1998 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| BLAME EL NINO FOR A LONGER DAY & EL NINO RUNS DEEP | G98-020 | 3/26/99 | 00:14:30 | Blame El Nino for a Longer Day - Just when you thought El Nino had been blamed for everything ...Scientists at NASA have calculated that El Nino is so powerful that it is causing the Earth to rotate more slowly and that each day is (very slightly) longer than the last. Using radio telescopes, scientists make simultaneous observations of quasars from multiple locations to determine very subtle changes in the rate of the Earth's rotation. Scientists predict that El Nino driven changes in wind and ocean patterns will cause the Earth to slow down by two-tenths of a second.
El Nino Runs Deep - In addition, scientists have created the first image combining data from NASA satellites and an array of NOAA buoys strung out along the equatorial Pacific. The images give additional insights into the evolution of this monstrous El Nino.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| BLAME EL NINO FOR A LONGER DAY
ITEM (1a): SET YOUR WATCH BACK: IT'S EL NINO/RADIO TELESCOPE ANIMATION - Using radio telescopes, scientists make simultaneous observations of quasars from multiple locations to determine very subtle changes in the rate of the Earth's rotation. Scientists predict that El Nino driven changes in wind and ocean patterns will cause the Earth to slow down by two-tenths of a second.
ITEM (1b): INTERVIEW EXCERPT WITH JOHN GIPSON, GEOPHYSICIST, NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
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| EL NINO RUNS DEEP
ITEM (2a): EL-NINO 3D SURFACE & DEPTH TEMP. DATA - Time lapse animation combines satellite observations of sea surface temperature and sea height with subsurface temperatures measured by NOAA's Tropical Buoy Array. Cold water is slowly propagating to the east along the equatorial Pacific and is causing the warmer than normal water associated with El Nino to dissipate.
The buoy data compliments observations from satellites and provides insights into the evolution of the enormous reservoir of heat driving El Nino. The colors in the image correspond to actual sea temperatures Water above 80F is shown in red. The 68 degree boundary of the thermocline is marked by cyan and dark blue.
ITEM (2b): EL-NINO 3D SURFACE & DEPTH ANOMALOUS DATA - Time-lapse animation combines satellite observations of sea surface temperature anomalies and sea height with subsurface temperature anomalies. Cold water is slowly propagating to the east along the equatorial Pacific and is causing the warmer than normal water associated with El Nino to dissipate. Red colors indicate regions 10(f) warmer than normal. Blue regions indicate regions 10(f) cooler than normal. Normal conditions are indicated by green colors.
ITEM (2c): 3D EL-NINO ANIMATIONS UPDATED THRU MARCH 6,1998 - Animation combines data of sea surface temperature, sea surface height and sea surface winds. The data, which represent changes from normal conditions are presented for a period through 3/6/98. By December, temperature and sea surface height reached their peak in the eastern Equatorial Pacific. By March, cold water slowly propagates east and causes the warmer than normal waters associated with El Nino to begin to dissipate.
ITEM (2d): COMPARING THE BIG ONES - Comparison of the huge 1982-83 El Nino with this year's monstrous event. The images show that this year's El Nino developed much earlier and than the 82-83 event. The 1982-83 El Nino eventually reversed and developed into a "La Nina" pattern towards the end of 1983. During a La Nina, temperatures are actually lower than normal. Scientists use data from previous El Ninos to develop models that help them better predict the evolution of this year's El Nino event.
ITEM (2e): ISOLATED DATA SETS, HEIGHT, TEMP, WIND AND COMBINED: 1) Sea Surface Height (from NASA's TOPEX/Poseidon)
2) Temperature (from NOAA's AVHRR Instrument)
3) Wind (from Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) on board the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)
4) Combined view
ITEM (2f): B-ROLL SCIENTISTS AT GODDARD DISCUSS DATA
ITEM (2f): B-ROLL NOAA BUOY DEPLOY IN PACIFIC OCEAN
ITEM (2g): SOUNDBITES WITH ANTONIO BUSALLACCHI, NASA RESEARCH OCEANOGRAPHER
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