Before I climb back into the mud pit, I want to share this installment of "Appreciating our Global Heat and Moisture Distribution Engine. This time I feature four short videos produced by NASA Goddard that do a wonderful job of visualizing various facets of our planet's geophysical reality. Using state of the art computer graphics based on actual satellite observations they visualize how these varied components seamlessly integrate with each other to create the wonderful planet that we were born into… and the climate system we depend on for everything.
The first one is "Dynamic Earth" a 4.5 minute tour starting with our sun and finishing in our oceans, fascinating presentation, (as are all of these YouTube videos). Then, "The Ocean: A Driving Force for Weather and Climate" is a 6 minutes long grand tour of the oceans. Following that, the 3 minute "Aquarius: One Year Observing the Salty Seas - Ocean Salinity & Climate" presents the culmination of Aquarius Satellites first full year of data collection. Finishing with an excellent 6 minute review of "Earth's Water Cycle."
These visualizations are packed with satellite data and do a wonderfully job rendered our planet as a whole, set again the frigid void of space. This place we call home is special, nothing else like it in the universe, it's worth getting to know and love and protect.
NASA | Dynamic Earth
0:00 - Our Sun
0:30 - Solar winds
0:45 - Venus exposed to full force of solar wind
1:10 - Earth's geomagnetic field
1:50 - Atmosphere, circulation
2:05 - Solar heating, circulation
2:20 - Wind currents driving surface ocean currents
2:50 - Ocean 'river'
3:15 - {great subsurface current visualization}
3:45 - Tides, terrain, crosswinds, currents transferring heat
{Behold the components of our Global Heat and Moisture Distribution Engine}
NASA Goddard | Published on Jun 19, 2012 | 4:26 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujBi9Ba8hqs
This was the version submitted to the 2013 Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge. For the original version, with a narration by Liam Neeson, go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hD52H7rQak
Watch Earth's magnetic shield protect the planet from a pelting by the solar wind. See how the sun's energy drives a remarkable planetary engine, the climate.
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NASA | The Ocean: A Driving Force for Weather and Climate
0:00 - {behold Earth...}
0:40 - Surface heated unevenly
0:50 - Atmospheric circulation, clouds moving moisture
1:00 - Ocean currents
1:10 - Ocean surface winds drive currents, {and wave formation}
1:22 - Thermohaline circulation
1:45 - Currents, upwelling and nutrient distribution
2:00 - Seas surface height, temp, interface with the atmosphere
2:15 - El Nino, La Nina, ENSO
2:35 - Oceans and surface temperature interface
2:55 - Shifting rain patterns
3:20 - Ocean/Atmosphere heat exchange and climate
4:00 - Tropical storms and hurricanes,
4:20 - Ocean heat, fuel for hurricanes
4:45 - Population density {saturation}
5:00. . . {Behold, our Global Heat and Moisture Distribution Engine}
NASA Goddard | Published on Aug 3, 2012 | 6:01 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vgvTeuoDWY
The Ocean is essential to life on Earth. Most of Earth's water is stored in the ocean. Although 40 percent of Earth's population lives within, or near coastal regions- the ocean impacts people everywhere. Without the ocean, our planet would be uninhabitable. This animation helps to convey the importance of Earth's oceanic processes as one component of Earth's interrelated systems.
This animation uses Earth science data from a variety of sensors on NASA Earth observing satellites to measure physical oceanography parameters such as ocean currents, ocean winds, sea surface height and sea surface temperature. These measurements, in combination with atmospheric measurements such as surface air temperature, precipitation and clouds can help scientists understand the ocean's impact on weather and climate and what this means for life here on Earth. NASA satellites and their unique view from space are helping to unveil the vast... and largely unexplored.... OCEAN.
NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information Systems (EOSDIS)
EOSDIS is a distributed system of twelve data centers and science investigator processing systems. EOSDIS processes, archives, and distributes data from Earth observing satellites, field campaigns, airborne sensors, and related Earth science programs. These data enable the study of Earth from space to advance scientific understanding. For more information about the data sets used in this animation please visit, http://earthdata.nasa.gov
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Aquarius: One Year Observing the Salty Seas - Ocean Salinity & Climate
0:00 - Observing the Salty Seas
0:35 - Fresh water intrusions, Amazon
0:45 - North Atlantic Ocean (evaporation causes eastern salty patch)
1:05 - Eastern Pacific Equatorial region, extreme rainfall causes lower salinity ("freshened") seawater
1:25 - Major rivers discharge freshwater streams into oceans
1:45 - North Atlantic glacial discharge freshening ocean waters {this one's really going bite England and Europe these next decades.}
2:15 - Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal contrast in salinity, driven by . . .
. . . {Behold, our Global Heat and Moisture Distribution Engine}
Bright Enlightenment | Published on Feb 28, 2013 | 3:17 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0DIgH6yoOI
Aquarius: One Year Observing the Salty Seas - Ocean Salinity & ClimateFrom NASA: This video provides a global tour of sea surface salinity using measurements taken by NASA's Aquarius instrument aboard the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft, from December 2011 through December 2012. Red represents areas of high salinity, while blue represents areas of low salinity. Aquarius is a focused effort to measure sea surface salinity and will provide the global view of salinity variability needed for climate studies. The mission is a collaboration between NASA and the Space Agency of Argentina (Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales).
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NASA | Earth's Water Cycle
… Earth from space, ocean planet, only 3% of water is fresh water
0:45 - Crysosphere
1:00 - {Consider consequences of Earth's water existing in three states: Liquid, Solid, Gas.}
1:25 - Sea surface temperature
1:35 - Winds
1:50 - Warmer air holds more water
2:00 - Equator
2:10 - Atmosphere, storm tracks, transporting water globally
2:15 - "Atmospheric Rivers" transporting water horizontally
2:25 - Clouds
2:35 - Water vapor is primary greenhouse gas
2:50 - Precipitation, hurricane season, evolution of storm
3:00 - Heat transfer
3:35 - Water getting stored on land
3:50 - Water availability
4:00 - Water circulation and vegetation patterns
4:35 - Snow {frozen precipitation}
5:10 - Rivers discharge into oceans
. . . {Behold, our Global Heat and Moisture Distribution Engine}
NASA Goddard | Published on Aug 3, 2012 | 5:52 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaDkph9yQBs
Water is the fundamental ingredient for life on Earth. Looking at our Earth from space, with its vast and deep ocean, it appears as though there is an abundance of water for our use. However, only a small portion of Earth's water is accessible for our needs. How much fresh water exists and where it is stored affects us all. This animation uses Earth science data from a variety of sensors on NASA Earth observing satellites as well as cartoons to describe Earth's water cycle and the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth.
Sensors on a suite of NASA satellites observe and measure water on land, in the ocean and in the atmosphere. These measurements are important to understanding the availability and distribution of Earth's water -- vital to life and vulnerable to the impacts of climate change on a growing world population.
NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information Systems (EOSDIS)
EOSDIS is a distributed system of twelve data centers and science investigator processing systems. EOSDIS processes, archives, and distributes data from Earth observing satellites, field campaigns, airborne sensors, and related Earth science programs. These data enable the study of Earth from space to advance scientific understanding.
For more information about the data sets used in this animation please visit: http://earthdata.nasa.gov
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Here are some more interesting videos to continue your journey.
Aquarius Studies Ocean and Wind Flows Animation
Universe Odyssey | March 5, 2013 | 1:09 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRzJxlrHVug
Aquarius is a focused satellite mission to measure global Sea Surface Salinity. During its nominal three-year mission, Aquarius will map the salinity at the ocean surface to improve our understanding of Earth's water cycle and ocean circulation. ... It will monitor changes in the water cycle due to rainfall, evaporation, ice melting, and river runoff. ... Ocean circulation is driven in large part by changes in water density, which is determined by temperature and salinity. Cold, high-salinity water masses sink and trigger the ocean's "themalhaline circulation" - the surface and deep currents that distribute solar energy to regulate Earth's climate. ...
This composite movie clip contains 10 seconds of surface flows colored by sea surface temperature, followed by 6 seconds of wind currents, followed by 12 seconds of ocean surface currents and 40 seconds of large-scale ocean overturning circulation.
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A study in cascading consequences:
High Temperatures Affecting Phytoplankton Population
Julian Melendez | Published on Mar 24, 2014 | 6:20 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sld33e8ASQE
Project participants:
Juan Pablo Quiroga
Santiago Charry
Marianna Salazar
Camila Jaramillo
Daniela Baracaldo
Julian Melendez
Daniela Lopez
Objective:
* To demonstrate, with the use of satellite images, how climate changes diminish phytoplankton populations within the Ring of Fire along the Equator.
* To explain the oceanic climatic consequences that derive from an atmospheric temperature rise.
* To name the secondary effects caused by a decrease in phytoplankton populations.
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NASA | A Year in the Life of Earth's CO2
NASA Goddard | Published on Nov 17, 2014 | 3:10 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1SgmFa0r04
An ultra-high-resolution NASA computer model has given scientists a stunning new look at how carbon dioxide in the atmosphere travels around the globe.
Plumes of carbon dioxide in the simulation swirl and shift as winds disperse the greenhouse gas away from its sources. The simulation also illustrates differences in carbon dioxide levels in the northern and southern hemispheres and distinct swings in global carbon dioxide concentrations as the growth cycle of plants and trees changes with the seasons.
The carbon dioxide visualization was produced by a computer model called GEOS-5, created by scientists at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office. ...