NPP Weather and Climate Satellite Launches

At 2:48Pm local time in Vandenberg, California, NASA and NOAA launched NPP, with input from the US Department of Defense. NPP is a $1.5 billion weather and climate satellite that will test new-style Earth observing instruments while providing operational data to meteorologists for general forecasting. It has five instruments on board that will monitor a wide range of land, ocean, and atmospheric phenomena - from temperature and humidity, to the spread of algal blooms in the ocean or the state of the Arctic ice. "NPP's observation will produce long-term datasets which will help scientists make better models, which then lead to better predictions, which hopefully can be used to make better decisions", says Dr. Jim Gleason. NPP stands for National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project. There is a concern, however, that NPP is being asked to do too much. Its climate role requires it to continue datasets acquired over the past 10 years, but NPP must also bridge the gap between NOAA's existing system of polar-orbiting weather satellites and the agency's future fleet. NASA is concerned about the longevity of the instruments on board. The US has geosynchronous weather satellites that sit 36,000km above the panet, but these cannot deliver some of the high-resolution atmospheric information that meteorologists need to make their forecasts. The loss of NPP before a replacement is flying would therefore be a blow to weather forecasting and climate studies on both sides of the Atlantic. Dr. Louis Uccellini, who directs NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction, said NPP's importance was underscored by events in 2011, which he described as "the year of the billion-dollar weaher disasters", speaking of the ten weather events, in the US, each costing over a billion dollars in damages. NPP's advanced data feeding give new expectation to extend forecasting skills out to five to seven days in avance for extreme weather events.
This is an interesting new advancement. I like the topics that combine Earth Science with Astronomy (Astronomy part being the use of rocket ships and talk of orbiting the Earth). I believe that the launching of this new satellite will be beneficial for the US and countries across the globe. The advanced microwave and infrared data reading system gives hope to all the communities that have been affected by natural disasters in recent years, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and tsunamis. We should be able to get many more people out of these areas before something devastating happens. Also, we should be able to better track the effects of Global Climate Change. One of the main things this satellite will look at is the state of the Arctic ice. This will give us a better idea of what is happening with sea levels and currents, and help plan for the future state of coastal cities.
This article relates to Earth Science in its conncetion with all spheres: the atomosphere, the hydrosphere, the geosphere, and the biosphere. Its connection wiht the atmosphere comes from NPP's direct observation of weather conditions, which occur in the troposphere (part of the atmosphere). It will tell us more detail about past, present, and future weather patterns as well as more detail for how these phenomenons work. It also connects the atmosphere to the biosphere in helping collect data of the greenhouse gas build up, which will inevitably affect life on Earth. Rising average global temperatures are starting to rapidly change naural conditions faster than humans and other life forms can adapt to. NPP also will monitor, directly, the state of the hydrosphere through ocean levels and the state of the icecaps. It will also link observations between the hydrosphere and biosphere by monitoring the spread of algal bloom in oceans and seas. Also, by monitoring the state of the Arctic ice, we can see how animals' habitats in the poles (such as polar bears) might be changing. The new satellite will give us information about the geosphere in aspects such as total land surface (which is being reduced by rising sea levels) and composition of rocks and soils being affected by temperature and humidity changes and increased acid rainfall. These topics show the connection between the geosphere with the hydrosphere and atmosphere. Lastly, we get insight into the future of life and what seems to be our main concern, human progress. The biosphere is affected by all of these things. The toxins that are building up in the air and water are affecting longevity of oraganisms living in theses heavily affected areas. Marine life is being affected by higher temperatures causing coral bleaching and deafness in some fish (such as clown fish). Land life is affected by acid rain, desertification, submerging of land surface, and increased natural disasters (as well as other factors).
Hopefully with this new data collection system, we can start to find new ways to address these issues.

Reference:
Amos, Jonathan. NPP weather and climate satellite launches. BBC News. Oct. 28, 2011. Accessed from BBC.com on October 28, 2011.