Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly and Terrestrial Water Storage Anomaly Comparison

Animation showing Terrestrial Water Storage Anomaly (TWSA) data from 2002 to 2015. Browns indicate areas with less ground water than normal and greens are areas with more ground water than normal, which correlates to droughts and floods in these various regions.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. Colorbar showing Terrestrial Water Storage Anomalies (in centimeters). Browns indicate lower than average ground water saturation, whereas greens represent areas with more ground water than normal. A pair of experimental twin satellites called the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment, or "GRACE", were launched in March 2002. Since then they have been collecting gravity measurements which scientists use to derive Terrestrial Water Storage Anomalies (TWSA). TWSA can then be used as an indicator for drought and flood conditions across the globe. For more information on the GRACE mission please visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/Grace/ Related pages

The final animation of the monthly burned area percent shown in the Robinson projection with a colorbar and date overlay A print resolution still image of the monthly burned area percent shown in the Robinson projection with a colorbar and date overlay A print resolution still image of the monthly burned area percent shown in the Robinson projection without the colorbar and date The final animation of the monthly burned area percent shown in the Robinson projection but without the colorbar and date overlay The corresponding date overlay The original animation in lat/lon (or Platte Carree) projection The colorbar with transparency This time series was created using data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) onboard NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites. Burned area is estimated by applying an algorithm that detects rapid changes in visible and infrared surface reflectance imagery. Fires typically darken the surface in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and brighten the surface in several wavelength bands in the shortwave infrared that are sensitive to the surface water content of vegetation. Thermal emissions from actively burning fires also are measured by MODIS and are used to improve the burned area estimates in croplands and other areas where the fire sizes are relatively small. This animation portrays burned area between September 2000 and August 2015 as a percent of the 1/4 degree grid cell that was burned each month. The values on the color bar are on a log scale, so the regions shown in blue and green shades indicate small burned areas while those in red and orange represent a larger percent of the region burned. Beneath the burned area, the seasonal Blue Marble landcover shows the advance and retreat of snow in the northern hemisphere. More information about the Global Fire Emissions Database, including maps of burned area and fire emissions, can be found here. Related pages