The Map Library here at the University of Michigan has fused with Government Documents and the Spacial and Numeric Data Labs to reveal their ultimate final form: the Stephen S. Clark Library.
We're excited about the new blog, all integrated and shiny! Please follow along!
Of course, we will still try to whet your appetite for pure map-related goodness here, but the Clark Library blog will have all sorts of data visualizations and the like that you might also find interesting.
http://clark-library.blogspot.com/
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
The salinity of Earth's oceans
In June of 2011, NASA launched a satellite named Aquarius, designed to monitor changes in the saltiness of the Earth's waters, rainfall and evaporation of Earth's waters, and climate and weather variations. Aquarius became operational in late August of 2011, and here is a map from its first two and a half weeks of data:
The red areas of the map have the highest surface salinity, and the purple areas the lowest.
By tracking changes in the salinity of the oceans, scientists will be better able to understand ocean currents and the movement of fresh water. For instance, the satellite captured images of the effects of tropical storm Lee as it hit Louisiana, causing the Mississippi River to discharge much more than it usually does, which led to a corresponding area of lowered salinity, pictured below.
You can see the current location of the satellite here: http://aquarius.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi/whereis_aquarius
To read more about the first map, go here: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/aquarius/multimedia/gallery/pia14786.html
For more information about the Aquarius project, visit http://aquarius.nasa.gov/
The red areas of the map have the highest surface salinity, and the purple areas the lowest.
By tracking changes in the salinity of the oceans, scientists will be better able to understand ocean currents and the movement of fresh water. For instance, the satellite captured images of the effects of tropical storm Lee as it hit Louisiana, causing the Mississippi River to discharge much more than it usually does, which led to a corresponding area of lowered salinity, pictured below.
The salinity of the area was only temporarily lowered, as can be seen in the middle image above. Read more about the data from this time period here: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/pia15185
You can see the current location of the satellite here: http://aquarius.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi/whereis_aquarius
To read more about the first map, go here: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/aquarius/multimedia/gallery/pia14786.html
For more information about the Aquarius project, visit http://aquarius.nasa.gov/
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