Terrestrial Tour: Is Earth's Ice Thawing?

Video Player


Is Earth's ice thawing? There's less sea ice, less permafrost, glaciers are melting faster than ever before. Current evidence says "yes."

Credits


Special Thanks:  Steve Graham and Claire Parkinson (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) and Edward Olsen (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
 
Produced by: Space Telescope Science Institute, Office of Public Outreach
 
All images and animations courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
Except:
  • Aqua spacecraft illustration: Reto Stöckli, NASA Earth Observatory team
  • Earth’s Western Henisphere “Blue Marble” image: Reto Stöckli/Robert Simmon/NASA/MODIS/USGS/DMSP
  • Aqua’s orbit animation: Jesse Allen/NASA
  • Earth globe image featuring North America: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio; Blue Marble data courtesy of Reto Stöckli (NASA/GSFC)
  • Factory with smoke stack photo: Ian Britton/Freephoto.com
  • Earth globe featuring North and Central Americas image: NASA image courtesy GOES Project Science Office
  • Caribou with mountains in background photo: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
  • Smokestacks at sunset photo: Ian Britton/Freephoto.com
  • Field of rapeseed photo: Ian Britton/Freephoto.com
  • Global carbon dioxide animation: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • Anvil cloud photo: Vanessa Thomas
  • Photo of anvil clouds from space: NASA/STS-111
  • Clouds at sunrise photo: Vanessa Thomas
  • Global images of cloud reflectance and heat transmission: CERES Science Team, NASA Langley Research Center
  • Hurricane Alex image: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
  • Cold wakes animation: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
  • Maps of ship and buoy sea surface temperature measurements: National Climatic Data Center
  • Aqua map of sea surface temperatures on August 1, 2006: Jesse Allen/NASA, based on data from Remote Sensing Systems
  • Global sea surface temperature animation: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio: data provided by Norman Kuring (NASA/GSFC)
  • Mount Spurr volcanic plume photo: Game McGimsey/Alaska Volcano Observatory/U.S. Geological Survey
 
Produced by: Space Telescope Science Institute, Office of Public Outreach
 
All images and animations courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
Except:
  • Mount Saint Helens caldera and plume photo: Austin Post/USGS
  • Aqua images of ash plumes from Mount Etna and Klyuchevskaya Volcano: NASA images by Jeff Schmalz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center
  • Mount Redoubt eruption plume: R. Clucas/Alaska Volcano Observatory/U.S. Geological Survey
  • Dust over the Canary Islands image: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
  • Aqua images of dust over the Persian Gulf and Iraq: Jeff Schmalz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
  • Iraq dust storm photo; Togai Andrews
  • Aerial and ground-based fire photos: Andrea Booher/FEMA
  • Aqua images of smoke and fire locations in northern California and Boliva: NASA images courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response Team
  • Aqua image of smoke and fire locations in Russia: Jesse Allen/Earth Observatory/NASA
  • Turbulent clouds photo: NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library: OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
  • Lightning in Romania photo: Mircea Madau
  • Lakeview tornado photo: NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
  • Hurricane Katrina image: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
  • Iceberg weather station photo: Peter West/National Science Foundation
  • ER-2 research aircraft photo: Jim Ross/NASA
  • Map of global precipitable water: AIRS Science Team/NASA/JPL
  • Illustration of Aqua spacecraft from below: Reto Stöckli, NASA Earth Observatory
  • Maps of global mean temperatures and precipitable water vapor: Stephanie Granger, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • Lightning in Kansas photo: Jimmy Dequara, www.australiaservereweather.com
  • Global temperatures animation: AIRS Scienct Team/NASA/JPL
  • Clouds over snowy mountain landscape photo: Vanessa Thomas
  • Written by Vanessa Thomas
  • Designed by John Godfrey
  • Music courtesy of Associated Production Music


Transcript


All narration is presented in text form within the video. In addition, a full transcript will be available in the Library in the near future. Check back soon!