A new method for predicting dust and sandstorms using infrared satellite images has been developed by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh in the US. The scientists have been able to determine when destructive sandstorms are likely to occur. They used their methods to accurately forecast a large 2008 dust storm in New Mexico, two […]
Search results for "nasa"
Space Junk to get Tracked by Laser
An Australian company has developed a laser tracking system that will help stop chunks of space debris colliding with spacecraft and satellites in the Earth's orbit. The laser tracking system has previously been used to track satellites, but Electric Optic Systems said it could now locate and track debris as small as 10 centimetres […]
GPS Used to Predict Tsunamis
A team from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California has successfully demonstrated a new tsunami prediction system. The system, which uses real-time data from the agency’s Global Differential GPS network, successfully predicted the size of a tsunami following an 8.8 magnitude Chilean earthquake in February. The prediction system combines global and regional real-time data […]
Crowdsourcing on the Moon
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been sending detailed images of the moon from its 50km orbit to scientists since June 2009. The images provide remarkably detailed views of the lunar surface, including features as small as 50cm. Over the course of its mission, LRO is expected to generate 70-100 terabytes of data – […]
New Technique Distinguishes Smoke From Clouds
A group of US scientists has discovered a way to distinguish polluting smoke from clouds. They have developed a multi-spectral approach using remote sensing measurements from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer. The scientists are based at George Mason University and NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre. The researchers have identified smoke by filtering out other […]
Clark Labs Data Archive
Clark Labs has released a DVD archive of monthly global Normalised Difference Vegetation Index and Enhanced Vegetation Index MODIS data. The data was processed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre from the Terra sensor, and projected on a 0.05 degree climate modelling grid. The DVD contains more than 3GB of data from the […]
Air Traffic Control Moves to GNSS
About ten years ago it became clear that in many parts of the world airspace was approaching saturation point. Air transportation was plagued by delays, and safety had begun to be compromised. The existing outmoded groundbased radar systems, already stretched to the limit, were hardly able to cope. In the US, there are around 50,000 […]
Cyclone Sidr Devastates Bangladesh
On 15 November 2007, a category 4 cyclone, called Cyclone Sidr, came ashore in Bangladesh. Wind speeds reached 225 km/h; some waves were eight metres high. More than 3200 people died. Bangladesh is a prisoner of its geography. Three rivers, the Brahmaputra, the Ganges and the Meghna, rise in the Himalaya mountains before they converge […]
Inside GEOSS
PARVIZ TARIKHI At the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, delegates highlighted the urgency of co-ordinated Earth observation. The following year, the meeting of the Group of Eight leading industrialised countries (the G8) in Evian, France, gave shape to this urgency by setting priorities for Earth observation. These meetings recognised that international […]
