Weather Satellites – past, present and future

Overview

This narrated movie chronicles the history of weather satellites from the launch of the Sputnik spacecraft to NOAA’s most recent GOES-R series of weather satellites.

Click on the image to watch the YouTube preview.

Along with providing a short history of weather satellites, this movie provides remote sensing fundamentals and presents successive technology developments before delving into exciting advances associated with the GOES-R satellite series.

A collaboration between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the GOES-R satellite series will revolutionize satellite meteorology and weather forecasting in the 21st century.

How to Use in Presentation
This video provides the foundation for any Earth orientated Science On a Sphere presentation, or may be used as a stand-alone in automated SOS programming.

Length of dataset: 6:37

Weather Satellites Script

Highlights
• Succinct and accurate history of weather satellites
• Fundamentals of remote sensing
• Description and demonstration of polar and geostationary satellite
• Introduction to GOES-R

NOAA SOS dataset

If the mp4 movie isn’t in you SOS EarthNow category, you can download the SOS movie from this FTP Site.

More information on GOES-R can be found at http://www.goes-r.gov/

Additional educational resources, including lesson plans developed by middle and high school science teachers, can be found at http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/education/goesr/

Credits:
EarthNow Team
Category: Atmosphere, Climate, Feature story, Hydrology, Oceans, Severe Weather

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Summer 2016 Climate Digest

Overview

The June through August 2016 average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average of 60.1 degrees Fahrenheit, —the highest temperature departure from average for June through August ever recorded, surpassing the summer of 2015 by 0.07 degree Fahrenheit.

Across the world’s oceans, the June through August average sea surface temperature was also the highest June through August on record.

Furthermore, August 2016 marked the 16th consecutive month of record warmth for the globe.

Summer 2016 temperatures for the contiguous United States tied with 2006 for the 5th warmest summer on record. Specifically, June was the warmest June on record, July was the 14th warmest ever recorded, and August was the fifth warmest since records began.

The outlook for Autumn 2016 calls for continued above normal temperatures.

Products

The quarterly climate digest, produced seasonally, consists of a short movie (3:42 minutes) made for SOS and an MP4 video accessible through YouTube.

You can download the SOS content from this FTP Site.

Content includes:

  • Global 3-month land temperatures
  • 3-month Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies
  • Contiguous U.S. Temperature and Precipitation Graphics
  • Temperature and Precipitation Outlooks for summer 2016
Helpful Resources for More Information
Credits:
EarthNow Team
NOAA
References:
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Climate Global Analysis and National Overview available at https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/

 

Category: Climate, Climate Digest

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Spring 2016 Climate Digest

 

Overview

The March through May 2016 average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.91 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average of 56.7 degrees Fahrenheit. This was the warmest spring ever recorded. Furthermore, May 2016 marked the 13th consecutive month with record warm global temperatures.

The contiguous United States observed its 6ᵗʰ warmest spring since records began. Specifically, March was the 4th warmest March on record, April was the 18th warmest and May was near normal.

According to the May 31 U.S. Drought Monitor report, 12.7 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in drought at the end of spring 2016. Extreme to exceptional drought was remained rooted in southern California.

The outlook for Summer 2016 calls for continued above normal temperatures.

Products

The quarterly climate digest, produced seasonally, consists of a short movie (3:42 minutes) made for SOS and an MP4 video accessible through YouTube, but none of the individual data-sets previously produced for the monthly climate digest product.

You can download the SOS content from this FTP Site.

Content includes:

  • Global 3-month land temperatures
  • 3-month Sea Surface Temperature (SST)
  • Contiguous U.S. Temperature and Precipitation Graphics
  • Temperature and Precipitation Outlooks for summer 2016
Helpful Resources for More Information
Credits:
EarthNow Team
NOAA
References:
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Climate Global Analysis and National Overview available at https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/

 

Category: Climate, Climate Digest, Uncategorized

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