NASA Daily News Summary

For Release: Sept. 10, 1999

Media Advisory m99-185

Summary:

HISTORIC SPACE SHUTTLE CREW COMES TO WASHINGTON

NASA JOINS CONGRESS, U.S. DRUG CONTROL OFFICE

IN DEPLOYING INTERNET SITE TO FIGHT DRUG USE

Video File for Sept. 10, 1999

Summary:

ITEM 1 - LA NINA RESURFACES, HAS EFFECT ON HURRICANES

ITEM 2 - "PULSE OF THE PLANET" - NEW IMAGES OF A YEAR ON

PLANET EARTH (replay)

NOTE: NASA TELEVISION IS EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.

TODAY'S VIDEO FILE WILL RUN ONLY AT NOON, 3:00 PM, AND 6:00 PM
(EDT). ONCE WE CORRECT THE PROBLEM, WE WILL LET YOU KNOW.

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HISTORIC SPACE SHUTTLE CREW COMES TO WASHINGTON

The crew of Space Shuttle mission STS-93, whose recent flight

featured the first female commander, Eileen Collins, and the
deployment of the world's most powerful x-ray telescope, will
visit Washington Sept. 13-16, participating in three events open
to media coverage:

Sept. 13 - Anti-Drug Program with NASA Administrator, Rep. Matt

Salmon (R-AZ), and former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, 2:30
p.m. EDT
Sept. 14 - Crewmembers will share their mission experiences with
NASA Headquarters employees from 2:00 p.m. EDT
Sept. 16 - Discussion of the significance of space exploration and
perspectives from their flight during luncheon
presentation, National Press Club, 12:30 p.m. EDT
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Kirsten Williams
202/358-0243.

For full text, see:

ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/note2edt/1999/n99-048.txt

__________

NASA JOINS CONGRESS, U.S. DRUG CONTROL OFFICE

IN DEPLOYING INTERNET SITE TO FIGHT DRUG USE

On Sept. 13 NASA will unveil a new World Wide Web site designed to
steer children away from drugs. A joint project of NASA and the
Office of National Drug Control Policy, the new Web site, will
include messages from astronauts about the dangers of drug use. It
will have a place for students to register their names for a CD-
ROM that may eventually fly aboard the International Space
Station. NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin will join former
astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Congressman Matt Salmon (R-AZ), Sen. Chuck
Grassley (R-IO), and Barry R. McCaffrey, Director of the Office of
National Drug Control Policy, at the event at Stuart-Hobson Middle
School in Washington, DC. Also addressing the students will be
the crew of Space Shuttle Mission STS-93, including Astronaut
Eileen Collins, the first woman to command a space mission. In
July, NASA became the first federal agency to include anti-drug
messages on its Web site. Since then, the Office of National Drug
Control Policy has worked with 18 agencies and departments to add
similar messages to their sites.

Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Brian Dunbar

202/358-1600.
Contact at Office of Congressman Matt Salmon, Washington, DC:
Heather Mirjahangir .202/225-2635.
Contact at Office of National Drug Control Policy, Washington, DC:
Nicole Harry 202/395-6647.

For full text, see:

ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/note2edt/1999/n99-049.txt

__________

If NASA issues any news releases later today, we will

e-mail summaries and Internet URLs to this list.
Index of 1999 NASA News Releases:

http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html

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Video File Sept. 10, 1999

ITEM 1 - LA NINA RESURFACES, HAS EFFECT ON HURRICANES TRT

17:03

Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: David E. Steitz

202/358-1730.
Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD: Wade
Sisler 301/286-6256.

ITEM 1a - LA NINA RESURFACES

This data sequence shows the evolution and demise of warm El Nino
conditions in 1997 and early 1998. The cooler waters associated
with La Nina began to emerge in the spring of 1998, peaked in the
winter of 1998 and became much less organized in the spring of
1999. During the past two months the cool La Nina waters have
resurfaced. Red indicates warmer than normal temperatures, and
blue indicates cooler than normal temperatures. Sea height data
is from NASA/CNES TOPEX/Poseidon radar altimeter. Subsurface
temperature data is from NOAA TOGA TAO. Sea surface temperature
data from NOAA NCEP SST analysis through 8/28/99.

ITEM 1b - LA NINA RESURFACES - SATELLITE SEA TEMPERATURES

This data sequence traces the evolution and demise of warm El Nino
conditions in 1997 and early 1998. In June 1998, scientists were
surprised by the rapid transition to cool La Nina conditions when
water temperatures near the Galapagos Islands dropped over 10
degrees Fahrenheit in just a week. La Nina then became much less
organized in the spring of 1999. During the past two months the
cool La Nina waters have resurfaced. Sea surface temperature data
is from NOAA NCEP SST analysis through 9/4/99.

ITEM 1c - THE WINDS OF LA NINA

Stronger than normal low-level equatorial winds have helped bring
the cooler than normal waters to the ocean surface.

ITEM 1d - THE HURRICANE CONNECTION

Animation compares the effects of La Nina and El Nino on the

formation of Atlantic Hurricanes. El Nino tends to suppress the
formation of Atlantic hurricanes. During El Nino, the subtropical
jet is displaced southward toward hurricane generation areas in
the Atlantic. The quick moving air aloft tends to blow the top of
the developing clouds in a hurricane which inhibits full growth of
the system and decreases the number of hurricanes making North
American landfall. During La Nina, the subtropical jet is
displaced northward, away from hurricane generation areas, and
hurricanes are not inhibited by the shearing effect of the quick
moving air aloft. They are more free than normal to develop and
make North American landfall.

ITEM 1e - HURRICANES OF 1999

Images of Hurricanes of 1999. Hurricane Dennis as seen from

SeaWiFS and GOES.

Credit: NASA/NOAA

ITEM 1f - HURRICANE MITCH - (TRMM)

The 1998 hurricane season was unusually severe. This "CAT scan"
image of Hurricane Mitch was captured by NASA's Tropical Rainfall
Measuring Mission (TRMM) spacecraft. The spaceborne rain radar
allows scientists to create 3-D views of precipitation and the
height of the rain column inside hurricanes. Red colors indicate
rain rates in excess of 2 inches per hour. Data for this sequence
were collected on 10/27/98.

Credit: NASA/NASDA

ITEM 1g - HURRICANE MITCH - (GOES)

This time-lapse sequence of Hurricane Mitch was captured by the

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES).
Credit: NASA/NOAA

ITEM 1h - WORLDWIDE CLIMATE CHANGES

Animation illustrates how El Nino and La Nina drive global climate

changes. As warm water in the tropical Pacific shifts its
location one-third of the way around the globe, this major heat
source to the atmosphere changes the position of atmospheric high
and low pressure centers. This causes changes in the position of
the jet streams hitting North America and associated temperature
and rainfall patterns. The jet stream location is critical for
steering storms into the continental U.S.

During El Nino, the subtropical jet is displaced southward and

storms are steered by the subtropical jet into southern
California. During La Nina, the subtropical and polar jet streams
combine to steer storms toward the northwest United States.

ITEM 1i - SEASONAL EFFECTS OF LA NINA

Graphic shows seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation in

the United States as seen in previous La Nina events.

ITEM 1j - SEASONAL EFFECTS OF EL NINO

Graphic shows seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation in

the United States as seen in previous El Nino events.

ITEM 1k - B-ROLL: SCIENTISTS DECIPHER LA NINA PUZZLE

ITEM 1l - REBOUND FROM EL NINO

El Nino also has a dramatic impact on the global biosphere.

Satellite instruments that measure color in the oceans monitor
chlorophyll concentrations. These measurements help scientists
monitor changes in phytoplankton, the lowest level of the marine
food chain. During El Nino, an upwelling of nutrients in colder
water is suppressed, with often disastrous implications for marine
ecosystems. NASA's SeaWiFS instrument enabled scientists to
witness the ocean transition from El Nino (first image) to La Nina
(second image) conditions in the equatorial Pacific. The cooler,
upwelled nutrient-rich waters associated with the demise of El
Nino and the transition to La Nina initiated a huge plankton bloom
along the equator.

ITEM 1m - EXPLOSION IN THE GALAPAGOS

On regional scales, the SeaWiFS instrument documented the rapid

demise of El Nino in the waters around the Galapagos Islands. The
images show an explosion in plankton growth as the warm El Nino
waters blamed for choking off essential ocean nutrients are
replaced by deep, cold, upwelled waters. The false color images,
which document plankton concentrations over a period from May 9 -
24, 1998, show that life in the region to the west of the
archipelago has returned in remarkable abundance. High
concentrations are shown in red. Areas occluded by clouds are
shown in white.

ITEM 1n - Interview Excerpts

David Adamec, Research Oceanographer, NASA Goddard Space Flight

Center

ITEM 2 - "PULSE OF THE PLANET" -- NEW IMAGES OF A YEAR TRT

14:36
ON PLANET EARTH (replay)

Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD: Lynn

Chandler 301/286-5562.
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: David E. Steitz
202/358-1730.

Item 2a - New pictures from NASA capture dramatic TRT - 4:01

changes in a year in the life of planet Earth

The latest portrait compresses an entire year of satellite data

into just a few seconds. The Earth's colors bloom into an artists'
palate of rich scientific information. The latest images help
scientists better understand the complex rhythms of life in the
oceans, the pulse of the global biosphere, and human effects on
the environment.

Item 2b - Hurricanes From Seawifs TRT - :32

Recent hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean.

Item 2c - Fires in the Western United States TRT - :22

Plumes of smoke from recent brush and forest fires in the West
appear on SeaWiFS images.

Item 2d - Pulse of the Planet - North Atlantic Bloom TRT - :16

Rebound from El Nino

During the winter, storms and surface cooling mix the surface
waters of the Atlantic, replenishing the nutrient supply from the
deep, cold, nutrient-rich waters. Once sunlight is sufficient to
support plant growth, phytoplankton populations explode and
persist for nearly three months until nutrients are depleted. This
bloom migrates northward in synchrony with the Sun throughout the
summer. SeaWiFS enabled scientists to witness the ocean transition
from El Niño (first image) to La Niña (second image) conditions in
the Equatorial Pacific. The cooler nutrient-rich waters associated
with the demise of El Nino also brought a huge plankton bloom
along the equator.

Item 2e - Pulse Of The Planet - Explosion in the TRT - :22

Galapagos

SeaWiFS images documented the rapid demise of El Nino in the

waters around the Galapagos Islands. The images show an explosion
in plankton growth as the warm El Nino waters blamed for choking
off essential ocean nutrients are replaced by deep, cold waters.
The false color images, which document plankton concentrations a
period from May 9 - 24 1998, show that life in the region to the
west of the archipelago has returned in remarkable abundance. High
concentrations are shown red. Areas occluded by clouds are shown
in white.
Item 2f - An Eye For Disasters TRT - :22

SeaWiFS provided a unique perspective to a variety of natural

disasters, including fires in Florida, Mexico, and Indonesia;
floods in China; and the progress of Hurricanes such as Bonnie and
Danielle.

Florida Fires - June 1998

Mexico Fires - May 1998
Indonesian Fires - October 1997
Flooding on the Yangtze River - August 1998
Hurricane Bonnie - September, 1998

Item 2g - SeaWiFs Instrument and Launch TRT - 1:35

(Animation and footage)

The SeaWiFS instrument is one component of the SeaStar satellite.

The SeaStar blasted into space on August 1, 1997, lifted by an
extended Pegasus rocket.

Item 2h - Interview/Soundbites TRT - 1:55

Dr. Chuck McClain, SeaWiFS Project Scientist, NASA Goddard Space

Flight Center

----------

Unless otherwise noted, ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN.

ANY CHANGES TO THE LINE-UP WILL APPEAR ON THE NASA VIDEO

FILE
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ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/tv-advisory/nasa-tv.txt
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Headquarters, Washington, DC: Ray Castillo, 202/358-4555, or
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end of daily news summary