Results for: 2000
HDF-EOS
December 22, 2000The EOS Data and Information System distributes Earth Science Enterprise data through the Distributed Active Archive Centers, the institutions responsible for archiving and making data products readily available to anyone who wants them. Read more
Frozen Soils and the Climate System
December 11, 2000While scientists have learned to interpret receding glaciers as well as changing trends in snow cover, sea ice extent, and sea level as "indicators" of climate change, they are still working to better understand the role that frozen soils play within the Earth's climate system. Read more
Disintegration of the Ninnis Glacier Tongue
December 1, 2000Many processes that shape the Earth's landscape happen too slowly to be witnessed in a human lifetime. But analysis of satellite imagery shows that the large glacier tongue of the Ninnis Glacier on the coast of East Antarctica has disintegrated, changing the shape of the coastline almost overnight. Read more
Earth Observing 1 (EO-1)
November 15, 2000In 2000, NASA launched Earth Observing-1 (EO-1). While flying at an altitude of 705-kilometers, EO-1's primary focus is to test advanced instruments, spacecraft systems, and mission concepts in flight. EO-1 will also return scientific data which is used in comparison with other satellite data to ensure the continuity of land-imaging data. Read more
Reaping What We Sow: Mapping the Urbanization of Farmland Using Satellites and City Lights
November 2, 2000Tracking urbanization, the conversion of rural landscape to urban habitat, has always been difficult due to the speed at which it progresses. Recently, NASA scientists came across a solution. Using satellite images of city lights at night, they constructed a map of urbanized areas and integrated this map with a soil map prepared by the United Nations. These maps indicate that urban centers may be destroying their best soils and putting future generations at risk. Read more
Bright Lights, Big City
October 23, 2000For the past six years, researchers have been looking for ways to measure the effects of urbanization on biological productivity in countries around the world. To assist them with their research, they have created a method of mapping urbanization on a countrywide scale by using satellite images of the light cities generate at night. Read more
Robert Goddard
October 16, 2000Robert Goddard developed and test-launched some of the first liquid fueled rockets. Read more
Adapting to Climate Change
October 13, 2000Teams of scientists and resource planners assess their region’s most critical vulnerabilities in the United States National Assessment on the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change. The report covers agricultural productivity, coastal areas, water resources, forests, and human health. 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
Mission: Biomes
October 5, 2000Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a different part of the world? What would the weather be like? What kinds of animals would you see? Which plants live there? By investigating these questions, you are learning about biomes. Read more
Dry Times in North America
September 25, 2000Recurring droughts are common in the American West, and a 2008 report from the U.S. Climate Change Science Program cautions that they may become more common (press release). This article from 2000 describes how scientists use data from satellites and rain gauges along with tree-rings and lakebed sediments to understand and predict drought in North America. Read more
Volcanoes and Climate Change
September 5, 2000Volcanic aerosols play a significant role in driving Earth's climate. Read more
Measuring Vegetation (NDVI & EVI)
August 30, 2000In an effort to monitor major fluctuations in vegetation and understand how they affect the environment scientist use satellite remote sensors to measure and map the density of green vegetation over the Earth. By carefully measuring the wavelengths and intensity of visible and near-infrared light reflected by the land surface back up into space, scientists use an algorithm called a “Vegetation Index” to quantify the concentrations of green leaf vegetation around the globe. Read more
Drought: The Creeping Disaster
August 28, 2000Though it is a gradual disaster, drought can have devastating effects on agriculture and water supplies, but monitoring and forecasts can allow people to take early actions that prevent harsh impacts later. Read more
Ice and Sky
August 23, 2000The availability of the Canadian RADARSAT Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data and new algorithms allow the detection of open water in polar ice from space. Read more
The Dirt on Carbon
August 21, 2000Researchers examine the implications of melting permafrost in the northern forests. 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
Polynyas, CO2, and Diatoms in the Southern Ocean
August 7, 2000Climate models predict a dramatic shift in phytoplankton communities that live in the icy waters of the Southern Ocean. Read more
Perspective on Plants
July 31, 2000Satellite observations help landowners and land managers monitor the health of their land by providing a larger perspective. Read more
Stars, Clouds, Crops
July 24, 2000Stars' brightness influences planting practices in the Andes. Read more
Tracking Eddies that Feed the Sea
July 18, 2000Scientists are using sea surface height data collected by satellites to monitor eddies (vortices of water) in the Gulf of Alaska. These eddies are important because they carry nutrients from coastal waters into the open ocean, thereby nourishing the phytoplankton (microscopic plants) that form the base of the ocean food chain. 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
Climate Clues in the Ice
July 12, 2000Newly available upward-looking sonar shows significant decreases in sea ice thickness in recent decades. Read more
Watching the Sun
June 30, 2000The Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor III will monitor the sun's total radiation output so scientists can better predict the sun's effect on global climate change. Read more
Flying High for Fine Wine
June 26, 2000NASA and Robert Mondavi Winery researchers worked together to use airborne remote sensing technology to classify grapevines and produce better wine. Read more
Illuminating Photosynthesis in the Arabian Sea
June 26, 2000Researchers define an ocean’s seasonal cycle. 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
Listening to Raindrops: Using Underwater Microphones to Measure Ocean Rainfall
June 14, 2000Scientists have developed a new method to measure rainfall in the open ocean with underwater microphones. By measuring rainfall over the oceans the scientists will be able to improve global climate models. Read more
Human Impact on the Mojave
June 8, 2000Researchers study long-term effects of disturbances to desert ecosystems. Read more
RAMPing Up
June 2, 2000International teamwork yields a high-resolution map of Antarctica. Read more
Learning To Fly
May 25, 2000Mission managers had to work through some "exciting" episodes during the launch and initial deployment of NASA’s Terra satellite. 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
Finding Fossils from Space
May 15, 2000Satellite imagery helps fossil hunters find dinosaurs in the Gobi Desert. Read more
River Seasons
May 15, 2000Remote sensing data help scientists understand large river systems and basin hydrology. Read more
Space-based Observations of the Earth
May 11, 2000With increasingly sophisticated satellite remote sensors, we can measure a wide range of geophysical parameters (such as surface temperature, distribution of clouds and aerosol particles, the abundance of trace gases in the atmosphere, or the distribution and types of life on land and in the ocean) with unprecedented accuracy and resolution. Read more
Grasslands Initiative
May 8, 2000Researchers establish a baseline for understanding net primary productivity: the total amount of carbon plants take out of the atmosphere and use for growth. Read more
Samuel Pierpont Langley
May 3, 2000Samuel Langley was one of America's most accomplished scientists. His work as an astronomy, physics, and aeronautics pioneer was highly regarded by the international science community. 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
Growing Data
April 5, 2000Researchers use satellite data to characterize the seasonal dynamics of arctic vegetation. Read more
Blanket of Clouds
March 27, 2000Recent studies indicate that clouds absorb significantly more shortwave radiation than previously thought. Read more
Milutin Milankovitch
March 24, 2000The Serbian astrophysicist Milutin Milankovitch is best known for developing one of the most significant theories relating Earth motions and long-term climate change. He dedicated his career to developing a mathematical theory of climate based on the seasonal and latitudinal variations of solar radiation received by the Earth. Read more
Hurricane Floyd: Fearing the Worst
March 20, 2000In the wake of Hurricane Floyd, polluted runoff threatened North Carolina’s rivers and beaches. Read more
When Rivers of Rock Flow
March 9, 2000Lahars are landslides composed of slurries of volcanic rock, ash, and water, that often occur after eruptions. 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
Snow and Ice Extent
February 28, 2000In December 1998, field support crews had to find a way to locate regions of sea ice dense enough to allow the U.S. Coast Guard ice breaker Polar Star to dock. Read more
Sunspots and the Solar Max
February 22, 2000This fact sheet describes solar phenomenon such as sunspots and the solar wind. 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
Eye on the Sun - Solstice
February 7, 2000SOLSTICE, an instrument aboard the UARS satellite, created a standard against which future monitoring of the Sun could be measured. Read more
Putting Earthquakes in Their Place
February 7, 2000Using modern global databases, hundreds of research reports, satellite photos, and computerized drafting methods, a group of researchers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center has pieced together what’s considered a series of objective and comprehensive maps (what’s known as a Geological Information System, or GIS) of the planet’s tectonic activity. 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
Mapping Malaria
January 6, 2000For the past fifteen years Don Roberts and a group of scientists at the Uniformed Services University and NASA have been working on a system to pinpoint houses and areas at high risk for the malaria using medical databases of malaria, airplane photographs, and even remote sensing satellites. Read more
Browse Topics
World of Change
Satellite images showing how our world— forests, oceans,
cities, even the Sun— has changed in recent decades.
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Blue Marble
Composite satellite images of the entire Earth.
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Earth at Night
The night side of Earth twinkles with light in these composite global and regional views.
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Experiments
Hands-on educational activities.
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Visible Earth
A catalog of NASA images and animations of our home planet.
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NASA Earth Observations
View, download, and analyze imagery of Earth science data.
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NASA Global Climate Change
Vital signs of the planet.
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Earth Science Picture of the Day
Photos of Earth processes and phenomena.
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