OCEAN 320 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Pacific Decadal Oscillation, Ocean Current, Bathymetry
Unit 2: Discovery of the Oceans, Satellites, Sea Floor
Video: William Anders
• Apollo astronaut; first man to orbit the moon
• Dec 21 1968: Saturn 5 rocket lifts off; meant to go around the moon
o Anders snapped dramatic photo of earth rising around the moon
• Became CEO of general dynamics
Hurricane Camille
• First major storm to be viewed and tracked by satellite (1969 Nimbus-3)
o Winds over 200mph and 259 people killed
• Ravaged the gulf states; surges up to 28ft
The Mission to Planet Earth
• multispectral space imagery: can be processed to reveal patterns, rocks types, alteration
zones, and valuable minerals
o rocks absorb or radiate energy variably across the electromagnetic spectrum;
human eyes incapable of seeing without technology
• Satellite data allows us to map the planet
o “Mission to Planet Earth” funded by NASA in the 1970’s, based on missions in
the 1960’s
o Different rocks/deposits come up as different colors on these satellite maps;
amounts, weathering, etc all play a part in how the map looks; allows scientists to
track all earths changes
o We can only see these multi-spectral images because colors have been assigned
by the technician/creative genius after digital tweeking
o Birds, however, can see ultraviolet light; what is the advantage? Why?
• Maps are data: sometimes multilayered, each data point is information
o GIS (Geographic Information Systems): shows the possibilities of merging data
(in real time) with maps in a graphic display that is easier to understand and
analyze
o Google Earth comes out, even more useful and accessible
TOPEX/Poseidon: Ocean Mapping from Space
• 1992: Satellite TOPEX/Poseidon starts to use Radar Altimetry apparatus to measure sea
surface height
o Maps changing in elevation of sea surface by bouncing radar waves off the ocean
and measuring the return time to the satellite
o Satellite knows its precise altitude and position using ground based lasers and
now GPS
o technology then used to map changes in ocean temperature and ocean currents
over time
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