NASA Looks Back at 50 Years of Earth Day

This 3D volumetric visualization shows a global view of the methane emission and transport between December 1, 2017 and November 30, 2018. This visualizaion of the rotating global view is designed to be played in a continuous loop.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. The global methane visualization alone in OpenExr format.(Note: This frame set was converted to the sRGB color space on 6/16/2020) A high resolution still of the global methane on January 26, 2018 with transparency. The colorbar with transparency The date sequence alone in OpenExr format.(Note: This frame set was converted to the sRGB color space on 6/16/2020) The background sequence alone in OpenExr format.(Note: This frame set was converted to the sRGB color space on 6/16/2020) The overlay with the colorbar and the exaggeration. THis version shows the volumetric global methane emission and transport between Dec 1 and Nov 30. It is designed to show methane emissions greater than 1800 parts per billion. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that traps heat 28 times more effectively than carbon dioxide over a 100-year timescale. Concentrations of methane have increased by more than 150% since industrial activities and intensive agriculture began. After carbon dioxide, methane is responsible for about 20% of climate change in the twentieth century. Methane is produced under conditions where little to no oxygen is available. About 30% of methane emissions are produced by wetlands, including ponds, lakes and rivers. Another 20% is produced by agriculture, due to a combination of livestock, waste management and rice cultivation. Activities related to oil, gas, and coal extraction release an additional 30%. The remainder of methane emissions come from minor sources such as wildfire, biomass burning, permafrost, termites, dams, and the ocean. Scientists around the world are working to better understand the budget of methane with the ultimate goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving prediction of environmental change. For additional information, see the Global Methane Budget.The NASA SVS visualization presented here shows the complex patterns of methane emissions produced around the globe and throughout the year from the different sources described above. The visualization was created using output from the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, GMAO, GEOS modeling system, developed and maintained by scientists at NASA. Wetland emissions were estimated by the LPJ-wsl dynamic global vegetation model, which simulates the temperature and moisture dependent methane emission processes using a variety of satellite data to determine what parts of the globe are covered by wetlands. Other methane emission sources come from inventories of human activity. The height of Earth’s atmosphere and topography have been vertically exaggerated and appear approximately 50-times higher than normal in order to show the complexity of the atmospheric flow while the bathymetry below sea level is exaggerated by 11.6-times. Outflow from different regions result from different sources. For example, high methane concentrations over South America are driven by wetland emissions while over Asia, emissions reflect a mix of agricultural and industrial activities. Emissions are transported through the atmosphere as weather systems move and mix methane around the globe. In the atmosphere, methane is eventually removed by reactive gases that convert it to carbon dioxide. Understanding the three-dimensional distribution of methane is important for NASA scientists planning observations that sample the atmosphere in very different ways. Satellites like GeoCarb, a planned geostationary mission to observe both carbon dioxide and methane, look down from space and will estimate the total number of methane molecules in a column of air. Aircraft, like those launched during NASA’s Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABOVE) sample the atmosphere along very specific flight lines, providing additional details about the processes controlling methane emissions at high latitudes. Atmospheric models help place these different types of measurements in context so that scientists can refine estimates of sources and sinks, understand the processes controlling them and reduce uncertainty in future projections of carbon-climate feedbacks. Related pages

Push in from the far side of the Moon to Apollo-8 take the "Earthrise" photo; then push in to NASA's Earth observing fleet in 1970 (the first Earth Day), then transition to the Earth observing fleet in 2020 (the 50th anniversary of Earth Day)This video is also available on our YouTube channel. This visualization was created as an introductory shot to video celebrating the 50th anniersary of Earth Day. The camera approaches the moon from the far side, with Earth behind the moon. The camera moves over the limb revealing Apollo-8, when Bill Anders took the iconic "Earthrise" photo that inspired Earth Day and the environmental movement.The camera then pushes in quickly to the Earth revealing the Earth observing spacecraft that were in orbit in 1970, the year of the first Earth Day. Finally, the orbits from other years are flashed on until we reach the orbits for 2020, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Related pages

Ocean currents from the ECCO-2 model: starting underwater, then pulling back to see the Gulf Stream, pulling back farther revealing the Earth observing fleetThis video is also available on our YouTube channel. The ocean currents are colored by depth from white (5 meters below the surface) down to dark blue (5906 meters below the surface). The color bar is non-linear; there are more levels near the surface than deeper. This visualization was created to be one of the final shots of a video celebrating the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The camera starts under water off the coast of the Eastern United States showing layers of ocean currents from a computational model called ECCO-2. The camera slowly pulls back revealing the Gulf Stream, one of the most powerful ocean currents on Earth. The camera continues to pull back revealing NASA's Earth observing fleet. Related pages

Sea Surface Temperature - composited version with all layers includedThis video is also available on our YouTube channel. Sea Surface Temperature (SST) data layer with alpha Dates layer with alpha Background layer Sea Surface Temperature color bar: color range is blue - cyan -gray - yellow - red; value range is 0 to 32 degrees Celcius This visualization shows sea surface temperature (SST) data of the oceans from January 2016 through March 2020. The data set used is from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Multi-scale Ultra-high Resolution (MUR) Sea Surface Temperature Analysis. The ocean temperatures are displayed between 0 degrees celcius (C) and 32 degrees C.This visualization was created in part to support Earth Day 2020 media releases. Related pages

Global Biosphere data from 1997 through 2017 with corresponding colorbars and date stamp.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. Rotating globe showing the Earth's biosphere over a 20 year period. Date overlay. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) colorbar. More commonly known as Land Vegetation. Ocean Chlorophyll colorbar. By monitoring the color of reflected light via satellite, scientists can determine how successfully plant life is photosynthesizing. A measurement of photosynthesis is essentially a measurement of successful growth, and growth means successful use of ambient carbon. This data visualization represents twenty years' worth of data taken primarily by SeaStar/SeaWiFS, Aqua/MODIS, and Suomi NPP/VIIRS satellite sensors, showing the abundance of life both on land and in the sea. In the ocean, dark blue to violet represents warmer areas where there is little life due to lack of nutrients, and greens and reds represent cooler nutrient-rich areas. The nutrient-rich areas include coastal regions where cold water rises from the sea floor bringing nutrients along and areas at the mouths of rivers where the rivers have brought nutrients into the ocean from the land. On land, green represents areas of abundant plant life, such as forests and grasslands, while tan and white represent areas where plant life is sparse or non-existent, such as the deserts in Africa and the Middle East and snow-cover and ice at the poles. Related pages

IMERG Visualization, With LabelsThis video is also available on our YouTube channel. IMERG Visualization, No Labels This visualization shows the IMERG precipitation product for April, May, and June of 2014.This visualization was created in part to support Earth Day 2020 media releases. Related pages

NDVI Seasonal Cycles, With LabelsThis video is also available on our YouTube channel. NDVI Seasonal Cycles, No Labels This visualization shows the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) over seaveral seasonal cycles. This NDVI dataset is part of the Next Generation Blue Marble product.This visualization was created in part to support Earth Day 2020 media releases. Related pages

GRACE Groundwater Storage, With LabelsThis video is also available on our YouTube channel. GRACE Groundwater Storage, No Labels This visualization shows groundwater storage as measured by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) between August 2005 and June 2014 (the date range for the visualization was chosen for convenience rather than scientific significance).This visualization was created in part to support Earth Day 2020 media releases. Related pages

GEOS-5 Modeled Cloud Cover, With LabelsThis video is also available on our YouTube channel. GEOS-5 Modeled Cloud Cover, No Labels This visualization shows cloud cover as modeled by the GEOS-5 atmospheric model, using observations as its input, over the course of three days. The time period repeats halfway through the animation.This visualization was created in part to support Earth Day 2020 media releases. Related pages

CERES Net TOA Radiation, WIth LabelsThis video is also available on our YouTube channel. CERES Net TOA Radiation, No Labels Colorbar This visualization shows top-of-atmosphere (TOA) net radiation for the Earth, as measured from space by the CERES instrument, for the period of August 2005 to July 2014 (this period was chosen for convenience rather than for scientific significance). The net radiation is the difference between absorbed solar radiation and outgoing longwave radiation.This visualization was created in part to support Earth Day 2020 media releases. Related pages

Sea Surface Salinity This visualization shows sea surface salinity (SSS) data of the oceans from August 2011 through July 2014. The data set used is from the Aquarius satellite. Aquarius is a collaboration between NASA and the Space Agency of Argentina to measure global sea surface salinity (the amount of dissolved salts in water). Measuring salinity can help us better understand the water cycle and can also lead to improved climate models.This visualization was created in part to support Earth Day 2020 media releases. Related pages

This is the SVS Demo Reel submitted to SIGGRAPH 2021.Coming soon to our YouTube channel. Music Credit:"Always A Way" by Stefan Rodescu [SACEM], Yannick Kalfayan [SACEM], Universal Production Music Related pages