NASA’s Worldview Site Expands Data Tools and Environmental Reporters – Global Investigative Journalism Network

NASA’s Worldview Site expands the toolbox for data and environmental reporters

by Joseph A. Davis, SEJournal for the Global Investigative Journalism Network • October 25, 2024

If you ever go to Wallops IslandVirginia (maybe on the way to Chincoteague to see the annual pony bath), you will be amazed by the large field full of antennas pointing towards the sky.

They are one important gateway through which oceans of data from Earth-watching satellites find their way into the archives and servers of federal agencies—and ultimately into the computers of Earth scientists.

NASA mainly operates the satellites, but other agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) design the satellites and study the data. Some of the raw data is open and available to the public (and journalists).

The amount of data is unimaginably huge. Fortunately, there is a system (or system of systems) to handle it. It goes by the acronym EOSDIS, for Earth observation data and information system.

Meanwhile, NASA’s query site, called Worldview, translates some of the most meaningful data into graphical form. You can access the Worldview landing page, which is also query engine, here.

The Worldview database is a great tool that environmental journalists (and their production teams) should know about. It’s not just data; it’s a free graphic.

Where the data comes from

We know that NASA, NOAA, and other federal agencies work pretty hard to calibrate and verify the accuracy of their satellite instruments — so we have no doubts about the accuracy and quality of the data.

Each satellite or instrument has its own special purpose, or view of the world. What varies is the orbit, the spatial coverage, what the instruments are trying to see, what parts of the spectrum each instrument captures, and how often the images are taken. Many, for example, look at the clouds. Others may be looking at water or vegetation.

How to use data wisely

As powerful as Worldview is, it’s not easy to use. Some important parts just don’t work. The interface is clunky too, though that’s partly a result of all the choices you have about the planet view.

“User experience” experts probably wouldn’t give it a high rating. On the other hand, the number of choices you have about what to watch is very large.

Just a few examples: You can request many different time ranges, you can compare views from one time period to another, and you can select specific places, zooming in and out almost at will.

That’s just the beginning. Want to watch the clouds? You can view cloud tops, cloud coverage, aerosol albedo, aerosol optical depth, cloud layers, cloud reflectance, etc.

Pictures, data for environmental stories

It may be obvious, but these data, these images, are in the impact zone of stories that environmental journalists often publish.

You can learn about wildfires, floods, dust storms, smoke plumes, droughts, vegetation cover, human-populated and settlement areas, and even dams. And more.

It is also very climate oriented. It tells you a lot of details about albedo, sea ice cover, surface temperature, etc.

The non-obvious way to get there is to click on the little red button labeled “add layers”. Then, once you’ve seen all the options, click on the nearly invisible submenus to see even more.

And when you talk to your graphics department about the worldview, point out that you can add layers that show all kinds of other map features: coastlines, roads, bodies of water, and more. Not only that, you can use Worldview to place your own markers on the map.

Editor’s note: This the story was originally published by SEJ.org and is republished here with permission.

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Joseph A. Davis is a freelance writer/editor in Washington, DC who has been writing about the environment since 1976. He writes for SEJournal Online TipSheet, Reporter’s Toolbox and Issue Backgrounderand curates SEJ’s weekday news service EJToday and @EJTodayNews. Davis also directs SEJ’s Freedom of Information Project and writes WatchDog opinion column.

This article first appeared on Global Investigative Journalism Network and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.