Results for: Atmosphere
Notes from the Field Blog: Iowa Flood Studies
April 30, 2013A field campaign called the Iowa Flood Studies (IFloodS) is taking place in eastern Iowa from May 1 to June 15, 2013. The goal is to evaluate how well rainfall data from the upcoming Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission can be used for flood forecasting. GPM is scheduled for launch in early 2014. Read more
In a Warming World, the Storms May Be Fewer But Stronger
March 5, 2013Extreme storms such as Hurricane Sandy, Snowmageddon, and the tornadoes of 2011 have prompted questions about whether climate change is affecting the intensity of weather. Satellites, statistics, and scientific models are teaching us a lot about what we know and don't know about severe storms. Read more
Out of the Blue and Into the Black
December 5, 2012The night is nowhere near as dark as most of us think. In fact, the Earth is never really dark; it twinkles with lights from humans and nature. Read more
Earth at Night 2012
December 5, 2012Scientists are using new images of Earth’s dark side to gain insight on human activity and poorly understood natural events. Read more
Looking Back on Ten Years of Aqua
May 4, 2012Launched on May 4, 2002, NASA's Aqua satellite and its six instruments have provided a decade's worth of unprecedented views of our planet. Here are a few of our favorites. Read more
Top 11 from 2011
January 23, 2012The most-visited images published in the Earth Observatory from 2011 are featured in this gallery. Read more
2011 Hurricane Season and NASA Research: An Interview with Scott Braun
August 1, 2011With the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season approaching its peak, a NASA meteorologist explores the key questions in hurricane research. Read more
The Carbon Cycle
June 16, 2011Carbon flows between the atmosphere, land, and ocean in a cycle that encompasses nearly all life and sets the thermostat for Earth's climate. By burning fossil fuels, people are changing the carbon cycle with far-reaching consequences. Read more
Earth Matters Blog
June 14, 2011Earth is an amazing planet, and the one that matters most to us. Let's have a conversation about it. Read more
Heavy Rains and Dry Lands Don't Mix: Reflections on the 2010 Pakistan Flood
April 6, 2011Unusual atmospheric conditions brought exceptional rain to Pakistan in the summer of 2010, causing the country's worst flooding in modern history. Read more
World of Change: Global Temperatures
December 9, 2010The world is getting warmer, whatever the cause. According to an analysis by NASA scientists, the average global temperature has increased by about 0.8°Celsius (1.4° Fahrenheit) since 1880. Two-thirds of the warming has occurred since 1975. Read more
Aerosols: Tiny Particles, Big Impact
November 2, 2010Tiny aerosol particles can be found over oceans, deserts, mountains, forests, ice sheets, and every ecosystem in between. They drift in the air from the stratosphere to the surface. Despite their small size, they have major impacts on our climate and our health. Read more
The Water Cycle
October 1, 2010Landscape sculptor. Climate driver. Life supporter. Water is the most important molecule on our planet. Read more
Russian Firestorm: Finding a Fire Cloud from Space
August 31, 2010NASA satellites help confirm that a strong firestorm fueled fires in western Russia and drew smoke high into the atmosphere in late July 2010. Read more
Notes from the Field Blog - Urban Aerosols: Who CARES?
June 9, 2010Join us as NASA scientists aboard a B-200 aircraft cruise over California sampling urban pollution and other aerosols during the Carbonaceous Aerosol and Radiative Effects Study (CARES). Read more
Global Warming
June 3, 2010Global warming is happening now, and scientists are confident that greenhouse gases are responsible. To understand what this means for humanity, it is necessary to understand what global warming is, how scientists know it's happening, and how they predict future climate. Read more
Notes from the Field blog: Global Hawk Pacific (GloPac)
March 10, 2010Join us for the next six weeks as scientists share their experiences from the first science mission on the Global Hawk, NASA's new unmanned aircraft. Read more
Climate Q&A
March 9, 2010From why global warming is a problem to whether increased solar activity could be behind it, this Q&A includes responses to common questions about climate change and global warming. Read more
World of Change: El Niño, La Niña, and Rainfall
October 23, 2009For many people, El Niño and La Niña mean floods or drought, but the events are actually a warming or cooling of the eastern Pacific Ocean that impacts rainfall. These sea surface temperature and rainfall anomaly images show the direct correlation between ocean temperatures and rainfall during El Niño and La Niña events. Read more
World of Change: Severe Storms
August 27, 2009This collection of images featuring the strongest hurricane, cyclone, or typhoon from any ocean during each year of the past decade includes storms both famous—or infamous—and obscure. Read more
World of Change: Antarctic Ozone Hole
June 1, 2009In the early 1980s, scientists began to realize that CFCs were creating a thin spot—a hole—in the ozone layer over Antarctica every spring. This series of satellite images shows the ozone hole on the day of its maximum depth each year from 1979 through 2010. Read more
An Ocean Breeze: Mapping Brazil’s Offshore Wind Power Potential
February 3, 2009Searching for alternative sources of energy for his country, one student turned to a NASA satellite to assess the feasibility of offshore wind power in Southeast Brazil. Read more
Earth Perspectives
November 24, 2008In 2008, as NASA celebrated its 50th anniversary, the Earth Observatory asked a number of Earth scientists what we have learned about our home planet by going into space. Read more
American Carbon: Vulcan Project Maps Nation's Fossil Fuel Emissions in Detail
July 9, 2008The Vulcan Project maps when and where Americans burn fossil fuels. Read more
Cities at Night: The View from Space
April 22, 2008Astronauts onboard the International Space Station capture nighttime photographs of city lights, spectacular evidence of humanity's existence, our distribution, and our ability to change our environment. Read more
Greenland's Ice Island Alarm
August 27, 2007Global warming is shrinking the Greenland Ice Sheet by at least 150 billion metric tons a year. Read more
Science Blog - Expedition to Siberia
July 29, 2007As Earth's average temperature rises, and most rapidly in the high latitudes, what is happening to the great northern forests of Siberia? Join scientists from NASA and Russia's Academy of Science on an expedition down the Kochechum River in north-central Siberia as they go in search of answers. Read more
The Amazon's Seasonal Secret
May 31, 2007Satellite data detect previously unknown seasonal cycles in the leaf area of the Amazon Rainforest. Increasing leaf area during the sunny dry season may actually trigger the seasonal rains. Read more
Arctic Reflection: Clouds Replace Snow and Ice as Solar Reflector
January 31, 2007Using satellite observations of sea ice and clouds, scientists discover that Earth’s poles are still effective reflectors for incoming sunlight. Read more
Urban Rain
December 11, 2006Most city dwellers worry about what the weather will do to their city, but for meteorologist Marshall Shepherd, the real question is what are cities doing to the weather. Read more
Paleoclimatology: Understanding the Past to Predict the Future
November 14, 2006Scientists use complicated climate models to predict how Earth's climate might change in the future. One of the best ways to test the reliability of such models is to see how well they recreate climates of the past. Read more
Hurricanes: The Greatest Storms on Earth
November 1, 2006Few things in nature can compare to the destructive force of a hurricane. Called the greatest storm on Earth, a hurricane is capable of annihilating coastal areas with sustained winds of 155 mph or higher and intense areas of rainfall and a storm surge. In fact, during its life cycle a hurricane can expend as much energy as 10,000 nuclear bombs! Read more
Tracking Nature's Contribution to Pollution
October 17, 2006Scientists combined models and satellite data to track the spread of pollutants from forest fires in Alaska and Canada in 2004. They discovered that fires can have a significant impact on air pollution far from the fires location. Read more
Ask-A-Scientist
July 25, 2006Questions from visitors to the Earth Observatory and answers from scientists. Read more
Paleoclimatology: The Ice Core Record
December 19, 2005For six weeks every summer between 1989 and 1993, Alley and other scientists pushed columns of ice along the science assembly line, labeling and analyzing the snow for information about past climate Read more
Blue Marble Next Generation
October 13, 200512 months of high-resolution global true color satellite imagery. Read more
Cloudy with a Chance of Drizzle
August 9, 2005By analyzing data from the MISR instrument, scientists discover that a unique type of cloud formation is much more prevalent than previously believed. Read more
Nimbus' 40th Anniversary
July 19, 2005On August 28, 2004, NASA celebrated the 40th anniversary of the launch of the Nimbus-1 Earth-observation satellite. Starting in 1964 and for the next twenty years, the Nimbus series of missions was the United States' primary research and development platform for satellite remote-sensing of the Earth. Read more
Deep Freeze and Sea Breeze: Changing Land and Weather in Florida
May 18, 2005A regional climate model and NASA satellite data say land cover change in south Florida has created both hotter, drier summers, and more severe freezes in the winter. Read more
Paleoclimatology: The Oxygen Balance
May 6, 2005Oxygen is one of the most significant keys to deciphering past climates. Read more
Cheyenne and Catarina: Breaking Records for Sailing and Storms
April 26, 2005When the crew of the Cheyenne set out to break the round-the-world sailing record in March 2004, they would never have guessed what an unusual storm they would meet along the way. Read more
Terra Turns Five
March 1, 2005In February 2000, NASA's Terra satellite began measuring Earth's vital signs with a combination of accuracy, precision, and resolution the world had never before seen. While the mission is still in the process of fulfilling its main science objectives, Terra's portfolio of achievements to date already marks the mission a resounding success. Read more
Enhancing Research and Education through Partnerships
January 25, 2005Examples of student-scientist partnerships demonstrate important benefits and lessons learned for both groups. Read more
Polar Wind Data Blow New Life Into Forecasts
January 11, 2005Where real-world weather observations are scarce, scientists are estimating winds by tracking the movement of clouds and water vapor between consecutive Terra and Aqua satellite images. In a new Earthsky podcast, atmospheric scientist Jeff Key talks about how the technique has improved forecasts and what will happen when these NASA missions reach their end. Read more
Aura: A Mission Dedicated to the Health of Earth's Atmosphere
December 7, 2004On July 15, 2004 at 3:02 a.m., NASA launched the Aura satellite, the third flagship in a series of Earth-observing satellites designed to view Earth as a whole system, observe the net results of complex interactions within the climate system, and understand how the planet is changing in response to natural and human influences. Read more
A New IDEA in Air Quality Monitoring
August 17, 2004NASA satellite data of regional haze allow EPA scientists to expand their focus from local to regional air quality monitoring and forecasting. Read more
Clouds are Cooler than Smoke
July 27, 2004New NASA research shows that smoke from fires in the Amazon Basin inhibits clouds and exerts a warming influence on Earth's surface. Read more
Joanne Simpson
April 28, 2004Joanne Simpson became the first woman Ph.D. meteorologist. She also pioneered studies of cloud models, hurricanes, weather modification, and guided the development of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. Read more
Will Runaway Water Warm the World?
March 15, 2004As the Earth heats up more water will make its way into the atmosphere, trapping even heat near the surface. To predict how much temperatures could rise in the future, scientists are working to understand how much water could enter the atmosphere and how that might contribute to climate change. Read more
Tango in the Atmosphere: Ozone and Climate Change
February 24, 2004Over recent decades the stratosphere has cooled while stratospheric ozone has decreased. Low temperatures could be causing further ozone depletion, which may delay recovery of the ozone layer. Read more
Smoke's Surprising Secret
January 7, 2004A high school student in Texas working on a back yard science project made a surprising discovery in the spring of 2002. Intending to detect the presence of fungal spores and bacteria in globe-trotting dust, Sarah Mims instead discovered that fungal spores had hitched a ride across the Gulf of Mexico with smoke from fires in Central America. This young, amateur scientist's discovery could change the prevailing wisdom on the benefits of burning diseased crops or timber. Read more
Savanna Smog
December 8, 2003Each August in southern Africa, literally thousands of people equipped with lighters or torches go out into the African savanna, a region dotted with villages and teaming with animals, and intentionally set the dry grasslands ablaze. Read more
Little Islands, Big Wake
October 22, 2003The Hawaiian Islands interrupt the trade winds that blow across the Pacific Ocean, with far-reaching effects on ocean currents and atmospheric circulation. Read more
Watching the World Go By
October 22, 2003Space Station Science Officer Ed Lu describes what it is like to look at the Earth over the course of an orbit. His descriptions are accompanied by digital photographs of Earth he has taken and transmitted to the ground during his mission. Read more
Land Matters
September 9, 2003Storm-related losses from the 1982-83 El Nino cost the state of California an estimated $2.2 billion. Fifteen years later, damages from the 1997-98 El Nino cost California only half that amount. Differences in storm intensity and duration accounted for some of the reduced costs, but other factors were also at work. Read more
Watching our Ozone Weather
August 22, 2003Until about 30 years ago, atmospheric scientists believed that all of the ozone in the lower atmosphere (troposphere) intruded from the upper atmosphere (stratosphere), where it formed by the action of sunlight on oxygen molecules. Read more
Searching for Atlantic Rhythms?
July 14, 2003All over the globe there are relationships between the conditions of the atmosphere and oceans that affect weather and climate at great distances. The North Atlantic Oscillation is one of these teleconnections, linking the temperature of the North Atlantic Ocean with winter weather in North America and Europe. Read more
A Delicate Balance: Signs of Change in the Tropics
June 19, 2003While NASA climate scientists were reviewing radiation data emanating from the tropics simply to test existing notions, they uncovered a phenomenon no one expected. They found that progressively more thermal radiation has been escaping the atmosphere above the tropics and progressively less sunlight has been reflecting off of the clouds. Read more
Lightning Spies
June 3, 2003In 1997, NASA launched the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) aboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. The LIS detects and maps the distribution and variability of cloud-to-cloud, intracloud, and cloud-to-ground lightning. Read more
Measuring Ozone from Space Shuttle Columbia
April 1, 2003New remote-sensing technology called limb viewing allows observation of the atmosphere from the side rather than straight down. From that side view the layers of the atmosphere appear like layers in a cake, allowing instruments to see the lower layers of the stratosphere where most of the recently observed ozone change, like the ozone hole, occurs. Read more
Chemistry in the Sunlight
January 28, 2003Ozone has proven to be among the most difficult air pollutants to control. To control ozone requires understanding its complex chemistry and how the chemical travels from one locality to another. Chemistry in the Sunlight explains basic aspects of ozone formation and provides a sample set of chemical reactions involved in ozone production. Read more
The Road to Recovery
January 21, 2003A recent study in the Amazon rain forest shows that some types of logging may not negatively impact the carbon cycle as originally thought. Read more
Tracking Clouds
October 9, 2002Tune in to the evening weather report on any given day, and you?ll no doubt see satellite images of clouds. For years, experts have used cloud observations to predict the weather, from forecasting extreme weather events, such as tornadoes and hurricanes, to simply telling people whether they need to take an umbrella or sunscreen on their afternoon picnic. Read more
Dropping in on a Hurricane
September 10, 2002By dropping small sensors into hurricanes from above, scientists are acquiring data at high altitudes that will help them better unde rstand the structure and dynamics of hurricanes. Read more
Teaching Old Data New Tricks
August 21, 2002Researchers have discovered that scatterometer data could provide important information on a variety of other surfaces, such as forests and ice, which became the basis for global climate change study applications. Read more
CALIPSO: A Global Perspective of Clouds and Aerosols from Space
July 26, 2002The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite mission helps scientists answer significant questions about climatic processes by providing new information on clouds and aerosols. Read more
Aqua
June 24, 2002Aqua carries six state-of-the-art instruments to observe the Earth's oceans, atmosphere, land, ice and snow covers, and vegetation, providing high measurement accuracy, spatial detail, and temporal frequency. This comprehensive approach enables scientists to study interactions among the many elements of the Earth system. Read more
NOAA-M Continues Polar-Orbiting Satellite Series
June 21, 2002Since the 1960s, NASA has developed polar-orbiting operational environmental satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA-M, the latest NOAA spacecraft, was launched on June 24, 2002. Read more
Does the Earth Have an Iris Analog
June 17, 2002Much like the iris in a human eye contracts to allow less light to pass through the pupil in a brightly lit environment, Lindzen suggests that the area covered by high cirrus clouds contracts to allow more heat to escape into outer space from a very warm environment. Read more
Arbiters of Energy
June 12, 2002Clouds play a crucial role in regulating the balance of energy received by and emitted from the Earth, but scientists aren?t sure exactly what this role is. Read more
Scientist for a Day
April 25, 2002Elementary and secondary students and teachers in the Midwestern U.S. collect snow and cloud data at their schools to help scientists validate satellite data in a global change research study. Read more
The Ozone We Breathe
April 19, 2002Ozone in the lower atmosphere (troposphere) is toxic to human beings and many species of plants, causing harm without visible symptoms. The Ozone We Breathe focuses chiefly on the ozone's effects on human respiratory health and and the productivity of agricultural crops. Read more
Highways of a Global Traveler - Tracking Tropospheric Ozone
March 22, 2002Ozone in the lower atmosphere (troposphere) is toxic to human beings and to many other living things that breathe it. After combining satellite observations with data-rich models that simulate the atmosphere’s chemistry and dynamics, scientists are finding tropospheric ozone in some unexpected places. Tropospheric ozone turns out to be an intercontinental traveler, crossing geographic and political boundaries. Read more
Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III
March 5, 2002The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE III) is a fourth-generation satellite instrument for observing the long-term health of the upper atmosphere, including the amounts of ozone, aerosols (suspended particles), and water vapor. Read more
Weather Forecasting Through the Ages
February 25, 2002Only fifty years ago, weather forecasting was an art, derived from the inspired interpretation of data from a loose array of land-based observing stations, balloons, and aircraft. Since then it has evolved substantially, based on an array of satellite and other observations and sophisticated computer models simulating the atmosphere and sometimes additional elements of the Earth's climate system. The AIRS/AMSU/HSB combination on board the [soon to be launched] EOS Aqua satellite should further these advances, enabling more accurate predictions over longer periods. Read more
Snow Sleuths
January 3, 2002Scientists use ground-based measurements to learn how snow looks from space. Read more
Research Satellites for Atmospheric Science, 1978-Present
December 10, 2001NASA and its affiliated agencies and research institutions developed a series of research satellites that have enabled scientists to test new remote sensing technologies that have advanced scientific understanding of both chemical and physical changes in the atmosphere. Read more
Verner Suomi
October 30, 2001Using a unique combination of determination, hard work, inspiration, and those freshman physics, Suomi became known as the "father of satellite meteorology." His research and inventions have radically improved forecasting and our understanding of global weather. Read more
Hurricane Field Studies
October 23, 2001The Third Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX3) has provided forecasters with a more realistic storm picture. Read more
Clouds in the Balance
October 11, 2001In 1998, atmospheric scientists discovered a significant change in cloud vertical structure triggered by the strongest El Niño on record. Read more
A View From Above
September 24, 2001International scientists with diverse backgrounds work together to better understand movement of carbon between the Earth's forests and atmosphere. Read more
Ultraviolet Radiation: How It Affects Life on Earth
September 6, 2001Stratospheric ozone depletion due to human activities has resulted in an increase of ultraviolet radiation on the Earth's surface. The article describes some effects on human health, aquatic ecosystems, agricultural plants and other living things, and explains how much ultraviolet radiation we are currently getting and how we measure it. Read more
A Violent Sun Affects the Earth's Ozone
August 3, 2001A new study confirms a long-held theory that large solar storms rain electrically charged particles down on Earth's atmosphere and deplete the upper-level ozone for weeks to months thereafter. New evidence from NASA and NOAA satellites is helping scientists better understand how man and nature both play a role in ozone loss. Read more
Reverberations of the Pacific Warm Pool
July 24, 2001Over the past several decades, scientists have uncovered a number of El Nino-like climate anomalies across the globe. One of the most recent to be discovered takes place in the Indo-Pacific warm pool. This body of water, which spans the western waters of the equatorial Pacific to the eastern Indian Ocean, holds the warmest seawaters in the world. Over a period of roughly two decades, the warm pool's average annual temperatures increase and then decrease like a beacon. These oscillations may affect the climate in regions as far away as the southern United States and may be powerful enough to broaden the extent of El Nino. Read more
In the Eyewall of the Storm
July 17, 2001Scientists have sought a greater understanding of the hurricane intensification process to improve forecasting techniques and decrease the radius of coastal evacuations. A new study using CAMEX-3 hurricane data reveals the role of "hot towers" in increasing a storm's fury. Read more
Astronauts Photograph Mount Pinatubo
June 14, 2001In early 1991, Mt. Pinatubo, a volcano north of Manila on the Philippine island of Luzon, had been dormant for more than 500 years. Few geologists would have guessed that it would produce one of the world's most explosive eruptions in the twentieth century. Read more
Watching Plants Dance to the Rhythms of the Ocean
June 4, 2001NASA scientists developed a new data set that enables them to observe the teleconnections between sea surface temperature anomalies and patterns of plant growth on a global scale. Read more
From the Dust Bowl to the Sahel
May 18, 2001Severe drought and poor soil conversation practices contribute to desertification. Read more
Forecasting Fury
March 19, 2001Experts predict a period of elevated storm activity during the next 15 years. However, data from the SeaWinds instrument aboard NASA's QuikSCAT satellite could allow researchers to detect potential hurricanes up to two days earlier than with traditional forecasting methods. Read more
Biomass Burning
March 19, 2001Biomass burning is the burning of living and dead vegetation, including both human-initiated burning for land clearing, and burning induced by lightning and other natural sources. Researchers with the Biomass Burning Project at NASA Langley Research Center are seeking to understand the impact that biomass burning has on the Earth's atmosphere and climate. Read more
Seeing into the Heart of a Hurricane
October 12, 2000NASA’s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission helps scientist study hurricanes and predict their paths by looking inside the storms. Read more
Volcanoes and Climate Change
September 5, 2000Volcanic aerosols play a significant role in driving Earth's climate. Read more
Vilhelm Bjerknes
August 14, 2000Vilhelm Bjerknes is considered by many to be one of the founders of modern meteorology and weather forecasting. Read more
Changing Our Weather One Smokestack at a Time
August 7, 2000Daniel Rosenfeld and a team of scientists from the Hebrew University of Israel recently discovered that aerosol particles from factories and power plants increase the number of droplets in clouds they pollute. In doing so, the pollutants create brighter clouds that retain their water and do not produce rain. Read more
Stars, Clouds, Crops
July 24, 2000Stars' brightness influences planting practices in the Andes. Read more
Shadows of Doubt
July 17, 2000Understanding the complex interplay between clouds and radiation is critical for developing general circulation models that precisely represent the global climate. Read more
Roger Revelle
June 19, 2000Roger Revelle was one of the world's most articulate spokesmen for science and an early predictor of global warming. Read more
Carbon Conundrum
May 22, 2000Paradoxically, an increase in global temperature may both increase and decrease atmospheric carbon dioxide. The key is timing. Read more
Fire and Ice
May 2, 2000The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo led to new techniques for detecting short-term climate variation. Read more
On a Clear Day
April 12, 2000Researchers clarified the issues encountered in modeling clear-sky shortwave radiation by assembling a long-term data set of cloud-free days to test the models. Read more
Blanket of Clouds
March 27, 2000Recent studies indicate that clouds absorb significantly more shortwave radiation than previously thought. Read more
Hurricane Floyd's Lasting Legacy - Introduction
March 1, 2000Hurricane Floyd struck eastern North Carolina on September 15, 1999. In it's wake the storm left polluted floodwaters and sediment-choked rivers. Read more
Critical Chemistry
February 14, 2000Researchers map ozone's global distribution using data from the Global Tropospheric Experiment. Read more
Second Guessing Mother Nature: Forecasting the Surprise Snow of January 2000
February 14, 2000Overnight from January 24–25, 2000 residents of Washington, DC were hit with a surprise snowstorm. Despite this misstep, weather forecasts are now more accurate than ever. Read more
Global Temperature Trends - Continued Global Warmth in 1999
January 28, 2000Global surface temperatures in 1999 fell back from the record setting high level of 1998, which was the warmest year in the period of instrumental data. Read more
Svante Arrhenius
January 18, 2000Svante Arrhenius was the first person to investigate the effect that doubling atmospheric carbon dioxide would have on global climate. Read more
El Nino's Extended Family Introduction
November 8, 1999Cyclic patterns in the ocean and atmosphere shape global weather. Read more
Global Fire Monitoring
October 22, 1999Forest fires, brush fires, and slash and burn agriculture—types of biomass burning—are a significant force for environmental change. Fires may play an important role in climate change, emitting both greenhouse gases and smoke particles into the atmosphere. Read more
John Tyndall
October 8, 1999In 1859, John Tyndall's experiments showed that even in small quantities, water vapor, carbon dioxide, and ozone absorbed much more heat than the rest of the atmosphere. Read more
Data in a Flash
October 1, 1999A new global change research tool detects lightning day and night. Read more
Every Cloud Has a Filthy Lining
September 30, 1999Sulfur dioxide in the exhaust from ship engines creates bright clouds. Read more
Clouds in a Clear Sky
September 24, 1999Scientists have detected a nearly invisible cloud layer that may explain dryness in the stratosphere. Read more
Reckoning with Winds
September 10, 1999New wind data reveal typhoon transitions to mid-latitude storms and ocean monsoon breeding grounds. Read more
Introduction to Climate Modeling
September 3, 1999In their ongoing endeavor to understand our planet as a whole system, Earth scientists are increasingly using computer models to help them visualize the causes and effects of climate and environmental change. These models serve as predictive tools that allow scientists to ask “what if...,” and have computers give them answers. Read more
Ozone
July 30, 1999A relatively unstable molecule that represents a tiny fraction of the atmosphere, ozone is crucial for life on Earth. Depending on where ozone resides, it can protect or harm life. Read more
QuikSCAT
July 23, 1999QuikSCAT provides climatologists, meteorologists and oceanographers with daily, detailed snapshots of the winds swirling above the world’s oceans. Read more
Should We Talk About the Weather? Improving Global Forecasts with BOREAS Research
June 11, 1999One goal of of NASA’s Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) is to understand how changes in air temperature, moisture and carbon dioxide levels may impact the boreal ecosystem and what role the boreal forest plays in global-scale climate changes. Read more
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
May 21, 1999The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), is the first mission dedicated to measuring tropical and subtropical rainfall through microwave and visible infrared sensors, and includes the first spaceborne rain radar. Read more
Changing Global Cloudiness
May 13, 1999Clouds are one of the most obvious and influential features of Earth’s climate system. They are also one of its most variable components. The natural diversity and variability of clouds has intrigued and challenged researchers for centuries. Read more
Ocean and Climate Fact Sheet
April 27, 1999The Earth’s ocean and atmosphere are locked in an embrace. As one changes, so does the other. Read more
La Niña Fact Sheet
April 27, 1999The phenomenon known as El Niño is sometimes reverses, leading to strong trade winds, colder than normal water off the coast of Peru, and warmer than normal water near Australia. This cold counterpart to El Niño is known as La Niña. Read more
What is El Nino? Fact Sheet
April 27, 1999During an El Niño, the relationships between winds and ocean currents in the Pacific Ocean change, with an impact on weather conditions around the world. Read more
Clouds & Radiation Fact Sheet
March 1, 1999The study of clouds, where they occur, and their characteristics, plays a key role in the understanding of climate change. Low, thick clouds reflect solar radiation and cool the Earth's surface. High, thin clouds transmit incoming solar radiation and also trap some of the outgoing infrared radiation emitted by the Earth, warming the surface. Read more
Terra Spacecraft Fact Sheet
March 1, 1999On December 18, 1999, NASA launched a new flagship, the Terra satellite, to begin collecting a new 18-year global data set on which to base future scientific investigations about our complex home planet. Read more
