#earth monitoring

[startswithabang]

One Critical Mission Is Now The Make-Or-Break Future For NASA Earth Science

“When it comes to viewing anything in space that changes — whether it's a distant galaxy, star, or even the Sun or Earth in our own backyard — the goal is to measure it as frequently and comprehensively as possible. For the Earth, that means imaging the planet at high resolution, with as many instruments as we can, covering the entire globe in as little time as possible, while in close orbit around our planet. The greatest Earth-monitoring satellite of all time, the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1), is scheduled to launch in just a few months, and will give us climate and weather modeling data that's leaps and bounds better than anything we've ever had. It also has to last until the United States comes to our scientific senses, because with a suite of cancelled Earth observing missions and JPSS-2 in funding jeopardy, it's our only hope for obtaining this type of quality data for the foreseeable future.”

Later this year, one of the most epic Earth-monitoring missions of all time, the NASA/NOAA collaboration JPSS-1, will launch. With a suite of five unique scientific instruments designed to improve and enhance climate and weather monitoring, it will be a tremendous asset in disaster prevention and mitigation. It will give full global coverage twice per day, on a continuous basis, with the JPSS program designed to run for the next 21 years, at least. But that will only happen if we continue to fund Earth science and to value Earth monitoring. From coastal areas to wildfires to hurricanes to storms at sea and so much more, humanity relies on an intricate knowledge of what’s occurring on our world for our safety, security, and our economic and commercial endeavors. It’s incredibly exciting that JPSS is slated to launch in just a few months, but if we’re not careful, it might be the pinnacle of human achievement, in this arena, for decades to come.

We can do better, and the whole Earth is relying on us. Come learn what JPSS is all about, and what we need to do to continue to push, positively, into the future.

[earthobservation]

Earth Monitoring Satellites

SC Solutions’ platform uses an advanced Earth Observation Satellite System to deliver clear, actionable insights for agriculture. I-Sat turns complex Earth Observation Satellite data into user-friendly intelligence.

[nouh123]

special live tonight!

The most dangerous events are not necessarily the riskiest. The probability of an asteroid falling large enough to cause planetary-wide consequences is very low, but not zero. This is why it is advisable to prepare now for the day when the measurements of the trajectory of a small celestial body will accumulate without the Earth leaving the “window of uncertainty”. Futura is organizing a live on…

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[earthstory]

Cinderella Science

In the field of Earth Sciences, discovery generally does not always come with a flash of revelation. Instead, it comes creepingly slow as large patterns emerge from years of data acquired from monitoring the Earth. Earth Monitoring is science’s Cinderella. It is dull, unloved, poorly paid and maintaining a long-term record remains challenging.

For instance, let me introduce you to the one of the highly ranked scientific achievements of twentieth-century science – the ‘Keeling curve’ of CO2 concentrations (see http://on.fb.me/1RifD0D). Charles Keeling was the pioneer to start measuring atmospheric carbon-dioxide since 1958, in Mauna Loa, Hawaii. Before 1958, little was known about CO2 in the atmosphere and available measurements had little value. However, success came from Charles Keeling’s years of painstaking effort and innovation that helped build the Keeling curve. The patterns of seasonal changes and hemispheric differences traced the breathing of the biosphere that was dominated by a springtime CO2 uptake and an autumn release in the Northern Hemisphere.

The simple and unambiguous curve that Charles Keeling helped to build was ahead of its time, and changed our view of the world. Had we not had this long back-record, awareness of global warming would have come more slowly. Furthermore, global understanding of the Earth Systems is underpinned by laborious in situ (measured on ground) long-term data record. Although we have been assisted by satellite data since 1957, providing crucial data for the bigger picture, they need to work in partnership with accurate in situ monitoring (For instance, satellites originally missed the ozone hole which was found by careful ground measurements). Future predictions also require good in situ data to understand the long-term trends forecasted by computer models. ‘Without trustworthy measurement, we cannot understand the system of Earth’.

Nate

Image Credit: Byrd Polar Research Centre. http://1.usa.gov/1mXQ0r0

Further Reading: http://bit.ly/1RXIIQI

[zzkt]

NASA found a way to track ocean currents from space. What they saw is troubling

The GRACE satellites are a pair of twin observing devices that orbit the Earth 137 miles from one another. The Earth’s gravitational pull on the satellites varies depending upon the mass of what is below them at a particular time — a mountain, an ocean — and so by measuring slight perturbations in the distance between the two satellites, scientists detect these mass changes. But when does the Earth’s mass change in a significant way, one that would suggest an important anomaly? Mostly, this does not happen with the ground, rocks, mountains — at least not on human time scales. But water at the Earth’s surface moves around a great deal — California’s drought has been picked up by GRACE, as has dramatic melting of the glaciers of Alaska.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/11/04/nasa-can-now-detect-worrying-ocean-circulation-changes-from-space/