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Of all of the instruments in NASA's

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Earth Observing System, MODIS has proven to be one of the most versatile,

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producing both groundbreaking science and compelling images.

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The Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer,

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on both the Aqua and Terra satellites, has changed the way we look

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at our atmosphere, oceans, and land.

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KING: MODIS increased the wavelength range, covered more

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physical properties of the environment that it could monitor,

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it measured them down to as small as 250 meters, the size of a couple of football fields,

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in size. And had many more spectral bands to

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study more aspects of ocean biology, of the land,

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fires, and it was a very technological

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advance.  And for a long time

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in the EOS community, it was referred to

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as the quintessential instrument of the EOS because it did more things for more people,

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more disciplines than any other single instrument.

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NARRATION: The study of clouds is, not surprisingly, incredibly important for understanding

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weather and climate. And until MODIS came along,

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it was commonly accepted that at any given time the Earth was about 50 percent covered by clouds.

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But data from the instrument showed that cloud cover

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was actually closer to 70%.

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MODIS can also measure the temperature and height of clouds, and differentiate

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between clouds composed of liquid water, a¬nd those made of ice.

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MODIS also monitors the world’s oceans, measuring sea surface

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temperature, ocean color and clarity, and the basis of the

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marine food chain, phytoplankton.

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KING: MODIS has done a very good job of getting this biological signature.

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Chlorophyll A, which follows phytoplankton, ocean currents.

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You can see the seasonal variation

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due to El Niño and other things where the biological productivity of the ocean.

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This is important because this biological photosynthesis

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takes carbon dioxide out, produces oxygen as part of photosynthesis,

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and so it is a sink for carbon that we, Man, put in the atmosphere.

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NARRATION: MODIS also looks at the land, monitoring fires,

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land use change, and various measures of the Earth’s plant life.

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KING: So it’s been used for a long time to monitor

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the growth of vegetation, the seasonal cycle, and how that

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year-to-year, whether it’s due to droughts, associated with El Niño

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or the spread of the Sahara, but it’s a very good index to monitor.

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NARRATION: The versatility of MODIS,

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as it measures land, sea, and air, contributes to the wealth of information