This animation shows the heating and cooling of the world's oceans over the course of three years. Warm colors (orange, red) indicate warm temperatures; cool colors (blue, purple) indicate cold temperatures. It shows clearly the extremely intense La Nina of 2003-2006, which can be identified by an undulating band of green color around the equatorial region off South America and the extremely warm ... Full description.

The National Oceanic and Atmoshpheric Administration's (NOAA) polar-obriting satellites monitor the ozone levels around the globe. The ozone layer acts to protect life on Earth by blocking harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. The "ozone hole" is a severe depletion of the ozone layer high above Antarctica. It is primarily caused by human-produced compounds that release chlorine and bromine gases ... Full description.

This poster (48" x 24") shows sea surface temperatures averaged from June 21-23, 2005. In the oceans, red and orange colors indicate warm water temperatures, while the blue and purple colors indicate cold water temperatures. On land, the green colors indicate vegetation and the browns indicate lack of vegetation. The intense La Nina can be identified by the band of green color near the equatorial ... Full description.

The 2006 ozone hole over the Antarctic was the largest ever observed. This poster shows images of the ozone hole, one from each month, as observed by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites that orbit the poles. The poster dimensions are 24" x 36" and is in high resolution 300dpi format for printing. Full description.

The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is an international body composed of governments, organizations, and commercial companies. Their satellite systems are one component of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) that are used to monitor all aspects of the environment. In this animation, all of the satellites involved in GEOSS are shown in their actual orbits, as of August 2006. This ... Full description.

The El Niņo Southern Oscillation is a climatic cycle that is characterized by reduced easterly winds around the Pacific equator. Without these winds, warm water accumulates off the coast of South America and slowly spreads across the Pacific. Higher than normal temperatures, shown as orange and red in the animation, alter global precipitation, ocean and atmospheric circulation. Full description.

The La Niņa is the climatic antithesis of El Niņo. Whereas El Niņo created equatorial Pacific warming due to weak surface winds, La Niņa arises from very strong easterly winds that promote the upwelling of deep, cold waters to the surface of the ocean. These colder than average waters are visible in the animation as blue and purple colors. Like El Niņo, the La Niņa also alters global precipitations, ... Full description.

This animation shows three years of sea ice concentration data, as observed by the NASA QuikSCAT satellite. Notice how the North Pole ice minimum is at the opposite time of the year as the South Pole's. This difference is cause by the axis of Earth's rotation creating different seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres. Full description.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's polar-orbiting satellites (POES) have been collecting sea surface temperature data since 1985. This animation is a compilation of all of the data collected from POES from 1985-2006. Red colors indicate warm water, blue equals cold. Look for recurrent features such as the Gulf Stream, El Nino and La Nina, and seasonal changes in heat content. Full description.

This animation shows the global annual temperature anomalies from 1880 to the present. As also shown in the animated graph, the average temperature of the Earth has increased since 1880. Notice the rapid appearance of orange and red over the U.S. in the last 25 years, these are areas where the temperature is much warmer than usual. Full description.