Today on the ESA TV Service Schedule 5 Feb 2001
Today’s transmission of the ESA TV Service includes:
05-Feb-01 14:00 – 14:30 GMT
No El Nino event in 2000/2001
Stable climatic conditions in the Pacific
Background information on the transmission:
The Pacific Ocean is the theatre of a recurrent climate oscillation that may bring extreme weather and food shortage to the entire region. The two extreme sides of this oscillation are known as El Nino and La Nina.
El Nino and La Nina manifest themselves through deviations in the average temperature of the Pacific Ocean near the Equator of as much as 0.5 degrees. These are now monitored routinely by several satellites. The year 2000 and the beginning of 2001 are characterised by “quiet” average conditions after a very strong El Nino/La Nina event in 1996/99.
Today’s transmission features a new graphics sequence made from data by the Franco/US Topex-Poseidon satellite, showing 8 years of Pacific Ocean sea-level data, including two complete El Nino/La Nina cycles. This is complemented by graphics of how winds, sea surface temperature and updwelling of the sea surface are related. ESA scientist Mark Drinkwater provides some soundbites on El Nino and its effects.
ESA’s Envisat satellite will provide, after its launch in the summer, continuity of the global El Nino Watch.
More background information can be found on http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/elnino/elnino.html.
Transmission details:Eutelsat W1 at 10 degrees East
Transponder B5, dig ch 1, horizontal
F=11.13475 MHz, SR=5.632 MS/sec, FEC=3/4
For further information, visit our website at http://television.esa.int. For other enquires, contact Claus Habfast, Tel +31 71 565 3838, Fax +31 71 565 6340, e-mail chabfast@estec.esa.nl.