New research findings from NASA’s Quick Scatterometer (QuikScat)
satellite and its SeaWinds instrument have documented for the first
time the significant effect typhoons have on the ocean and ocean life.
The findings will be presented during a press conference highlighting
recent research and findings from QuikScat at the fall meeting of the
American Geophysical Union on Saturday, December 7, at 8 a.m. Pacific
Time.

A team of researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena,
Calif., and the National Center for Ocean Research, Taipei, Taiwan,
used satellite data to document the thermal and biological responses
created by typhoon Kai-Tak in the northern part of the South China Sea
in early July 2000. The team analyzed data from QuikScat in
conjunction with data from NASA’s Tropical Rain Measuring Mission and
its Sea Viewing Wide-Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWifs).

The typhoon’s passing stirred up the sea, causing sea surface
temperatures to drop drastically and increasing the level of ocean
chlorophyll by 300 times within a few days. The resulting
phytoplankton blooms were evident for up to a month after the typhoon
had passed.

“Typhoons can take a devastating economic and human toll,” said Dr.
W. Timothy Liu, Quikscat project scientist at JPL. “Our research
sheds new light on these violent storms, demonstrating how they can
also nurture life, fertilizing the sea and creating a bounty of food
for fish. The increased ocean productivity also affects Earth’s
carbon cycle and our climate.”

In addition to the typhoon research, the press conference will look at
the significant contributions QuikScat data is making to global
weather forecasting and how scatterometer data is being applied in new
ways.

SeaWinds measures wind speed and direction over Earth’s oceans.
Climatologists, meteorologists and oceanographers use these daily,
detailed snapshots of ocean winds to understand and predict severe
weather patterns and climate changes. NASA is scheduled to launch a
new, identical SeaWinds instrument aboard Japan’s Advanced Earth
Observing Satellite II (Adeos 2) on December 14 to continue the
long-term collection of this vital data.

Dr. Son V. Nghiem, also of JPL, will discuss a unique way of using
QuikScat data to monitor large seasonal wetlands and floods. Even
though the satellite instrument is designed for ocean winds, it can be
used to monitor seasonal changes in wetlands, which can assist in
predicting river discharge, and provide early detection of flooding in
some circumstances.

Dr. Kyle McDonald of JPL will discuss how QuikScat data is used to
monitor seasonal processes at northern latitudes. By observing
processes such as freezing and thawing, scientists will gain a better
insight into the carbon budget, the length of growing seasons and how
the process affects water in the landscape. Results of recent freezes
and thaws in Siberia and Alaska will also be discussed.

Dr. Bob Atlas of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.,
will discuss how QuikScat data has improved weather forecasts and
assisted marine forecasters. They have improved forecasts on locations
and intensities of storms at sea, resulting in reduced loss of life
and property damage.

The press conference will be held in Room 112 of the Moscone
Convention Center, 747 Howard Street, San Francisco, Calif.

The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL for
NASA.