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Server Details >
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Url: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/wms?
WMS Version: 1.3.0
Layers: 745
Formats: image/png
Abstract: Web Map Server maintained by the Scientific Visualization Studio at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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3306_24146
2005 Hurricanes: Clouds and Sea Surface Temperature (1024x512 Animation)
This visualization shows sea surface temperatures during most...
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This visualization shows sea surface temperatures during most of the 2005 hurricane season. Overlaid are infrared cloud data, storm track data, and storm name labels. Warm ocean waters provide the heat energy that fuels hurricanes. Notice the correspondence between the storm tracks and the sea surface temperature response; this is particulary noticeable for hurricanes Dennis, Emily, and Katrina, where the hurricanes churn up the ocean so that cooler water rises to the surface. This version shows the entire Atlantic hurricane region and depicts all of the 2005 hurricanes except Zeta, which appeared at the very end of the year.
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3177_21760
Net Radiation Flux Compared to Clouds (1024x512 Animation)
The Earth's climate is determined by energy transfer from...
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The Earth's climate is determined by energy transfer from the sun to the Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. As the Earth rotates, the sun lights up only part of the Earth at a time, and some of that incoming solar energy is reflected and some is absorbed, depending on type of area it lights. The amount of reflection and absorption is critical to the climate. An instrument named CERES orbits the Earth every 99 minutes and measures the reflected solar energy. This animation shows the net radiation flux within view of CERES during 29 orbits on June 20 and 21 of 2003. The net flux is the incoming solar flux minus the outgoing reflected (shortwave) and thermal (longwave) radiation. If the flux in a region is positive, the Earth is being warmed by the sun in that region, while cooling regions have a negative flux. It is clear from the animation that the most intensive heating occurs in ocean regions with few clouds, while the second most intense are cloud-free regions over vegetated land areas. Deserts, cloudy regions, and ice caps all reflect enough solar radiation to reduce the amount of heating. Regions of night are, of course, cooling regions because there is no incoming flux at all.
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3148_21284
Heavy Rainfall Leads to Southern California Mudslides (80x80 Animation)
In January 2005, heavy rains in southern California caused fl...
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In January 2005, heavy rains in southern California caused flooding and mudslides. A flow of moisture known as a 'Pineapple Express' because it originates in the Pacific subtropics near Hawaii can cause severe winter storms in California when conditions are right. NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) observered heavy rainfall near San Diego during a five-day period in January 2005. This visualization shows accumulation of rainfall--each frame shows the total amount of rain since the start of the measurement period.
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3146_21255
Rainfall Accumulation from Hurricane Isabel (320x160 Animation)
Hurricane Isabel generated large amounts of rain over the Atl...
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Hurricane Isabel generated large amounts of rain over the Atlantic ocean as it approached East coast of the United States in September 2003. In fact, unlike many hurricanes, most of the Isabel's rainfall did not occur over land; flooding on land was caused mainly by storm surge. This animation shows accumulation of rainfall from the hurricane--each frame shows the total amount of rain since the start of the measurement period. Rain from other sources has been masked out, so the hurricane track is clearly visible as the storm moves across the Atlantic.
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3144_21247
Global Lightning Flash Rate Density (720x360 Image)
Lightning is a brief but intense electrical discharge between...
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Lightning is a brief but intense electrical discharge between positive and negative regions of a thunderstorm.The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite was designed to study the distribution and variability of total lightning on a global basis. The Optical Transient Detector (OTD) was an earlier lightning detector flying aboard the Microlab-1 spacecraft. The data shown here are compiled from LIS (1998-2002) and OTD (1995-1999) observations. Because each satellite saw only a part of the Earth at any one time, these data use complex algorithms to estimate total flash rate density (number of flashes per square kilometer per year) based on the flashes observed and the amount of time the satellite views each area.
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3143_21314
Low Resolution (144x72 Animation)
Lightning is a brief but intense electrical discharge between...
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Lightning is a brief but intense electrical discharge between positive and negative regions of a thunderstorm. The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite was designed to study the distribution and variability of total lightning on a global basis. The Optical Transient Detector (OTD) was an earlier lightning detector flying aboard the Microlab-1 spacecraft. The data shown here are compiled from LIS (1998-2002) and OTD (1995-1999) observations. Because each satellite saw only a part of the Earth at any one time, these data use complex algorithms to estimate total flash rate based on the flashes observed and the amount of time the satellite views each area.
NOTE: This animation is primarily designed to be used through the Web Mapping Services (WMS) protocol. Each frame in the animation actually represents an accumulation of a number of years of data up through a particular day of the year. Because of a limitation in the WMS protocol, each frame is marked only with a single date representing the last date for which the data was accumulated.
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3143_21314_bg
Background Image for Global Lightning Accumulation (WMS)
Lightning is a brief but intense electrical discharge between...
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Lightning is a brief but intense electrical discharge between positive and negative regions of a thunderstorm. The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite was designed to study the distribution and variability of total lightning on a global basis. The Optical Transient Detector (OTD) was an earlier lightning detector flying aboard the Microlab-1 spacecraft. The data shown here are compiled from LIS (1998-2002) and OTD (1995-1999) observations. Because each satellite saw only a part of the Earth at any one time, these data use complex algorithms to estimate total flash rate based on the flashes observed and the amount of time the satellite views each area.
NOTE: This animation is primarily designed to be used through the Web Mapping Services (WMS) protocol. Each frame in the animation actually represents an accumulation of a number of years of data up through a particular day of the year. Because of a limitation in the WMS protocol, each frame is marked only with a single date representing the last date for which the data was accumulated.
This image can be composited with the previous animation.
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3143_21313
Medium Resolution (720x360 Animation)
Lightning is a brief but intense electrical discharge between...
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Lightning is a brief but intense electrical discharge between positive and negative regions of a thunderstorm. The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite was designed to study the distribution and variability of total lightning on a global basis. The Optical Transient Detector (OTD) was an earlier lightning detector flying aboard the Microlab-1 spacecraft. The data shown here are compiled from LIS (1998-2002) and OTD (1995-1999) observations. Because each satellite saw only a part of the Earth at any one time, these data use complex algorithms to estimate total flash rate based on the flashes observed and the amount of time the satellite views each area.
NOTE: This animation is primarily designed to be used through the Web Mapping Services (WMS) protocol. Each frame in the animation actually represents an accumulation of a number of years of data up through a particular day of the year. Because of a limitation in the WMS protocol, each frame is marked only with a single date representing the last date for which the data was accumulated.
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