December 13, 2002 — NOAA Science On A Sphere™ allows you to view many of the Earth’s global features from a space traveler’s point of view — without ever having to leave the Earth. NOAA SOS communicates NOAA science to the public, fosters science education and aids scientific visualization. NOAA SOS is intended for museums, science centers, schools and anywhere there is an interest in science. NOAA SOS “is an exciting and informative way for people to see NOAA's climate, weather and ocean science," said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "For example, viewers can watch how the warm water in the Pacific that signals an El Niño travels across the ocean, or watch a hurricane form, as a small storm slowly gathers strength, traveling westward from Africa, across the Atlantic Ocean, toward the Gulf of Mexico." It provides a dramatic visualization of complex information in an understandable form for the public; a unique instrument for teaching students science, math and geography; and a handy scientific tool to translate numerical information into visual images.

How NOAA SOS Works
NOAA SOS is a multimedia system, which uses high-speed computers, multiple projectors and advanced imaging techniques to create the illusion of a planet, the sun, moon or any other celestial body in space. Suspended from a custom-made aluminum structure, a 68-inch, 200 pound white fiberglass sphere serves as a 3-D spherical movie screen upon which full color rotating/animated images from NOAA satellites and other data sets can be displayed. The illusion is created using four projectors and personal computers arranged at 90 degree angles around the sphere.

The Evolution of NOAA SOS
This spectacular vision of the Earth (and other spheres) is the invention of Alexander (Sandy) MacDonald, director of the NOAA Forecast Systems Laboratory in Boulder, Colo. "I started thinking about this several years ago and did some experiments on the deck of my house using a beach ball," said MacDonald. "I knew that putting NOAA climate, weather, oceanic and geophysical data on a sphere would be a spectacular tool for explaining NOAA's science to a variety of audiences." Today, a patent has been filed on behalf of NOAA for SOS and it is now a collaborative effort among NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service, and National Weather Service.

Current NOAA SOS Data Sets
The data sets originate from several NOAA offices, namely the NOAA National Polar Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System, NESDIS, OAR and the NWS. Currently, NOAA SOS features data sets from both the Earth (i.e., man-made and natural Earth features, atmospheric modeling results, and the evolution of the Earth’s surface due to plate tectonics), as well as the sun, moon, and Mars:

• 3-D Surface of the Earth and Lights of the World: This data set is a composite of NOAA’s ETOPO2 data for "Surface of the Earth" and NOAA’s Defense Meteorological Satellite Program "Lights of the World." NOAA’s ETOPO2 data displays the topography and bathymetry of the Earth’s surface, while the DMSP data provides a global image of Earth at nighttime. Visualization developers Peter Sloss and Chris Elvidge at NESDIS/NGDC combined these data sets to show the Earth rotating between day and night. The topography and bathymetry are seen in 3-D with the use of special 3-D glasses. Color shadings show the mountains and valleys, plains, ocean depths/ridges and trenches, continental shelves, and the Earth's crustal plates. The nighttime lights are an indicator, among others, of population densities (e.g., coastal areas, city corridors), power consumptions and economic development. This information may be useful as an educational tool.

• Real-Time Global Infrared Satellite Data: This data set was derived from the NOAA GOES 8 and 10, Polar-Orbiting Satellites NOAA 15 and 16, Japan's GMS satellite, and the European Meteosats 5 and 7. The data set was developed by Fred Mosher at the NOAA/NWS Aviation Weather Center for NOAA SOS and Ron Kahn at OAR/FSL created the visualization for use on SOS. The data can be viewed in real time, showing the clouds over the Earth as they exist at the moment. The infrared sensors on the global meteorological satellites show the heating and cooling of features of the Earth and atmosphere. Weather patterns and circulation are evident, as well as the diurnal warming and cooling of continents. This data set is useful for watching hurricanes form off the west coast of Africa, cloud formation and dissipation and the prevailing westerly winds and easterly trade winds.

• Weather Prediction Models-1000-500 mb Relative Humidity and 1000 mb Temperatures: The operational global models from the NOAA National Center for Environmental Prediction can also be displayed in real time. In the NOAA SOS demonstration, two forecasts from the NWS/NCEP Operational GFS T170 Model begin with data from September 20, 2002, and then show 1000-500 mb relative humidity and 1000 mb temperatures interpolated to 15 minute images for a 72-hour period. The NCEP GFS data sets may be used for global weather forecasting.

• Gridded Monthly Sea Surface Temperatures (1950-2001): This data set is derived from the Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature, which is based on ship marine data collected by NOAA’s Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set Project. The data set developers are Tom Smith and Richard Reynolds at NESDIS/NCDC with the visualization for NOAA SOS provided by David Wuertz, also at NESDIS/NCDC. This sequence illustrates the annual cycle of sea surface temperatures (temperature anomalies) across all oceans through the seasons. El Niño/La Niña events can be clearly observed, with the one in 1997-98 being the most impressive. This data is invaluable for atmospheric model validation purposes and empirical studies of global climate change and variability.

• Gridded Monthly Terrestrial Air Temperatures (1950-2001):The original data source for this data set is the Global Historical Climatology Network, which was developed by Russell Vose and Thomas Peterson at NESDIS/NCDC. A spatially interpolated and gridded version of GHCN was produced by Cort Willmott and Kenji Matsuura at the Center for Climatic Research at the University of Delaware. The visualization of this data set was then prepared for NOAA SOS by David Wuertz, NESDIS/NCDC. This sequence illustrates the annual cycle of climate variability across the world through the seasons. It clearly shows how the northern and southern hemispheres simultaneously experience opposite seasons due to the 23-degree tilt of the Earth's rotational axis. Temperature responses over land to significant El Niño/La Niña events can also be measured, as well as global warming trends in many regions. This data is invaluable for atmospheric model validation purposes and empirical studies of global climate change and variability.

• Temperature Response to Increased Atmospheric CO₂ Model: This data set is a comprehensive numerical model of the Earth's climate system developed by OAR/GFDL for the White House Conference on Global Climate Change on October 6, 1997. It is from a 500 year model run by Manabe and Stouffer. The visualization was prepared for NOAA SOS by Hans Vahlenkamp at OAR/GFDL. This animation illustrates the changes in surface air temperature that result from increasing levels of atmospheric CO₂. In this simulation, atmospheric CO₂ increases at one percent per year from the modern-day level at year one to quadruple that level at year 140. After that point, atmospheric CO₂ levels are held constant. The color shading represents the difference in the surface air temperature between the simulation with increased CO₂ and a control simulation using the same model with today's levels (1997) of atmospheric CO₂. Warming is more rapid over the continental regions than over oceanic regions, and is larger in polar regions than at lower latitudes. The warming trend continues well past the time at which CO₂ concentrations level off. This delayed warming is due to the influence of the world's oceans, which store and release heat over very long periods of time. This model is used to predict climate change.

  

• X-Ray Sun: This data set originated from NOAA GOES 12 satellite data sometime in October-November, 2001 and was developed by the NOAA Space Environment Center. Mike Biere, OAR/FSL, developed the visualization for NOAA SOS. The X-ray image demonstrates that the sun is highly variable and dynamic — an observation that is not evident in similar images created using white light. The image also reminds us that many solar phenomena (such as solar flares and corona holes) can have serious and costly impacts on technology. The data show the outer atmosphere of the sun, called the corona. This outer layer is hundreds to thousands of times hotter than the surface of the sun that is seen in visible light and is where the sun is most dynamic. Such data are used for space weather forecasting.

• Blue Marble: Developed by NASA, the "Blue Marble" image of Earth is a collection of satellite-based observations taken over months that scientists and visualization developers stitched together. This image was released on February 6, 2002 on a NASA Web site. Much of the information came from a single remote-sensing device called Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on the Terra satellite, a NASA polar-orbiting satellite. MODIS provides an integrated tool for observing a variety of terrestrial, oceanic and atmospheric features of the Earth. MODIS observations of polar sea ice were combined with observations of Antarctica made by NOAA's Advance Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sensor for display on NOAA SOS.

• Moon: NOAA SOS’s global view of the moon was derived from one of NASA's Lunar Orbiters in the late 1960s and is available from a NASA Web site. The highlight of this data set is the backside of the moon where many more impact craters create a much more dramatic moonscape than the side seen from Earth. This image is an excellent educational tool to use for teaching about the moon's synchronous rotation with Earth, how the moon was formed, etc.

• Mars: This global view of Mars is from one of NASA's missions to Mars. The highlight of this data set is Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system (16 miles high) and Valles Marineris, a canyon 2500 miles long and 4 miles deep.

  

• Plate Tectonics: This animated data set shows the evolution of the Earth's surface due to plate tectonics over the past 600-million years. Ron Blakely at the Department of Geology, Northern Arizona University, created a reconstructed view of the world for every 30-40 million years and ARC Science Simulations in Loveland, Colo., provided the image morphing between these periods. The original art incorporates paleo geographical information for climate zones, mountains, oceans, island chains and inland seas, in addition to plate positions through time. Such reconstructions are based on evidence including fossils, the magnetic record found in rocks and glacial deposits. This data set provides a visualization of a phenomenon that's hard to imagine and therefore is an excellent educational tool.

Future Data Sets for NOAA SOS
Any global data source referenced to latitude and longitude is a candidate for display on NOAA SOS. Some of the data sets which may be displayed on SOS in the near future include: lightning, atmospheric chemistry, climate classifications, ocean circulation, volcanic activity, radiation, sea ice, vegetation, soil types, population densities and land-uses.

NOAA SOS Debuts
On October 21 to 24 (2002), more than 500 students and 100 parents viewed NOAA SOS for the first time during a classroom demonstration at Broomfield Hights Middle School in Broomfield, Colo. Fourteen scientific and technical staff from FSL and two representatives of NOAA's OAR Outreach Program assisted with the demonstration. Beverly Meier, educational consultant and eight grade science teacher at Broomfield Heights Middle School, also developed several lesson plans to accompany the NOAA SOS demonstration. The lesson plans focused on the Earth's geographic features (topography and bathymetry), latitudes and longitudes, degree of settlement and industrialization, atmospheric water vapor, cloud motion in the Earth's atmosphere and the limitations of flat maps (which depict 3-D data on a flat surface). The students were wide-eyed and enthusiastic about the displays and in the end, it was quite obvious that the first public showing of NOAA SOS was a great success. "We think NOAA Science On a Sphere™ will be an invaluable educational tool," said MacDonald. "It is a unique way to explain complex information using images. It can be used to illustrate geography, weather, climate, space weather and a host of other kinds of data. It's limited only by our imagination."

The “Official NOAA Science on a Sphere Illumination” took place at the NOAA Science Center, in Silver Spring, Md. on Dec. 2-4. NOAA SOS will next be displayed at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society, Feb. 9-13, 2003, Long Beach, Calif.

NOAA SOS provides a unique and engaging way of looking at specific Earth features in its "native (spherical) format" — rather than as a distorted flat representation. As a result, it is ideally suited for use in education, outreach, communication and scientific analysis. NOAA SOS creators envision it being used by museums, science discovery centers, scientific meetings and conferences, educational institutions, and of course, NOAA events in the very near future. For more information visit the NOAA Science On A Sphere™ Web site.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Science On A Sphere™ Web site

NOAA SOS Fact Sheet

NOAA SOS Exhibits

NOAA SOS Contacts

Retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D. (undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator)

Alexander (Sandy) MacDonald (director of NOAA’s Forecast Systems Laboratory)

NOAA Forecast Systems Laboratory

NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research

NOAA National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service

NOAA National Weather Service

NOAA National Polar Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System,

Media Contact:
Barbara McGehan, NOAA Research, (303) 497-6288 or Jana Goldman, NOAA Research, (301) 713-2483