Environmental Technology Laboratory
Encyclopedia
The Environmental Technology Laboratory (ETL) was a laboratory in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
(NOAA)/Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research is a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . OAR is also referred to as NOAA Research....
(OAR). In October 2005, it was merged with five other NOAA labs to form the Earth System Research Laboratory
Earth System Research Laboratory
The Earth System Research Laboratory is a laboratory in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration /Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research ....
.
ETL developed remote sensing
Remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon, without making physical contact with the object. In modern usage, the term generally refers to the use of aerial sensor technologies to detect and classify objects on Earth by means of propagated signals Remote sensing...
instrumentation to allow meteorologists
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
and oceanographers
Oceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
to peer inside the Earth's atmosphere
Earth's atmosphere
The atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night...
to diagnose its behavior and study its interaction with land
Landform
A landform or physical feature in the earth sciences and geology sub-fields, comprises a geomorphological unit, and is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and as such, is typically an element of topography...
, water
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
, and ice
Polar ice cap
A polar ice cap is a high latitude region of a planet or natural satellite that is covered in ice. There are no requirements with respect to size or composition for a body of ice to be termed a polar ice cap, nor any geological requirement for it to be over land; only that it must be a body of...
surfaces. ETL's engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
and scientific expertise help NOAA as it seeks to better monitor, observe, understand and describe the atmosphere so as to provide improved forecasts of its future state.