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In the early 21st century, planet Earth will be facing global-scale environmental changes, such as global warming, sea level rising, deforestation, desertification, ozone depletion, with a profoundly negative impact on the Earth environment. And yet, we do not have enough much information of those phenomena. Climate change in particular is the one.
To elucidate the mechanism of climate change in particular, which is the one most profoundly concerned among the changes foresaid, NASA promotes Earth Observing System Project (EOS Project) where systems has been/will be developed for observing the Earth from space by satellites and of data processing and various research programs for data application has been/will be conducted.
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Water and Energy Cycles |
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- Cloud formation, dissipation, and radiative prop-erties, which influence response of the atmo-sphere togreenhouse forcing
- Large-scale hydrology and moisture processes, including precipitation and evaporation.
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Oceans |
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- Exchange of energy, water, and chemicals be-tween the ocean and atmosphere, and between the upper layers of the ocean and deep ocean (in-cludes sea ice and formation of bottom water).
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Chemistry of Troposphere and Lower Strato-sphere |
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- Links to the hydrologic cycle and ecosystems, transformations of greenhouse gases in the at-mosphere, and interactions inducing climate change.
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Land Surface Hydrology and Ecosystem Processes |
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- Improved estimates of runoff over the land sur-face and into the oceans.
- Sources and sinks of greenhouse gases. Exchange of moisture and energy between the land surface and atmosphere.
- Changes in land cover.
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Glaciers and Polar Ice Sheets |
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- Predictions of sea level and global water balance.
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Chemistry of the Middle and Upper Stratosphere |
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- Chemical reactions, solar-atmosphere relations, and sources and sinks of radiatively important gases.
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Solid Earth |
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- Volcanoes and their role in climatic change.
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Among 24 sensors planned as part of instruments for use in the EOS Project, ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer), MODIS (Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectro radiometer), MOPIT (Measurements Of Pollution In the Troposphere), MISR (Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer) and CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) are loaded onto the platform of Terra, the first satellite in the Project. |
