Scanning the Globe: Standards and New Publications Focus on Earth Observations

EarthzineArticles, GEO/GEOSS News, Original, Sections

Small Image of scientists attempting to launch a weather balloonIt has become clear in recent years that human beings need to be much more careful in how we develop the Earth’s resources if that development is to be sustainable for future generations. To support sustainable development, in turn, we need to know the present state of the Earth and the impact of our activities. Measuring that impact and sharing the results with decision makers around the world is the goal of a major international scientific effort, the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).

Monitoring Volcano Threats from Space

EarthzineArticles, Disasters, Earth Observation, Original, Sections, Technology

Cropped image of volcano taken from of Volcano Monitoring Poster align=Volcanoes can have extremely wide ranging effects. Even a single eruption can cause disastrous climate changes at great distance from the source. Thus, it is important to have a system to monitor even the most remote volcanoes. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on the Terra spacecraft and other satellite sensors provide imagery that is critical to the global volcano monitoring solution.

Carbon Capture & Sequestration: How Hopeful Should We Be?

dziskinArticles, Climate, Energy, Original

Map of Africa showing Kenya

CO2The burning of fossil fuels provides about 85% of the energy consumed in the United States. One societal cost of this source of energy is the release of carbon dioxide; a potent greenhouse gas. The dream of capturing carbon before it is released into the atmosphere is capturing the imagination of policy makers. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 includes $1.8B for “clean coal” of which carbon capture & sequestration is a component. Yet the questions remain: Can it work? Is it cost effective? Are there more effective alternatives?

GEOSS Reaching Beyond the Core

Peter FairleyArticles, GEO/GEOSS News, Original, People

Rob AdamsFollowing the creation of the ad hoc intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations in Washington in 2003, South Africa’s Rob Adam was selected as one of GEO’s four co-chairs, alongside colleagues from the U.S., Japan and the European Commission.

ESA's Earth Observation Programmes: Advancing Earth Science Through New Sensing Technology

psilvestrinArticles, Earth Observation, Original, Technology

GFS 6z showing a strong hurricane of 974mb pushing into South Carolina.

Antenna DetailThe European Space Agency (ESA) has dedicated a substantial part of its programmes to observing the Earth since the launch of its first meteorological mission Meteosat in 1977. Following this mission, the subsequent series of Meteosat satellites, the ERS-1 and ERS-2 missions and, more recently, Envisat, the largest Earth observation (EO) satellite ever built, have provided a wealth of data about the Earth, its climate and changing environment.

A Global Search Engine For Geospatial Data

supsonArticles, Climate, Earth Observation, GEO/GEOSS News, Original

The TRMM satellite passed over Irene when it was a tropical storm on Aug. 21, 2011. Data collected with this orbit showed that Irene contained numerous powerful thunderstorms with TRMM's Precipitation Radar (PR) revealing that some thunderstorm towers near the center of the storm were reaching to heights above 15 km (~9.3 miles). Credit: NASA/SSAI, Hal Pierce

NOAA BuoyIf you’re a scientist or engineer cobbling together a geospatial project, say you’re trying to figure out how many people would be threatened by a tsunami in the Indian Ocean, a truism holds that you spend 80 percent of the time hunting down usable data. The data, when they exist at all, often are archived in incompatible formats, have varying degrees of accuracy and precision, and sometimes require a good deal of political savvy to find.

Earth Observation in the Met Office

EarthzineArticles, Climate, Earth Observation, Original, Sections, Technology, Weather

Met Office

The United Kingdom’s Met Office is one of the world’s leading providers of environmental and weather-related services. Our solutions and services meet the needs of many communities of interest, from the general public, government and schools, through broadcasters and online media, to civil aviation and almost every other industry sector – in the UK and around the world. It is also home to the Hadley Centre for climate research.

A Look Back at Fifty Years of the Space Age

EarthzineArticles, Earth Observation, Feature, In This Issue, Original, Sections

The noted British astronomer Fred Hoyle predicted shortly after the launch of Sputnik in October, 1957 that when we humans could obtain a picture of Earth from deep space, life here would never be the same. This was a time in history when the average Westerner’s concept of the universe was hardly more sophisticated than “God in the heavens, man in the middle and everything else below.” That is to say that only a very few scientists had foresight as to the extent and complexity of the cosmos that would be revealed following the arrival of the space age and its modern technologies.

The Mississippi Mesonet

EarthzineArticles, Climate, Education, Original, Sections, Weather

Mississippi MesonetOver the past five years, Jackson State University has taken a leading role in the development of a world-class mesoscale observing network in Mississippi for research, education, and operational use: The Mississippi Mesonet (White and Matlack 2005). Broadly speaking a mesonet can be considered to be a network of automated weather observing stations whose spatial distribution facilitates near-real time description in between the standard “synoptic” observing stations of the National Weather Service (NWS) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In many cases, they are characterized by improved temporal resolution and supplemental sensors compared to the synoptic network.