In Brief:

October 12, 1999
Web posted at: 4:53 p.m. EDT (2053 GMT)

(CNN) -- A repeat of last year's mild La Ninã conditions -- with a stormy winter in the Pacific Northwest and a dry winter in the southwestern United States -- will be the likely outcome of sea- surface heights observed by NASA's TOPEX/Poseidon satellite, scientists with agency said this week.

TOPEX/Poseidon has detected lower than normal sea-surface heights in the eastern North Pacific and unusually high sea-surface heights in the western and mid-latitude Pacific. The height of the sea surface over a given area is an indicator of ocean temperature and other factors that influence climate.

"These unbalanced conditions will undoubtedly exert a very strong influence on climate over North America this fall and winter," said Dr. William Patzert, an oceanographer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement. "Our profile of high sea-surface heights and warm temperatures in the western Pacific Ocean contrasts with low sea-surface heights and cool conditions in the eastern and equatorial Pacific. Those conditions will have a powerful impact on the weather system delivering jet streams out of the North Pacific."

(CNN) -- The Boeing Co. this week dedicated a new $3 million, state-of-the-art Engineering/Mission Support Room (EMSR) in Huntington Beach, California, the company said in a statement.

The EMSR will monitor key Huntington Beach-built hardware on the International Space Station, including the ISS's pre-integrated truss structure, pressurized mating adapters and mobile transporter. Among ISS functions performed will be monitoring of communications and tracking; structures and mechanical systems; guidance, navigation and control; and support to ISS spacewalks.

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