The Earth Observing System (EOS) Science Plan is the product of leading scientists around the world who are participating in NASA's ESE / EOS program. The purpose of the Plan is to state the concerns and problems facing Earth Science today, and to indicate contributions that will be made toward providing solutions to those problems, primarily through the use of satellite-based observations that will be obtained with EOS satellites and instruments.

Within this publication, the reader will find types and quality of data that will be produced from the satellite observations, how they will improve over existing measurements, and how the data will be applied to solving the problems described. Seven "topical" chapters discuss the nature of the science being reviewed: radiation, clouds, water vapor, precipitation, and atmospheric circulation; ocean circulation, productivity, and exchange with the atmosphere; greenhouse gases and atmospheric chemistry; land ecosystems and hydrology; cryospheric systems; ozone and stratospheric chemistry; and volcanoes and climate effects of aerosols. In addition to the topical chapters, there is a chapter that broadly defines the scope of ESE / EOS science.

All 7 topical chapters and the chapter summaries are provided in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF). Information about the Adobe Acrobat PDF reader and how to download a FREE copy is available from Adobe*. To properly view these documents you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader*.