I recently had the pleasure to take part in a site visit to NOAA's David Skaggs Research center in Boulder, Colorado. This tour was part of the GIS in the Rockies off site visits planned by the conference organizers. This facility is home to many of the country's top scientists.
Some of the research conducted here includes: - thunderstorm and
tornado warning - winter storm forecasting - extreme weather prediction
and phenomena - gathering data on tsunamis and other geophysical
sciences
The crux of our site visit to NOAA was a look at the
Science On A Sphere technology. This application uses computers, projectors, and
advanced imaging methods to create the illusion of a planet (Earth, Sun, Moon,
Mars) or any other celestial body rotating in space. Weather and other
geophysical datasets can be projected and displayed on the rotating surface,
providing a fantastic look at patterns that may otherwise not be so visible.
Some of the data that are displayed on the sphere include:
-
infrared data from some 5 geostationary satellites - 20 years of sea surface
temperature - topography and bathymetry
As we walked around the
conference room with the sphere hanging in the center we saw dramatic displays
of interesting datasets. Some of the products we saw displayed include: -
movement of Earth's plates showing patterns of continental drift - Earth at
night revealing the cities lights and making it very evident where population
growth has taken place - hurricane patterns and
movements - plane paths - sea surface temperatures over time as El Nino
and La Nina come and go over time - tsunami development after an earthquake
in South East Asia - the surface of the Moon, Mars and
Venus
Below is a video I captured using a Nokia N95. The video
shows an animation of a model of the wave motion after a major earthquake in
South-east Asia. Notice the wave trajectory after the shock and then the
resulting tsunami.
More videos of Earth on a Sphere can be seen over at
the GISuser
YouTube
A reminder, if your interested in using
NOAA geophysical data products within your GIS applications consult the national
geophysical data center http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov
Automatic TerraServer Downloads with USAPhotoMaps - USAPhotoMaps is an exceptional, free tool developed and distributed by Doug Cox. Use it to automatically retrieve and display TerraServer aerial photos or topographic maps. The program also connects to GPS receivers to display tracks and waypoints or real-time location.
NASA Embarks on a Sweeping Airborne Expedition - An international team of scientists from NASA and other research institutions has embarked upon a three-week expedition that will take them from the rain forests of Central America to the frigid isolation of Antarctica.
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