For Release: Nov. 10, 1997

Dave Drachlis
Media Services Branch
(256) 544-0034
dave.drachlis@msfc.nasa.gov

Release: 97-265

Where can you get the latest on space-age archaeology, forecasting the weather from space and what’s hot and what’s not in Huntsville?

One of NASA’s premier environmental research organizations, the Global Hydrology and Climate Center, part of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will open its doors to the public Friday, Nov. 14 from 1-3 p.m. for a glimpse into some of the its most exciting archaeological, climate and weather research. The center is located at 977 Explorer Blvd. in the Cummings Research Park.

NASA’s only archaeologist -- Global Hydrology and Climate Center researcher Dr. Tom Sever -- will be on hand to talk about archaeology from space. He will discuss how he uses NASA satellites to locate undiscovered civilizations and learn why those civilizations disappeared.

The center’s researchers are studying "what’s hot and what’s not" in the Tennessee Valley. No, they’re not studying Huntsville’s night spots, but the city’s heat islands -- large bubbles of hot air that make the Tennessee Valley a hot place to live. During the open house, they’ll discuss possible solutions to the heat islands: planting trees, and painting roofs and roads to cool down Huntsville.

Visitors can also learn about the weather phenomenon that has everyone talking -- El Nino. What does El Nino have in store for the Tennessee Valley and the Southeast? Will winter be marked by heavy snow, or will it simply rain the entire season? Will Tennessee Valley residents have to batten down the hatches for even more tornadoes next spring or will El Nino bring plenty of sunny days?

Researchers will be at the open house to talk about the electrifying subject of lightning as well as NASA’s newest lightning detector, which is scheduled for launch Nov. 18. When the space-based the Lightning Imaging Sensor goes on line, it will be an important step toward a day when weather forecasters can use real-time lightning data from space for their routine forecasts and severe storm warnings.

The Global Hydrology and Climate Center is jointly operated under a cooperative agreement among the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., the Universities Space Research Association in Columbia, Md., and the Space Science and Technology Alliance which includes Alabama A&M University, Auburn University, The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, and The University of South Alabama.

At the open house, the universities making up the Space Science and Technology Alliance will display exhibits highlighting the cooperative research between the center and the alliance.

All activities at the center support NASA’s Mission to Planet Earth program, aimed at gaining a better understanding of how the Earth functions as a system, and how this system is being influenced by the rapid growth of the human population.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Interviews are available with Global Hydrology and Climate Center researchers about El Nino and its effect on the Southeast, archaeology from space, Huntsville’s heat island study, and the Lightning Imaging Sensor. Video with interview bites from the lightning researchers and b-roll is available. An animated fly-through showing Huntsville’s "hot spots" and interview bites with the heat island researchers are also available on video. Media interested in covering the event, setting up interviews or obtaining video should call Kelly McFalls of the Marshall Space Flight Center’s Public Affairs Office at (256) 544-3317 or (256)-544-0034.