Earth  ID: 3905

Mapping Diseases

The print-resolution still images were created for the February 2012 issue of The Scientist (print and online). In an article in the same issue, NASA scientist Assaf Anyamba explains how he can predict diseases with remote-sensing data.

The data used are:

1. NDVI is an index that quantifies the photosynthetic capacity of vegetation. It is derived from visible and near-infrared reflectance measurements made by Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sensors onboard NOAA's polar orbiting satellites (in this case NOAA-17). Taken as time series measurements, NDVI indicates the response of vegetation to seasonal and interannual variations in climate.

2. SST data are a blend of direct observations from ships, buoys, satellite imagery also from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instruments, and SSTs simulated by sea-ice cover. The monthly optimum interpolated fields were derived by a linear interpolation of the weekly fields to daily fields, and then averaging daily values over a month.

All anomaly fields (as shown here) are derived by subtracting the monthly values from the respective long-term monthly means.

 

Related


Visualization Credits

Helen-Nicole Kostis (USRA): Lead Animator
Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC): Animator
Assaf Anyamba (USRA): Scientist
Jennifer Small (SSAI): Scientist
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

Science Paper:
PLOS Neglected Tropical Disease (PLOS NTDs) Article: Climate Teleconnections and Recent Patterns of Human and Animal Disease Outbreaks

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3905

Data Used:
NOAA/AVHRR/NDVI
January 2007 Collection: 2003-2008
NOAA/AVHRR/Sea Surface Temperature
January 2007 Collection: 1982-2008
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details nor the data sets themselves on our site.

Keywords:
DLESE >> Environmental science
DLESE >> Human geography
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Human Dimensions >> Human Health >> Diseases/Epidemics
GCMD >> Location >> Africa
GCMD >> Location >> East Africa
NASA Science >> Earth

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0