CONTACT: Patricia Viets FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tim Stryker 5/31/96
The Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is ready to acquire and distribute vital information about the oceans from the first of a new series of environmental satellites to be launched by Japan in August, the agency announced.
The data will be distributed electronically to users in the United States, Japan, and other countries around the world for use in weather forecasting and environmental monitoring.
The Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS), to be launched by the National Space Development Agency of Japan, will observe and monitor the global environment. NOAA, which has enhanced its processing and communications systems to support the data, will use and share data products from several of the instruments.
"NOAA will be a near-real-time user of data from the NASA Scatterometer and NASDA's Ocean Color and Temperature Scanner," said Helen Wood, NOAA's director of satellite data processing and distribution. "Access to these data will provide U.S. and other users with enhanced environmental monitoring capabilities through NOAA's ocean remote-sensing program."
The scatterometer will measure wind speed and direction over the ocean. These data are important in short-term weather warnings and forecasts and will play a key role in our ability to understand and predict complex global weather patterns and climate systems.
Ocean color data will play a vital role in protecting coastal ecosystems and building sustainable fisheries. The data are useful in monitoring pollution and river discharge, detecting and monitoring noxious algal blooms, and locating optimum fishing grounds.
"NOAA looks forward to the upcoming launch of ADEOS and the important new data stream," said D. James Baker, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere. NOAA is a partner in the implementation and operation of the ADEOS program. The National Space Development Agency of Japan and NASA signed an agreement on ADEOS in October 1994.
In addition to NSCAT, NASA is also flying a Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) aboard ADEOS. TOMS will measure ozone concentration in the atmosphere. NOAA is evaluating TOMS data for possible use in volcanic ash tracking in support of aviation safety.
The satellite will also carry other instruments provided by Japanese and French agencies.
###NOTE: Further information on environmental satellites can be found on the Internet at: http://www.nnic.noaa.gov/SOCC/SOCC_Home.html All NOAA press releases, and links to other NOAA material, can be found on the NOAA Public Affairs World Wide Web home page: http://www.noaa.gov/public-affairs. If you'd like to receive these releases by electronic mail rather than fax, please send an e-mail to: jslaff@rdc.noaa.gov