Scientific
Colloquium
November 3, 2006
WILLIAM
NORDBERG MEMORIAL LECTURE
|
VINCENT SALOMONSON
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
and
Goddard Space Flight Center (emeritus)
|
|
"NASA
EOS and MODIS: Past, Present and Future (Would Bill Nordberg be
pleased?)"
The beginning of Earth-system
studies from space began in the late 1950's and progressively improved
into the 1970's due in large part to efforts at Goddard and people like
Bill Nordberg. Based on these improved capabilities the NASA
Earth Observing System (EOS) was founded and is now producing some
truly remarkable and wide-ranging results. Included within that array
of results extensive and useful observations of land, ocean, and
atmospheric parameters, processes and trends are now available after
over 6 years of operations by the Terra MODIS instrument and over 4
years by the Aqua MODIS instrument. It seems more and more clear
that after the NASA EOS era many issues beyond science and technology
will have to be engaged and understood by scientists and engineers to
gain the requisite support for developing and implementing improved
technology leading to better understanding of the future for the Earth
and its inhabitants.