Part 2: Build Your Own Animations

1. On the Earth Observatory Web site, click the Data & Images link that appears just below the page banner
   Show me
   Hide

   
2. On the data and images page, click the Data Chart link in the first line of text.
   Show me
   Hide

   
   You may need to resize your browser window or use the scroll bars to see the whole chart.
3. The data types available are listed in the column on the left. Click the name of an interesting dataset to see a sample of the data, its color scale, and an explanation of what it shows. Click your browser's Back button to return to the Data Chart.
4. The dark green bars across the chart indicate the months and years for which each type of data are available. Take a minute to understand how the chart indicates what data are available.
Aerosol Index Image: Suspended particles detected by the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS), July 1982
5. Look specifically at the Aerosol Index row. For what dates are these data available?
   Show an example description
   Hide

   Aerosol Index data is available from early 1980 through the first few months of 1993 and also for late 1996 through 2005. A "gap" in coverage exists from early 1993 through mid- to late 1996.
6. Check your understanding
• For which months and years are 1 km² fire data available?
  Show answer
  Hide

  April 1992 to December 1993
• Which type of data has the longest continuous record available?
  Show answer
  Hide

  Rainfall

1. Click the Vegetation label in the left column to open the description and animation interface for that data.
2. Click the How to build animations link directly below the vegetation image on the left.
   Show me where to find the link
   Hide

   
3. Descriptions of each choice you need to make appear on the right on the fully functional "How to use the animation interface" page. Use the drop-down menus to select Start and End dates and choose various data sets from the Compare to menu to build a paired animation. Click the Build Animation button and wait for your animation to load.
Show me an example animation request
Hide


NOTE: Please be patient while the animation is built on Earth Observatory's server and transferred to your computer. It may take a minute.

4. Play your animation a couple times. Use the controls to move one frame at a time. Check a couple different continents to see how the two parameters are related. After you admired this animation, go back to the Data Chart to build another one. Be certain that data exist for the date range you request: if they do not, you will get empty black frames in your animation.
5. Once you feel comfortable making animations, you're ready to explore visualizations of some of carbon's pathways

Nighttime land temperatures, February 2004

Recall from the Case Study that photosynthesis removes carbon from the atmosphere and bonds it into plant tissues. When plant tissues on land decay or burn, the carbon is released back into the atmosphere. Look for data sets in the Data Chart that illustrate carbon's movement between plants and the atmosphere. For instance, you may want to build and examine animations of dataset that are related to plant growth (vegetation, temperature, rainfall) and fires (aerosols and fires).

1. Build several animations comparing various datasets to help you visualize carbon's movements between land plants and the atmosphere. Use the step forward and step backward buttons to control the animation so you can examine the difference in the datasets from month to month.
2. List each animation that you build and describe the movement of carbon that it illustrates (i.e. carbon moving from the atmosphere to the biosphere).
3. What patterns can you detect in the animations? For instance, is there a relationship between the locations of vegetation and fire? Between rainfall and aerosols?
Show me some example interpretations
Hide
Rainfall vs Vegetation

In an animation comparing these two datasets, notice how both rainfall and vegetation move to the north and then the south as seasons change through a year. This indicates that plant growth is related to rainfall, as one would expect. How does this relate to carbon movement though? Plant growth indicates that carbon dioxide is moving from the atmosphere into plant tissues. So, generally, where rain falls, carbon moves from the atmosphere to the biosphere.

Vegetation vs Fire

Fire is a natural part of Earth's environment. Humans use fire as a tool to clear croplands or forestlands. In an animation comparing vegetation and fire, burning usually occurs in regions where the greenness values are low. Generally, this is because the seasonal rains have moved elsewhere, leaving the landscape dry and relatively easy for humans to burn. At high latitudes—like the boreal forests of Canada, Alaska, and Siberia—many fires occur during the summer and early fall, even while the landscape is quite green. Many of these fires are sparked by lightning strikes. The fire animation illustrates places where carbon is being released from plant tissue (the biosphere) into the atmosphere.

What datasets in the Data Chart might provide evidence of other carbon pathways? Examine several data descriptions to find other datasets that illustrate carbon's movement through the Earth system.

Show me some hints

Hide

• In addition to plants on land, microscopic organisms in the ocean also use carbon for photosynthesis. They form shells made of calcium carbonate or calcite (CaCO₃).
• Human respiration exchanges oxygen in the atmosphere for carbon dioxide.
• Machines that humans use release carbon from fossil fuels into the atmosphere.

Examine datasets related to these processes to look for evidence of carbon pathways.