2007 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| NASA LAUNCHES ITS PARTICIPATION IN THE INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR
| G07-015 | 6/29/07 | 20:13 | On February 26, 2007, the International Polar Year (IPY) begins, initiating a two-year effort to focus science and education on Earth's polar regions. NASA will contribute to IPY by providing an unprecedented, long-term global view of the Earth's dynamic poles from the unique vantage point of space. NASA will also explore neighboring polar regions throughout the solar system, including those on Mars and our own moon.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): NASA's Orbiting Earth-Observing Fleet - Global satellite observations are central to the recent and future advances in polar research, revealing retreating glaciers, shrinking sea ice and melting permafrost. This visualization shows many of the spacecraft in NASA's Earth-observing fleet, a complex sensor web keeping tabs of Earth's vital signs.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (2): Arctic Perennial Sea Ice Minimum, 1979-2006 - Researchers from NASA and elsewhere observed decreasing Arctic sea ice in 2006, a consistent pattern since satellite records began nearly three decades ago. The average sea ice extent for the month of September was the second lowest on record, bringing the long-term trend in Arctic sea ice decline to approximately 8.59 percent per decade over the 29-year satellite record. This animation shows the annual minimum summer ice extent from 1979-2006 compared to the average, represented in yellow.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (3): Antarctic Ozone Hole, 1979-2006 Antarctic Ozone Hole, 1979-2006 - NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists reported that in 2006, the ozone hole in the polar region of the Southern Hemisphere was the largest ever observed, both in area and depth, reaching 10.6 million square miles. This animation shows the annual maximum thinning of ozone (resulting in the largest ozone hole for each year) from 1979-2006
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (4): Jakobshavn Glacier Flow and Calving Front Retreat, 2001-2006 - As glaciers recede, ice leaves the land and enters the ocean, raising sea level and affecting coastal regions worldwide. Jakobshavn Isbrae is Greenland's largest outlet glacier, and in 1997 it began a significant recession, eventually almost doubling its speed. This animation shows the flow of the Jakobshavn glacier in 2000, followed by a series of satellite images showing the glacier's retreat from 2001 through 2006.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (5): Larsen-B Ice Shelf Collapse - Ice shelves surround half of the Antarctic continent. They slow the relentless march of ice streams and glaciers the way dams hold back rivers. When temperatures increase, melt ponds appear on the surface of the ice. As this heavy melt water forces its way into cracks, ice shelves weaken and can ultimately collapse. Such events result in the rapid acceleration of adjacent glaciers toward the ocean and ultimately raises sea level. In 2002, after twelve thousand years of stability, the Larsen-B Ice shelf collapsed in just five weeks.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (6): THEMIS - (Launch, Spacecraft Animation, Aurora B-roll) NASA's Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) mission successfully launched February 17, 2007, from Cape Canaveral. This multi-tasking team of 5 satellites is on a mission to investigate what causes auroras in the polar regions of Earth's atmosphere to dramatically change from slowly shimmering waves of light to wildly shifting streaks of color. Such discoveries will provide important details on how the planet's magnetosphere works and the important sun-Earth connection.
Courtesy: NASA/SOLARMAX © Heliograph
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| ITEM (7): B-roll of Arctic Glaciers - B-roll of glaciers in the northern polar region.
Courtesy: NASA/USGS
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| ITEM (8): B-roll of Arctic Sea Ice - B-roll of Arctic sea ice from Spitsbergen, Norway.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (9): Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter - NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched August 12, 2005, is on a search for evidence that water persisted on the surface of Mars for a long period - long enough to provide a habitat for life. One of its main jobs is to monitor the dynamics of the polar regions of Mars, which like Earth's polar regions, are unique scientific frontiers themselves, providing insight into the history of both planets.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (10): Chasma Boreale Near Mars' North Pole - Chasma Boreale is the grand canyon of the north polar ice sheet of Mars. It is a mile deep cleft into the ice sheet, and scientists do not know what caused its formation. Using MRO, we can see fine scale stratified layers of the ice sheet along the canyon walls. These layers act almost as the rings of a tree do in recording the history of the structure. This animation zooms into the image taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on-board MRO.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (11): Phoenix Mission - In 2008, during IPY, NASA's Phoenix mission will land at the icy northern pole of Mars. Using a robotic arm, Phoenix will dig trenches up to 1.6 feet deep and use its on-board laboratory to analyze the samples. Phoenix will paint a clearer picture of the history of the Martian Arctic and provide clues into the past or present habitability of the planet.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (12): Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter - In 2008, NASA will launch the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The orbiter will carry six instruments that will map and photograph the lunar surface, search for surface ice deposits and investigate space radiation, enabling the selection of landing sites for future robotic and human lunar missions. NASA's continuing mission to extend human exploration into the solar system embraces IPY as we study the poles of our own moon.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (13): Exploring the Lunar Surface - Building upon valuable information gained from remote sensing missions such as LRO, as well as future robotic missions reaching the surface of the moon, NASA plans to once again land humans on the moon. Seen here are highlights from an artist's concept of a future lunar landing.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (14): Interview clips with Dr. Robert Bindschadler, Chief Scientist, Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (15): Interview clips with Dr. Waleed Abdalati, Branch Head, Cryospheric Sciences Branch, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (16): Interview clips with Dr. James B. Garvin, Chief Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Courtesy: NASA
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