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Aqua: AIRS, AMSU, HSB, AMSR-E, CERES, MODIS

Abstract:: Aqua, Latin for water, is a NASA Earth Science satellite mission named for the large amount of information that the mission is collecting about the Earth's water cycle, including evaporation from the oceans, water vapor in the atmosphere, clouds, precipitation, soil moisture, sea ice, land ice, and snow cover on the land and ice. Additional variables also measured by Aqua include radiative energy fluxes, aerosols, vegetation cover on the land, phytoplankton and dissolved organic matter in the oceans, and air, land, and water temperatures. This brochure provides a comprehensive overview of the Aqua spacecraft, instruments, science, and data products.

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Earth Climate Course: What Determines a Planet's Climate?

Abstract:: The Earth Climate Course: What Determines a Planets Climate? is a set of student activities and teachers guides designed to connect NASA Earth science research with the teaching and learning of core science and mathematics concepts and skills while addressing national education standards. The four modules cover: 1) Temperature Variations and Habitability, 2) Modeling Hot and Cold Planets, 3) Using Mathematical Models to Investigate Planetary Habitability, and 4) How Do Atmospheres Affect Planetary Atmospheres. Scientific inquiry and the research tools used to do research play a major role in the lessons. Presented with a science problem, students seek answers and consensus by experimenting with physical and computer models, collecting and analyzing their own measurements, and conducting comparisons with real world data from satellites and ground-based observations.- NASA missions and related Earth and space science topics provide the real world problem context for student investigations.- It aims to help students to develop an understanding of our environment as a system of human and natural processes that result in changes that occur over various space and time scales.

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Abstract:: This brochure describes the MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite. The first NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) satellite, called Terra, was launched on December 18, 1999, carrying five remote sensors. The most comprehensive EOS sensor is MODIS, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. MODIS offers a unique combination of features: it detects a wide spectral range of electromagnetic energy; it takes measurements at three spatial resolutions (levels of detail); it takes measurements all day, every day; and it has a wide field of view. This continual, comprehensive coverage allows MODIS to complete an electromagnetic picture of the globe every two days.

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Abstract:: Most of Earth's deserts can be found in dry areas created by global circulation patterns. The deserts of our world are not restricted by latitude, longitude, or elevation. This site, produced by the U.S. Geological Survey, uses text and pictures to describe how atmospheric circulation patterns influence the locations of deserts on Earth and possibly on other terrestrial planets as well.