364
Chapter 12 Studying the Environment from Space
How Can EOS Applications Be Easily
Viewed and Analyzed?
With all of this EOS data and imagery collected on a near-daily basis, you
would expect there to be a mechanism to get this information out into the
hands of the public for viewing or analysis. Much of the EOS data is compiled
into a series of data products that are delivered rather than raw imagery or
values. NASA has a number of Web-based platforms in place to distribute
these products (as well as EOS imagery), so they can be viewed or analyzed.
One of these, Visible Earth (used in Hands-on Applications 12.3 and 12.4 on
pages 361 and 363), is a NASA- operated Website from which you can download pictures and animations related to EOS missions (online at: http://
visibleearth.nasa.gov/). However, the pictures are just that—graphics of
the processed data that show images from EOS instruments. The graphics
come with detailed descriptions of the scientific event being shown (such
as a hole in the ozone layer as measured from OMI or global sea surface
temperature as measured by AMSR-E). Visible Earth also features popular
detailed composite images such as NASA’s Blue Marble (showing the entire
Earth from space) or the global nighttime city lights.
A second source for accessing and viewing EOS imagery and data is
the NASA Earth Observatory Website (http://earthobservatory.nasa.
gov/), a sort of online “magazine” devoted to global environmental issues
and how EOS is used with them. The Earth Observatory has articles dating
back to 1998, dealing with topics such as global warming, tropical deforestation, and climate and Earth’s energy budget. The Website also features
an extensive “image of the day” archive (Figure 12.12), with each feature
showcasing a different environmental occurrence from around the globe.
For example, the January 29, 2009, image of the day used MODIS imagery to examine forest and grassland fires in Australia, while the January
27, 2009, image looks at sulfur dioxide emissions in Bulgaria as captured
by OMI. Earth Observatory is an excellent source for seeing (and in some
Visible Earth a
Website operated by
NASA to distribute EOS
images and animations
of EOS satellites or
datasets.
Blue Marble a
composite MODIS
image of the entire
Earth from space.
NASA Earth
Observatory a
Website operated by
NASA that details
how EOS is utilized
with numerous global
environmental issues
and concerns.
Climate change studies focus on Earth’s climate—for
example, assessing global temperature changes
and the kinds of environmental conditions that influence alterations in Earth’s processes. The Earth
Observing System satellites provide constant sets
of data related to all manner of environmental and
climate conditions on our planet. Given the variety
of instruments and their uses and data products
you’ve examined in this chapter and their applications, how are EOS satellites’ data used for studying
climate-change conditions? What are some specific
measurements of climate-change-related conditions that EOS data can be used for? How can this
data be used in climate change studies?
How Can EOS Data Be Used in Studying and Monitoring Climate Change?
Thinking Critically with Geospatial Technology 12.1
Chapter 12 Studying the Environment from Space
How Can EOS Applications Be Easily
Viewed and Analyzed?
With all of this EOS data and imagery collected on a near-daily basis, you
would expect there to be a mechanism to get this information out into the
hands of the public for viewing or analysis. Much of the EOS data is compiled
into a series of data products that are delivered rather than raw imagery or
values. NASA has a number of Web-based platforms in place to distribute
these products (as well as EOS imagery), so they can be viewed or analyzed.
One of these, Visible Earth (used in Hands-on Applications 12.3 and 12.4 on
pages 361 and 363), is a NASA- operated Website from which you can download pictures and animations related to EOS missions (online at: http://
visibleearth.nasa.gov/). However, the pictures are just that—graphics of
the processed data that show images from EOS instruments. The graphics
come with detailed descriptions of the scientific event being shown (such
as a hole in the ozone layer as measured from OMI or global sea surface
temperature as measured by AMSR-E). Visible Earth also features popular
detailed composite images such as NASA’s Blue Marble (showing the entire
Earth from space) or the global nighttime city lights.
A second source for accessing and viewing EOS imagery and data is
the NASA Earth Observatory Website (http://earthobservatory.nasa.
gov/), a sort of online “magazine” devoted to global environmental issues
and how EOS is used with them. The Earth Observatory has articles dating
back to 1998, dealing with topics such as global warming, tropical deforestation, and climate and Earth’s energy budget. The Website also features
an extensive “image of the day” archive (Figure 12.12), with each feature
showcasing a different environmental occurrence from around the globe.
For example, the January 29, 2009, image of the day used MODIS imagery to examine forest and grassland fires in Australia, while the January
27, 2009, image looks at sulfur dioxide emissions in Bulgaria as captured
by OMI. Earth Observatory is an excellent source for seeing (and in some
Visible Earth a
Website operated by
NASA to distribute EOS
images and animations
of EOS satellites or
datasets.
Blue Marble a
composite MODIS
image of the entire
Earth from space.
NASA Earth
Observatory a
Website operated by
NASA that details
how EOS is utilized
with numerous global
environmental issues
and concerns.
Climate change studies focus on Earth’s climate—for
example, assessing global temperature changes
and the kinds of environmental conditions that influence alterations in Earth’s processes. The Earth
Observing System satellites provide constant sets
of data related to all manner of environmental and
climate conditions on our planet. Given the variety
of instruments and their uses and data products
you’ve examined in this chapter and their applications, how are EOS satellites’ data used for studying
climate-change conditions? What are some specific
measurements of climate-change-related conditions that EOS data can be used for? How can this
data be used in climate change studies?
How Can EOS Data Be Used in Studying and Monitoring Climate Change?
Thinking Critically with Geospatial Technology 12.1