NASA Daily News Summary For Release: Sept. 15, 1999 Media Advisory m99-189 Summary: No News Releases Today. Video File for Sept. 15, 1999 ITEM 1 - MYSTERIOUS LAKE MICHIGAN "WHITING EVENT" ITEM 2 - 1999 ANTARCTIC OZONE "HOLE" EMERGES (replay) ITEM 3 - POET GARY SOTO (replay) ITEM 4 - HURRICANE SATELLITE IMAGES Note: if we can acquire images in time, they will appear on the 3:00 pm feed and thereafter throughout the day. Live Television Events Coming Up This Week: September 16, Thursday 1:00 - 2:00 pm - Eileen Collins and STS-93 Crew at the National Press Club- HQ (questions from Press Club audience only) The STS-93 crew, including Eileen Collins, the first woman Space Shuttle Commander, will discuss the significance of space exploration and share unique perspectives from their flight as part of a luncheon presentation Thursday, Sept. 16 at the National Press Club, 529 14th St., NW, Washington, D.C. The luncheon begins at 12:30 p.m., the presentation at 1 p.m. For ticket information, call Pat Nelson at (202) 662-7539. The Press Club Web site is at http://npc.press.org/ September 17, Friday - POSTPONED *6:00 - 10:00 am - Diabetes Technology Live News Interviews - LARC *1:00 - 2:00 pm - Diabetes Technology Live News Interviews - LARC *NOTE: THESE LIVE SHOTS ARE POSTPONED DUE TO HURRICANE FLOYD. WE WILL ADVISE YOU WHEN WE RESCHEDULE. For further information contact: Ivelisse Gilman 757/864-5036. ********** No News Releases Today. ---------- If NASA issues any news releases later today, we will e-mail summaries and Internet URLs to this list. Index of 1999 NASA News Releases: http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html ******* Video File for Sept. 15, 1999 ITEM 1 - MYSTERIOUS LAKE MICHIGAN "WHITING EVENT" TRT: 1:38 Synopsis: NASA's Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) has captured images showing a mysterious flush of color spreading across Lake Michigan. Biologists suspect the color change is either a "whiting event" or a bloom of the algae Microcystis that is known for forming thick layers of toxic "green paint" on the surface of Lake Erie. Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD: Wade Sisler 301/286-6256. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: David E. Steitz 202/358-1730. For more informationa see: http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS.html Item 1a - Mysterious "Whiting Event" NASA's Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) has captured images showing a mysterious flush of color spreading across Lake Michigan. Biologists suspect the colors is either a "whiting event" or a bloom of the algae Microcystis that has been known to form thick layers of toxic "green paint" on the surface of Lake Erie. A whiting event is caused when high concentrations of calcium carbonate lead to the underwater formation of chalky white clouds of the material which "rain" calcium carbonate on the lake bottom. Left image from July 24, 1999; right image from Sept. 7, 1999. Item 2a - "Whiting Sequence" Sequence showing dramatic color change in Lake Michigan. This is the second year SeaWiFS has documented these changes in late summer. Images recorded July 24, August 2, and Sept. 7, 1999. ITEM 2 - 1999 ANTARCTIC OZONE "HOLE" EMERGES (replay) TRT 4:20 New images from NASA show the depleted region of ozone commonly known as the "ozone hole" is again emerging over Antarctica. Scientists are closely monitoring ozone levels in Antarctica after observing record low levels of ozone in 1998. The Antarctic "ozone hole" develops each year between late August and early October. Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD: Wade Sisler 301/286-6256. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: David E. Steitz 202/358-1730. ITEM 2a - 1999 ANTARCTIC OZONE "HOLE" EMERGES New images from NASA show the depleted region of ozone commonly known as the "ozone hole" is again emerging over Antarctica. The latest images show that region of depleted ozone exceeds 9 million square miles (23 million square kilometers). Lower concentrations of ozone are shown in purple. Higher concentrations are in yellow and red. The Antarctic "ozone hole" develops each year between late August and early October. ITEM 2b - 1998 OZONE "HOLE" The 1998 Antarctic ozone "hole" was the largest ever observed. Data from the satellites show that ozone depletion reached a record size of 10.5 million square miles (27.3 million square kilometers) on Sept. 19, 1998. Scientists believe the unusually cold stratospheric temperatures contributed to the record size of the "hole." ITEM 2c - OZONE TRENDS This shows yearly comparison of ozone levels in Antarctic. NASA and NOAA instruments have been measuring Antarctic ozone levels since the early 1970s. Large regions of depleted ozone began to develop over Antarctica in the early 1980s. Though "ozone holes" of substantial size and depth are likely to continue to form during the next few years, scientists expect to see a reduction in ozone losses as levels of ozone-destroying CFCs are gradually reduced. ITEM 2d - TOMS SATELLITE The measurements were obtained this year using the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument aboard NASA's Earth Probe (TOMS-EP) satellite. ITEM 2e - OZONE SCIENTISTS - B-ROLL Scientists and others have a keen interest in ozone depletion, given that the increased amounts of ultraviolet radiation that reach the Earth's surface because of ozone loss have the potential to increase the incidence of skin cancer and cataracts in humans, harm some crops, and interfere with marine life. ITEM 3 - POET GARY SOTO (replay) TRT 6:05 Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Bert Ulrich 202/358-1713. Poet Gary Soto, author of nine poetry collections, is the first person commissioned by the NASA Art Program to write poetry for NASA. He was honored with a Hispanic Heritage Award on Sept. 14, 1999. ITEM 3a - INTERVIEW WITH GARY SOTO ITEM 3b - GARY SOTO READS HIS POEM, "THE BOYS' FIRST FLIGHT" ITEM 4 - HURRICANE SATELLITE IMAGES Note: if we can acquire images in time, they will appear on the 3:00 pm feed and thereafter throughout the day. ---------- Unless otherwise noted, ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN. ANY CHANGES TO THE LINE-UP WILL APPEAR ON THE NASA VIDEO FILE ADVISORY ON THE WEB AT ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/tv-advisory/nasa-tv.txt WE UPDATE THE ADVISORY THROUGHOUT THE DAY. The NASA Video File normally airs at noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m. and midnight Eastern Time. NASA Television is available on GE-2, transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, with vertical polarization. Frequency is on 3880.0 megahertz, with audio on 6.8 megahertz. Refer general questions about the video file to NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Ray Castillo, 202/358-4555, or Elvia Thompson, 202/358-1696, elvia.thompson@hq.nasa.gov During Space Shuttle missions, the full NASA TV schedule will continue to be posted at: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/nasatv/schedule.html For general information about NASA TV see: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv/ ********** Contract Awards Contract awards are posted to the NASA Acquisition information Service Web site: http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/award.html ********** The NASA Daily News Summary is issued each business day at approximately 2 p.m. Eastern time. Members of the media who wish to subscribe or unsubscribe from this list, please send e-mail message to: Brian.Dunbar@hq.nasa.gov ********** end of daily news summary