How does NASA study water?
NASA missions collect data about the global water cycle:
rain, floods, and tides. Using the data, scientists develop
or refine their theories about how air, water, temperature
changes, and gravity interact. To test their theories,
they send up new missions. They then share what they
learn so that we can understand the behavior of the Earth’s
water and learn how our behavior affects it.
An international
program called the Earth Observing System (EOS) monitors
climate and environmental change on Earth. One satellite
in this program is called Aqua. Aqua carries six
state-of-the-art instruments to observe the Earth’s
oceans, atmosphere, land, ice and snow covers, and
vegetation. From Aqua will come data for new research
about how Earth’s
lands, oceans, air, ice, and life function as a total
environmental system.
The Aqua mission builds on NASA’s
long history of studying the Earth and its atmosphere
from the impressive perspective of space. To find
out more about this mission, visit http://eospso.gsfc.nasa.gov/ftp_docs/lithographs/...
Visit the links below for more resources from NASA:
Exploring the ocean is easier said than done. Stare as long
and hard as you want at the ocean and you still can’t
see much past the water’s surface. Discover what NASA
scientists are doing to use the ocean’s surface to
learn about its depths.
The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Project
provides Earth scientists with information about the ocean’s
fertility. Subtle changes in ocean color indicate various
types and numbers of phytoplankton (microscopic plants that
live in the ocean). Knowing this information can lead to
a better understanding of how pollution affects the oceans,
how fish populations migrate, and how the carbon cycle reduces
greenhouse gases.
Rainfall in tropical zones is responsible for much of the
weather in the rest of the world. The TRMM satellite measures
how much rain is falling at any given time around the tropics
so that scientists can better predict weather patterns.
El Niño is caused by warm surface water flowing from
the western pacific towards South America. This phenomenon
can cause severe weather, flooding, and high tides on the
west coast of North and South America. Find out how El Niño
affects you and why it’s important.
Many thanks to "For Kids Only" as the inspiration and one source
of information for this web site. Visit
"For Kids Only" for
more information about this topic and additional teaching resources.
