{ "count": 49, "next": null, "previous": null, "results": [ { "id": 14312, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14312/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2023-03-16T12:00:00-04:00", "title": "NASA Tracks Freddy, Longest-lived Tropical Cyclone on Record", "description": "Music: \"Enlightenment,\" Universal Production MusicComplete transcript available.Video Descriptive Text available. || Freddy_thumb.png (1720x941) [2.8 MB] || Freddy_thumb_print.jpg (1024x560) [181.6 KB] || Freddy_thumb_searchweb.png (180x320) [115.5 KB] || Freddy_thumb_thm.png (80x40) [10.8 KB] || TC_Freddy_prores.webm (1920x1080) [8.2 MB] || Freddy.en_US.srt [2.7 KB] || Freddy.en_US.vtt [2.6 KB] || TC_Freddy.mp4 (1920x1080) [99.7 MB] || TC_Freddy_prores.mov (1920x1080) [1.4 GB] || ", "hits": 113 }, { "id": 4965, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4965/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2022-01-26T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "NASA's GPM satellite tracks Typhoon Surigae in the West Pacific", "description": "This is a data visualization of Super Typhoon Surigae as it pummels Palau on April 15, 2021. Red indicates the heaviest rainfall with yellow and green showing less rain. Blue and purple indicate snow and ice. Rainfall data is from the IMERG data product and the clouds are from Himawari-8 data product. || Surigae_001.3000_print.jpg (1024x576) [222.7 KB] || Surigae_001.3000_searchweb.png (320x180) [74.6 KB] || Surigae_001.3000_thm.png (80x40) [6.2 KB] || Surigae_001_1080p30_5.webm (1920x1080) [12.7 MB] || Surigae_001_1080p30_5.mp4 (1920x1080) [207.9 MB] || 3840x2160_16x9_30p (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || Surigae_001_2160p30_3.mp4 (3840x2160) [1.0 GB] || Surigae_001_1080p30_5.mp4.hwshow [187 bytes] || ", "hits": 64 }, { "id": 40365, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/earth-science-oct2018-briefing/", "result_type": "Gallery", "release_date": "2018-10-18T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Earth Science Overview Oct 2018 Briefing", "description": "No description available.", "hits": 67 }, { "id": 4681, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4681/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2018-09-12T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "GOES and GPM Capture Florence Trying to Intensify Over the Atlantic", "description": "Hurricane Florence originally formed from an African Easterly wave that emerged off the west coast of Africa back on the 30th of August. When it reached the vicinity of the Cape Verde Islands the next day, it was organized enough to become a tropical depression. The following day the depression strengthened enough to become a tropical storm and Florence was born on the 1st of September. Over the next 3 days, Florence gradually strengthened as it moved in a general west-northwest direction into the central Atlantic. Then, on the 4th of September, Florence began to rapidly intensify. By the morning of the 5th, Florence was a Category 3 hurricane before reaching Category 4 intensity later that afternoon with maximum sustained winds estimated at 130 mph by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). At this point, Florence became the victim of increasingly strong southwesterly wind shear, which greatly weakened the storm all the way back down to a tropical storm the by evening of the 6th.The following GOES-East Infrared (IR) loop shows Florence from 17:54 UTC (1:54 pm EDT) 6 September to 19:27 UTC (3:27 pm EDT) 7 September when it was struggling against the strong southwesterly wind shear in the Central Atlantic. A very interesting looking feature is the arc-shaped cloud that propagates outward from the storm towards the west. This cloud feature is occurring at upper-levels and is likely tied to a gravity wave propagating outward from an area of intense convection that erupted from deep within the storm. When the tops of these smaller scale storms within a storm reach the upper troposphere, they can trigger gravity waves. As these waves progagate outward they can enhance cloud formation where they induce rising motion and erode cloud where they induce downward motion or subsidence. As this arc-shaped cloud is able to propagate outward uniformly from the center, it must be occurring above the shear layer. Compensating areas of subsidence can also surround the strong rising motion occurring within the tall convective clouds. This can help to erode surrounding clouds and may be contributing to the clearing that occurs between the arc-shaped cloud and the mainarea of convection.The end of the loop shows surface rainfall and a 3D flyby of Florence courtesy of the GPM core satellite, which passed over the storm at around 19:21 UTC (3:21 pm EDT) on the 7th. At the surface, two areas of intense rain (shown in magenta) reveal the presence of two areas of strong thunderstorms within Florence north and northeast of the center. The flyby shows a 3D rendering of the radar structure of the storm. The darker blue tower indicates an area of deep convection that has penetrated well over 10 km high and is associated with the southernmost area of intense rain just north of the center. It is these areas of deep convection that fuel the storm by releasing heat, known as latent heat, mainly from condensation, near the core. Although it would be nearly 2 days before Florence re-gained hurricane intensity, these convective towers are what helped Florence to survive the effects of the wind shear and eventually grow back into a Category 4 hurricane.GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA.Caption by Stephen Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and Joe Munchak (GSFC). || ", "hits": 44 }, { "id": 12723, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12723/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2017-09-20T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "NASA Catches Hurricanes Jose and Maria", "description": "Music: \"Tradition-Innovation,\" Philippe Lhommet, KOKA Media || 12723_JoseMaria.00065_print.jpg (1024x576) [166.5 KB] || 12723_JoseMaria.00065_searchweb.png (320x180) [100.4 KB] || 12723_JoseMaria.00065_thm.png (80x40) [7.3 KB] || 12723_JoseMaria_prores.mov (1920x1080) [928.3 MB] || 12723_JoseMaria_master_twitter_720.mp4 (1280x720) [13.1 MB] || 12723_JoseMaria_master_youtube_720.mp4 (1280x720) [80.1 MB] || 12723_JoseMaria_master_youtube_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [83.8 MB] || 12723_JoseMaria_master_facebook_720.mp4 (1280x720) [61.2 MB] || 12723_JoseMaria.mp4 (1920x1080) [63.2 MB] || 12723_JoseMaria_prores.webm (1920x1080) [6.4 MB] || 12723_JoseMaria.en_US.srt [1.1 KB] || 12723_JoseMaria.en_US.vtt [1.1 KB] || ", "hits": 50 }, { "id": 4585, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4585/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2017-09-19T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Hurricane Jose lingers in the Atlantic as Hurricane Maria approaches Puerto Rico", "description": "GPM passed over both Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Jose on September 18th, 2017. As the camera moves in on the Maria, DPR's volumetric view of the storm is revealed. A slicing plane moves across the volume to display precipitation rates throughout the storm. Shades of green to red represent liquid precipitation extending down to the ground. || JoseMaria_03.6000_print.jpg (576x1024) [192.4 KB] || JoseMaria_03.6000_searchweb.png (320x180) [112.5 KB] || JoseMaria_03.6000_thm.png (80x40) [7.7 KB] || JoseMaria_09-18 (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || JoseMaria_03_1080p30.webm (1920x1080) [4.8 MB] || JoseMaria_03_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [81.8 MB] || JoseMaria_09-18 (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || JoseMaria_03_2160p30.mp4 (3840x2160) [232.0 MB] || JoseMaria_03_1080p30.mp4.hwshow [186 bytes] || ", "hits": 66 }, { "id": 4361, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4361/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2015-09-28T14:00:00-04:00", "title": "Does What Happens in the Arctic Stay in the Arctic?", "description": "This gallery was created for Earth Science Week 2015 and beyond. It includes a quick start guide for educators and first-hand stories (blogs) for learners of all ages by NASA visualizers, scientists and educators. We hope that your understanding and use of NASA's visualizations will only increase as your appreciation grows for the beauty of the science they portray, and the communicative power they hold. Read all the blogs and find educational resources for all ages at: the Earth Science Week 2015 page.It all began with my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Benner. Back then my school had a weather station and one day she had asked me to collect wind speed and temperature data. I soon found myself in charge of the morning weather forecast and soon this was my favorite part of the day. Little did I know that in the years that would follow, I’d pursue my passion for clouds and meteorology to become a research scientist at NASA. Working at NASA is every bit as cool as it sounds! Everyday is different and I always find myself working with new scientific tools to uncover mysteries about our planet Earth. Lately I’ve been studying the cryosphere, or the world’s frozen places, where I’m using scientific visualizations to understand the impacts of climate change in the Arctic. In particular I’m focusing on melting sea ice to understand how it affects Arctic cloud formation.Arctic clouds are made up of tiny liquid droplets and ice particles that form from condensation and then freezing of water vapor. Water vapor is a necessary ingredient for Arctic cloud formation, and evaporation from the Arctic Ocean can serve as an important source of water vapor. But when sea ice sits on the Arctic Ocean it acts as a lid that prevents evaporation and may limit Arctic cloud formation. Over the past decade the amount of Arctic sea ice has declined dramatically and we think this trend may be influencing Arctic cloud formation.I created a visualization showing the hypothesized response of clouds to melting in sea ice (below). The difference between the left panel, \"Current Conditions,\" and the right panel, \"Future Conditions,\" is that less sea ice in the future leads to more evaporation, and more evaporation leads to more water vapor and increased cloudiness. This hypothesis is where I base my research, using state-of-the-art NASA satellite instruments including CALIPSO and CloudSAT. || ", "hits": 33 }, { "id": 3797, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3797/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2010-10-28T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "NASA Builds Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)", "description": "The Global Precipitation Measurement, or GPM, mission will use an international constellation of satellites to study global rain, snow and ice to better understand our climate, weather, and hydrometeorological processes. One of the critical components of the Earth's hydrological cycle is precipitation. Rainfall is essential for providing the fresh water that sustains life. Water cycling and the future availability of fresh water resources are immense societal concerns that impact every nation on Earth. It affects virtually every environmental issue. Solid forms of precipitation, such as snow and ice, frequently create hazardous conditions during winter storms. Heavy snowfalls severely disrupt transportation networks and temporarily paralyze local economies. Snowfall is also beneficial to many, as it provides the major source of fresh water during arid summer months in many mountainous regions. In the atmosphere, the condensation of water vapor into rain, and then rain into ice, releases vast quantifies of heat. The heat energy drives the wind systems of Earth's atmosphere, and powers violent storms such as hurricanes. In many respects, precipitation is truly the centerpiece of our planet's hydrological cycle, and understanding it is crucial to unraveling many of the uncertainties about Earth's climate.We cannot understand the water and energy cycle or predict weather and climate without an accurate knowledge of the intensity and distribution of global precipitation. Measurement of various aspects of precipitation (e.g. distribution, amount, rates, and the associated heat release) represents one of the most challenging research problems in Earth science. Yet, accurate global precipitation measurements will benefit weather, climate, hydro-meteorological, and applications communities alike. The concept of Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) is NASA's response to the need for accurate global precipitation measurement. || ", "hits": 22 }, { "id": 3746, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3746/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2010-07-01T20:00:00-04:00", "title": "Hurricane Alex Makes Landfall in Northeastern Mexico", "description": "NASA's TRMM spacecraft observed this view of Hurricane Alex on June 30, 2010 at 2103 UTC (5:02 PM EST). At this time, Hurricane Alex was increasing in intensity and had become a category 2 storm with estimated winds at 75 knots (~86.4 mph) and a pressure reading of 962 mb. The rain structure is taken by TRMM's Tropical Microwave Imager (TMI) and TRMM's Precitation Radar (PR) instruments. The TMI rainfall analysis shows that Alex had a well defined eye containing powerful thounderstorms that were dropping extreme amounts of rain. The clouds are taken by TRMM's visible-infrared radiometer (VIRS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-13) infrared instrument. TRMM looks underneath of the storm's clouds to reveal the underlying rain structure. The colored isosurface under the clouds show the rain seen by the PR instrument. Areas of extremely heavy rainfall are colored in red. Heavy rainfall are colored in yellow, moderate rainfall are colored in green, and light rain are in blue. || ", "hits": 35 }, { "id": 3745, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3745/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2010-07-01T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Hurricane Katrina 3D Stereoscopic Viewfinder Image", "description": "NASA's TRMM spacecraft observed this view of Hurricane Katrina on August 28, 2005. At the time the data was collected, Katrina was a Category 5 hurricane, the most destructive and deadly. The cloud cover data was taken by TRMM's Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS), with additional data from the GOES spacecraft. The rain structure data was taken by TRMM's Tropical Microwave Imager (TMI). This view looks underneath the storm's clouds to reveal the underlying rain structure. This stereoscopic still image was created from a previous visualization and is intended for viewing through a special NASA Earth Science Viewfinder available through NASA Headquarters. Below, we include an anaglyph version, a printable viewfinder version, and the individual left eye and right eye views. || ", "hits": 41 }, { "id": 3734, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3734/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2010-06-24T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "MERRA Combined Liquid Water and Ice Mixing Ratios", "description": "Retrospective-analyses (or reanalyses) have been a critical tool in studying weather and climate variability for the last 15 years. Reanalyses blend the continuity and breadth of output data of a numerical model with the constraint of vast quantities of observational data. The result is a long-term continuous data record. The Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications was developed to support NASA's Earth science objectives, by applying the state-of-the-art GMAO data assimilation system that includes many modern observing systems (such as EOS) in a climate framework.The MERRA time period covers the modern era of remotely sensed data, from 1979 through the present, and the special focus of the atmospheric assimilation is the hydrological cycle.The time period covered by the visualization is the months of May, June, and July of 1988 and 1993, two years with contrasting extreme weather events during the summer: a drought through the midwestern states of the US in 1988, and heavy rains and flooding through the same region in 1993.This visualization shows the combined liquid water and ice mixing ratio dataset produced by MERRA, roughly corresponding to cloud cover, up to an geopotential height of 20 km. The height coordinate is greatly exaggerated. Both opacity and color are driven by the data value.This animation was created as part of a presentation for the NASA Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS) hyperwall display. This is a set of tiled high definition displays consisting of 5 displays across by 3 displays down. The full resolution of all combined displays is 6840 pixels accross by 2304 pixels down. For the full presentation, see the link below. || ", "hits": 25 }, { "id": 3723, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3723/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2010-06-18T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "NCCS Hyperwall Show: GEOS-5 Modeled Clouds at 5-km Resolution (Flat Map)", "description": "This visualization shows clouds from a simulation using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Verison 5 (GEOS5). The global atmospheric simulation ran at a resolution of 5-km per grid cell and covered a period from Feb 2, 2010 through Feb 22, 2010. The results of the simulation were written out at 30 minute intervals. This is a high-resolution non-hydrostatic global model.This visualization was created for display on the NASA Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS) hyperwall. This is a set of tiled high definition displays consisting of 5 displays across by 3 displays down. The full resolution of all combined displays is 6840 pixels accross by 2304 pixels down. This movie was rendered at this high resolution, then diced up into images to be displayed on each screen.A similar, lower resolution visualization is available in entry #3724. The lower resolution version is for comparison to current operational model resolution output. When displaying these visualizations on the hyperwall, we sometimes show them in a checkerboard pattern with alternating 5-km and quarter-degree tiles for easy comparison. We chose to stretch the image to fit the hyperwall aspect rather than cropping or adding black bars. || ", "hits": 138 }, { "id": 3724, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3724/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2010-06-18T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "NCCS Hyperwall Show: GEOS-5 Modeled Clouds at One Quarter Degree (28-km) Resolution (Flat Map)", "description": "This visualization shows clouds from a simulation using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Verison 5 (GEOS-5). The global atmospheric simulation ran at a resolution of one quarter degree (or about 28-km) per grid cell and covered a period from Feb 3, 2010 through Feb 13, 2010. The results of the simulation were written out at 30 minute intervals. This model is a high-resolution non-hydrostatic global model.This visualization was created for display on NASA's Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS) hyperwall. This is a set of tiled high definition displays consisting of 5 displays across by 3 displays down. The full resolution of all combined displays is 6840 pixels across by 2304 pixels down. This movie was rendered at this resolution, then diced up into images to be displayed on each screen.A similar, higher resolution visualization is available in entry #3723. This lower resolution version is for comparison to current operational model resolution output. || ", "hits": 42 }, { "id": 3722, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3722/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2010-06-01T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "NCCS Hyperwall Show: Push in with GEOS-5 Modeled Clouds at 3.5-km Global Resolution and 10 Minute Interval", "description": "This visualization shows clouds from a simulation using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Verison 5 (GEOS-5). The global atmospheric simulation ran at 3.5 km per grid cell and covered a single day: January 2, 2009. The results of the simulation were written out at 10 minute intervals. Since there is only one day of simulation data, the sequence of clouds repeats several times. The white flash indicates the sequence is about to repeat.This version of the visualization was created for display on the NASA Center for Climate Science (NCCS.) hyperwall. This hyperwall is a set of 15 tiled high definition displays constisting of 5 displays across by 3 displays down. The full resolution of all combined displays is 6840 pixels accross by 2304 pixels down. This movie was rendered at full resolution, then diced up into images for display on each screen.This visualization is similar to a visualization shown at the Supercomputing 2009 conference available in entry #3659. The differences between that one and this one are: resolution, aspect ratio, and camera path (due to the aspect). || ", "hits": 36 }, { "id": 3711, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3711/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2010-05-01T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Five Spheres - Water", "description": "Satellite data can be used to observe the dramatic ebb and flow of the our planet's water system from space. This animation of QuikSCAT's sea surface winds is match framed to animation entries 3707, 3708, 3709, and 3710. The SeaWinds Scatterometer instrument on the QuikSCAT satellite captures the always moving and complex sea surface. The mission has also provided critical information for monitoring, modeling, forecasting and researching our atmosphere, ocean and climate.By any measure of success, the 10-year-old QuikSCAT mission is a unique national resource that has achieved and far surpassed its science objectives. Designed for a two-year lifetime, QuikSCAT has been used around the globe by the world's operational meteorological agencies to improve weather forecasts and identify the location, size and strength of hurricanes and other storms in the open ocean. More information on QuikSCAT is online at: http://winds.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/quikscat/index.cfm. || ", "hits": 39 }, { "id": 3661, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3661/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2010-02-18T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Volume Renderings of Hurricane Isabel based on the WRF Computational Model (Three Resolutions)", "description": "This visualization shows cloud and ice data from an atmospheric simulation using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model. Clouds are shown as levels of white; and, ice is shown as levels of blue. Cloud and ice data from the model are volumetric (i.e. in multiple pressure levels).Three different reolution runs are shown as the camera moves in towards the East coast:1. 36 km per grid cell every hour covering most of the northern hemisphere (volume size: 415x270x27)2. 12 km per grid cell every hour covering central North America (volume size: 438x300x27)3. 4 km per grid cell every 5 minutes covering the US East coast (volume size: 300x300x27)This visualization was created in support of a video about the Climate in a Box project. for the Fall 2009 American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference. || ", "hits": 52 }, { "id": 3671, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3671/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2010-01-14T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Amazon Basin Monthly GRACE Data", "description": "This visualization displays monthly GRACE data in the Amazon basin. GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) measures mass distribution and in this instance is used to demonstrate water storage and movement in the basin. Warmer colors like red and yellow reveal areas with greater mass, or more water, while cooler colors like blue and green indicate areas with lesser mass, or less water. || ", "hits": 43 }, { "id": 3664, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3664/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2009-12-11T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Volumetric Renderings of Hurricane Isabel based on the WRF Computational Model: close up with winds", "description": "This visualization shows cloud and ice data from an atmospheric simulation using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model. Clouds are shown as shades of white and ice is shown as shades of blue. Cloud and ice data from the model are volumetric (with a volume size of 300x300x27 cells). Winds are represented by moving arrows. The arrows are colored from blue (lower altitudes) to white (higher altitudes). Each of these data sets were from simulations at 3. 4 km per grid cell every 5 minutes for the East coast near where Isabel made landfall. This visualization was created in support of a video about the Climate in a Box project for the Fall 2009 American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference. || ", "hits": 56 }, { "id": 3666, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3666/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2009-12-11T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Volumetric Renderings of Hurricane Isabel based on WRF Computational Model: Top Down View", "description": "This visualization shows cloud and ice data from an atmospheric simulation using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model. Clouds are shown as shades of white and ice is shown as shades of blue. Cloud and ice data from the model are volumetric, so a volumetric rendering technique called ray-casting was used to create the images. Winds are represented by moving arrows. Each of these data sets were from simulations at 3. 4 km per grid cell every 5 minutes for the East coast near where Isabel made landfall.This is a top-down view of the storm that was rendered in layers. There are layers (with alpha channels) for the dates, winds, clouds, and background. This allowed for editors to control when each of the elements was faded in during post production. A composited example is included. The layers should composited in the order listed above.This visualization was created in support of a video about the Climate in a Box project for the Fall 2009 American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference. || ", "hits": 40 }, { "id": 3659, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3659/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2009-11-16T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "GEOS-5 Modeled Clouds at 3.5-km Global Resolution", "description": "This visualization shows clouds from a simulation using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Verison 5 (GEOS-5). The global atmospheric simulation ran at 3.5 km per grid cell and covered a single day: January 2, 2009. The model output the results at 10 minute intervals. Since there is only one day of simulation data, the sequence of clouds repeats several times. The white flash indicates the sequence is about to repeat. || ", "hits": 44 }, { "id": 3660, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3660/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2009-11-09T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Tropical Storm Ida Observed on November 9, 2009 at 1218 UTC", "description": "NASA's TRMM spacecraft observed this view of Tropical Storm Ida on November 9, 2009 at 1218 UTC (7:18 AM EST). Scattered convective thunderstorms are shown producing moderate to heavy rainfall of over 50 millimeters per hour (~2 inches) north of IDA's center of circulation and in a strong band on the eastern side. At the time of this image IDA had winds estimated at 70 knots (~80.5 mph). IDA is predicted by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida to hit the Gulf coast near Pensacola, Florida on Tuesday morning. The rain structure is taken by TRMM's Tropical Microwave Imager (TMI) and TRMM's Precitation Radar(PR) instruments. TRMM looks underneath of the storm's clouds to reveal the underlying rain structure. The colored isosurface under the clouds show the rain seen by the PR instrument. || ", "hits": 29 }, { "id": 10525, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10525/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2009-11-04T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Hello Crud", "description": "This segment provides an introduction to aerosols- their varied sources, brief lifetimes, and erratic behavior. Glory's APS will help researchers determine the global distribution of aerosol particles. This unique instrument will unravel the microphysical properties of aerosols, and will shed light on the chemical composition of natural and anthropogenic aerosols and clouds. For complete transcript, click here. || Hello_Crud__512x288.00727_print.jpg (1024x576) [58.9 KB] || Hello_Crud__512x288_web.png (320x180) [160.9 KB] || Hello_Crud__512x288_thm.png (80x40) [15.7 KB] || Hello_Crud_960x720_AppleTV.webmhd.webm (960x540) [66.8 MB] || Hello_Crud_1280x720_ProRes.mov (1280x720) [4.6 GB] || Hello_Crud_1280x720_H264.mov (1280x720) [128.2 MB] || Hello_Crud_960x720_AppleTV.m4v (960x540) [160.6 MB] || Hello_Crud__640x480_ipod.m4v (640x360) [52.5 MB] || Hello_Crud__512x288.mpg (512x288) [37.2 MB] || Hello_Crud_320x240.mp4 (320x180) [22.3 MB] || Hello_Crud.wmv (320x180) [32.7 MB] || ", "hits": 25 }, { "id": 3652, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3652/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2009-10-09T13:24:00-04:00", "title": "Sea Surface Temperature, Salinity and Density", "description": "Sea Surface TemperatureThe oceans of the world are heated at the surface by the sun, and this heating is uneven for many reasons. The Earth's axial rotation, revolution about the sun, and tilt all play a role, as do the wind-driven ocean surface currents. The first animation in this group shows the long-term average sea surface temperature, with red and yellow depicting warmer waters and blue depicting colder waters. The most obvious feature of this temperature map is the variation of the temperature by latitude, from the warm region along the equator to the cold regions near the poles. Another visible feature is the cooler regions just off the western coasts of North America, South America, and Africa. On these coasts, winds blow from land to ocean and push the warm water away from the coast, allowing cooler water to rise up from deeper in the ocean. || ", "hits": 376 }, { "id": 3754, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3754/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2009-10-09T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Endless Loop: Earth's Water Cycle", "description": "For circulating energy, for distributing essential chemistry, and as a fundamental requirement for most biological processes, water defines Earth's dynamic identity. The more than seventy percent of our planet covered by water is in many ways the reason life has survived and thrived for so long.A simple trip to the ocean's edge highlights how water constantly moves. But water sloshing back in forth in ocean basins only begins to describe the complex processes of its circulation on Earth.NASA takes the water cycle as not merely an academic exercise but as a vital area for exploration. Satellites can examine aspects of the global water cycle that in situ measurements and observations can only dream about seeing. The TRMM spacecraft is the world's most advanced precipitation measuring system to date, gathering vital information about tropical precipitation and other features every day. Other sensors, like the AMSR and AIRS instruments on the AQUA spacecraft take profiles of the planet's atmosphere, examine water vapor concentrations and distribution, among other things. A number of instruments look at water at or below the surface. MODIS makes sea surface temperature measurements that provide essential information about how oceans work and how they're changing over time. GRACE keeps track of elusive, yet massive, quantities of water both underground and in the oceans by making precise gravitational measurements. And the planned Aquarius mission, scheduled for launch in just a few years, will make unprecedented measurements of ocean salinity, a vital characteristic for describing a wide variety of phenomena, from life to physical processes that govern global circulation patterns. || ", "hits": 62 }, { "id": 10509, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10509/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2009-10-09T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Water, Water Everywhere!", "description": "Water is all around us, and its importance to nearly every natural process on earth cannot be underestimated. The water cycle is the movement of water around the Earth in all its forms, from the ocean to the atmosphere, to snow, soil, aquifers, lakes, and streams on land, and ultimately backs to the ocean. This video explains what the water cycle is and how important it is to life on earth.For complete transcript, click here. || Water_Water_Everywhere_640x480.01727_print.jpg (1024x576) [218.0 KB] || Water_Water_Everywhere_640x480_web.png (320x180) [275.8 KB] || Water_Water_Everywhere_640x480_thm.png (80x40) [18.1 KB] || Water_Water_Everywhere_AppleTV.webmhd.webm (960x540) [95.5 MB] || Water_Water_Everywhere_640x480.mp4 (1280x720) [231.3 MB] || Water_Water_Everywhere_AppleTV.m4v (960x540) [229.2 MB] || Water_Water_Everywhere_H264.mov (1280x720) [2.0 GB] || Water_Water_Everywhere_friday_1280x720.mp4 (1280x720) [231.3 MB] || Water_Water_Everywhere_friday.mov (1280x720) [6.4 GB] || Water_Water_Everywhere_ipod_640x480m4v.m4v (640x360) [72.1 MB] || Water_Water_Everywhere_friday_640x480.mp4 (640x360) [72.1 MB] || Water_Water_Everywhere_1280x720.mp4 (640x480) [97.6 MB] || Water_Water_Everywhere_friday.mp4 (320x180) [30.1 MB] || Water_Water_Everywhere_friday.wmv (320x236) [26.9 MB] || ", "hits": 74 }, { "id": 3643, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3643/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2009-10-08T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Hourly Atmospheric Water Vapor from the GEOS-5 Model", "description": "These three animations portray the hourly flow of atmospheric water vapor around the world. The animations were created using data from the GEOS-5 atmospheric model on the cubed-sphere, run at 14-km global resolution for 30-days. For more information on the GEOS-5, see http://gmao.gsfc.nasa.gov/systems/geos5 . For more information on the cubed-sphere work, see http://sivo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cubedsphere_overview.html. || ", "hits": 40 }, { "id": 3644, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3644/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2009-10-08T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Hourly Evaporation from the GEOS-5 Model", "description": "This animation of the global hourly evaporation shows how heating from the sun during the day causes increased evaporation over land areas. Two versions of this animation are provided: one with a day/night clock inset and one without. The animation was created using data from the GEOS-5 atmospheric model on the cubed-sphere, run at 14-km global resolution for 30-days. For more information on the GEOS-5, see http://gmao.gsfc.nasa.gov/systems/geos5. For more information on the cubed-sphere work, see http://sivo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cubedsphere_overview.html. || ", "hits": 32 }, { "id": 3645, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3645/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2009-10-08T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Hourly Total Precipitation from the GEOS-5 Model", "description": "This animation portrays the hourly flow of precipitation around the world. The animation was created using data from the GEOS-5 atmospheric model on the cubed-sphere, run at 14-km global resolution for 30-days. For more information on the GEOS-5, see http://gmao.gsfc.nasa.gov/systems/geos5 . For more information on the cubed-sphere work, see http://sivo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cubedsphere_overview.html. || ", "hits": 44 }, { "id": 3648, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3648/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2009-10-08T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Components of the Water Cycle", "description": "Water regulates climate, storing heat during the day and releasing it at night. Water in the ocean and atmosphere carry heat from the tropics to the poles. The process by which water moves around the earth, from the ocean, to the atmosphere, to the land and back to the ocean is called the water cycle. The animations below each portray a component of the water cycle. All use an identical view and camera motion to allow for easy compositing.Data for the animation of global sea surface temperature was derived from a model run of ECCO's Ocean General Circulation Model. See http://www.ecco-group.org/model.htm for more information on ECCO.Data for the animation of atmospheric phenomena was created using data from the GEOS-5 atmospheric model on the cubed-sphere, run at 14-km global resolution for 25-days. Variables animated here include evaporation, water vapor and precipitation.For more information on the GEOS-5 see http://gmao.gsfc.nasa.gov/systems/geos5.For more information on the cubed-sphere work see http://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/610.3/cubedsphere.html.All three of these animations are time synchronous throughout the animation to allow cross fades during compositing.The final animation shown here, a pulsing network of rivers over the continents, represents the flow of water from land back into the ocean, thereby completing the water cycle.A flat version of these animations can be found in item #3811. || ", "hits": 105 }, { "id": 3658, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3658/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2009-10-08T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "The Thermohaline Circulation - The Great Ocean Conveyor Belt", "description": "The oceans are mostly composed of warm salty water near the surface over cold, less salty water in the ocean depths. These two regions don't mix except in certain special areas. The ocean currents, the movement of the ocean in the surface layer, are driven mostly by the wind. In certain areas near the polar oceans, the colder surface water also gets saltier due to evaporation or sea ice formation. In these regions, the surface water becomes dense enough to sink to the ocean depths. This pumping of surface water into the deep ocean forces the deep water to move horizontally until it can find an area on the world where it can rise back to the surface and close the current loop. This usually occurs in the equatorial ocean, mostly in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. This very large, slow current is called the thermohaline circulation because it is caused by temperature and salinity (haline) variations.This animation shows one of the major regions where this pumping occurs, the North Atlantic Ocean around Greenland, Iceland, and the North Sea. The surface ocean current brings new water to this region from the South Atlantic via the Gulf Stream and the water returns to the South Atlantic via the North Atlantic Deep Water current. The continual influx of warm water into the North Atlantic polar ocean keeps the regions around Iceland and southern Greenland mostly free of sea ice year round.The animation also shows another feature of the global ocean circulation: the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The region around latitude 60 south is the the only part of the Earth where the ocean can flow all the way around the world with no land in the way. As a result, both the surface and deep waters flow from west to east around Antarctica. This circumpolar motion links the world's oceans and allows the deep water circulation from the Atlantic to rise in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and the surface circulation to close with the northward flow in the Atlantic.The color on the world's ocean's at the beginning of this animation represents surface water density, with dark regions being most dense and light regions being least dense (see the animation Sea Surface Temperature, Salinity and Density). The depths of the oceans are highly exaggerated to better illustrate the differences between the surface flows and deep water flows. The actual flows in this model are based on current theories of the thermohaline circulation rather than actual data. The thermohaline circulation is a very slow moving current that can be difficult to distinguish from general ocean circulation. Therefore, it is difficult to measure or simulate. || ", "hits": 338 }, { "id": 10398, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10398/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2009-02-20T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "USGS Video of a Hawaiian Volcano", "description": "Aerosols smaller than 1 micrometer are mostly formed by condensation processes such as conversion of sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas (released from volcanic eruptions) to sulfate particles and by formation of soot and smoke during burning processes. After formation, the aerosols are mixed and transported by atmospheric motions and are primarily removed by cloud and precipitation processes. Video courtesy of United States Geological Survey. || ", "hits": 51 }, { "id": 10387, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10387/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2009-02-19T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Aerosols Impact Cloud Formation", "description": "Aerosols are complex particles; they occur in nature and can also be generated by human activity. One important new area of aerosol research involves how aerosols impact clouds. Without aerosols, clouds could not exist. Aerosol particles serve as condensation nuclei for water vapor in the atmosphere. Atmospheric water molecules are drawn to aerosol particles like magnets, forming water droplets and eventually creating a cloud. The introduction of a larger number of aerosols will modify cloud's natural properties, leading to an accumulation of water droplets that are smaller in size but greater in number. Clouds play an important role in regulating Earth's climate; aerosol-rich air masses generate clouds that are bigger, brighter, and longer lasting. || ", "hits": 131 }, { "id": 10388, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10388/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2009-02-19T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Human Induced versus Naturally Occurring Aerosols", "description": "One critical new area of aerosol research involves how the varied particles impact clouds. Clouds play an important role in regulating Earth's climate, and without aerosols, clouds could not exist. The introduction of a larger number of aerosols will modify cloud's natural properties, leading to clouds that are bigger, brighter, and longer lasting. Two time lapsed scenes with zooms to particle-level conceptual animations help to illustrate this concept. In a pristine environment, like the ocean scene depicted here, naturally occurring salt particles serve as condensation nuclei for water vapor in the atmosphere. The water molecules are drawn to the salt particles like magnets, forming water droplets and eventually creating a cloud. The city scene reveals how an increase in the number of aerosols modifies the properties of a naturally formed cloud. The large influx of soot particles increases the number of centers of attraction for the water molecules, and the water droplets become smaller in size but greater in number. || ", "hits": 32 }, { "id": 10389, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10389/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2009-02-19T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Aerosols Absorb; Aerosols Reflect", "description": "Some aerosol particles primarily reflect solar radiation and cool the atmosphere, and others can also absorb radiation and warm the surrounding air. When aerosols heat the atmosphere, they create an unstable environment where clouds can't thrive. The suppression of clouds leads to further warming of the atmosphere by solar radiation. Aerosols are a complex but critical piece of the climate puzzle, and researchers are still working to understand the role of these curious particles. || ", "hits": 70 }, { "id": 10390, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10390/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2009-02-19T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Sea Salt Aerosols", "description": "Aerosols are complex particles; they can occur in nature but can also be generated by humans. One source of naturally-occurring aerosols is the ocean-wave activity which propels salt particles into the air. These particles then serve as cloud condensation nuclei and lead to cloud formation. Sea salt still image courtesy of Chere Petty, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; NSF grant DBI-0722569 || ", "hits": 71 }, { "id": 10391, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10391/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2009-02-19T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Potassium Aerosols", "description": "Potassium is an alkali metal that occurs naturally bound to other elements in seawater and minerals. Mineral aerosols, such as Saharan dust and sea salt, can be the source of water-soluble potassium. Video courtesy of Chere Petty, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; NSF grant DBI-0722569. || ", "hits": 28 }, { "id": 10393, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10393/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2009-02-19T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Soot and Sulfate Still Images and Video of Tractor Soot Particle", "description": "Aerosols are complex particles; they can occur in nature but can also be generated by humans. Black carbon, or soot, is generated from industrial pollution, traffic, outdoor fires, and household burning of coal and biomass fuels. Soot is a product of incomplete combustion, especially of coal, diesel fuels, biofuels and outdoor biomass burning. When soot absorbs sunlight, it heats the surrounding air and reduces the amount of sunlight reaching the ground. The heated air makes the atmosphere less stable, creating rising air (convection) which forms clouds and brings rainfall to regions that are heavily polluted. Still image courtesy of Peter Buseck, Arizona State University. Video courtesy of Chere Petty, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; NSF grant DBI-0722569. || ", "hits": 48 }, { "id": 20112, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20112/", "result_type": "Animation", "release_date": "2007-09-03T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "AIM's Cosmic Dust Experiment and Cloud Formation", "description": "Like clouds in other parts of the atmosphere, one element required for polar mesospheric clouds to form is tiny dust particles on which water vapor can accumulate and grow into ice crystals. Nearer to Earth's surface, clouds form from 'cloud condensation nuclei' that can be sea salt spray, desert dust, or other materials lofted from the surface. In the mesosphere it is thought that cosmic dust particles falling into the Earth's atmosphere might serve this same purpose, and the Cosmic Dust Experiment instrument on the Aeronomy of Ice Mission will be able to identify how important cosmic dust particles are in the lifecycle of these clouds. || ", "hits": 36 }, { "id": 3413, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3413/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2007-05-10T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Towers in the Tempest", "description": "This visualization won Honorable Mention in the National Science Foundation's Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge in September 2007. It was also shown during the SIGGRAPH 2008 Computer Animation Festival in Los Angeles, CA. 'Towers in the Tempest' is a 4.5 minute narrated animation that explains recent scientific insights into how hurricanes intensify. This intensification can be caused by a phenomenon called a 'hot tower'. For the first time, research meteorologists have run complex simulations using a very fine temporal resolution of 3 minutes. Combining this simulation data with satellite observations enables detailed study of 'hot towers'. The science of 'hot towers' is described using: observed hurricane data from a satellite, descriptive illustrations, and volumetric visualizations of simulation data. The first section of the animation shows actual data from Hurricane Bonnie observed by NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) spacecraft. Three dimensional precipitation radar data reveal a strong 'hot tower' in Hurricane Bonnie's internal structure. The second section uses illustrations to show the dynamics of a hurricane and the formation of 'hot towers'. 'Hot towers' are formed as air spirals inward towards the eye and is forced rapidly upwards, accelerating the movement of energy into high altitude clouds. The third section shows these processes using volumetric cloud, wind, and vorticity data from a supercomputer simulation of Hurricane Bonnie. Vertical wind speed data highlights a 'hot tower'. Arrows representing the wind field move rapidly up into the 'hot tower, boosting the energy and intensifying the hurricane. Combining satellite observations with super-computer simulations provides a powerful tool for studying Earth's complex systems. The complete script is available here . The storyboard is available here . There is also a movie of storyboard drawings with narration below. || ", "hits": 87 }, { "id": 3199, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3199/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-07-27T11:00:00-04:00", "title": "Global Surface Latent Heat Flux during Hurricane Frances (WMS)", "description": "As the Sun's energy reaches the Earth, it is either reflected, absorbed by the clouds, or absorbed by the Earth's surface. The part absorbed by the surface heats the Earth, which causes surface water to evaporate to the air, particularly over oceans or moist land. Similarly, a cold surface causes water to condense from the air onto the land or ocean. Latent heat flux is the amount of energy moving from the surface to the air due to evaporation (positive values) or from the air to the land due to condensation (negative values). This animation shows the latent heat flux for the whole globe from September 1, 2004, through September 5, 2004, during the period of Hurricane Frances in the western Atlantic Ocean and Typhoon Songda in the western Pacific Ocean. The animation clearly shows the evaporation over land only during the heat of the day, while the evaporation over the ocean is continuous throughout the day. The highest positive latent heat flux occurs during hurricanes and typhoons, as these events are powered by the movement of heat energy from the warm ocean to the atmosphere, seen here in Hurricane Frances and Typhoon Songda. Significant negative latent heat flux is somewhat rare and occurs over the ocean only during certain configurations of air and surface conditions. || ", "hits": 44 }, { "id": 3032, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3032/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2005-01-12T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Model of Clouds during Hurricane Isabel, 2003 (WMS)", "description": "The NASA finite-volume General Circulation Model (fvGCM) is used to produce a high-resolution weather prediction system. This model has an increased accuracy of predicting the strength and location of hurricanes over other prediction methods. Several variables are predicted, including cloud cover and precipitable water in the atmosphere. Data from Hurricane Isabel was used to validate the fvGCM model. || ", "hits": 28 }, { "id": 2976, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/2976/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2004-09-03T12:00:00-04:00", "title": "Examining Hurricane Frances' Cloud Structure", "description": "The MODIS instrument on Terra captures great details in the beautiful clouds surrounding Hurricane Frances. || ", "hits": 30 }, { "id": 2910, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/2910/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2004-02-13T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Global TRMM Rainmap, August - September 2003 (WMS)", "description": "This is a three-hour global rainmap from August 27 through September 8, 2003, as observed by the TRMM satellite. || ", "hits": 28 }, { "id": 2901, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/2901/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2004-02-12T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Atmospheric Water Vapor during the 1998 La Niña (WMS)", "description": "Water vapor is a small but significant constituent of the atmosphere, warming the planet due to the greenhouse effect and condensing to form clouds which both warm and cool the Earth in different circumstances. A key feature of global atmospheric water vapor convection is the Intertropical Convergence Zone, the low pressure region within five degrees of the equator where the trade winds converge and solar heating of the atmosphere forces the water-laden air to rise in altitude, form clouds, and then precipitate as rain in the afternoon. This visualization shows the global water vapor distribution in gray and white and the global precipitation in yellow every hour from August 30, 1998 to September 20, 1998. The afternoon thunderstorms in the tropics are seen as a flashing yellow region that moves from east to west, following the sun. This is a La Niña period, when the water to the west of South America is cooler than normal, forcing the atmosphere there to cool down and hold less water. Strong east-to-west winds can be seen in this region, contributing to the high water vapor region that forms further to the west over southeast Asia, the Philippines, and Indonesia, causing increased humidity and rainfall in that region. This data is from the Goddard Earth Modeling System, a coupled land-ocean-atmosphere model which uses earth and satellite-based observations to simulate the Earth's physical system during events such as La Niña. || ", "hits": 26 }, { "id": 2902, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/2902/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2004-02-12T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Atmospheric Water Vapor during the 1997-1998 El Niño (WMS)", "description": "Water vapor is a small but significant constituent of the atmosphere, warming the planet due to the greenhouse effect and condensing to form clouds which both warm and cool the Earth in different circumstances. A key feature of global atmospheric water vapor convection is the Intertropical Convergence Zone, the low pressure region within five degrees of the equator where the trade winds converge and solar heating of the atmosphere forces the water-laden air to rise in altitude, form clouds, and then precipitate as rain in the afternoon. This visualization shows the global water vapor distribution in gray and white and the global precipitation in yellow every hour from December 20, 1997 to January 14, 1998. The afternoon thunderstorms in the tropics are seen as a flashing yellow region that moves from east to west, following the sun. This is an El Niño period, when the water to the west of South America is warmer than normal, allowing the atmosphere there to heat up and hold more water. This region feeds a high band of water vapor reaching to the southeastern United States and causes increased humidity and rainfall in that region. This data is from the Goddard Earth Modeling System, a coupled land-ocean-atmosphere model which uses earth and satellite-based observations to simulate the Earth's physical system during events such as El Niño. || ", "hits": 30 }, { "id": 20010, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20010/", "result_type": "Animation", "release_date": "2003-12-09T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Particulates Effect on Rainfall", "description": "Normal rainfall droplet creation involves water vapor condensing on particles in clouds. The droplets eventually coalesce together to form drops large enough to fall to Earth. However, as more and more pollution particles (aerosols) enter a rain cloud, the same amount of water becomes spread out. These smaller water droplets float with the air and are prevented from coalescing and growing large enough for a raindrop. Thus, the cloud yields less rainfall over the course of its liftime compared to a clean (non-polluted) cloud of the same size. The split screen compares a normal rain producing cloud (left) with the lack of rain produced from a cloud full of aerosols from pollution. || ", "hits": 149 }, { "id": 20016, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20016/", "result_type": "Animation", "release_date": "2003-12-09T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Aqua Mission Science Objectives", "description": "The Water Cycle - Water falling from summer storm clouds onto a field of wheat today will someday fall again somewhere else. This is the essence of the water cycle. The first step in the cycle is evaporation. Heated by sunlight, liquid water turns to vapor and enters the atmosphere. Another source of atmospheric water vapor is the respiratory process of plants. Vapor leaves plants through tiny pores called stomata. This process is called transpiration. As moist air ascends into the atmosphere and encounters lower atmospheric pressure, the invisible water vapor transforms back into liquid water, and we see the next phase in the water cycle: condensation. Droplets of water coalesce from traces of vapor, and as they gain size by joining with other droplets, they yield the next part of the water cycle. This is called precipitation. The cycle is endless. As it's name suggests, the Aqua project will be intensely involved in studying the water cycle in its many forms.Evaporation - Depending on total ambient temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and water temperature, some molecules of water are almost always passing from liquid to gaseous state at the surface. This is called evaporation. Evaporation is what puts moisture into the air, pulling water off the surface of lakes and streams and topsoil. Not only does water vapor enter the atmosphere, but also evaporating water pulls heat away from the surface. That heat will get redistributed to a different part of the atmosphere when the recently liberated water vapor re-condenses.Transpiration - Related to evaporation, this is the respiratory equivalent of breathing in plants. Transpiration is how plants lose water to the surrounding air. While some water directly evaporates through the walls of cells on the surface of plants, the majority of water lost happens through intercellular structures called stomata. These are like tiny pores. Transpiration helps pull nutrients from plant roots up to leaves. It's a natural process that's heavily influenced by ambient temperature, humidity, and other factors. Additionally, transpiration also helps properly circulate carbon dioxide and oxygen, diffusing the first into plant cells for growth, and carrying the second away from cells as waste gas.Condensation - The process that describes the change in physical state of a gas to a liquid is called condensation. Generally this is a phenomenon brought about by either of two processes: cooling of air to its dewpoint, or the addition of enough water vapor to bring the air to the point of saturation. But as that moisture either reaches high enough altitudes so that the air containing it is chilled by lower temperatures found there, or affected by increasing humidity from dynamic meteorological conditions, it condenses. The water molecules start moving more slowly, and the state of matter begins to change, as water molecules start hooking up. Gas becomes a liquid. Condensation can take many forms without necessarily falling from the sky. Dew, fog, mist, and clouds are all examples of condensed water.Precipitation - Simply speaking, precipitation is a function of water changing its material state from vapor to a liquid or a solid. But more specifically, two fundamental steps must take place for water to fall from the sky. The first is that basic precipitation components must develop. These include ice crystals that form around various minute particles in the atmosphere such as dust or salts. The second step is for those ice crystals or condensed droplets to grow. Because of their increasing size, larger droplets or ice crystals are more apt to collide with other particles of water, and thus more likely to fall or 'precipitate' out of a cloud. || ", "hits": 136 }, { "id": 20017, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20017/", "result_type": "Animation", "release_date": "2003-12-09T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Aqua Mission Science Objectives", "description": "Water Vapor And Climate Change - There is no more important greenhouse gas than water vapor. As one of the fundamental parts of Earth's atmosphere, water vapor affects global warming in both positive and negative terms, and offers a trail for scientists to follow towards a better understanding about how the planet functions as a whole. It's also one of the principal aspects of the Earth's climate targeted for study by the Aqua satellite. By applying integrated analytic tools to the study of climate and climate change, experts hope to learn more specifically how water vapor and other greenhouse gasses move and function throughout the atmosphere. || ", "hits": 41 }, { "id": 40118, "url": "http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/gpm/", "result_type": "Gallery", "release_date": "2000-01-01T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Global Precipitation Measurement", "description": "The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission is an international network of satellites that provide the next-generation global observations of rain and snow. Building upon the success of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), the GPM concept centers on the deployment of a \"Core\" satellite carrying an advanced radar / radiometer system to measure precipitation from space and serve as a reference standard to unify precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational satellites. Through improved measurements of precipitation globally, the GPM mission helps to advance our understanding of Earth's water and energy cycle, improve forecasting of extreme events that cause natural hazards and disasters, and extend current capabilities in using accurate and timely information of precipitation to directly benefit society. GPM, initiated by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as a global successor to TRMM, comprises a consortium of international space agencies, including the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES), the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), and others. The GPM Core Observatory launched from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan, at 1:37 PM EST on February 27, 2014.For more information and resources please visit the Precipitation Measurement Missions web site.", "hits": 325 } ] }