http://mashable.com/2015/06/16/groundwater-aquifers-depleted/ -- http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/06/16/new-nasa-studies-show-how-the-world-is-running-out-of-water/

···········································································································································

Earth Observation Science Initiatives Grow in Importance Even as...

U.S. Congress acts to cut earth observation science

U.S. Congress/Science Committee News (Not Good News)

Earth Science Politics

Science Orgs Respond to Attacks by Science Com't

Environmental Security

Climate News

○

http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Presidents_budget_see_earth_science.jpg

http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:House_budget_see_earth_science.jpg

Re: funding cuts to NASA's critical Earth science and space technology programs

On May 1, 2015, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Dr. John P. Holdren issued the following statement on proposed funding cuts to NASA's critical Earth science and space technology programs:

"If enacted, the NASA authorization bill headed to the House floor later this month would do serious damage to the Nation’s space program, as well as to Earth-observation and Earth-science programs essential for predicting, preparing for, and minimizing the damage from disasters both natural and human-induced.

The House bill would also gut the NASA “mission to planet Earth”—the satellite observations and related research that provide key measurements and insights relevant to forecasting and tracking hurricanes, fighting wildfires, observing the state of the world’s farms and forests, mapping the extent of droughts, measuring the stocks of groundwater, and monitoring the likelihood of landslides. The draconian cuts in the House bill would also delay advances in our ability to research and prepare for volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis and blind us to changes in the Earth’s oceans and ice sheets that can be discerned only from space."

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

GreenPolicy360 Continues to Highlight Security

New Definitions of National Security

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

http://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/You_can_manage_only_what_you_can_measure_Dr_David_Crisp%2C_OCO-2%2C_June_2014_m.jpg

http://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Earth_Right_Now

Earth Right Now

https://twitter.com/hashtag/EarthRightNow?src=hash

http://science.nasa.gov/earth-science/

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/index.html

http://www.nasa.gov/smap/

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GPM/main/index.html

http://www.nasa.gov/rapidscat/

http://www.nasa.gov/cats/

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/oco2/index.html - https://twitter.com/iamoco2

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

December 2014

Historic Orbiting Carbon Observatory Satellite Sends Back Most Detailed CO2 View Ever / Dec 18, 2014

Initial OCO-2 data available in March for scientists and public to download and explore

Phys.org - Discovery - Weather - Nature

Sample Data -- OCO-2 Data Portal

○ ○ ○ ○

November

Counting carbon over Southern California - OCO-2 at work

October

Mission status report

September

OCO Orbit

Megacities

August

August 13th/Climate Central news report of first data

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist who develops software algorithms for OCO to retrieve information about carbon dioxide in our atmosphere

July 2 2014

Watching the Planet Breathe

NASA Launches New Carbon-Sensing Mission to Monitor Earth’s 'Breathing'

"Climate change is the challenge of our generation," says NASA Administrator Charles Bolden

Follow the OCO-2 Mission

Follow the tweets of the OCO-2 bird

Follow the NASA climate blog

http://climate.nasa.gov/blog/1105/ -- http://climate.nasa.gov/blog/

Earth Right Now

Climate.NASA

OCO Mission teams

"Game changing" science Unraveling mysteries

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Climate Change, Global Warming

Observing Global Warming with #OCO-2

Historic launch #PlanetCitizen mission to study #EarthsAtmosphere

"First Light!" [1] [2] OCO-2 announces 'We have data!'

OCO-2 tweets - https://twitter.com/IamOCO2

What monitoring a potential existential crisis looks like...spectra from #OCO-2 #Earth360

Earth observing satellites, Orbiting Carbon Observatory the "Afternoon Constellation", the "A-Train" joined by ‪#‎OCO-2 newly launched and historic in its mission to study global warming

"Watching the Earth Breathe from Space" [3] [4] [5] [6]

About the Earth Observatory Mission

Where the Trees Are - US

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

History-making Science

With the launch of OCO-2, a "game changer", the data of #Earth360 will grow in unprecedented ways

#Earthdata enables informed decisions and policy

"You can manage only what you can measure"

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Eyes on the Earth [7] [8] [9] [10]

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Global Earth Science Data Links

eGY -- electronic Geophysical Year / http://www.egy.org/ -- An Earth and Space Science Information Commons Initiative: International Co-operation for Open Access to Data

GEO -- Group on Earth Observations / http://www.earthobservations.org/index.php -- Established in 2005, GEO is a voluntary partnership of governments and organizations that envisions “a future wherein decisions and actions for the benefit of humankind are informed by coordinated, comprehensive and sustained Earth observations and information.”

CEOS -- Committee On Earth Observation Satellites / http://ceos.org/ -- 2015 - CEOS was established in September, 1984 in response to a recommendation from a Panel of Experts on Remote Sensing from Space and set up under the aegis of the G7 Economic Summit of Industrial Nations Working Group on Growth, Technology, and Employment.

This Panel recognized the multidisciplinary nature of space-based Earth observations and the value of coordinating international Earth observation efforts to benefit society. Accordingly, the original function of CEOS was to coordinate and harmonize Earth observations to make it easier for the user community to access and use data. CEOS initially focused on interoperability, common data formats, the inter-calibration of instruments, and common validation and inter-comparison of products. However, over time, the circumstances surrounding the collection and use of space-based Earth observations have changed.

The number of Earth-observing satellites has vastly increased.

Onboard instruments are more complex and are capable of collecting new types of data in ever-growing volumes.

The user community has expanded and become more diverse as different data types become available and new applications for Earth observations are developed.

Users have become more organized, forming several international bodies that coordinate and levy Earth observation requirements.

CEOS WGISS -- Committee On Earth Observation Satellites / http://ceos.org/ourwork/workinggroups/wgiss/ -- Working Group on Information Systems and Services - WGISS stimulates, coordinates, monitors, and promotes collaboration on the development of the systems and services that manage and supply satellite Earth observation (EO) data and information.

CEOS IDN -- Committee On Earth Observation Satellites / http://idn.ceos.org/ -- International Directory Network (IDN) / http://idn.ceos.org/portals/Home.do?Portal=idn_ceos&MetadataType=0 -- The CEOS International Directory Network (IDN) is a Gateway to the world of Earth Science data and services. The CEOS IDN is an international effort developed to assist researchers in locating information on available datasets and services. The directory is sponsored as a service to the Earth science community.

GCMD -- Global Change Master Directory / http://gcmd.nasa.gov/

DIF -- DIF Writer's Guide / http://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/add/difguide/index.html -- Directory Interchange Forma... The DIF does not compete with other metadata standards. It is simply the "container" for the metadata elements that are maintained in the IDN database, where validation for mandatory fields, keywords, personnel, etc. takes place. The DIF is used to create directory entries which describe a group of data. A DIF consists of a collection of fields which detail specific information about the data. Eight fields are required in the DIF; the others expand upon and clarify the information. Some of the fields are text fields, others require the use of controlled keywords...Directory Interchange Format (DIF) Writer's Guide, 2015. Global Change Master Directory. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. http://gcmd.nasa.gov/add/difguide/ - http://gcmd.nasa.gov/ -- Global Change Master Directory

GGOS -- GGOS at the GFZ Potsdam / http://www.ggos.org/ -- GGOS is the Observing System of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG). GGOS works with the IAG components to provide the geodetic infrastructure necessary for monitoring the Earth system and for global change research. It provides observations of the three fundamental geodetic observables and their variations, that is, the Earth's shape, the Earth's gravity field and the Earth's rotational motion. GGOS integrates different geodetic techniques, different models, different approaches in order to ensure a long-term, precise monitoring of the geodetic observables in agreement with the Integrated Global Observing Strategy (IGOS)

IVOA -- International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) / http://www.ivoa.net/ -- The Virtual Observatory (VO) is the vision that astronomical datasets and other resources should work as a seamless whole. Many projects and data centres worldwide are working towards this goal. The International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) is an organisation that debates and agrees the technical standards that are needed to make the VO possible.

DLR -- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt / http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10002/

JPL -- Jet Propulsion Laboratory - California Institute of Technology / http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/

PO.DAAC -- Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center PO.DAAC / http://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/

INDIGO -- Inter-service Data Integration for Geodetic Operations / http://indigo.nasa.gov/

UTCSR -- University of Texas at Austin - Center for Space Research / http://www.csr.utexas.edu/ - GRACE mission status / http://www.csr.utexas.edu/grace/operations/mission_status/ - http://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/grace/ - http://isdc.gfz-potsdam.de/index.php?module=pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=1&pid=35

DGFI -- Deutsches Geodätisches Forschungsinstitut / http://www.dgfi.tum.de/en/

IAG -- IAG Services - International Association of Geodesy / http://www.iag-aig.org/index.php?tpl=text&id_c=1&id_t=102

ICGEM -- International Centre for Global Earth Models / http://icgem.gfz-potsdam.de/ICGEM/ICGEM.html

PV 2007 -- PV 2007: Proceedings and Results / http://pv2007.dlr.de/main/results_en.htm

Paper: The ISDC concept for long-term sustainability of geoscience data and information / http://pv2007.dlr.de/Papers/Ritschel_ISDC.pdf

IUGG 2007 -- Proceedings of IUGG XXIV General Assembly / UNION SYMPOSIA Proceedings - Earth: Our Changing Planet / http://www.iugg2007perugia.it/webbook/download.htm

VOiG -- Virtual Observatories in Geosciences (VOIG) Conference 2007 / http://www.egy.org/VOiG/Home.html

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Earth Observation from Space: GreenPolicy Links - 2014

NASA's Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) -- Originally called "Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE)"

October 2014 http://bit.ly/VitalSignsPulseofthePlanet / Video To fully appreciate the detail of the models, click on the gear symbol and set to 720p resolution and choose full screen video

ESE is dedicated to "understanding the total Earth system and the effects of natural and human-induced changes on the global environment." [11]

Mission to Planet Earth's successor, NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS), provides long-term global observations of the land surface, biosphere, solid Earth, atmosphere, and oceans.

Earth Observing System Data and Information System - Maps

Suomi NPP - Next-generation Earth-observing satellite system NPP Images Gallery

Next generation NASA-NOAA #EarthMonitoring satellite to launch in 2017

"The ultimate beneficiaries are the present and future generations of the people on Earth..."

The goal of the Earth Observing project is "improved understanding of the Earth as an integrated system."

ESE's Mission: "To improve life here" and "to understand and protect our home planet."

#EarthScience, #GeoScience, #Earth360, #GP360, #EarthPOV

Eyes on the Earth-Earth Right Now, Earth Observing System Project, Earth Data, Earth Observatory, [12], Grace, Grace-JPL, Grace-UTexas

Visible Earth, Global Maps, Visible Earth_2, Visible Earth_3, Visible Earth_4, Earth Mission List

ICESat-2 [13] - [14] Video of ICESat's laser in operation ICESat-2 science at work...

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Earth at Night @GrnPolicy

Monitoring #Earth at night

Americas after Dark

Asian Nights

Nightime Europe & N. Africa

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

European space program - earth system monitoring

European Space Agency "Living Planet Programme" managed by Earth Observation Programmes - [15]

GOCE – Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer - launched on March 17, 2009 - [16]

SMOS – Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite - studying ocean salinity and soil moisture; launched in 2 November 2009 - [17]

CryoSat is designed to map the Earth's ice cover. CryoSat-2 was launched 8 April 2010 - [18] - Euro Cryo Satellite/Earth Imaging

Geo-science: Eyes in the Sky Antarctic Ice Loss Antarctic Ice Sheet Expands, Why?

Swarm – Three satellites mapping the Earth's magnetism (also see the US GRACE mission). The SWARM constellation was launched successfully on 22 November 2013 - [19]

Aeolus – Atmospheric Dynamics Mission will use an innovative laser to measure winds. Due for launch in 2015 - [20]

EarthCARE – Earth Clouds Aerosols and Radiation Explorer will examine the formation and effects of clouds. Due for launch in 2016 - [21]

BIOMASS is designed to calculate the amount of carbon stored in the world's forests, and to monitor for any changes over the course of its five-year mission. Due to launch in 2020 - [22]

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Earth Science from Above

from National Geographic News

PUBLISHED OCTOBER 22, 2014

Scientists have uncovered a cache of satellite images of Earth from the 1960s that had been forgotten in storage for nearly 50 years and that push back the first satellite images of our planet a full 17 years.

The trove includes the first publicly available satellite photos of Europe, the earliest aerial views of Antarctica's ice, and a record of Central Asia's Aral Sea before it dried up. There's also a rare photo of the most powerful storm to hit North America in modern times.

The images, when compared with recent satellite photos, show how humankind has changed the planet, from deforestation to changes in sea ice.

Among the images from 1964 were views of Antarctica that showed a greater extent of sea ice than ever measured since. That is, until recent weeks, when the 1964 record was broken just as it was discovered to be a record at all. Unlike Arctic sea ice, which has been in decline due to global warming, the extent of Antarctic ice has varied, making the historical data all the more important for scientists trying to understand what drives changes there.

Earth scientists David Gallaher and Garrett Campbell liberated the data from a National Climatic Data Center archive in North Carolina, uncovering 25 boxes of magnetic tapes and photographic film from three Nimbus weather satellites launched in the 1960s and 1970s.

Gallaher had heard about the data at a conference and called the National Climatic Data Center to request access to some pictures of Greenland. "We have no way of figuring out what's Greenland," came the reply.

That's because the data had never been sorted or digitized. So Gallaher and Campbell took on the painstaking process of digitizing hundreds of thousands of photos and making them publicly available....

○

Shrinking Arctic Ice Prompts Drastic Change in National Geographic Atlas

Warming oceans have caused a drastic reduction in sea ice

○