Features : 2004

Results for: 2004

Aura: A Mission Dedicated to the Health of Earth's Atmosphere

December 7, 2004

On 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

New Tools for Conservation

October 5, 2004

NASA's advances in remote sensing and other technologies give researchers and conservationists new unprecedented information for protecting wild areas. Read more

Collapse of the Kolka Glacier

September 9, 2004

Russian scientists mapped Mount Kazbek in the Caucasus Mountains, site of a massive glacial collapse, and used satellite data to assess the possibility of additional dangers. Read more

Mayan Mysteries

August 24, 2004

Satellite data help scientists understand Mesoamerica's past and point the way toward a brighter future. Read more

A New IDEA in Air Quality Monitoring

August 17, 2004

NASA 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, 2004

New NASA research shows that smoke from fires in the Amazon Basin inhibits clouds and exerts a warming influence on Earth's surface. Read more

Nicolaus Steno

July 20, 2004

Although he lived at a time when people believed in witches and unicorns, Nicolaus Steno established some of the most important principles of modern geology. Read more

Sensing Remote Volcanoes

July 13, 2004

More than 1,500 potentially active volcanoes dot the Earths landscape, of which approximately 500 are active at any given time. Satellite technology now makes it possible to monitor volcanic activity in even the most isolated corners of the globe. Read more

Uncovering Chameleons

June 29, 2004

Using satellite data and museum specimen records, scientists predicted the location of 7 new chameleon species in Madagascar. Read more

Sizing Up the Earth's Glaciers

June 22, 2004

Visit the worlds high mountain ranges and youll probably see less ice and snow today than you would have a few decades ago. More than 110 glaciers have disappeared from Montanas Glacier National Park over the past 150 years. Read more

Flood Disaster Hits Hispaniola

June 11, 2004

In late May 2004, a tragic flood disaster hit the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, claiming the lives of more than 2,000 people. Much of the town of Jimani, Dominican Republic, was overrun by mud, gravel and debris swept off the Massif de la Salle by torrential rains. Across the border in Haiti, the village of Mapou now sits at the bottom of a newly formed lake. In a rapid response initiative, researchers used NASA satellite remote sensing data to assess what caused the disaster and to map the extent of the damage. Read more

From Forest to Field: How Fire is Transforming the Amazon

June 8, 2004

Current estimates of Amazon deforestation may capture less than half of the area degraded by logging and accidental fire. If the current trends continue, the entire Amazon frontier could be transformed into grass or scrubland. Read more

Joanne Simpson

April 28, 2004

Joanne 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

Humans and Climate Destroy Reef Ecosystem

April 13, 2004

Using fossilized coral reefs, Nerilie Abram constructed a 7,000-year climate history of cool/warm cycles in the Indian Ocean. In the course of her research she discovered that wildfires in Indonesia during the 1997-98 El Nino indirectly killed the Mentawai Reef. Read more

GRACE Fact Sheet

March 30, 2004

Launched in March 2002, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment is a five-year mission intended to produce maps of the Earth’s gravity field with unprecedented precision and resolution. Read more

Will Runaway Water Warm the World?

March 15, 2004

As 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, 2004

Over 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

Life in Icy Waters

February 10, 2004

When you think of polynyas as a concentrated food source for larger organisms, then it becomes clear how important they are. Read more

LIDAR - In the Wake of the Storm

February 2, 2004

To understand how severe storms like Hurricane Isabel shape coastal areas, NASA and USGS scientists mapped the North Carolina coastline before and after Isabel came ashore. Their maps, made with an advanced lidar system that uses light to measure elevation, will help scientists understand how a new inlet formed on Hatteras Island. Read more

Breakup of the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf

January 20, 2004

In the summer of 2002, graduate student Derek Mueller made an unwelcome discovery: the biggest ice shelf in the Arctic was breaking apart Read more

Smoke's Surprising Secret

January 7, 2004

A 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

Aurora Dancing in the Night

January 5, 2004

Astronaut Don Pettit describes the aurora he photographed while aboard the International Space Station. Read more

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