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  • Of all of the instruments in NASA's

  • Earth Observing System, MODIS has proven to be one of the most versatile,

  • producing both groundbreaking science and compelling images.

  • The Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer,

  • on both the Aqua and Terra satellites, has changed the way we look

  • at our atmosphere, oceans, and land.

  • KING: MODIS increased the wavelength range, covered more

  • physical properties of the environment that it could monitor,

  • it measured them down to as small as 250 meters, the size of a couple of football fields,

  • in size. And had many more spectral bands to

  • study more aspects of ocean biology, of the land,

  • fires, and it was a very technological

  • advance. And for a long time

  • in the EOS community, it was referred to

  • as the quintessential instrument of the EOS because it did more things for more people,

  • more disciplines than any other single instrument.

  • NARRATION: The study of clouds is, not surprisingly, incredibly important for understanding

  • weather and climate. And until MODIS came along,

  • it was commonly accepted that at any given time the Earth was about 50 percent covered by clouds.

  • But data from the instrument showed that cloud cover

  • was actually closer to 70%.

  • MODIS can also measure the temperature and height of clouds, and differentiate

  • between clouds composed of liquid water, a¬nd those made of ice.

  • MODIS also monitors the world’s oceans, measuring sea surface

  • temperature, ocean color and clarity, and the basis of the

  • marine food chain, phytoplankton.

  • KING: MODIS has done a very good job of getting this biological signature.

  • Chlorophyll A, which follows phytoplankton, ocean currents.

  • You can see the seasonal variation

  • due to El Niño and other things where the biological productivity of the ocean.

  • This is important because this biological photosynthesis

  • takes carbon dioxide out, produces oxygen as part of photosynthesis,

  • and so it is a sink for carbon that we, Man, put in the atmosphere.

  • NARRATION: MODIS also looks at the land, monitoring fires,

  • land use change, and various measures of the Earth’s plant life.

  • KING: So it’s been used for a long time to monitor

  • the growth of vegetation, the seasonal cycle, and how that

  • year-to-year, whether it’s due to droughts, associated with El Niño

  • or the spread of the Sahara, but it’s a very good index to monitor.

  • NARRATION: The versatility of MODIS,

  • as it measures land, sea, and air, contributes to the wealth of information

  • being revealed by the Aqua mission.

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