You are invited to hear a Bridgewater College alumnus talk about his work with satellite-based measurements of the Earth and how this information is being used to understand the Earth’s climate.

Where?
Bridgewater College, McKinney Science Center room 100

When?
7:30pm on Monday, April 21st

Title: Global measurements of Earth from space
Speaker: Robert Wolfe, NASA

Abstract: Satellites provide a unique perspective for studying the global impact of our civilization on the Earth. Over the last decade, NASA has built a number of advanced satellites to better understand the Earth’s land, oceans and atmosphere as a system. Measurements from these satellites, along with measurements from ground based instruments, weather satellites, and other satellites, have helped us develop a better understanding of the complex environment we live in and our impact on it. Also, advanced computer models have allowed us to use this data to make prediction of future changes. This talk will focus on the measurements that we are making from space and how this information is being used to develop a better understanding of the Earth’s climate.

 
Short Bio: Robert Wolfe, a scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, has spent the last 27 years measuring the Earth from space. After graduating from Bridgewater College, VA, in 1980, he began working with scientists to measure the Earth’s gravitational field by bouncing lasers off satellites. He then spent a number of years building US and international ground stations that received data from US and international Earth viewing satellites. In the early 1990s, he began working with other scientists and engineers to build NASA’s Earth Observing System, a mission to measure the Earth’s land, oceans and atmosphere from space with high accuracy. These measurements, along with ground based measurements and longer term measurements from previous satellites, are a key to understanding the Earth’s climate and our impact on it.