MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
Contact: Mary Hardin (818) 354-0344
VIDEO & INTERNET ADVISORY
January 27, 1998
NEW SATELLITE ANIMATION SHOWS EL NIÑO IN ATMOSPHERE
New satellite animation shows the movement of water vapor
over the Pacific Ocean during the 1997 El Niño condition. Higher
than normal ocean water temperatures
increase the rate of evaporation, the resulting warm moist air
rises into the atmosphere, altering global weather patterns.
The animation was created from data obtained by the
Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instrument onboard NASA's Upper
Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) from late December 1996 to
late December 1997.
A NASA TV video file will feature the new animation at 9
a.m., noon, 3, 6, 9 p.m. Pacific Time today. NASA Television is
available on GE-2, transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude,
with vertical polarization. Frequency is on 3880.0 megahertz,
with audio on 6.8 megahertz.
In addition, the most recent still images of the El Niño
water vapor are now available online at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/elnino
The MLS instrument is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology.
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