Theme: Earth's Atmosphere

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach in collaboration with the NASA Earth Observatory (https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/).

 

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Text, Viewspace. Coming up, Explore Our Atmosphere with NASA satellites. A countdown clock counts down when the show will continue. The clocks starts at 15 seconds and ticks down to 0 seconds. Then the screen turns black. 

 

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Text, World of Change, Ozone Concentrations over Antarctica.

 

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Title, Ozone Layer of the Stratosphere, South Pole, 1979 to 2018. Text, the ozone layer of the stratosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet light, which damages DNA in living things, including humans.

 

An image is credited to the International Space Station Expedition 28 crew. The view shows a thin layer of stratosphere over a thicker layer of troposphere.

 

Text, In the mid-1980s, satellite and ground-based monitoring began to show that ozone concentrations were plummeting over the South Pole each spring.

 

An image credited to N-O-A-A and NESDIS showing the ozone profile, a band within 40 kilometers of Earth's surface, thickest at the equator and thinnest over Antarctica. An inset shows Antarctica covered by a red splotch in 2015.

 

Text, The "hole" in the ozone layer was linked to the presence of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other pollutants, which destroy ozone molecules.

 

Text, the size of the ozone hole increased dramatically during the 1980s and early 1990s, but eventually stabilized as a result of the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty banning ozone-depleting chemicals.

 

A graph of the size of the ozone hole in area shows a growing trend from 1979, peaking from 2000 to 2005, then shrinking to 2018. A marker shows the Montreal Protocol.

 

Text, these maps, made using NASA satellite data, show the state of the ozone hole each year on the day the lowest ozone concentrations were measured. Year-to-year fluctuations in area, shape, and depth of the ozone hole are caused by variations in stratospheric temperature and circulation.

 

A globe focused on Antarctica features the outline of the continent with a legend showing the depiction of the ozone in Dobson units from 100 in dark red, to 200 in yellow, to 300 in white, to 400 in light blue, to 500 in dark blue.

 

in the year 1979, the image shows mostly light blue and dark blue bands over Antarctica, with a small yellow spot. As years pass, the blue areas shift slightly, but the yellow dot grows into an orange and dark red mass that shifts in shape and position but remains over the continent.

 

The spot becomes almost completely dark red in the 2000s. The fluctuations then become lighter, to orange and yellow by 2018.

 

Three panels show excerpts of this model of the ozone hole in 1979, 1994, and 2018.

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Text, Myth vs. Reality

 

Myth. Earth's atmosphere is mostly oxygen.

 

Reality. Oxygen gas makes up less than 21% of the volume of Earth's atmosphere. The most abundant gas is nitrogen, which makes up more than 78%. Most of the remaining 1% is argon, with small quantities of carbon dioxide and other gases.

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Text, Did You Know? Volcanoes and Climate Change.

 

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A cloud of smoke and debris erupts on the horizon, viewed from a distant village with puffy white clouds in between. Text, Volcanic eruptions can cool Earth's atmosphere. Volcanic eruptions spew ash and gases high into the atmosphere. Some of the gases, like sulfur dioxide, form tiny particles called aerosols.

 

A map of the Earth. Mt. Pinatubo Particle Model. Text, Over time, air currents spread the sulfur dioxide and other volcanic aerosols throughout the atmosphere and around the globe. A strip of rainbow shoots west from the Philippines and spreads out after crossing Africa, gradually spiraling around the globe and diffusing across the map. Text, Sulfur dioxide aerosols block sunlight, preventing it from reaching the surface. This causes the ground and the air above the ground to cool.

 

Diagrams contrast the planet's atmosphere before the eruption versus after, showing the amount of light blocked by aerosols, with blue indicating less light blocked or clear, and red at the other end of a full color spectrum indicating more light blocked, or hazy. Most of the atmosphere is blue, or clear before the eruption. 2 to 3 months after the eruption, the are closest to the tropics is red, and progresses to yellow and green by the north pole, with only the Antarctic still blue. Then 2 and 1/2 years after the eruption the planet is mostly green, or about midway on the spectrum. Text, The overall effect of a major volcanic eruption is several years of lower-than-average global temperatures. A graph charts volcanic eruptions against temperatures, with sharp dips right after eruptions.

 

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Ash, Dust, Clouds, And Smoke. Earth's atmosphere is made of more than just invisible gases like nitrogen and oxygen. It also contains tiny solid and liquid particles, including those that make up Ash, dust, clouds, and smoke. These components of the atmosphere are visible from space and can be tracked by NASA's Earth Observing System of satellites.

 

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Animation of a globe. A white circle on Japan. Text, Volcanic Ash, Sakura-jima Volcano, Japan. Volcanic eruptions can spew ash – tiny particles of rock - high into Earth's atmosphere. While larger particles settle near the volcano, smaller particles can be carried vast distances down wind. The smallest, dust-sized particles can travel around the globe and remain in the atmosphere for months.

 

Animation of a globe. A white circle on China. Text, Smog, Beijing, China. Smog is a type of visible air pollution composed of toxic gases, liquid droplets, and solid particles. The yellow haze seen here above Beijing is sulfurous smog, largely a result of burning coal and other fossil fuels. Pollution lingers in this area because both weather patterns and the presence of mountain ranges that act as barriers to air flow.

 

Animation of a globe. A white circle on the Middle East. Text, Dust, Persian Gulf. Winds can pick up dust – fine, dry particles of rock and soil – and carry it across continents and oceans. Here, dust blows across the Persian Gulf, carried from the arid regions of Iraq and Saudi Arabia by strong northwesterly winds known as the shamal. Periods of drought increase the severity of these dust storms, which can engulf the region in a haze and even alter the wave characteristics of the Arabian Sea.

 

Animation of a globe. A white circle on South America. Text, Clouds, Pacific Coast of Peru. Clouds consists of water vapor, ice crystals, and tiny droplets of liquid water that have condensed around particles of dust and sea salt. Off the coast of South America, deep, cold ocean currents have cool the humid near-surface air, forming low-lying clouds. Prevailing winds have pushed the clouds Inland where they flow up deep river valleys cut into the high coastal plateau.

 

Animation of a globe. A white circle on the United States. Text, Ship Tracks, Eastern Pacific Ocean. Water vapor condenses on tiny particles from ship exhaust to form long, thin clouds. The serpentine path of these clouds are a result of the original ship routes as well as air flow patterns in the atmosphere. Ship tracks are brighter than natural clouds because the water droplets are smaller and more abundant than those in natural clouds, with more surface area to reflect light.

 

Animation of a globe. A white circle on the United States. Text, Wildfire Smoke, California. Every year, wildfires burn hundreds of thousands of acres, sending tiny particles of organic matter into the air. Smoke from the most intense fires can billow high into the atmosphere and travel thousands of kilometers. Particles from California Camp Fire were blown west out over the Pacific, and then carried east back across the US, creating haze as far as New York City.

 

Six satellite images. Text, NASA satellites are important tools for imaging ash, dust, clouds, smoke, and other visible components of Earth's atmosphere. Monitoring solid and liquid particles, as well as gases, helps us better understand how natural and human activity on Earth's surface influences the ever-changing makeup of the air above.

 

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A blue hexagon appears in the middle of a gray background split into two halves by a line, A banner is outlined in light blue for the title, Myth vs Reality, An illustration with sea serpents surrounding a ship is above Myth, A layers of blue and red floating above Earth's surface is above reality, The Myth side is highlighted, Text, The air gets hotter as you move higher above the ground.

 

The reality side is highlighted, Text, In the troposphere, the layer of the atmosphere closest to Earth's surface, air temperature decreases with altitude, This occurs in part because air is heated primarily by the ground, not directly by the Sun, Air near the ground is warmer than air at the top of the troposphere

 

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Text, Did You Know? Earth's Atmosphere

 

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Earth's atmosphere blocks some colors of sunlight.

 

The Sun emits a rainbow of colors that human eyes detect as visible light.

 

It also gives off invisible forms of light, mostly in the form of ultraviolet and infrared light.

 

But even on a clear, cloudless day, not all of the sunlight that reaches the top of Earth's atmosphere makes it to the surface.

 

Lines of color. From left to right, Infrared, Visible Light, Ultraviolet. Text, Certain wavelengths of light are absorbed by gases like oxygen, ozone, water, and carbon dioxide.

 

Most of the ultraviolet and infrared light, along with small amounts of visible light, never reached the ground.

 

Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, (Expedition 23 Crew, International Space Station). Earth's atmosphere is not completely transparent.

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Various landscapes. Text, Where On Earth?

 

This satellite image shows arcs of clouds off the coast of Angola and Namibia.

 

What causes these cloud patterns? A. Jet trails, B. Brush fires, C. Dust storms, D. Gravity waves

 

Highlight on D, Gravity waves

 

Atmospheric Gravity Waves over the South Atlantic Ocean. Many of the waves we are familiar with on Earth are gravity waves. Gravity waves can form when water is pushed upward by a force - like wind, a swimming duck, or the impact of a raindrop – and then pulled back down by Earth's gravity.

 

Gravity waves also form when air is forced upward – for example by a storm system, a cold front, or a mountain – and then pull back down by gravity.

 

These clouds mark gravity waves that form when cool, dry air from the Namib Desert flows under warmer, wetter Atlantic Ocean Air, pushing it upward.

 

The humid ocean air cools as it rises, causing water vapor within it to condense and form clouds.

 

Gravity then pulls the air back downward, causing the clouds to warm up and evaporate.

 

The entire column of air oscillates up and down, and the wave propagates outward over the ocean.

 

The result is a ripple pattern with cloud-covered wave crests and clear wave troughs.

 

Although they are not always visible, gravity waves are ubiquitous throughout Earth's atmosphere.

 

From Africa to the Earth as a whole. Text, Music courtesy of Yesh Music (ASCAP)

 

Various landscapes. Where On Earth?

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Text, DID YOU KNOW? MONITORING GREENHOUSE GASES.

 

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Satellite images of Earth.

 

Text, Satellites can detect sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to the warming of Earth's atmosphere and global climate change. Sources of methane (Landsat 8 satellite, Terra satellite, and International Space Station)

 

Satellite images are labeled Wetlands, Bangladesh, Volcanoes and Livestock, New Zealand, Wildfires, California, Coal Mines and Gas Wells, Australia, Rice Paddies, Vietnam

 

Text, It bubbles up naturally from swamps, rivers, and melting permafrost, rises from wildfires and erupting volcanoes, and is produced by bacteria in the guts of cows and termites. It also leaks silently from coal mines and natural gas and oil wells, and stews in landfills, sewage treatment plants, and rice paddies.

 

North America viewed from space

 

Text, In the winter of 2015-2016, roughly 100,000 tons of methane seeped from a large underground natural gas storage facility north of Los Angeles, California.

 

Aerial view of facility labeled Aliso Canyon Underground Natural Gas Storage Facility, PORTER RANCH

 

Text, It was one of the largest methane leaks in U.S. history.

 

The picture changes to black and white. Red spots appear labeled METHANE PLUME

 

Text, This image of the gas plume was made using data collected by a scientific instrument aboard NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite. Aliso Canyon methane leak (Hyperion Imaging Spectrometer, Earth Observing-1 satellite)

 

Satellites had previously been used to measure methane concentrations high in the atmosphere.

 

But this was the first time that a methane leak from a single facility on Earth's surface had been observed from space.

 

The detection was an important breakthrough for scientists working to better understand where atmospheric methane originates.

 

Satellite in orbit scanning North America.

 

Text, Concept for NASA's future Geostationary Carbon Observatory (Artist's Illustration). Researchers know that concentrations of greenhouse gases including methane have risen significantly since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1700s. Future satellite instruments will help us identify sources of methane, track its movement through the atmosphere, and plan strategies to decrease emissions.