New Earth science insights will be reported by NASA Headquarters and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., at the 82nd American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting to be held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, January 13-17.
Valencia Ballroom D, Fourth Level
Fritz Hasler of Goddard’s Laboratory for Atmospheres, will demonstrate the latest Digital Earth technology. Spectacular images from space will include a “zoom in” from space down to a bird’s eye view of Disney World and the Orlando Convention Center in a seamless transition of Terra, Landsat 7 and 1-meter Ikonos satellite data. The presentation includes a complete global cloud-free and cloudy 500-meter datasets from the Terra satellite and spectacular new animations from Terra, Landsat 7 and SeaWiFS. Animations of 2001hurricanes and tropical storms, as well as hurricanes Floyd, Georges, and Mitch are presented, and numerical model results from GOES and TRMM satellites. Also included are movies assembled using new low-cost HDTV nonlinear editing equipment that is revolutionizing the way we communicate scientific results. See climate change in action with global land and ocean productivity changes over the last 20 years. Remote sensing observations of ocean sea surface temperatures, height, winds, color, and El Ni–o are put in context with atmospheric and ocean simulations and symmetrical equatorial eddies observed by actual satellite data are compared with computer simulations.
Panel Discussion 1: U.S. Global Change Research Program: Future Prospects
Monday, January 14, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Recent Developments for NASA’s Global Change Programs; Ghassem Asrar, NASA, Washington, D.C.
USGCRP and the National Science Foundation; Margaret Leinen, NSF, Arlington, Va.
USGCRP and the U.S. Department Of Energy; Aristides A. Patrinos, U.S. Department of Energy, Germantown, Md.
Assessing The Consequences Of Global Change: An Overview of EPA’s Global Change Research Program; Joel D. Scheraga, U.S. EPA, Washington, D.C.
The Role Of Global Environmental Change Research In the 21st Century; J. Michael Hall, NOAA/OGP, Silver Spring, Md.
Room 315, Third Level
How is the Earth changing and what are the consequences for life on Earth?
Jack Kaye, of NASA’s Office of Earth Science, will discuss progress in meeting the goals of its “Earth Science Enterprise Research Strategy for 2000-2010” with the scientific community. He will outline broad opportunities for involvement by the scientific community in all aspects of NASA supported Earth science research.
The mission of NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) is to develop a scientific understanding of the Earth system and its response to natural or human-induced changes, and improve prediction capabilities for climate, weather, global air quality, and natural hazards. The NASA Earth Science program is driven by the recognition of the societal importance of the variability of the planetary environment and the realization that humans are no longer passive participants in the evolution of the Earth system. The central paradigm of the program is based on the recognition that: (1) the Earth can be understood only as an interactive system embracing the atmosphere, oceans and sea-ice, glaciers and ice-sheets, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, the land surface, and the Earth’s interior; (2) new environmental problems are likely to arise, the solutions of which must draw on years of accumulated knowledge; and (3) science is a partner in national and international decision-making aiming to develop the potential to benefit society and to enhance economic security. ESE aims to obtain a scientific understanding of the entire Earth system on a global scale by describing how its component parts and their interactions have evolved, how they function, and how they may be expected to continue to evolve on all timescales. The challenge is to develop the capability to predict those changes that will occur in the next decade to century, both naturally and in response to human activity.
Room 315, Third Level
Professor Rafael Bras, the chair of the NASA Earth System Science and Application Advisory Committee will hold a Town Hall meeting to discuss current plans and perspectives for the NASA Global Water and Energy Cycle Research initiative. Acting upon the long-term research strategy adopted by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, NASA has undertaken a multidisciplinary study of changes in the global water cycle induced by global climate variations, and consequences of those changes for the continental water balance and resources. This science theme aims to progress beyond the simplifications of planetary energy balance and feedbacks, and quasi-linear climate responses (global warming) to various radiative forcing factors. The theme will focus on changes in the rate of water and energy exchanges or transformation in the climate system, and consequences for weather and hydrologic processes. The scientific questions that will be addressed are: 1) Are global precipitation, evaporation, and the cycling of water in the Earth system changing as a result of climate change? 2) To what extent do variations in global climate induce predictable changes in the distribution and intensity of weather systems and precipitation? 3) How can the integrated response of energy and water fluxes to weather and climate variability be accurately represented in climate models? 4) Can reliable precipitation and water-resource forecasts be achieved on weather and climate timescales? 5) How can knowledge of water cycling through the land system be used to improve water system management and other operational applications?
