EF1C. Stay Current—What Is Energy?

GSS book cover for Energy Flow

Staying current for Chapter 1

{ Energy Flow Contents }

2001 November. Birth of a Large Iceberg in Pine Island Bay, Antarctica [223kb PDF NASA Lithograph] This lithograph shows the break-off of a large tabular iceberg from the Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica. This event occurred between November 4th and 12th, 2001, and provides powerful evidence of rapid changes underway in this area of Antarctica. The three images were acquired by the vertical-viewing (nadir) camera of the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument aboard NASA’s Terra spacecraft. The dimensions of the iceberg are approximately 42 kilometers by 17 kilometers (26 miles by 11 miles).
2000

May 2000. Low Water in Lake Mead [328KB PDF NASA Lithograph] About 96% of the water in Lake Mead is from melted snow that falls in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Wyoming. The past two years have brought severe drought to the western states, and Colorado River runoff has been far below normal during this period. The effect is a drop in lake levels that is visible from NASA satellites. One of NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise research focus areas is the global water and energy cycle governing the precipitation, evaporation, storage and runoff of water. The Earth Science Enterprise Applications Program facilitates the practical use of this knowledge by national and regional decision makers for better management of fresh water resources.