Satellite mapping - getting better all the time
From the
Goodard Space Flight Center with a hat tip to
Crumb Trail:
bq. Satellites and computers are getting so good, that now they can help study human activity on scales as local as ones own neighborhood, and may answer questions concerning how local conditions affect global processes, like water and energy cycles.
And more:
bq. Until recently, scientists could not model detailed, local interactions between land and atmosphere on the global scale because satellites did not provide a close enough view of Earth, and computers were too limited. But with cheaper high-performance computers, and with satellite technologies like the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the Terra and Aqua satellites, scientists are working to predict energy and water cycles for the entire globe at a scale of 1 kilometer (km) (.6 miles). That means computer models can now supply information about processes that occur locally, like within neighborhoods where people live, for example. The global LIS has been implemented at 5 km (3.1 miles) resolution and will be implemented at 1 km resolution in February, 2004.
And more:
bq. The LIS case study offers an example of the future of climate-related computer models, where models will incorporate the land-atmosphere processes created by local land surfaces. By including local energy and water cycles in computer models, people will be able to apply predictions to climate and weather, agricultural forecasting, water resource management, hazard mitigation and more.
This is amazing technology - with a 1KM resolution, we can see the results of people's interactions with the environment. Get your neighbors to plant a couple trees on their parking strips? See the cooling effect in a few years.
I'm taking bets on whether the global warming people will embrace this new technology for their cause... ??? Hello???
Posted by DaveH at January 14, 2004 10:06 AM