Press releases from the NASA centers and from NASA researchers.
Radar Snapshots Reveal Quake Movement in Sharp Detail
November 24 New spaceborne radar data of California's October 16
7.1-magnitude earthquake near the desert town of Twentynine Palms show
ground movement of as much as 17 feet (5 meters) near the fault. The new
radar measurements combine two images taken by the European Space Agency's
European Remote Sensing-2 satellite about one month before and four days
after the quake. The image analysis was carried out by NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory imaging radar group using a technique called
synthetic aperture radar interferometry, which is becoming a standard
method for studying active tectonics. More
Terra Spacecraft Set for December Launch
November 23 NASA will launch and deploy the to the Earth Observing System
(EOS) series of satellites, part of a precedent-setting program designed to
provide daily information on the health of the planet. The Terra spacecraft
is scheduled for launch December 16. Terra begins a new generation of Earth
science, one that studies the Earth's land, oceans, air, ice, and life as
a total global system. A series of 10 spacecraft, known as the first EOS
series, are scheduled for launch into the next decade. More
Vegetation Conditions Drive North Africa Drought
November 18 New research by scientists at NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center and the University of California, Los Angeles shows that the
devastating drought that plagued North Africa for decades may be a natural
phenomenon-fueled by the land's naturally changing vegetation cover.
Scientists have been trying to understand what caused the paralyzing
drought that began in the 1970s. In a paper published in the Nov. 19 issue
of the journal Science, researchers have found that previous drought
conditions in Africa grasslands cause following years to remain drier,
over-riding meteorological conditions which otherwise would have caused
more rain to fall. More
International Team Embarks on Arctic Ozone Study
November 18 NASA scientists are joining researchers from Europe, Russia,
Canada, and Japan to mount the largest field measurement campaign ever to
assess ozone amounts and changes in the Arctic upper atmosphere this
winter. This collaborative campaign will measure ozone and other
atmospheric gases using satellites, airplanes, heavy-lift and small
balloons, and ground-based instruments. From November 1999 through March
2000, researchers will examine the processes that control ozone amounts
during the Arctic winter at mid to high latitudes from their base above
the Arctic Circle in Kiruna, Sweden. More
NASA Provides 21st-Century Solutions to 1999 Drought
November 5 As many drought-stricken farms in America limp through the
last harvest of the 20th century, researchers are using remote-sensing
technology developed for the space program to help improve crop management
and increase profitability. At the Global Hydrology and Climate Center at
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., scientists are
collaborating with university researchers to apply remote sensing to a
sophisticated agricultural technique called precision farming. More
New Global Tectonic Activity Map of Earth Produced
November 5 NASA scientists have developed a new digital tectonic activity
map of the Earth that pinpoints the geologically and volcanically active
features of the entire planet over the last one million years. The series
of six color maps combines ground- and space-based information to show the
Earth's currently active large-scale features, including major faults,
earthquakes, and volcanoes. The "Digital Tectonic Activity Map" provides
researchers and educators with a more realistic picture of the Earth's
crustal dynamics, which may lead to a better understanding of our volatile
Earth. More
Ecological Impacts from Hurricane Floyd Seen from Space
November 2 Using spaceborne technologies to study the effects of
Hurricane Floyd, a NASA oceanographer has seen indications that there may
be significant impacts on the marine food chain along the North Carolina
coast due to extensive rainfall in the region. "Rivers and tributaries
along the Atlantic are
choked [with sediment and waste] and major ecological changes are
happening," said Gene Feldman, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. More
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