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Fires Ravage Parts of Alaska …
Title Fires Ravage Parts of Alaska and Canada
Abstract Alaska and Canada both suffered multi-fire damage. On June 29, 2004, these smoke plumes were detected from space by the Aqua satellite.
Completed 2004-08-19
Fires Ravage Parts of Alaska …
Title Fires Ravage Parts of Alaska and Canada
Abstract Alaska and Canada both suffered multi-fire damage. On June 29, 2004, these smoke plumes were detected from space by the Aqua satellite.
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Alaska Fire Particles Traver …
Title Alaska Fire Particles Traverse Parts of Canada and the United States (June 29, 2004, through July 19, 2004)
Abstract Aerosols created by fires in Alaska and Canada waft over the United States. These images from the TOMS instrument show levels of the absorbing aerosol particles (airborne microscopic dust/smoke). More information on the TOMS instrument can be viewed at (http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html).
Completed 2004-08-19
Fires and Smoke Across Alask …
Title Fires and Smoke Across Alaska and Canada
Abstract Alaska suffered from fire and smoke that can be seen from space. The Aqua satellite captured this breathtaking image on 29 June 2004.
Completed 2004-07-01
Fires and Smoke Across Alask …
Title Fires and Smoke Across Alaska and Canada
Abstract Alaska suffered from fire and smoke that can be seen from space. The Aqua satellite captured this breathtaking image on 29 June 2004.
Completed 2004-07-01
Fires and Smoke Across Alask …
Title Fires and Smoke Across Alaska and Canada
Abstract Alaska suffered from fire and smoke that can be seen from space. The Aqua satellite captured this breathtaking image on 29 June 2004.
Completed 2004-07-01
Fires and Smoke Across Alask …
Title Fires and Smoke Across Alaska and Canada
Abstract Alaska suffered from fire and smoke that can be seen from space. The Aqua satellite captured this breathtaking image on 29 June 2004.
Completed 2004-07-01
Inspection of the Coating on …
Name of Image Inspection of the Coating on the Starshine Mirrors
Date of Image 2001-04-01
Full Description In this photograph, Vince Huegele of the Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) Space Optics Manufacturing Technology Center (SOMTC) inspects the coating on the mirrors for Starshine 3, a satellite that resembles a high-tech disco ball that was placed into Earth orbit. The sphere, which is covered by hundreds of quarter-sized mirrors that reflect sunlight to observers on the ground, helps students study the effects of solar activity on the Earth's atmosphere. Ed White Middle School in Huntsville, Alabama is among 500 schools worldwide whose students helped grind and polish mirrors for the Starshine 3 satellite as a part of the Starshine Project. The total of up to 1,500 mirrors will improve the sunlight flash rate and make the satellite more visible at twilight as it orbits the Earth. These mirrors have been coated with a scratch-resistant, anti-oxidizing layer of silicon dioxide by optical engineers and technicians at the Hill Air Force Base in Utah and MSFC. Starshine-3 was launched on an Athena I unmarned launch vehicle out of the Kodiak Launch Complex, Alaska, on September 29, 2001. Starshine 3 is nearly 37 inches (1 meter) in diameter, weighs 200 pounds (91 kilograms), and carries 1500 mirrors that were polished by approximately 40,000 students in 1,000 schools in 30 countries. Three small, optically-reflective spherical Starshine student satellites have been designed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and built by an informal volunteer coalition of organizations and individuals in the U.S. and Canada. This coalition, called Project Starshine, is headquartered in Monument, Colorado.
Northwest Passage Open
Title Northwest Passage Open
Description Although nearly open, the Northwest Passage was not necessarily easy to navigate in August 2007. Located 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of the Arctic Circle and less than 1,930 kilometers (1,200 miles) from the North Pole, this sea route poses significant challenges, and the severe depletion of sea ice means only one of these is reduced. Nevertheless, long-term opening of the passage would have global impacts on trade and natural resource use. You can download a 250-meter-resolution KMZ file of the Northwest Passage [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Aug2007/nwpassage_amo_2007241.kmz ] suitable for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/ ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data obtained from the Goddard Land Processes data archives (LAADS). [ http://laads.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] Thanks to Walt Meier, NSIDC, U.S. National Ice Center, and John Falkingham, Environment Canada - Canadian Ice Service for image interpretation., For over 500 years, Arctic explorers have sought a passage between the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Such a passage, often called the Northwest Passage, would connect Europe to Asia via shorter routes than the long voyage south around Africa. In 1497, English King Henry VII sent Italian explorer John Cabot to look for this hypothetical route and expeditions from some of the most famous explorers in the centuries that followed—Sir Francis Drake and Captain James Cook among them—met with failure. The combined efforts of a number of explorers eventually uncovered a winding path from the Atlantic to the Arctic and Pacific Oceans through the ice-bound islands of northern Canada. Even in modern times, navigating from the Atlantic to the Pacific through Canada's Arctic islands has been difficult. The summer of 2007, however, melted enough sea ice in Canada's far north to open up this long-sought passage. This image shows the islands north of mainland Canada adjacent to Greenland, as observed by the the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on August 29, 2007. While the usual veil of clouds over the Arctic is visible through the scene, the sea ice pack that normally covers the water between the islands is absent. Areas often choked with ice at this time of year, but free of it in this MODIS scene, include the Parry and McClintock Channels and the McClure Strait. Larsen Sound and Victoria Strait are hidden beneath cloud cover, but they are also largely free of sea ice. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17752 ] This provided a nearly ice-free connection between Baffin Bay (a long body of water between Canada's Baffin Island and Greenland that is regularly ice-free in summer) and the Arctic Ocean. An ice-free gap between the North American mainland and the Arctic sea, not shown here, extends all the way to the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia, creating a connection almost free of all sea ice from the North Atlantic to the North Pacific. Multi-year ice (ice that survives more than one melt season) tends to be thicker and more resistant to melt than first-year ice (formed over just one winter). According to John Falkingham of the Canadian Ice Service, most of the multi-year ice melted from Victoria Strait and McClintock Channel in the summer of 2006, leaving these traditionally difficult areas more open. In mid-August 2007, only patchy areas of ice filled Victoria Strait and Larsen Sound. Falkingham described the Northwest Passage as "nearly open." Changes in the Northwest Passage were part of a larger pattern of melt in 2007 that also affected the East Siberian Sea. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17743 ]
Smoke from Alaska Fires
Title Smoke from Alaska Fires
Description This large-scale image was made by stitching together four images collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments aboard both the Terra and Aqua satellites. The mosaic shows the extent to which smoke from fires burning in Alaska has spread all the way across Canada and into the Great Lakes region of the United States. The high-resolution version available here is 1 kilometer per pixel. NASA image by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data courtesy MODIS Rapid Response
Smoke from Alaska Fires
Title Smoke from Alaska Fires
Description This large-scale image was made by stitching together four images collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments aboard both the Terra and Aqua satellites. The mosaic shows the extent to which smoke from fires burning in Alaska has spread all the way across Canada and into the Great Lakes region of the United States. The high-resolution version available here is 1 kilometer per pixel. NASA image by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data courtesy MODIS Rapid Response
A Yukon Aurora
Title A Yukon Aurora
Explanation Last week was another good week for auroras [ http://www.pfrr.alaska.edu/~ddr/ASGP/STRSCOOP/AURORA/SUMMARY.HTM ]. The story began about two weeks ago when two large Coronal Mass Ejections [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000309.html ] exploded off the Sun [ http://www.nineplanets.org/sol.html ]. Waves of elementary particles [ http://sol.sci.uop.edu/~jfalward/elementaryparticles/elementaryparticles.html ] and ions [ http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wposion.html ] swept out past the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/earth.html ] on September 28 and 29, causing many auroras [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search?auroras ]. A week ago, a flapping sheet [ http://pluto.space.swri.edu/IMAGE/glossary/IMF.html ] that divides north and south regions of the Sun's magnetic field [ http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wimfproj.html ] passed the Earth, again causing auroras. Pictured above is a particularly good image of one of the October 1 northern lights [ http://www.spaceweather.com/aurora/gallery_01oct01.html ]. Taken in Canada [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ca.html ]'s Yukon [ http://www.gov.yk.ca/ ], the city lights of Whitehorse [ http://www.city.whitehorse.yk.ca/ ] are seen below dark cloud [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960925.html ]s and a twisting green aurora [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000519.html ].
Aurora Over Winnipeg
Title Aurora Over Winnipeg
Explanation What's happening above that city? The city is Winnipeg [ http://www.city.winnipeg.mb.ca/ ], Canada [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ca.html ], and the phenomenon is aurora [ http://www.pfrr.alaska.edu/~ddr/ASGP/STRSCOOP/AURORA/SUMMARY.HTM ]. These past few months have been active ones for our Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010924.html ], producing several coronal mass ejections [ http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/cmes.htm ] (CMEs) of particles [ http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wposion.html ] that have swept past our Earth [ http://www.nineplanets.org/earth.html ] and caused many spectacular auroras [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search?aurora ]. Specifically in this case, a CME that occurred on October 9 impacted the Earth on October 11 and 12, causing nearly 12 hours of auroras [ http://www.spaceweather.com/aurora/gallery_12oct01.html ]. The above-pictured aurora [ http://www.spaceweather.com/aurora/gallery_12oct01.html ] had to be very bright to be seen over the lights of Winnipeg, the city well below and in front of the cascading atmospheric airglow [ http://www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/ ]. Lights reflecting off of a slight haze [ http://www.concord.org/haze/causes.html ] cause an unrelated glow that emanates from some of the buildings.
Aurora Over Clouds
Title Aurora Over Clouds
Explanation Aurorae usually occur high above the clouds. The auroral glow [ http://www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/ ] is created when fast-moving charged particles from the Earth's magnetosphere [ http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/earth/ magnetic.html ] impact air molecules high in the Earth's atmosphere [ http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/earth/atmosphere.html ]. An oxygen molecule [ http://pearl1.lanl.gov/periodic/elements/8.html ], for example, will emit a green light when reacquiring an electron [ http://www.aip.org/history/electron/ ] lost during a collision. The lowest part of an aurora [ http://www.pfrr.alaska.edu/~pfrr/AURORA/INDEX.HTM ] will typically occur at 100 kilometers and up, while most clouds [ http://seaborg.nmu.edu/Clouds/types.html ] usually exist only below about 10 kilometers. The relative heights of cloud [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030430.html ]s and auroras [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011223.html ] are shown clearly in the above picture [ http://www.spacew.com/gallery/image001510.html ] taken last month from near Quebec City, Canada [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ca.html ]. The most likely time to see an aurora [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search?aurora ] is around midnight.
Southern Hemisphere Polygona …
title Southern Hemisphere Polygonal Patterned Ground
Description On Earth, "periglacial" is a term that refers to regions and processes where cold climate contributes to the evolution of landforms and landscapes. Common in periglacial environments on Earth, such as the arctic of northern Canada, Siberia, and Alaska, is a phenomenon called "patterned ground". The "patterns" in "patterned ground" often take the form of large polygons, each bounded by either troughs or ridges made up of rock particles different in size from those seen in the interior of the polygon. On Earth, many polygons in periglacial environments are directly linked to water: they typically form from stresses induced by repeated freezing and thawing of water, contraction from stress induced by changing temperatures, and sorting of rocks brought to the surface along polygon boundaries by the freeze-thaw processes. Although not exclusively formed by freezing and thawing of water, that is often the dominant mechanism on Earth. Polygons similar to those found in Earth's arctic and antarctic regions are also found in the polar regions of Mars. Typically, they occur on crater floors, or on intercrater plains, between about 60° and 80° latitude. The polygons are best seen when bright frost or dark sand has been trapped in the troughs that form the polygon boundaries. Three examples of martian polygons seen by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) are shown here. Each is located in the southern hemisphere: (a) Polygon troughs highlighted by frost as the south polar cap retreats during spring. The circular features are the locations of buried craters that were originally formed by meteor impact. This image, E09-00029, is located at 75.1°S, 331.3°W, and was acquired on 1 October 2001. (b) Summertime view of polygons, highlighted by dark, windblown sand, on the floor of a crater at 71.2°S, 282.6°W. The image, E12-02319, was obtained on 21 January 2002. (c) Polygon troughs highlighted by the retreating south polar frost cap during southern summer near 80.7°S, 70.4°W. This picture, M11-01795, was taken by MOC on 13 January 2000. Some Mars researchers assume that polygons on the Red Planet are key indictors that ground ice is present or was present in the recent past. However, whether these polygons actually required water ice to form is, in fact, unknown, since dry processes are also known on Earth for form similar polygons. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
Northern Forest Affected by …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
823-10827. * Arctic Climate …
forest_tundra_trend_iotd
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2003
creator NASA -- (Map adapted from figures provided by Scott Goetz, www.whrc.org/ Woods Hole Research Center )
identifier forest_tundra_trend_iotd
Smoke from Alaska Fires: Nat …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
This large-scale image was m …
modis_canada_18jul04
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2004-07-18
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier modis_canada_18jul04
Northwest Passage Open: Natu …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
For over 500 years, Arctic e …
nwpassage_amo_2007241
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2007-08-29
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier nwpassage_amo_2007241
Smoke Signals from the Alask …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
Large, lightning-induced fir …
PIA04363
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2004-06-30
creator NASA -- Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/ MISR Team and Dominic Mazzoni (JPL). Text by Clare Averill (Raytheon/JPL).
identifier PIA04363
Global View of the Arctic Oc …
PIA02970
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Global View of the Arctic Ocean
Original Caption Released with Image NASA researchers have new insights into the mysteries of Arctic sea ice, thanks to the unique abilities of Canada's Radarsat satellite. The Arctic is the smallest of the world's four oceans, but it may play a large role in helping scientists monitor Earth's climate shifts. Using Radarsat's special sensors to take images at night and to peer through clouds, NASA researchers can now see the complete ice cover of the Arctic. This allows tracking of any shifts and changes, in unprecedented detail, over the course of an entire winter. The radar-generated, high-resolution images are up to 100 times better than those taken by previous satellites. Using this new information, scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., can generate comprehensive maps of Arctic sea ice thickness for the first time. "Before we knew only the extent of the ice cover," said Dr. Ronald Kwok, JPL principal investigator of a project called Sea Ice Thickness Derived From High Resolution Radar Imagery. "We also knew that the sea ice extent had decreased over the last 20 years, but we knew very little about ice thickness.""Since sea ice is very thin, about 3 meters (10 feet) or less,"Kwok explained, "it is very sensitive to climate change." Until now, observations of polar sea ice thickness have been available for specific areas, but not for the entire polar region. The new radar mapping technique has also given scientists a close look at how the sea ice cover grows and contorts over time. "Using this new data set, we have the first estimates of how much ice has been produced and where it formed during the winter. We have never been able to do this before, " said Kwok. "Through our radar maps of the Arctic Ocean, we can actually see ice breaking apart and thin ice growth in the new openings. " RADARSAT gives researchers a piece of the overall puzzle every three days by creating a complete image of the Arctic. NASA scientists then put those puzzle pieces together to create a time-lapsed view of this remote and inhospitable region. So far, they have processed one season's worth of images."We can see large cracks in the ice cover, where most ice grows, " said Kwok. "These cracks are much longer than previously thought, some as long as 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles)," Kwok continued. "If the ice is thinning due to warming, we'll expect to see more of these long cracks over the Arctic Ocean. " Scientists believe this is one of the most significant breakthroughs in the last two decades of ice research. "We are now in a position to better understand the sea ice cover and the role of the Arctic Ocean in global climate change, " said Kwok. Radar can see through clouds and any kind of weather system, day or night, and as the Arctic regions are usually cloud-covered and subject to long, dark winters, radar is proving to be extremely useful. However, compiling these data into extremely detailed pictures of the Arctic is a challenging task."This is truly, a major innovation in terms of the quantities of data being processed and the novelty of the methods being used, " said Verne Kaupp, director of the Alaska SAR Facility at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. The mission is a joint project between JPL, the Alaska SAR Facility, and the Canadian Space Agency. Launched by NASA in 1995, the Radarsat satellite is operated by the Canadian Space Agency. JPL manages the Sea Ice Thickness Derived From High Resolution Radar Imagery project for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, DC. The Earth Science Enterprise is dedicated to studying how natural and human-induced changes affect our global environment.
Comparative Views of Arctic …
PIA02971
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Comparative Views of Arctic Sea Ice Growth
Original Caption Released with Image NASA researchers have new insights into the mysteries of Arctic sea ice, thanks to the unique abilities of Canada's Radarsat satellite. The Arctic is the smallest of the world's four oceans, but it may play a large role in helping scientists monitor Earth's climate shifts. Using Radarsat's special sensors to take images at night and to peer through clouds, NASA researchers can now see the complete ice cover of the Arctic. This allows tracking of any shifts and changes, in unprecedented detail, over the course of an entire winter. The radar-generated, high-resolution images are up to 100 times better than those taken by previous satellites. The two images above are separated by nine days (earlier image on the left). Both images represent an area (approximately 96 by 128 kilometers, 60 by 80 miles)located in the Baufort Sea, north of the Alaskan coast. The brighter features are older thicker ice and the darker areas show young, recently formed ice. Within the nine-day span, large and extensive cracks in the ice cover have formed due to ice movement. These cracks expose the open ocean to the cold, frigid atmosphere where sea ice grows rapidly and thickens. Using this new information, scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., can generate comprehensive maps of Arctic sea ice thickness for the first time. "Before we knew only the extent of the ice cover," said Dr. Ronald Kwok, JPL principal investigator of a project called Sea Ice Thickness Derived From High Resolution Radar Imagery. "We also knew that the sea ice extent had decreased over the last 20 years, but we knew very little about ice thickness.""Since sea ice is very thin, about 3 meters (10 feet) or less,"Kwok explained, "it is very sensitive to climate change." Until now, observations of polar sea ice thickness have been available for specific areas, but not for the entire polar region. The new radar mapping technique has also given scientists a close look at how the sea ice cover grows and contorts over time. "Using this new data set, we have the first estimates of how much ice has been produced and where it formed during the winter. We have never been able to do this before," said Kwok. "Through our radar maps of the Arctic Ocean, we can actually see ice breaking apart and thin ice growth in the new openings." RADARSAT gives researchers a piece of the overall puzzle every three days by creating a complete image of the Arctic. NASA scientists then put those puzzle pieces together to create a time-lapsed view of this remote and inhospitable region. So far, they have processed one season's worth of images."We can see large cracks in the ice cover, where most ice grows," said Kwok. "These cracks are much longer than previously thought, some as long as 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles)," Kwok continued. "If the ice is thinning due to warming, we'll expect to see more of these long cracks over the Arctic Ocean." Scientists believe this is one of the most, significant breakthroughs in the last two decades of ice research. "We are now in a position to better understand the sea ice cover and the role of the Arctic Ocean in global climate change," said Kwok. Radar can see through clouds and any kind of weather system, day or night, and as the Arctic regions are usually cloud-covered and subject to long, dark winters, radar is proving to be extremely useful. However, compiling these data into extremely detailed pictures of the Arctic is a challenging task."This is truly a major innovation in terms of the quantities of data being processed and the novelty of the methods being used," said Verne Kaupp, director of the Alaska SAR Facility at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. The mission is a joint project between JPL, the Alaska SAR Facility, and the Canadian Space Agency. Launched by NASA in 1995, the Radarsat satellite is operated by the Canadian Space Agency. JPL manages the Sea Ice Thickness Derived From High Resolution Radar Imagery project for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, DC. The Earth Science Enterprise is dedicated to studying how natural and human-induced changes affect our global environment.
Smoke Signals from the Alask …
PIA04363
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR …
Title Smoke Signals from the Alaska and Yukon Fires
Original Caption Released with Image . Some of the smoke from these fires was detected as far away as New Hampshire. These visualizations were captured on June 30th by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) on NASA's Terra spacecraft. Here, MISR distinguishes clouds from smoke and retrieves heights and optical depths for the smoke -- information which will help to improve models of how smoke aerosols are transported. The images cover an area extending from the Mackenzie Bay in northwest Canada, through the Alaskan Interior and along the Alaska-Yukon border, south to the Wrangell Mountains. The first panel in the series is a natural-color image from MISR's 60° forward viewing camera. Smoke plumes notable along the right-hand edge are situated southwest of the Peel River in the Yukon Territory, and plumes extending west from the left-hand edge are situated in the vicinity of the Yukon River and the town of Eagle at the Alaska-Canada border. In the lower portion of the image, thick smoke obscures the Wrangell Mountain range. The next panel in the series is a stereoscopic height field, in which topography, smoke plumes and clouds are all being detected. Analysis indicates that most of the smoke and many low clouds are situated at heights between about 1 and 4 kilometers above the surface, while a few high clouds attained much greater altitudes. The third panel from the left is a smoke mask, in which the image is classified as either non-smoke, or as smoke with low confidence (lc) or high confidence (hc), represented by the blue, red and green pixels, respectively. Many of the actual smoke "plumes" were identified as high-confidence smoke, including parts of plumes in the Peel River region (upper right) and Yukon River/Alaska-Canada border region (left-hand edge). This smoke mask is produced by a computerized "machine-learning" classifier which detects smoke by examining the spectral, textural, and angular features in the radiances from three oblique-viewing MISR cameras. Ultimately, the classifier will be trained to identify plume-like shapes, thus making it possible to automatically isolate plume heights from the stereo product. The right-hand panel displays MISR's aerosol optical depth retrieval, in which the brightness and contrast changes of the surface at different view angles are used to measure the attenuation of sunlight as it passes through a column of the atmosphere. Increasing amounts of smoke aerosol appear as green, yellow, orange and red pixels, and clearer skies are indicated by blue pixels. Areas where the aerosol optical depth could not be retrieved, either because the smoke was too thick to see the surface contrast or because the presence of clouds precluded a retrieval, are shown in dark gray. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. The non-animated data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired, Large lightning-induced fires were active in Alaska and the Yukon Territory from mid-June to mid-July, 2004. Thick smoke particles filled the air during these fires, prompting Alaskan officials to issue air quality warnings [ http://airnow.gov/ ], during Terra orbits 24123. The still panels cover an area of about 400 kilometers 898 kilometers, and use data from blocks 35 to 41 within World Reference System-2 path 64. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology.
Space Radar Image of Prince …
PIA01732
Sol (our sun)
Title Space Radar Image of Prince Albert, Canada, seasonal
Original Caption Released with Image This is a comparison of images over Prince Albert, produced by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on its 20th orbit on April 10, 1994, and again on orbit 20 of the second flight of Endeavour on October 1, 1994. The area is centered at 53.91 degrees north latitude and 104.69 degrees west longitude and is located 40 kilometers (25 miles) north and 30 kilometers (18.5 miles) east of the town of Prince Albert in the Saskatchewan province of Canada. The image covers the area east of Candle Lake, between the gravel highway of 120 and west of highway 106. The area imaged is near the southern limit of the boreal forest. The boreal forest of North America is a continuous vegetation belt at high latitudes stretching across the continent from the Atlantic shoreline of central Labrador and then westward across Canada to the interior mountains and central coastal plains of Alaska. The forest is also part of a larger northern hemisphere circumpolar boreal forest belt. Coniferous trees dominate the entire forest but deciduous trees are also present. During the month of April, the forest experiences seasonal changes from a frozen condition to a thawed condition. The trees are completely frozen over the winter season and the forest floor is covered by snow. As the average temperature rises in the spring, the trees are thawed and the snow melts. This transition has an impact on the rate of moisture evaporation and release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In late September and early October, the boreal forest experiences a relatively different seasonal change. At this time, the leaves on deciduous trees start changing color and dropping off. The soil and trees are quite often moist due to frequent rainfall and cloud cover. The evaporation of moisture and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere also diminishes at this time. SIR-C/X-SAR is sensitive to the moisture of soil and vegetation and can sense this freeze-thaw cycle and the summer-fall seasonal transition over forested areas in particular. Optical sensors, by contrast, are blind to these regions, which are perpetually obscured by thick cloud cover. These changes were detected by comparing the April and October color composite images of L-band data in red, C-band data in green and X-band (vertically received and transmitted) in blue. The changes in intensity of each color over lakes, various forest stands and clear cuts in the two images is striking. Lakes such as Lake Heiberg, Crabtree Lake and Williams Lake, in the right middle part of the image, are frozen in April (appearing in bright blue) and melted (appearing in black) in October. The higher intensity of blue over lakes in April is due to low penetration of the X-band (vertically received and transmitted) and the radar's high sensitivity to surface features. Forest stands also exhibit major changes between the two images. The red areas in the October image are old jack pine canopies, that cause higher return at L-band because of their moist condition in late summer compared to their partially frozen condition in April (in purple). Similarly, in the areas near the middle of the image, where black spruce and mixed aspen and jack pine trees dominate, the contrast between blue in October and red and green in April is an indication that the top of the canopy (needles and branches) were frozen in April and moist in October. The changes due to deforestation by logging companies or natural fires can also be detected by comparing the images. For example, the small blue area near the intersection of Harding Road and Highway 120 is the result of logging which occurred after the April data was acquired. The surface area of clear cut is approximately 4 hectares, which is calculated from the high-resolution capability of the radar images and verified by scientists participating in field work during the mission. Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves, allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), with the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft und Raumfahrt e.V.(DLR), the major partner in science, operations and data processing of X-SAR.
Southern Hemisphere Polygona …
PIA03496
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
Title Southern Hemisphere Polygonal Patterned Ground
Original Caption Released with Image On Earth, periglacial is a term that refers to regions and processes where cold climate contributes to the evolution of landforms and landscapes. Common in periglacial environments on Earth, such as the arctic of northern Canada,Siberia, and Alaska, is a phenomenon called patterned ground. The "patterns" in patterned ground often take the form of large polygons, each bounded by either troughs or ridges made up of rock particles different in size from those seen in the interior of the polygon. On Earth, many polygons in periglacial environments are directly linked to water: they typically form from stresses induced by repeated freezing and thawing of water, contraction from stress induced by changing temperatures, and sorting of rocks brought to the surface along polygon boundaries by the freeze-thaw processes. Although not exclusively formed by freezing and thawing of water, that is often the dominant mechanism on Earth. Polygons similar to those found in Earth's arctic and antarctic regions are also found in the polar regions of Mars. Typically, they occur on crater floors, or on intercrater plains, between about 60° and 80° latitude. The polygons are best seen when bright frost or dark sand has been trapped in the troughs that form the polygon boundaries. Three examples of martian polygons seen by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) are shown here. Each is located in the southern hemisphere: * (left) Polygon troughs highlighted by frost as the south polar cap retreats during spring. The circular features are the locations of buried craters that were originally formed by meteor impact. This image, E09-00029, is located at 75.1°S, 331.3°W, and was acquired on 1 October 2001. * (center) Summertime view of polygons, highlighted by dark, windblown sand, on the floor of a crater at 71.2°S, 282.6°W. The image, E12-02319, was obtained on 21January 2002. * (right) Polygon troughs highlighted by the retreating south polar frost cap during southern summer near 80.7°S, 70.4°W. This picture, M11-01795, was taken by MOC on 13 January 2000.Some Mars researchers assume that polygons on the Red Planet are key indictors that ground ice is present or was present in the recent past. However, whether these polygons actually required water ice to form is, in fact, unknown, since dry processes are also known on Earth for form similar polygons.
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