Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Jason-2's Ocean Surface Topography Mission From EUMETSAT: "The Jason-2 ocean altimetry satellite has now arrived at its launch site in the United States. The satellite is currently scheduled to be launched on the morning of 15 June 2008 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Jason-2 was transported by road from the Thales Alenia Space plant in Cannes, France, where it was built, to Toulouse, from where it was flown by a Boeing 747 aircraft to Vandenberg, with a refuelling stop in Boston." More from the article: Jason-2's Ocean Surface Topography Mission will provide a vital contribution to the monitoring of climate change, ocean circulation and weather. Once in orbit and after it has been calibrated by the partners, the satellite will provide oceanographic products on an operational basis to the large EUMETSAT user community using the European weather satellite organisation's proven dissemination capabilities. The main instrument onboard Jason-2 will be the Poseidon 3 dual frequency altimeter. The final orbit of the satellite will be 1,336 km above the Earth at a 66ª inclination. Ocean altimetry is important for meteorology, with Nowcasting and short range forecasting on one end of the spectrum and monthly and even seasonal forecasting on the other. The assimilation of satellite altimetry measurements (notably the wave height), have considerably reduced the error in two-hourly forecasts. Upper ocean thermal structures are a key factor in the development of storms that can threaten shipping and offshore industries and thus need to be monitored. It is therefore of outmost importance that the mission not only continues but that the resulting data and products are available on an operational basis for all user groups. The mapping and modeling of the upper ocean plays a central role in enabling predictions on the medium-range (10 days), monthly and seasonal timescales. Jason-2 will provide continuity in the monitoring of climate and rising sea levels carried out by Jason-1 and TOPEX/Poseidon over the last 15 years. "cc" 6:30:32 PM     Climate Change: The earth is a beautifully complex system The Environment News Service: "About 99 percent of the Chacaltaya glacier in Bolivia has disappeared since 1940, says World Bank engineer Walter Vergara, in his new report, "The Impacts of Climate Change in Latin America." One of the highest glaciers in South America, Chacaltaya is one of the first glaciers to melt due to climate change. Although the glacier is over 18,000 years old, it is expected to vanish this year. "The greenhouse gases are the main driver," says Vergara. "The scientific community has a consensus - this is manmade." More from the article: Since 1970, glaciers in the Andes have lost 20 percent of their volume, according to a report by Peru's National Meteorology and Hydrology Service. Loss of glaciers in the Andes mountain range is threatening the water supply of 30 million people, and scientists say the lower altitude glaciers could disappear in 10 years. With water supplies, agriculture, and power generation at risk, the World Bank and the funding agency Global Environment Facility are working together to develop adaptation strategies for local communities. In addition, the World Bank signed an agreement this month with the Japanese Space Agency that will start providing advance data and high resolution images to better monitor Andes Glacier retreat. Seventy percent of the world's tropical glaciers are in the high Andes Cordillera of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Of the 18 currently existing mountain glaciers in Peru, 22 percent of the surface has been lost over the past 27 to 35 years, scientists warn. Most of the smaller glaciers in the Andes Cordillera are expected to shrink within a generation. Computer modeling indicates that many of the lower-altitude glaciers could disappear during the next 10 to 20 years. The Latin America and Caribbean region, in particular, is very vulnerable to significant climate impacts, says the [t]he latest report of the UN's International Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, which involves thousands of scientists from around the world, lists evidence from all continents and most oceans showing that many natural systems are being affected by regional climate changes, particularly temperature increases. The water supply in the Andes region due to climate change is already taking place, says the IPCC report, and is predicted to worsen with time. "cc" 6:22:54 PM

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