Briefing to Celebrate 40 Years of Continuous Earth Observations

Steve Cole

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-0918

stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. EDT, Monday, July 23, to highlight the accomplishments of the world's longest-running Earth-observing satellite program -- Landsat. The briefing will be held at the Newseum at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, and feature extensive imagery of our changing planet and local U.S. landscapes.

In cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and its science agency, USGS, NASA launched the first Landsat satellite July 23, 1972. The resulting 40-year archive of Earth observations from the Landsat fleet forms an impartial, comprehensive, and easily accessed register of human and natural changes on the land. This information supports the improvement of human and environmental health, biodiversity, energy and water management, urban planning, disaster recovery and crop monitoring.

During the briefing, NASA and USGS will announce the 10 most significant images from the Landsat record, the U.S. regions selected for the "My American Landscape" contest showing local environmental changes, and the top five Landsat "Earth As Art" images selected in an online poll.

The panelists for the briefing are:

-- Anne Castle, assistant secretary for water and science, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington

-- Waleed Abdalati, chief scientist, NASA Headquarters, Washington

-- Jeff Masek, NASA Landsat project scientist, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

-- Tom Loveland, USGS senior scientist, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Sioux Falls, S.D.

-- Jim Irons, Landsat Data Continuity Mission project scientist, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

-- Roger Auch, research geographer, EROS Center, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Media may ask questions of the panelists during the briefing. Media wanting to attend the briefing must send their name, affiliation and telephone number to Steve Cole at stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov no later than 4 p.m. EDT, July 20. Reporters unable to attend the briefing in person can ask questions during the event via Twitter using the hashtag #asknasa. NASA Television and the agency's Web site will provide live briefing coverage.

For information on receiving NASA TV, go to http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/digital.html.

For NASA TV streaming video, scheduling and downlink information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

The Landsat program is jointly managed by NASA and DOI/USGS. NASA is preparing to launch the next Landsat satellite in February 2013. For more information about the Landsat program, visit http://www.nasa.gov/landsat and http://landsat.usgs.gov.

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NSF Partners With U.S. and International Agencies to Foster Research on Sustainability in the Arctic

Cohesive approach is seen as key to achieving resiliency in the shared environment of the international Arctic

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Polar Programs leadership announced a partnership with several federal agencies and a consortium of French science agencies to foster research related to the sustainability of human, built, and environmental systems in the Arctic.

The Arctic Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (ArcSEES) solicitation was developed as part of the Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES) portfolio by NSF in collaboration with several U.S. and international agencies, including the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), which represents a consortium of French scientific agencies. These partnerships will bring a broad range of expertise to bear on pressing research questions in Arctic sustainability and will underscore the importance of a cohesive approach to achieving resiliency in the shared environment of the international Arctic.

"The rapidity of environmental change in the Arctic provides a dynamic backdrop against which researchers can test sustainability science theories, engineering, and models where results have immediate use," said Erica Key, Arctic Observing Network Program Director in NSF's Office of Polar Programs (OPP).

"NSF staff, led by Dr. Key, have worked long and hard to bring basic research and regulatory agencies together in sponsoring this ArcSEES competition," said Kelly Falkner, acting director of OPP. "The complex problems presented by a rapidly changing Arctic demand such new approaches to research in order to provide vital information to stakeholders and communities both within and outside of the Arctic."

"The Department of the Interior is very excited about the possibility of funding additional research related to the Arctic through this historic partnership, which includes not only BOEM but also the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service," said David J. Hayes, deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Interior. "BOEM is one of many federal agencies with a role in making decisions about offshore energy development in the Arctic. Given the unknowns of the Arctic environment, continuous research to develop the best science is central to making decisions. This knowledge is integrated across several disciplines and a number of considerations that affect the economy, safety, protecting the environment, and facilitating shared use of limited resources."

Interest and investment in the sustainability of the Arctic extends well south of the Arctic Circle. The National Institute for Earth Sciences and Astronomy (INSU) at CNRS, which is mandated to coordinate the French research in the Arctic, is encouraged that ArcSEES will allow a stronger partnership between French and U.S. scientists engaged in this particular field.

ArcSEES is a multi-year, interdisciplinary program that encourages research into the resilience of the natural, built, and living Arctic systems. The program also welcomes the development of practical, sustainable solutions in collaboration with northern communities affected by rapid environmental changes, shifts in their ways of life, coupled with economic potential associated with natural resource development. These challenges and opportunities for co-managing a sustainable future have global relevance, and approaches developed to adapt or mitigate these changes could have much broader influence.

This initial round of ArcSEES grants will focus on four key thematic areas: the natural and living environment; the built environment; natural-resource development, and governance. A longer than usual proposal window has been granted to allow interdisciplinary groups to form around these themes and develop proposal ideas with communities, industry, and collaborating agency scientists.

Proposals will be accepted until September 14, 2012.  Pending availability of funds, up to $12 million USD will be available for proposals responding to this solicitation. NSF anticipates making five to 15 awards as standard or continuing grants. The number of awards and average award size and duration are subject to the availability of funds. Meritorious proposals may be funded by one or more agencies at the option of the agencies, not the proposer.

Two webinars are currently planned to discuss ArcSEES: one to be held by the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy on June 6th at 2 p.m. ET and another by EPA's Region 10 Tribal Trust and Assistance Unit in conjunction with the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals at Northern Arizona University on June 20th at 1 p.m. ET. Additional information on the solicitation is also available online.

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Landsat Contest Offers View of Local Landscape Change from Space

Steve Cole

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-0918

stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the United States' Landsat Earth-observing program, NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are holding a contest that will offer winners customized satellite views of changing local landscapes.

All U.S. citizens are eligible to enter the "My American Landscape: A Space Chronicle of Change" contest. Winners will be announced on July 23 at a Landsat Program anniversary news conference in Washington, which will be carried live on NASA Television. The submissions deadline is Wednesday, June 6.

The Landsat Program has created the longest continuous global record of the Earth's surface observed from space. The images are a critical ingredient in decision making for agriculture, climate research, disaster mitigation, ecosystems, forestry, human health, and water management.

To enter the contest, send NASA an email describing the local landscape changes you are interested in where you live, and what you hope to learn about them from Landsat's four decades of observations from space. Scientists will review the Landsat data archive for the six areas selected and show the changes observed at the July 23 event.

For more information on the contest and details on how to enter, visit http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/landsat_contest.html.

The first Landsat satellite rocketed into space on July 23, 1972. The Landsat Program was our nation's first step toward studying in a comprehensive way what was happening across the American landscape and around the world. Landsat satellites have documented our planet ever since in great detail, giving us valuable information about Earth's surface, its ecosystems and the impacts of human activity and natural disasters. NASA is preparing to launch the next Landsat satellite in 2013, which will be turned over to USGS for operations and data distribution.

For more information about the Landsat Program, visit http://www.nasa.gov/landsat.

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NASA Tests GPS Monitoring System for Big U.S. Earthquakes

Steve Cole

Headquarters, Washington                                   

202-358-0918

stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov

 

Alan Buis

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

818- 354-0474

alan.d.buis@jpl.nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- The space-based technology that lets GPS-equipped motorists constantly update their precise location will undergo a major test of its ability to rapidly pinpoint the location and magnitude of strong earthquakes across the western United States. Results from the new Real-time Earthquake Analysis for Disaster (READI) Mitigation Network soon could be used to assist prompt disaster response and more accurate tsunami warnings.

The new research network builds on decades of technology development supported by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, NASA, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The network uses real-time GPS measurements from nearly 500 stations throughout California, Oregon and Washington. When a large earthquake is detected, GPS data are used to automatically calculate its vital characteristics including location, magnitude and details about the fault rupture.

"With the READI network we are enabling continued development of real-time GPS technologies to advance national and international early warning disaster systems," said Craig Dobson, natural hazards program manager in the Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This prototype system is a significant step towards realizing the goal of providing Pacific basin-wide natural hazards capability around the Pacific 'Ring of Fire.'"

Accurate and rapid identification of earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 and stronger is critical for disaster response and mitigation efforts, especially for tsunamis. Calculating the strength of a tsunami requires detailed knowledge of the size of the earthquake and associated ground movements. Acquiring this type of data for very large earthquakes is a challenge for traditional seismological instruments that measure ground shaking.

High-precision, second-by-second measurements of ground displacements using GPS have been shown to reduce the time needed to characterize large earthquakes and to increase the accuracy of subsequent tsunami predictions. After the capabilities of the network have been fully demonstrated, it is intended to be used by appropriate natural hazard monitoring agencies. USGS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are responsible for detecting and issuing warnings on earthquakes and tsunamis, respectively.

"By using GPS to measure ground deformation from large earthquakes, we can reduce the time needed to locate and characterize the damage from large seismic events to several minutes," said Yehuda Bock, director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Orbit and Permanent Array Center in La Jolla, Calif. "We now are poised to fully test the prototype system this year."

The READI network is a collaboration of many institutions including Scripps at the University of California in San Diego; Central Washington University in Ellensburg; the University of Nevada in Reno; California Institute of Technology/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena; UNAVCO in Boulder, Colo.; and the University of California at Berkeley.

NASA, NSF, USGS, and other federal, state, and local partners support the GPS stations in the network, including the EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory, the Pacific Northwest Geodetic Array, the Bay Area Regional Deformation Array and the California Real-Time Network.

"The relatively small investments in GPS-based natural hazards systems have revolutionized the way we view the Earth and allowed us to develop this prototype system with great potential benefits for the infrastructure and population in earthquake-prone states in the western United States," said Frank Webb, Earth Science Advanced Mission Concepts program manager at JPL.

The READI network is the outgrowth of nearly 25 years of U.S. government research efforts to develop the capabilities and applications of GPS technology. The GPS satellite system was created by the Department of Defense for military and ultimately civil positioning needs. NASA leveraged this investment by supporting development of a global GPS signal receiving network to improve the accuracy and utility of GPS positioning information. Today that capability provides real-time, pinpoint positioning and timing for a wide variety of uses from agriculture to Earth exploration.

"Conventional seismic networks have consistently struggled to rapidly identify the true size of great earthquakes during the last decade," said Timothy Melbourne, director of the Central Washington University's Pacific Northwest Geodetic Array. "This GPS system is more likely to provide accurate and rapid estimates of the location and amount of fault slip to fire, utility, medical and other first-response teams."

The GPS earthquake detection capability was first demonstrated by NASA-supported research on a major 2004 Sumatra quake conducted by Geoffrey Blewitt and colleagues at the University of Nevada in Reno.

For more information about NASA programs, visit http://www.nasa.gov.

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