“See in this time-lapse how the Sentinel-3B satellite was prepared for its liftoff on 25 April 2018 from Plesetsk in Russia.
Sentinel-3B joined its twin, Sentinel-3A, in orbit. The pairing of identical satellites provides the best coverage and data delivery for Europe’s Copernicus programme – the largest environmental monitoring programme in the world. The satellites carry the same suite of cutting-edge instruments to measure oceans, land, ice and atmosphere.”
“Earth’s energy budget is a metaphor for the delicate equilibrium between energy received from the Sun versus energy radiated back out in to space. Research into precise details of Earth’s energy budget is vital for understanding how the planet’s climate may be changing, as well as variabilities in solar energy output.
Missions like NASA’s TSIS will help scientists keep a close watch. NASA’s Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor, or TSIS-1, is a mission to measure the sun’s energy input to Earth. Various satellites have captured a continuous record of this solar energy input since 1978. TSIS-1 sensors advance previous measurements, enabling scientists to study the sun’s natural influence on Earth’s ozone layer, atmospheric circulation, clouds, and ecosystems. These observations are essential for a scientific understanding of the effects of solar variability on the Earth system.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center manages the project. The University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) built both instruments and provides mission operations. The International Space Station carries TSIS-1.”
Credits Video: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Michael Starobin
“GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) is continuing GRACE’s legacy of tracking Earth’s water movement across the planet. Monitoring changes in ice sheets and glaciers, underground water storage, the amount of water in large lakes and rivers, and changes in sea level provides a unique view of Earth’s climate and has far-reaching benefits for its people.”
“Between 2002 and 2016, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) tracked the movement of freshwater around the planet. NASA scientists used GRACE data to identify regional trends of freshwater movement, and combined that information with data from other satellites, climate models and precipitation measurements to determine the causes of major regional trends in freshwater storage.”
Credits Music: Iron Throne by Anthony Giordano [SACEM]
Credits Video: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Kathryn Mersmann
“Apart from Antarctica, Patagonia is home to the biggest glaciers in the southern hemisphere, but some are retreating faster than anywhere else in the world. This is because the weather is relatively warm and these glaciers typically terminate in fjords and lakes, exacerbating surface melting and causing them to flow faster and lose ice as icebergs at their margins. Traditionally, it has been very difficult to map exactly how fast these glaciers are changing. However, a new way of processing ESA CryoSat swath data now makes it possible to map these glaciers in fine detail. CryoSat has revealed that between 2011 and 2017, there was widespread thinning, particularly in Patagonia’s more northern ice fields. The Jorge Montt glacier, which flows down to the ocean, retreated 2.5 km and lost about 2.2 Gt a year. In contrast, Pio XI, the largest glacier in South America, advanced and gained mass at a rate of about 0.67 Gt a year. However, over the six-year period, the glaciers overall lost mass at a rate of over 21 Gt a year. This loss is adding about 0.06 mm a year to sea level.”
“Arctic sea ice reached its annual maximum extent on March 17, according to analysis by NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center. The 2018 extent reached 5.59 million square miles, only about 23,000 square miles larger than the lowest maximum on record, in 2017.
This continues a trend of shrinking sea ice, with the four lowest Arctic sea ice maximum extents on record in the last four years. Dr. Claire Parkinson explains how and why NASA studies Arctic sea ice.”
Music Credit: Children’s Carousel by Maxi Schulze [GEMA], Moritz Limmer [GEMA]
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