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Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sea surface temperatures give scientists information about ocean currents, climate, climate change and how a hurricane may evolve. Now, NASA has a web page that provides frequent updates on changing ocean temperatures. There are two primary types of sea surface temperature data that scientists use. The first is the actual temperature readings from the ocean water surface. The second is called a sea surface temperature anomaly that compares present temperatures to the long-term average. Visualizers at NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. have created two products. The first is a daily update of actual sea surface temperatures. Whenever clouds in the satellite data block the sea surface, the product interpolates the data. Interpolation is a calculation method for estimating data in regions that fall between points of actual measurement. The second product is a 10-day average of sea surface temperatures over specific areas. This 10-day average helps to show or calculate the temperature anomaly. "Climate and weather are great dances between the oceans and the global atmosphere," says Bill Patzert, climatologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Sea surface temperature changes control whether these dances are slow and graceful, as with climate, or stormy and violent, as with wild hurricanes and winter storms. Floods, droughts, hurricanes or balmy weather can often be foretold by shifting sea surface temperatures. Sea surface temperatures are a crystal ball that helps us see and plan for the future."0 Comments:
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