NASA: National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationEarth Observatory

NASA News: May 2003

  1. April 2003
  2. June 2003
  1. NASA Throws Dice For Better Understanding Of Atmosphere May 30, 2003

    Sea salt, dust and other contaminants over California are aerosols that fill the air and provide an ideal environment for a new NASA field experiment starting May 28.

  2. NASA's Satellite Marks One Year of Viewing Earth May 29, 2003

    Aqua's first year has revealed impressive views of our planet's volatile surface, capturing dramatic events such as fires in Australia and the United States, snowstorms in the Arctic, typhoons in the East China Sea, a volcanic eruption on the island of Sicily, and dust storms in the Middle East, all with data from its six unique instruments.

  3. NASA Helps Sponsor Creative Problem Solving Competition May 28, 2003

    NASA's Earth Science Enterprise is sponsoring one of this year's problems at the 26th annual "Odyssey of the Mind World Finals."

  4. Coastal Cities Turn Up the Heat on Rainfall May 27, 2003

    According to a NASA study, urban heat islands, created from pavement and buildings in big coastal cities like Houston, cause warm air to rise and interact with sea breezes to create heavier and more frequent rainfall in and downwind of the cities.

  5. NASA to Mentor Students in Earth Science Research May 22, 2003

    Monitoring the West Nile virus and using satellite images and other data to assess the potential for dangerous wildfires are just two of many projects that six university students will undertake this summer at NASA Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley.

  6. First-Time-Ever Snapshot Released of Mother Earth from Mars May 22, 2003

    Have you ever wondered what you would see if you were on Mars looking at the Earth through a small telescope? Now you can find out, thanks to a unique view of our world recently captured by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft currently orbiting the Red Planet.

  7. New NASA Computer Models May Lead to Quake Forecast System May 22, 2003

    Advanced computer simulation tools now being developed by NASA and university researchers may soon give scientists new insights into the complex and mysterious physics of earthquakes and enable vastly improved earthquake forecasting.

  8. Scientists Dust Off Desert Sands from the French Alps May 15, 2003

    NASA funded scientists, using an atmospheric computer model, proved for the first time dust from China's TaklaMakan desert traveled more than 12,400 miles (20,000 kilometers) over two weeks and landed on the French Alps.

  9. NASA Finds Soot Has Impact on Global Climate May 13, 2003

    A team of researchers, led by NASA and Columbia University scientists, found airborne, microscopic, black-carbon (soot) particles are even more plentiful around the world, and contribute more to climate change, than was previously assumed by the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC).

  10. Unique NASA Satellite Watches Rainfall from Space May 12, 2003

    Your local weather forecaster uses Doppler radar systems, covering US regions, to estimate rainfall and flooding, but NASA research satellites can see rainfall worldwide.

  11. Mapping The Greenland Ice Sheets May 7, 2003

    Beyond the northern reaches of the Atlantic Ocean, Greenland is the largest island in the world and has the second largest mass of frozen fresh water on Earth. The ice and snow, covering 85 percent of the island, may provide important clues on global climate change.

  12. NASA Goddard Celebrates 40 Years of Achievement in Atmospheric Sciences May 7, 2003

    Distinguished Earth scientists from around the world assembled in Greenbelt on May 1 to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Laboratory for Atmospheres.

  13. NASA Discovers a Soggy Secret of El Niño May 1, 2003

    NASA-funded researchers have discovered El Niño's soggy secret. When scientists identified rain patterns in the Pacific Ocean, they discovered the secret of how El Niño moves rainfall around the globe during the life of these periodic climate events when waters warm in the eastern Pacific Ocean.