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1993-05-03
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PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354⌐5011
FOR RELEASE WITH VIDEOCASSETTE FRI. AUG. 26, 1988
┴┴Image⌐processing scientists at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., have used digital animation
techniques to produce a three⌐dimensional, whirlwind tour of
Earth, flying the viewer over, under and through the
cloudtops in the atmosphere of our planet.
The production, called "Earth: The Movie," was
constructed from satellite data and digital elevation maps of
Earth to show how clouds form and influence weather as they
move across the planet's surface. From a vantage point made
possible only by a computer, "Earth: The Movie" also allows
the viewer to see Earth's cloudtops in three dimensions ⌐⌐
all over the world.
The data visualization techniques developed to
produce "Earth: The Movie" represent powerful new tools that
scientists will use to study the complex relationships
between Earth's topography, atmosphere, ocean, and biosphere.
"Earth: The Movie" was created by Jeffrey R. Hall,
Kevin J. Hussey and Robert A. Mortensen of the Digital Image
Animation Lab (DIAL) of JPL's Image Processing Laboratory, in
cooperation with atmospheric scientists Dr. Moustafa Chahine
of JPL and Dr. Joel Susskind of NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. ▄l▄î The data displayed in the production were derived
from the High⌐Resolution Infrared Sounder⌐2 and Microwave
Sounding Unit on NASA's Nimbus 7, an Earth⌐observing
satellite launched on Oct. 24, 1978. The data show the
monthly average cloud cover for December 1978 and the daily
cloud cover from Dec. 31, 1978 to Feb. 4, 1979.
The production represents 9 gigabytes (9 billion
bytes) of information. A Cyber 205 supercomputer at the
Goddard Space Flight Center was used to preprocess the data.
The data were then processed at JPL by two mainframe
computers executing 4 million instructions per second over
18.4 days.
"Earth: The Movie" was produced by JPL for the
Office of Space Science and Applications.
#####
8/26/88
#1205MBM
▄l▄îPUBL┴┴IC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354⌐5011
NARRATION: "EARTH: THE MOVIE"
┴┴
A study of the Earth's climate must take into
account the crucial role played by clouds. Besides
delivering life⌐giving rain to the land, clouds help maintain
a proper balance in the global climate. The following
digital animation combines satellite cloud data and Earth
elevation data from maps to demonstrate how atmospheric
scientists and visualization specialists team up to perform
climatic research. The clouds were derived from infrared and
microwave satellite instrument data using a supercomputer.
öPart One: Rectangular projection of Earth's surface and
clouds.ò
At first glance, clouds may appear chaotic, but
closer observation reveals a semblance of order.
Recognizable patterns show how air moves up and down while
circulating around the globe. The varied features of the
Earth's surface (portrayed here by color) as well as
prevailing winds, have distinct effects on the formation and
distribution of clouds. Computer animation to visualize
clouds provides a unique insight into the structure and
dynamics of global weather systems.
▄j▄îöPart Two: Three⌐dimensional flight over the world.ò
Now, as we add the third dimension to both the
Earth's surface and the clouds, we can see the relationship
between cloud⌐tops and the Earth's topography. The cloudtop
elevations were also derived from satellite data. The
vertical dimensions have been exaggerated twenty times to
enhance comparison.
⌐ Our flight takes us along the west coast of Africa.
⌐ Flying north of Scandinavia, we see Europe, then quickly
cross the North Atlantic and drop below the cloud⌐tops off
the eastern United States.
⌐ We look west into the Amazon basin of South America.
⌐ We circle Cape Horn and view the Andes mountains up close.
⌐ Central America passes below as we view North America.
⌐ Diving below the clouds in the mid⌐Atlantic, we fly over
the Mediterranean.
⌐ Turkey passes to our right as we fly across the Caspian Sea
into the southern Soviet Union.
⌐ China, and now Japan, are below us.
⌐ Southeast Asia and Australia are seen as we head for the
Himalayas and Indian subcontinent.
⌐ The Middle East and Africa complete our journey.
öPart Three: Spherical projection of Earth showing daily
cloud activity over the Pacific Ocean.ò
The atmosphere can be considered a gigantic solar¬powered engine which controls our daily weather. The Pacific
Ocean, shown here, covers nearly half the Earth. It is the▄l▄major storehouse of energy and source of water vapor for the
planet.
This is the winter season in the northern
hemisphere and we can observe the course of numerous storms,
one after the other, approaching North America from the Gulf
of Alaska.
öPart Four: Spherical projection of Earth showing daily cloud
activity over the Atlantic Ocean.òöò
Note the belt of clouds near the equator as we
rotate the Earth to observe the opposite hemisphere. This
belt provides the moisture necessary to sustain the
equatorial rain forests of the Congo basin in Central Africa
and the Amazon in South America.
North Africa, dominated by the Sahara, is
characterized by its lack of clouds. Near the top of this
hemisphere we can also observe winter storms move with
regularity across the North Atlantic and Europe.
öConclusionò
The data visualization techniques developed to
produce "Earth: The Movie" represent powerful new tools that
scientists will use to study our complex global environment.
öENDò