Biospherics Research 



however, it is clear that other 

 domestic and international 

 institutions will increasingly 

 devote their efforts to global 

 studies for the remainder of 

 this century. NASA technology 

 will play a vital role in global 

 research whether or not NASA 

 regards it as a major mission; 

 space science is essential to the 

 study and understanding of 

 global processes. Biologists and 

 Earth scientists can measure 

 such characteristics as forest 

 productivity or ozone concen- 

 trations at a particular place 

 and time, but it is only 

 through repetitive, synoptic 

 remote sampling of the land, 

 ocean, and atmosphere from 

 space that these point- 

 measurements can be syn- 

 thesized into a coherent global 

 picture. NASA led the world in 

 the development of satellite 

 remote-sensing technology for 

 many years; its continued work 

 in this area is essential to the 

 viability of a U.S. contribution to global studies 



This map of total ozone in the Southern Hemisphere on October 10, 1986, was 

 produced from the Nimbus 7 Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer. Tlie ozone is the oval 

 feature generally covering Antarctica, portrayed in gray and violet colors. The hole is 

 surrounded by a ring of high total ozone (yellozv, green, and brown colors) at middle 

 latitudes. 



We believe that it would be counterproductive if NASA's only role in Earth studies 

 were to be a purveyor of images and other data from space-based hardware. In 

 fact, several NASA programs, including Biospherics Research within the Life 

 Sciences Division and Terrestrial Ecosystems and Tropospheric Chemistry within 

 the Earth Science and Applications Division, support interdisciplinary research at 

 the interface between space science and Earth studies. The Biospherics Research 

 Program, in particular, applies NASA technology and modeling skills toward 

 answering global-scale scientific questions. However, the program could do more 

 to develop and exploit that technology. Currently, the aircraft- or space-based 

 technology used by Biospherics Research is developed to specifications that are at 

 times only peripherally related to the requirements of biologists. The program 

 should be involved more substantially in the selection, design, development, and 

 implementation of aircraft- and space-based measurement systems so that these 

 instruments meet the specific requirements of biological research. 



The approaches and methodologies developed by the Biospherics Research 

 Program can be applied to a number of issues in addition to understanding 



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