[MUSIC]
WELCOME TO EARTH EXPEDITIONS- AN IN DEPTH LOOK AT HOW NASA STUDIES EARTH, BEYOND SATELLITES.
THE VIEW FROM SPACE GIVES US A GLOBAL PICTURE, BUT WE GO CLOSER TO THE GROUND TO GET A GRANULAR
VIEW OF WHAT’S GOING ON BY USING SHIPS, AIRCRAFT, GROUND STATIONS AND OUR OWN EYES.
WE CALL THESE CLOSER LOOKS “FIELD CAMPAIGNS”.
NASA HAS A LONG HISTORY OF FIELD CAMPAIGNS.
JUST IN THE PAST MONTHS, NASA SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN ALL OVER THE WORLD—FROM THE GLACIERS
IN GREENLAND TO THE FORESTS OF SOUTH KOREA, TO THE CRASHING WAVES OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC.
WE’RE GETTING THE DATA THAT IS REVEALING THE SECRETS ABOUT OUR CHANGING PLANET.
ALOHA!
AND WELCOME BACK TO NASA’S EARTH EXPEDITIONS.
TODAY WE’RE GOING TO HAWAII TO STUDY ONE OF THE MOST DYNAMIC AND EXCITING PARTS OF
THE EARTH SYSTEM, CORAL REEFS.
THEY’RE A SOURCE FOR FOOD, MEDICAL ADVANCES, TOURISM.
AND THEY’RE AMAZING—HARD CORALS HAVE ACTUALLY OUTLIVED DINOSAURS!
IF YOU SEARCH ONLINE FOR “CORAL REEF IMAGES” YOU PROBABLY THINK WE KNOW A LOT ABOUT THEM.
WE SIMPLE DON’T HAVE ENOUGH DATA TO UNDERSTAND WHICH IMPACTS TO THE REEF ARE THE MOST DAMAGING.
AND THAT MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO FIGURE OUT HOW REEFS ARE GOING TO CHANGE IN THE FUTURE.
SO THAT’S WHY WE’RE SENDING OUT NASA’S MISSION APPROPRIATELY NAMED CORAL, THE CORAL
REEF AIRBORNE LABORATORY.
CORAL WILL LOOK AT HOW REEFS ARE RESPONDING TO OUR CHANGE GOING ON IN OUR OCEANS RIGHT
NOW.
WITH TEAMS HIGH IN THE AIR AND DIVERS DOWN IN THE OCEAN.
TO LEARN MORE, LET’S HEAR FROM MICHELLE IN HAWAII.
[MUSIC]
HEY EVERYBODY.
MY NAME IS MICHELLE GIERACH, AND I AM THE PROJECT SCIENTIST FOR THE CORAL REEF AIRBORNE
LABORATORY, OR CORAL MISSION.
RIGHT NOW WE ARE AT AIR SERVICE HAWAII WITH THE HEART AND SOUL OF THE CORAL MISSION WHICH
IS THE TEMPUS SUPPLIED SOLUTIONS GULF STREAM IV, OR G4.
WHAT MAKES THIS AIRCRAFT SO IMPORTANT TO CORAL IS WHAT IT HAS WITHIN, INSIDE THE PLANE.
IT IS THE PORTABLE REMOTE IMAGING SPECTROMETER, OR PRISM INSTRUMENT, AND IT SEES THROUGH THE
BOTTOM OF THE PLANE TO ASSES CORAL REEF CONDITION AT 28,000 FEET ABOVE THE OCEAN SURFACE.
WE ARE IN HAWAII AS PART OF, ONE OF OUR FIELD CAMPAIGNS, SPECIFICALLY OUR OPERATIONAL READINESS
TEST IN WHICH WE HAVE AN IN-WATER TEAM IN KANEOHE BAY TAKING OBSERVATIONS.
WE’LL HAVE THE G4 FLYING OVER COLLECTING OBSERVATIONS.
THE TWO TOGETHER PROVIDES AN INDICATION OF WHAT THE CORAL REEF CONDITION IS WITHIN KANEOHE
BAY.
AND THIS IS, SORT OF THE NEXUS OF CORAL - THE IN-WATER WITH THE AIRCRAFT TO GIVE A BETTER
UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT ARE OUR CORAL REEFS CURRENTLY UNDERGOING, AND HOW WILL THEY CHANGE
IN RESPECT TO CLIMATE.
[SWOOSH]
SO THIS MISSION IS GOING TO HELP US UNDERSTAND CORALS A LOT BETTER THAN WE KNOW RIGHT NOW
YEAH AND I THINK SOMETHING PEOPLE NEED TO REALIZE IS THAT THOSE CORALS ARE DYNAMIC FEATURES
YOU KNOW THEY CAN LIKE SHRINK AND GROW JUST A NATURAL THINGS, THE FORCE THINGS HAPPENING
IN CLIMATE RIGHT NOW THEY'RE CAUSING MASSIVE CHANGES AND WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WE NEED
TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY ARE CONNECTING UP TO THE CORALS AND THAT’S WHY THE CORAL MISSION
IS SO IMPORTANT.
YEAH IT’S VERY UNEXPECTED SO EARLIER WE ACTUALLY DID ANOTHER MISSION OCEAN MELTING
GREENLAND TO MEASURE GLACIERS.
SO HOW IS CORAL AND THESE GLACIERS IN GREENLAND SIMILAR?
YEAH SO YOU THINK ABOUT IT THE OCEAN IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL COMPONENTS OF THE EARTH
SYSTEM IT STORES A LOT OF HEAT AND IN THE CASE OF OCEANS MELTING GREENLAND OR EVEN UNDERSTANDING
THE REEFS WE’RE DOING A COMBINATION OF THINGS, WE GOT THESE SATELLITES GOING ACROSS THE SKY
YOU KNOW TAKING PICTURES LOOKING DOWN AND THEN WE HAVE OUR AIRPLANES YOU KNOW THE AIRPLANES
GOING ACROSS AT THE LOWER LEVEL AND THEY’RE DOING THINGS LIKE IN OCEAN MELTING GREENLAND
YOU'RE ACTUALLY DROPPING LITTLE SENSORS INTO THE OCEAN THAT ACTUALLY PUT A STRING OUT TO
UNDERSTAND THE TEMPERATURE AND THE COMPOSITION BUT THEN FOR ALL THESE MISSIONS TOO WE PUT
PEOPLE RIGHT DOWN IN THE WATER IN BOATS WE PUT PEOPLE OVER THE SIDE AND ALL THIS STUFF
HAS TO COME IN CONCERT TO HELP US REALLY UNDERSTAND THE EARTH SYSTEM.
RIGHT, RIGHT.
EVEN COMPUTER MODELS AT THE END OF THE DAY WHICH IS WHAT WE PUT THIS INTO
SO SAY YOU’RE YOUNG PERSON IN HIGH SCHOOL OR COLLEGE, AND YOU WANT TO LEARN HOW TO BE
A SCIENTIST INVOLVED WITH THESE MISSIONS?
HOW DOES NASA HELP?
NASA IS ALL ABOUT STEM EDUCATION.
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS ARE THE BASIS FOR WHAT NASA DOES, SO WE HAVE
PROGRAMS LIKE THE NASA STUDENT AIRBORNE RESEARCH PROGRAM THAT HELP GET THE CAREER BALL ROLLING.
LET’S HEAR FROM EMILY, OUT AT NASA’S ARMSTRONG FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER IN PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA
FOR MORE DETAILS.
[MUSIC] HI, I’M EMILY SCHALLER, AND I’M THE PROJECT
MANAGER FOR A NASA SUMMER INTERNSHIP CALLED THE STUDENT AIRBORNE RESEARCH PROGRAM, OR
NASA SARP.
I’M HERE AT NASA ARMSTRONG FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER IN PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS A MASSIVE HANGAR FOR NASA’S FLYING LABORATORIES, INCLUDING THIS
PLANE, THE DC-8, WHICH IS USED FOR EARTH SCIENCE RESEARCH ALL OVER THE WORLD.
THIRTY-TWO STUDENTS FROM THIRTY-TWO DIFFERENT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES FROM ACROSS THE
UNITED STATES JUST FLEW ONBOARD THE DC-8 OVER SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL CALIFORNIA.
SARP IS AN OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME.
STUDENTS GET AN END-TO-END, HANDS-ON RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN ALL ASPECTS OF AN AIRBORNE EARTH
SCIENCE CAMPAIGN.
THEY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK SIDE-BY-SIDE WITH NASA SCIENTISTS, PILOTS AND ENGINEERS.
THIS YEAR, STUDENTS ARE COLLECTING DATA WITH A SUITE OF INSTRUMENTS USED BY THE RECENTLY
COMPLETED KOREA U.S. AIR QUALITY MISSION, OR KORUS-AQ.
STUDENTS HELP OPERATE SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS IN-FLIGHT IN CONDITIONS NOT TYPICALLY FLOWN
ON COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT.
STUDENTS ALSO COLLECT DATA AT GROUND SITES IN CALIFORNIA, AND ALONG THE COAST.
IN ADDITION TO THE DC-8, STUDENTS WILL ALSO USE AIRBORNE IMAGING DATA COLLECTED FROM THE
NASA ER-2 HIGH ALTITUDE RESEARCH AIRCRAFT.
BY THE CONCLUSION OF THE PROGRAM, EACH STUDENT DEVELOPS AN INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH PROJECT FROM
DATA COLLECTED IN THE AIR, ON THE GROUND, AND FROM SATELLITES.
THE GOAL OF SARP IS TO TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF EARTH SYSTEM SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS.
MANY SARP ALUMNI HAVE GONE ON TO PARTICIPATE IN OTHER NASA AIRBORNE RESEARCH MISSIONS.
AND SOME HAVE EVEN COME BACK TO SARP AS MENTORS.
THE STUDENT AIRBORNE RESEARCH PROGRAM WRAPS UP IN IRVINE, CALIFORNIA IN AUGUST.
BUT FOR MANY OF THESE STUDENTS, THIS EXPERIENCE COULD LAUNCH THEIR CAREERS IN EARTH SYSTEM
SCIENCE.
[MUSIC] ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IN BECOMING AN EARTH
SCIENTIST IS THAT IT’S NOT A CAREER OPPORTUNITY THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE EVEN KNOW IS OUT THERE.
SO WE RUN PROGRAMS LIKE SARP TO GET YOUNG PEOPLE ENGAGED.
EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT, AND SO IS FIELD RESEARCH.
BUT GET OUT IN THE FIELD, AND BE A PART OF A RESEARCH TEAM YOU HAVE TO HAVE ADAPTATION
SKILLS AND YOU HAVE TO KNOW HOW ASK FOR HELP IN THOSE DIFFICULT SITUATIONS.
AND SOMETIMES IN AN AIRBORNE MISSION, YOU MAY FIND YOURSELF WITHOUT AN AIRPLANE…
EVERY YEAR YOU START OUT WITH ZERO.
ZERO MILES FLOWN, ZERO DATA COLLECTED.
THIS YEAR, ICEBRIDGE STARTED OUT WITH YET ANOTHER BIG ZERO THERE WERE NO AIRCRAFT AVAILABLE
FOR THE MISSION, AS NASA’S DECADES-OLD P-3 WAS GETTING RE-WINGED.
SO THE TEAM TURNED TO THEIR FRIENDS AT NOAA FOR HELP.
AND THEY GOT … MISS PIGGY, ANOTHER P-3 AIRCRAFT AND A VETERAN
OF 88 HURRICANE MISSIONS FROM FLOYD TO FRANCES TO KATRINA, OPERATED BY A CRACK FLIGHT CREW
READY TO TACKLE THE FAR FROZEN NORTH FOR THE FIRST TIME.
AFTER INSTALLING ICEBRIDGE’S MANY INSTRUMENTS INTO THE AIRCRAFT, PERFORMING NEEDED MAINTENANCE,
AND FLYING A FEW TEST FLIGHTS OVER TAMPA BAY, THE ICEBRIDGE TEAM WAS FINALLY READY TO GO.
THE TEAM’S FIRST TARGET WAS TO TAKE MEASUREMENTS OF SEA ICE IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN, AND AFTER
A FEW WEEKS, ICEBRIDGE HAD ACHIEVED SOLID COVERAGE OF THE WESTERN ARCTIC BASIN, AND
ON ONE MISSION, EVEN GRAZED THE NORTH POLE ITSELF, COMING WITHIN 200 METERS OF THE TOP
OF THE WORLD.
FROM THERE, THE MISSION CHANGED ITS FOCUS TO NORTHERN LAND ICE, AND AFTER
WAITING DAYS FOR THE FOG TO LIFT, FINALLY MANAGED TO HIT A CRUCIAL TARGET – THE ZACHARIAE
ISSTROM.
THIS MASSIVE GLACIER DRAINS 5% OF THE GREENLAND ICE SHEET, AND IN 2012, ENTERED INTO A PHASE
OF RAPID RETREAT, MAKING REPEAT MEASUREMENTS ALL THE MORE CRUCIAL.
[MUSIC]
PLANES IN THE AIR AND CORAL IN THE SEA.
GLACIERS IN THE OCEAN AND AEROSOLS IN THE AIR.
SATELLITES AND DIVERS.
SCUBA DIVERS AND FIRE FIGHTERS.
ANCIENT MAPS AND MODERN MARVELS.
YOU’RE WINNING THIS IS REALLY HARD.
[LAUGHTER]
IT WAS YOUR IDEA TO HAVE THE MAPS.
IT WAS MY IDEA TO HAVE THE MAPS.
ANYWAY YOUR PLANET IS CHANGING, AND WE’RE ON IT
KICK IT DJ
[MUSIC]
YEAH I GOT YOU, I GOT YOU YEAH AND I LETS DO ALLITERATIONS IT’LL BE A FUN GAME.
THREE.
TWO.