NASA: National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationEarth Observatory

NASA News: August 2002

  1. July 2002
  2. September 2002
  1. NASA Study Finds Rapid Changes in Earth's Polar Ice Sheets August 30, 2002

    Recent NASA airborne measurements and a new review of space-based measurements of the thickness of Earth's polar ice sheets concludes they are changing much more rapidly than previously believed, with unknown consequences for global sea levels and Earth's climate.

  2. Atmospheric Wave Linked to Sea Ice Flow Near Greenland, Study Finds August 28, 2002

    A NASA researcher finds that the amount of sea ice that moves between Greenland and Spitsbergen, a group of islands north of Norway, is dependent upon a "wave" of atmospheric pressure at sea level.

  3. NASA Satellites Help Hurricane Forecasters Since 1992's Destructive Hurricane Andrew August 23, 2002

    Ten years ago, on August 24th, 1992, Hurricane Andrew developed in the Atlantic Ocean and became one of the costliest hurricanes in U.S. history as it caused massive damage in south Florida. Since then, NASA has launched three satellites that will help improve forecasting of tropical cyclones.

  4. Satellites Show Overall Increases in Antarctic Sea Ice Cover August 22, 2002

    While recent studies have shown that on the whole Arctic sea ice has decreased since the late 1970s, satellite records of sea ice around Antarctica reveal an overall increase in the southern hemisphere ice over the same period.

  5. Instrument Aboard NASA's Aqua Satellite Joins Twin to Begin Comprehensive Global Coverage August 15, 2002

    Roughly 438 miles above the Earth, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite opened its Earth-view door on June 24 and took its first look at our planet.

  6. NASA’s Terra Satellite Refines Map of Global Land Cover August 13, 2002

    New NASA land cover maps are providing scientists with the most refined global picture ever produced of the distribution of Earth’s ecosystems and land use patterns. High-quality land cover maps aid scientists and policy makers involved in natural resource management and a range of research and global monitoring objectives.

  7. After a Decade, NASA's TOPEX/Poseidon Adventure Sails On August 13, 2002

    It's been sailing the blackness of space now for a decade: a silent sentinel, watching over the world's oceans, looking for signs of the mysterious El Nino and La Nina phenomena whose cantankerous dispositions wreak havoc on our weather.

  8. Satellites See Big Changes Since 1980s in Key Element of Ocean's Food Chain August 8, 2002

    Since the early 1980s, ocean phytoplankton concentrations that drive the marine food chain have declined substantially in many areas of open water in Northern oceans, according to a comparison of two datasets taken from satellites.

  9. NASA and Canada Study Smoke From Flaming Canadian Forests August 6, 2002

    NASA researchers and Canadian scientists have established a network of ground sensors in Canada that are currently studying smoke and haze created by Canadian forest fires. Recently, the network detected record levels of pollution seen over the U.S. eastern seaboard from fires in early July.

  10. First Images From NASA's "Thermometer in the Sky" Sizzle August 6, 2002

    First images from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder spectrometer and its two companion instruments--the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit and the Humidity Sounder for Brazil--are exceeding the expectations of the world meteorological community. The results, project scientists say, will be substantially increased accuracy of short-term weather predictions, improved tracking of severe weather events like hurricanes and advances in climate research.

  11. NASA Lightning Study Completes First Flight of Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle August 6, 2002

    A NASA team studying the causes of electrical storms and their effects on our home planet launched their first research flight Sunday, Aug. 4, using an uninhabited aerial vehicle to overfly the Florida Everglades.

  12. Satellites Reveal a Mystery of Large Change in Earth's Gravity August 1, 2002

    Satellite data since 1998 indicates the bulge in the Earth's gravity field at the equator is growing, and scientists think that the ocean may hold the answer to the mystery of how the changes in the trend of Earth's gravity are occurring.