Contact:

Gretchen Cook-Anderson
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-0836)

Rob Gutro
Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301/286-4044)

May 25, 2004 - NOTE TO EDITORS: N04-076

NASA EYES HURRICANE SEASON: RESOURCES FOR REPORTERS

The 2004 hurricane season starts next month, and NASA has the resources reporters need to cover it: video, satellite pictures, research data, and hurricane specialists.

NASA TV is the outlet for hurricane video. It can provide video and animation on beta or VHS tape or by satellite downlink. NASA TV is available on AMC-9, transponder 9C, located at 85 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz. For information about NASA TV on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

NASA TV has a one-stop "Hurricane Resource Reel." It has animations and video of different aspects of hurricane research, from a hurricane's "heat engine" to El Nino's affect on tropical cyclones. For copies or to arrange live-shot interviews with hurricane specialists, contact Wade Sisler, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, Md. Sisler is the NASA TV GSFC Executive Producer, available at: 301/286- 6256.

NASA also offers several Web sites with satellite and other hurricane imagery. NASA's Earth Observatory Natural Hazards Web site is updated daily. Images on the page are available for re-use or re-publication (use credits as indicated for each image). To find images of tropical cyclones, click on the "severe storms" icon when you visit:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazard s_v2.php3

NASA's Visible Earth is a searchable directory of images, visualizations and animations of the Earth. It features an extensive library of print and broadcast-quality images in agriculture, atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, human dimensions, hydrosphere, land surface oceans, radiance or imagery, solid earth and various locations.

The Visible Earth Web site is available on the Internet, at:

http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/

The GSFC homepage is media-friendly with breaking news about Earth and space science research. Earth science "Top Stories" about hurricanes are available at:

http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Various NASA satellite missions also play a part in hurricane research, including the Terra, Aqua, QuikScat, Jason and Topex/Poseidon satellites. For information about these satellites on the Internet, visit:

http://earth.nasa.gov/ese_missions/satellites.html

NASA's Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) is the foundation for agency hurricane research at various field centers. NASA's ESE is dedicated to understanding the Earth as an integrated system and applying Earth system science to improve prediction of climate, weather and natural hazards using the unique vantage point of space. For information about NASA's ESE on the Internet, visit:

http://www.earth.nasa.gov/Introduction/index.html

For more information and images about hurricane research on the Internet, visit:

http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2004/0525hurricaneseason.html

For information about NASA and agency missions on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov