NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The Cloud Makers
Date: Aug. 14, 2008

Much is still to be learned about how aerosols affect climate. This video gives a general overview of cloud-aerosol interactions and how the upcoming Glory mission will enable better understanding in the future.
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In the Zone
Date: July 11, 2008

When summer storms arrive, it's not only beach-goers who are affected; the rains can also have an impact on living creatures far below the ocean surface.
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Solar Variability: Striking a Solar Balance
Date: May 7, 2008

Planet Earth is an oasis of life, but without the sun, our home planet would be a drastically different, inhospitable place. The sun’s electromagnetic energy makes life on Earth possible; solar power also generates clouds, cleans our water, and drives ocean currents, thunderstorms, and hurricanes. For three decades, NASA scientists have studied the unique relationship between the Sun and the Earth, and they are particularly interested in the role of the Sun in Earth’s energy balance. This short film explores the vital connection between Earth and the sun, and includes an interview with Dr. Robert Cahalan, head of the NASA Goddard Climate and Radiation Branch. For more information, please visit http://climate.gsfc.nasa.gov, http://sunclimate.gsfc.nasa.gov or http://lasp.colorado.edu/sorce.
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NASA Scientist Visits a Tough P.I.G.
Date: April 14, 2008

This past January, Goddard's Dr. Robert Bindschadler led an expedition to a previously untouched part of Antarctica that may be one of the best places to gauge how global warming is affecting the continent.
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Spring is Aurora Season
Date: March 5, 2008

Blooming flowers, chirping birds and warmer weather are all signs that spring has arrived. But a lesser-known sign of spring are auroras, or the northern lights. For reasons not yet fully understood by scientists, the weeks around the vernal equinox are prone to auroras. But NASA is aiming to solve this mystery and others with a new mission to study the northern lights, called THEMIS.
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Lunar Eclipse Preview
Date: February 19, 2008

In the late night hours of Feb. 20, 2008, a total lunar eclipse will dazzle the night sky. And this lunar eclipse may be worth staying up for, because it will be the last one until December 2010. While eyes around the world are looking up at the eclipse, NASA has its attention focused on the moon as well. Later this year NASA will launch a new mission to study the moon called the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). By the time the next lunar eclipse appears, our knowledge of the moon could be quite different.
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La Niña Peaks
Date: January 29, 2008

With winter gearing up, a moderate La Niña is hitting its peak. This oceanographic event is triggered when sea surface temperatures along the equator in the Pacific Ocean drop. Yet La Niña’s influence goes far beyond this stretch of ocean, stirring changes across the globe and here in the U.S. Learn how La Niña episodes affect your area and about the tools NASA scientists use to monitor and understand this phenomenon.
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Destination Earth
Date: January 24, 2008

NASA may be famous for exploring the far reaches of the universe and strange new worlds, but it could be that the most important planet NASA studies is our own. This short film provides a quick take on the awe-inspiring research and imagery coming out of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. See the Earth, as only NASA can.
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Mission to Earth
Date: January 24, 2008

NASA sets the standard for excellence in Earth Science research. With decades of space-based data gathering to its credit, the agency has the experience and expertise to answer hard questions about the present and the future of life on our home planet. 2008 continues that legacy, with exciting, rigorous missions planned for studying essential aspects of climate around the globe.
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Taking Earth’s Temperature
Date: December 13, 2007

The Earth is a complex system with a unique climate. Many scientists are concerned that Earth’s climate is changing at an unprecedented rate. 2005 and 2006 were among the hottest years on record; how will 2007 rank? In January, scientists at NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies will release temperature data for 2007. How do scientists study how warm our home planet is, and how do they determine what factors affect its climate? This short video explores the tools NASA scientists use to take Earth’s temperature.
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Exploring Ozone
Date: October 22, 2007

This short video combines dynamic ozone visualizations with an interview with leading atmospheric NASA scientist, Dr. Paul Newman. Dr. Newman explains why ozone is important, he cites the ingredients that cause an ozone hole to form, and he remarks on the future of the ozone, pointing to exciting new areas of ozone research, including the role climate change will play in future years.
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Unmanned Aerosonde
Date: November 5, 2007

NASA and NOAA and the Aerosonde North America have joined forces to make detailed observations of Hurricane Noel by flying within 500 feet of the surface in the inner core of the storm, a critical area for hurricane dynamics of which scientists know little about. The Aerosonde Hurricane Boundary Layer Mission involves multiple flights of the Uninhabited Aerial System or UAS into areas of the hurricane too dangerous for manned aircraft. Coordination, command and control of the aircraft are maintained via satellite link by AAI and from NOAA's National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL.
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Birth of a Hurricane
Date: September 6, 2007

After nearly a year of research and analysis, experts now believe they have an unprecedented case history of a giant hurricane from birth to death, offering levels of insight never before seen. From its inception on August 22, to landfall on September 18, 2003, NASA and NOAA satellites watched Hurricane Isabel travel from its birthplace in the Eastern highlands of Ethiopia, across the Atlantic Ocean, and all the way up the U.S. coast. No storm in history has ever been observed with so many instruments so many times throughout its lifespan. Not only were scientists able to monitor the track of Isabel, but also the intensity of winds, precipitation, and temperature inside the storm using multiple sensors on a number of earth-observing satellites simultaneously.
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27 Storms: Arlene To Zeta
Date: July 31, 2007

"27 Storms: Arlene To Zeta" is a five-minute data visualization showing all 27 named storms of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Data from June 1, 2005 to January 7, 2006, show sea surface temperature, clouds, storm tracks and storm strength. Orange and red colors represent ocean temperatures at 82 degrees F or higher - the temperature required for hurricanes to form. Temperature data is from the AMSR-E instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite. Global earth image is from NASA's Blue Marble MODIS data composite. NOAA provided the cloud composite, storm tracks and storm strength.
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Looking at Hurricanes
Date: July 31, 2007

Hurricanes are the most powerful accumulations of energy on Earth. Nothing else even comes close. They are fearsome tropical storms that spring to life roughly the same time every year, churning up oceans around the world and shredding nerves of residents living along coastal zones. But hurricanes are really just manifestations of natural processes interacting. As such, they provide unusual opportunities for scientific research, and if recent history is any guide, the beginning of the twenty-first century augurs a new era in hurricane understanding. Using NASA’s extraordinary fleet of Earth observing instruments, scientists have recently made discoveries about the behavior and nature of these gigantic storms. It turns out that they often begin in unexpected, distant places around the globe; they can alter the course of other storms trailing behind; they can stretch their arms hundreds of miles in all directions. Observations from space have enabled NASA and other research institutions to develop sophisticated computer models, too. These models allow scientists to simulate and test hypothesizes about hurricanes, which in turn facilitate development of new, more accurate predictive tools. In this video, we explore the latest ways the space agency studies hurricanes and point to the future of this dynamic and exciting field of research.
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Hurricane Hot Towers
Date: May 11, 2007

In the eye of a furious hurricane, the weather is often quite calm and sunny. But new NASA research is providing clues about how the seemingly subtle movement of air within and around this region provides energy to keep this central "powerhouse" functioning. For the first time, research meteorologists have run complex simulations of an intensifying hurricane using a very fine temporal resolution of 3 minutes. The following movie combines this simulation data with observational data from space and descriptive illustrations to show how a hurricane intensifies.
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A Tour of the Cryosphere
Date: February 26, 2007

In a little more than seven minutes, NASA's "Tour Of The Cryosphere: Earth's Frozen Assets" leads viewers across the icy reaches of Antarctica, the drifting expanse of polar sea ice, the shrinking cap around the North Pole, and more. The tour conveys the interconnectedness of the cryosphere and the scientific importance of continued collection of this kind of data.
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