In this issue EDITOR’S CORNER - NASA

Ear

thObserving System

THE EARTH OBSERVER

A Bimonthly EOS Publication January/February 2002, Vol. 14, No. 1

In this issue ...

SCIENCE TEAM MEETINGS

Minutes from the MODIS ScienceTeam Meeting ................................ 3

Minutes from the CERES Science TeamMeeting .......................................... 9

Minutes from the Meeting of theFederation of Earth Science Informa-tion Partners ................................. 14

OTHER ARTICLES

KUDOS: AGU Announces Fellows .. 2

Earth Science Enterprise at theOlympics ..................................... 16

NASA Study Links El Niño andSouthern Ocean Changes ............. 17

Satellites vs Mosquitoes: Tracking WestNile Virus in the United States .... 18

REGULAR FEATURES

EOS Scientists in the News ............. 19

Earth Science Education ProgramUpdate ......................................... 21

Science Calendars ............................ 23

The Earth Observer Information/Inquiries ........................ Back Cover

EDITOR’S CORNER

Michael King

EOS Senior Project Scientist

Following up on my previous announcement that the Meteor 3M StratosphericAerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE III) instrument was successfully launchedon December 10, I'm pleased to report that SAGE III has completed all post-launch calibration exercises, and is now routinely acquiring both sunrise andsunset occultation data. Preliminary analysis of Lunar Level 2 data products(NO2, NO3, and O3) indicates good agreement with profiles from LaRC's 2-dimensional atmospheric chemistry model. Overall, the instrument is perform-ing as expected, albeit with high signal-to-noise ratio measurements. Additionalrefinement of the data is necessary due to the lack of GPS navigation dataonboard the Meteor 3M Spacecraft. However, the SAGE III team is seekingsupport from the International Laser Ranging Service to provide satellitepositioning information with sufficient accuracy to meet the instrument'sretrieval processing requirements. SAGE III will extend important observationsof aerosols, ozone, water vapor, and other important trace gases in the uppertroposphere and stratosphere made by SAGE and SAGE II.

Similarly, the joint U.S./French Jason-1 mission that was successfully launchedon December 7 has completed four cycles of mission operations and datacollection, and is now producing its first operational science data products.Team managers from the French Space Agency's Satellite Control Center inToulouse, France, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, havedeclared Jason’s satellite, payload and ground segment are all functioningproperly. Jason Project Scientist Lee-Lueng Fu reports a surprising level ofaccuracy in the initial science data, exceeding that of Jason's predecessorTOPEX/Poseidon. Like TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason will make observations ofocean surface topography for monitoring ocean circulation, studying theinteractions between the oceans and atmosphere, improving climate predic-tions, and observing events like El Niño.

(Continued on page 2)

THE EARTH OBSERVER • January/February 2002 Vol. 14 No. 1

2

KUDOS:

Each year, the American Geophysical Union selects a small number of individuals asFellows. The number of Fellows selected annually is limited to no more than 0.1% of theAGU membership. The Earth Observer staff wishes to congratulate the following EOScolleagues who have been named as AGU fellows for 2002:

Robert A. Bindschadler, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Dennis L. Hartmann, University of Washington

Judith L. Lean, Naval Research Laboratory

David A. Randall, Colorado State University

Steven W. Running, University of Montana

More recently, the Gravity Recovery AndClimate Experiment (GRACE) missionwas launched on March 17 from Plesetsk,Russia. The ROCKOT launch vehicleplaced the satellites very accurately intotheir 89º inclination orbit and separatedthem from the upper stage exactly asplanned. The commissioning phase is nowunderway and the instrumentationappears functional. Says Dr. Byron Tapley,Principal Investigator for GRACE, “Wehave a mission!” GRACE employs anextremely precise satellite-to-satellitemicrowave tracking system between twospacecraft 170 to 270 km apart to measurethe Earth's gravitational field and itsvariations from solar maximum to solarminimum.

Finally, I would like to congratulate theOzone Monitoring Instrument ScienceTeam for a successful OMI AlgorithmTheoretical Basis Document (ATBD)review held February 8 near GoddardSpace Flight Center. The Dutch-basedteam was very responsive and thorough intheir ATBD preparation and presentations,and made every effort to address previ-ously submitted written evaluations ofeach of the four OMI ATBD volumes. Theinitial OMI ATBD panel report was veryfavorable, and is a strong indication ofscientific validity and accuracy of dataproducts to be produced by OMI when theAura satellite is launched in January 2004.

GRACE was successfully launched March17. The drawing above depicts the GRACEsatellites in orbit above the Earth separatedby about 210 km. GRACE will measure theEarth’s gravity with a precision that is 100 to1000 times more than has ever been obtainedto date and is expected to lead to newadvances in the fields of hydrology,oceanography and geology.

THE EARTH OBSERVER • January/February 2002 Vol. 14, No. 1

3

INTRODUCTION

The MODIS Science Team Meeting washeld December 17-19, 2001, in Baltimore,MD. The meeting began with a welcomefrom Vincent Salomonson, the MODISTeam Leader, who indicated that he felt alot of good progress was being madethanks to the aggregated, dedicated effortsof the MODIS Science Team, TechnicalTeam, and all others associated with theMODIS effort. The MODIS efforts mustcontinue to develop the data products foruse by the science and applicationscommunity. From that perspective, theprimary focus of the meeting was toaddress MODIS product quality statuswith respect to the Terra data maturitydefinitions - beta, provisional, andvalidated.

Some really intense efforts have been putforth in recent months to process MODISdata, but there remains a need to evaluateand respond to the needs and perceptionsof the user community. Toward that end,Salomonson reported that he had initiatedan end-to-end review of the MODIS dataprocessing system by an external reviewteam. The team was chaired by MoshePniel from JPL and met December 11-13,2001. This MODIS Data Processing ReviewTeam (MDPRT) provided five essentialrecommendations on how MODISprocessing could make the best use of its

Minutes from the MODIS Science TeamMeeting— Rebecca Lindsey ([email protected]), SSAI— Vincent Salomonson ([email protected]), MODIS

Team Leader, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

resources to get validated products out tothe user community. Because MODIS istruly an instrument that can supportglobal, interdisciplinary studies, one of theMDPRT recommendations includeddeveloping a reduced-resolution set ofglobal data products that would be bothuseful to the scientific community andperhaps would allow for rapid reprocess-ing. The full MDPRT report is available onthe MODIS web site.

DISCIPLINE TEAM ANDPRODUCT REPORTS

OCEANS SESSION

The meeting was organized into sessionsby discipline, with the first sessiondevoted to Oceans Group products.Wayne Esaias, Oceans Group Leader,expressed enthusiasm for the good resultscoming out of the team. They have found,in general, some calibration bias correc-tions that had not been accounted for inthe ocean color data processed to thispoint, but once those corrections areintroduced this spring and the data arereprocessed, nearly all ocean productsshould be able to be considered validated.

Sea Surface Temperature (SST)

Bob Evans reported that global SST mapsdemonstrate outstanding coverage andexcellent continuity. Based on validation

from a variety of sources, it appears thatthe SST standard deviation is better than0.25ºC. Peter Minnett presented results ofcomparisons of M-AERI cruise ship dataversus MODIS SST, indicating standarddeviations of around 0.2 K, which isexcellent agreement. Similar MOBY-MODIS, best-pixel comparisons havestandard deviations around 0.5 W/m2.There may be a warm bias regionally, butMinnett concluded that the MODIS 11-12µm SST could be considered validatedfrom November 2000 to the present.

Ocean Color

Despite the calibration biases discoveredthis year, the MODIS Ocean Colorproducts look quite good for unaffectedtime periods, and a few products canalready be considered validated for thosespecific periods (i.e., December 2000). Thefull time series will likely be validatedafter the next ocean reprocessing, expectedin the summer of 2002.

A discussion of some results followed.Howard Gordon presented data showingthat MODIS normalized water-leavingradiance values (nLws) are in excellentagreement with SeaWiFS—nearly 1 to 1—when optical depth is less than 0.2, withthe nLws at 412 nm exhibiting better orbit-to-orbit continuity than the 551 nm nLws.

Barney Balch showed that for asimulated coccolithophore bloom in theGulf of Maine, MODIS Calcite agreed wellwith ship measurements to values of~2µg/L—a factor of five better thanexpected. He said the Calcite productcould be considered validated using east-side swath data. Full validation will comeafter reprocessing removes the east-westswath bias in the data. Frank Hoge

reported that results from FluorescenceLine Height and Chlorophyll agreed closeenough with aircraft sensor measurementsto be considered validated based on


4

several case studies. Ricardo Letelier

added that ultimately the team cannotvalidate Fluorescence Line Height untilnLw is validated; and that they canvalidate Chlorophyll FluorescenceEfficiency only after IPAR and AbsorbedRadiation by Phytoplankton products arevalidated. According to Hoge,Phycobilipigments and Dissolved OrganicMatter products are more affected bycalibration biases, and validation of theseand the Phycoerythrin product wouldhave to wait until the reprocessing.

Wayne Esaias concluded the Oceanssession with results from analysis of thePrimary Productivity product fromDecember 2001. Both models (P1 and P2)look quite reasonable globally, and agreewithin a few percent with calculationsbased on SeaWiFS chlorophyll for themonth of December 2000. Validation ofthis product will likely come about onemonth after the Chlorophyll product isvalidated.

LAND SESSION

Surface Radiation Products

Eric Vermote reported that comparisons ofthe Land Surface Reflectance product tohigh-resolution surface reflectance datafrom Landsat ETM+ aggregated to MODISresolution showed that values were wellwithin the pre-launch specified error bars.In the long term, they would like to moveinto fine calibration (below error bars),and would like to correct for mirror sidedifferences and polarization.

Crystal Schaaf reported that anumber of field campaigns have beenundertaken for validation of the Bi-directional Reflectance DistributionFunction (BRDF) products, includingsome in the U.S., Africa, and China.Results from the Beltsville Agricultural

Research Center in Maryland showederrors of less than 5% using scaled-upground and tower imagery. They expectvalidated products by the first half of2002.

Zhengming Wan presented results fromfour field campaigns in 2000 and four in2001 designed to assess the Land SurfaceTemperature (LST) and Emissivityproducts. For cases over lake sites, thedifferences in MODIS 1 km versus in situmeasurements ranged from 0.2 K to 0.9 K.Over grassland and rice fields, differenceswere less than 1 K. Over a playa inRailroad Valley, Nevada, after a correctionwith 5-km LSTs, the MODIS LSTs alsoagreed with in situ LSTs within 1 K. Ingeneral, from -10 to almost 50° C, withcolumn water vapor between 0.4 and 3.0cm, measurements agree very well with insitu measurements. Validated productswill be available with the next reprocess-ing, probably in July 2002.

Cryosphere Products

Dorothy Hall announced that in additionto the Snow Cover product at 500 m andClimate Modeling Grid (CMG) resolution,a beta-version Snow Albedo productwould become available in the spring. TheCMG products are available via their ownweb page as flat binary and hdf files.MODIS maps compare well with opera-tional NOAA maps, and MODIS’ morefrequent coverage allows it to map moresnow than others like ETM+. Sea IceSurface Temperature (IST) results appearreasonable; however, the existence of thinclouds over sea ice can preclude accurateIST determination, so this remains aproblem. Hall felt that once they are ableto compare the MODIS snow maps withoperational maps and ground measure-ments from this winter, they will be able todeclare that the snow maps are validated.

Vegetation Variables

Alfredo Huete reported that the MODISvegetation index algorithms, the En-hanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and theNormalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI), are provisionally validated, andthat uncertainties continue to be reduced.Preliminary validation from core sitesthroughout the U.S. representing variousecosystems shows that expected seasonaltrends are evident in both the EVI andNDVI. Multi-temporal comparison withETM and MQUALS and ground measure-ments looks good. While they are gettinggood matches with ground measurements,he indicated that current validation islimited to clear sky conditions.

Juri Knyazikhin reported that the LeafArea Index (LAI) and Fraction of absorbedPhotosynthetically Active Radiation(FPAR) products could be consideredprovisionally validated according to thefollowing criteria: the algorithm doesn'tproduce LAI/FPAR when uncertainties ininput data exceed 15%; retrievals obeyknown relationships, such as the relation-ship of LAI and NDVI; the algorithmidentifies situations when single angledata convey little information aboutcanopy structure and reports theiroccurrences by assigning a special value tothe QA; and the MODIS LAI/FPAR fieldsare comparable with those derived fromother instruments, e.g., MISR, AVHRR andSeaWiFS. To move to validated status,they will be testing the LAI/FPARretrievals using field data collected atvarious sites representative of majorbiome types. Initial validation results at ahighly heterogeneous site indicate that thepresence of water in the 1-km MODIS landpixel may result in an increased uncer-tainty in LAI/FPAR retrievals. Comparedto SAFARI 2000 (wet season) data, theMODIS LAI is within the expected


5

uncertainties. Users should pay carefulattention to the QA fields associated withthe LAI product.

The culmination of the vegetation prod-ucts is the MODIS annual Net PrimaryProductivity (NPP) product, and Steve

Running reminded those present thatNPP is inherently a time series measure-ment. Until they have a continuous firstyear of data, they can't start seriousscience or validation activity. Sincephotosynthesis and annual NPP changeacross the biosphere as a function oftemperature and moisture, they can beregionally, but not globally, validated.Time series measurements from both thePacific Northwest and Asia showedencouraging results. For example, PNNlags NDVI in the spring/summer, andfades more quickly in the fall, both ofwhich are expected trends. Regionally,then, the MODIS products are behavingseasonally as expected, and Runningexpects more good results once they havea complete year of data, which should beavailable at the end of January.

Land Cover Products

Crystal Schaaf presented the status of the1-km Land Cover product, which includesIGBP classification, secondary classes,confidence measures, the University ofMaryland sub-pixel classification, andLAI/FPAR classification. Initial evaluationof the first and second most likely classesshows high accuracy, with discrepanciesusually between two closely relatedcategories, e.g., cropland and croplandmosaic. MODIS has more structure thanEDC DISCover. BIGFOOT comparisonslook very good in most situations, butmay overestimate needle leaf forest. Oncethey have a full year of data representingthe phenological cycle, they should be ableto validate the products, probably by thefirst quarter of 2002.

John Townshend presented on the 250- mresolution Land Cover products: theVegetation Cover Conversion (VCC)product and the Vegetation ContinuousFields (VCF). Townshend indicated theyare very pleased with the initial results.Tree cover compared between Ikonos,ETM+, and MODIS is quite reasonable.They are comparing their VCF estimatesto U.S. Forest Service data, and whileMODIS seems to be underestimating for afew western states, that may be becausethe thresholds for definition of forest coverare different. They expect to have theirfirst full version of the product (i.e., anannual cycle) by February 2002. He feelsthat even in its current state, the product isbetter than what is currently availablefrom other sources.

For VCC, they are working oncompositing issues caused by clouds andaerosols. They used the VCC product toanalyze the impact of roads on burnseverity in the Montana/Idaho borderregion in 2000, and their results show thatburned area density increased in managedareas. The area burned by lightning-caused fires was roughly equal in man-aged versus roadless areas, but managedareas suffered more losses due to human-caused fires. Continental-scale results forthe U.S. are promising, but still haveissues such as false detection from snowmelt or clouds over water. They plan todevelop a simplified version of theproduct that will run in the RapidResponse System in 2002.

The Fire products from MODIS will makean important contribution to globalchange research by providing fire location,timing, and burned area estimation. Chris

Justice, Land Group and Fire TeamLeader, gave examples of the Fire productsand described how fire validation activi-ties are engaging the broad user commu-nity under the Global Observation of

Forest Cover/Global Observation ofLandcover Dynamics (GOFC/GOLD)project. Preliminary results from active firevalidation efforts in Africa, based on sevenconcomitant ASTER/MODIS scenes, showthat errors of commission are rare and thatagreement is good for the larger ASTERfires. MODIS-GOES comparisons showsome differences that need furtherinvestigation. The global active fireproduct is planned to be validated by themiddle of 2003. Burned area comparisonsusing Landsat data show a good matchbetween the prototype MODIS burnedarea product and Landsat over severalsites in Africa. Preliminary results werepresented using burned area informationto model regional emissions for southernAfrica, associated with the SAFARI 2000experiment.

The land session wrapped up with apresentation by Jacques Descloitres onthe MODIS Land Rapid Response System.The system’s standard product is an RGBimage with active fire overlay; theproducts are used by the U.S. ForestService (USFS), for imagery for the EarthObservatory, and for use by the GoddardPublic Affairs and MODIS web sites forpublic relations purposes. They get theirinput feed from the NOAA “bent-pipe,”and reuse IMAPP software from theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison. Thesystem is 100% automated, producingproducts within 2-5 hours of acquisition.They are not keeping a long-term archiveof data, but they do keep the imagery.They plan to transition this system intoNOAA’s operational service and providealgorithms to the Direct Broadcastcommunity, using a code-sharing ap-proach. A partnership has been developedbetween NASA and the USFS to enhancethe utility of the rapid response system.Data are being provided to a number offire management agencies around theworld through the GOFC/GOLD pro-


6

gram. Data are also being provided to theAir Force Weather Agency. New develop-ments are underway in the areas ofagricultural monitoring, food security andflooding with the U.S. Department ofAgriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

ATMOSPHERE SESSION

Cloud Products

Steve Ackerman described the challengeof global cloud detection: tests that workwell in some places don’t work well inothers. He cautioned against evaluatingthe Cloud Mask on an individual granulebasis because correcting single granulescan produce undesirable effects elsewhere.For global cloud detection, the MODISCloud Mask has 48 bits representing theresults of a variety of tests. He believesthat the Cloud Mask could be consideredvalidated at this point. Among the mostsignificant improvements to the CloudMask is elimination of much striping inBand 26, which allows them to lower thethreshold for cirrus detection from 0.035 to0.01 reflectance. Ackerman said that theCloud Mask code would be offered toDirect Broadcast users soon.

Michael King, Atmospheres GroupLeader, reported that among the signifi-cant improvements to the Cloud Opticaland Microphysical Properties product arerevisions to the ecosystem model thatallows them to use band-specific, MODISwhite-sky albedo (1 km) rather thanbroadband albedo. Cloud validation issignificantly different than aerosol, forwhich there is a large network of valida-tion sites, but they have conductedpreliminary comparisons using data fromSAFARI 2000. MODIS retrievals areslightly larger for particle radius than insitu aircraft measurements suggest.Optical thickness is good compared to anintegration of cloud liquid water contentobtained during in situ profiles through

the cloud—values of about 5 for in situobservations and 3 ± 1 for MODIS. WhileKing wouldn’t feel comfortable calling theproduct globally validated, it is definitelyscientifically useful at the granule andregional level.

Atmospheric Profiles

Paul Menzel gave the status of theAtmospheric Profiles: moisture, ozone,and cloud temperature and motion. Hefelt that most products could be consid-ered validated. In case studies, tropo-spheric temperatures compared to AMSUwith rms of better than 1˚C, and to within2˚C of radiosonde observations. Dewpointtemperatures are within 2-3˚C rms ofradiosonde values. The IR total precipi-table water vapor is within 3 mm rms ofGOES, and MODIS ozone agrees withGOES ozone to an rms of about 10 Dobsonunits over North America. Cloud toppressures compare well with GOES, andaircraft validation is better than 50 hPa.Menzel was enthusiastic about MODIS’success tracking polar winds, saying thatMODIS observations had shown coherentatmospheric motion, and were within 7–10m/s of the few observations available forvalidation in polar regions.

Water Vapor and Cirrus Detection

Bo-Cai Gao reported on the status of theNear-IR Water Vapor and thin CirrusDetection algorithms. With respect tocirrus, the product is picking up greatdetail, including many contrails, and istracking global seasonal trends well.Comparisons of MODIS near-IR vaporand microwave radiometer (MWR) vaporfrom March-June 2001 showed the near-IRvapor values to be about 10% higher thanthe MWR vapor values. However, fromDecember 2000 to February 2001, differ-ences were much smaller. There may be adrift in the radiometric calibration of theMWR, and they plan to conduct addi-

tional validation of MODIS Near-IR WaterVapor products based on MWR measure-ments and radiosonde measurementsfrom a few DOE ARM sites.

Aerosol

Lorraine Remer gave the final atmospherepresentation on behalf of Yoram Kaufmanand the rest of the Aerosol product group.They have compared MODIS aerosol (overocean) retrievals to AERONET for 64measurements during a 2-month period at11 stations. Their results show correlationsof r = 0.94 for 660 nm and r = 0.95 for 870nm. They think that effective radius isvalidated to within 0.1 µm in the 0.2 to 0.8µm size range. The group is confident that1 σ (66%) of individual retrievals areaccurate to within ±0.03 ± 0.05τ overocean, to within ±0.05 ± 0.20τ over land, orto within 0.10 µm for effective radius. Inaddition, there is no systematic bias, sothat ensemble means and climaticaverages will fall within the above stateduncertainties. Thus, most of the AerosolOptical Thickness products could beconsidered validated from September 2000onward. They hope that all aerosol opticalthickness and size parameters will bevalidated by Spring 2002.

LEVEL 1 PRODUCTS

Jack Xiong summarized the status of theMODIS L1B product, including instru-ment issues that impacted the product. In2001, MODIS had two anomalies: atemporary solid-state recorder failure, andthe Power-Supply 2 shutdown anomaly inlate June. After the July 2 turn-on, thingshave been operating smoothly on A-sideelectronics. Xiong said that signal to noiseratio (SNR) values in the reflective solarbands are within specification. Thermalbands are good except for Band 36, whichhas been out of spec since before launch.With respect to changes in the L1B thisyear, there has been one change for


7

misregistration during aggregation in thehigh resolution bands, delivery of aconsistent year dataset that used piece-wise Look Up Tables (LUTs), and finally, achange to turn off the 250 and 500 mbands while in night mode. With respectto Aqua, we can expect less optical andthermal leaks, and less cross-talk and sub-frame differences; however, Bands 5 (1.24µm) and 6 (1.64 µm) have a significantnumber of dead or noisy detectors.

Kurt Thome presented results of valida-tion of the L1B product using a groundreference calibration site in Nevada. Thecomparisons of MODIS reflective bands toground measurements are generallywithin ±5%. Cross comparisons forthermal bands show a little more scatterthan for reflectance, but again both lookpretty good. In most cases agreement isbetter than 2% on average, except for the905 nm band. Thome thought that L1Bcould be considered validated.

Robert Wolfe presented on theGeolocation product. Since the Collection3 data set production began, the along-scan error decreased from 58 to 56 m;however, in the along-track direction, theerror increased from 57 m to 74 m, whichis well within specification (150 m), butabove their goal (50 m). They plan anupdate in January, after a consistent yearis done, that introduces correction for tiltversus pitch bias (40 m in track directionat large scan angles). They can alsoremove ±10 m, mirror-side difference inscan direction. They also plan to reviewthe use of FDF-processed attitude datasince the along-track errors seem to becorrelated with the spacecraft pitch. Insome regions, the inland water bodies inthe land-sea mask may not be as good asthe team would like. The geolocationgroup uses the EOS Digital ElevationModel SWG, which is the best available.Wolfe cautioned people about using this

for fine resolution work, and showed anexample of rivers being displaced 2-3 kmin South America. With the land team,they are investigating the possibility ofusing MODIS data to update the land-water mask.

DATA PROCESSING STATUS

Steve Kempler, Goddard Earth Science(GES) DAAC Manager, gave a statusreport from the three DAACs that archiveand distribute MODIS data. The high-lights are that GES DAAC processing andreprocessing are going well. As of January2002, the DAAC has more than a full yearof reprocessed data. They have beenprocessing at a rate of 3X, with bursts of4X. They have gotten past problems with aproblematic software drop in the summerof 2001, and have been developing manytools, such as parameter and spatialsubsetting. They are sending out data viasubscriptions to other DAACs for their useand secondary distribution.

Ed Masuoka, Science Data Support TeamLeader, reported that processing in theMODIS Adaptive Processing System(MODAPS: for Level 2 and higher dataproducts) has been allowed by ESDIS torise above the 96 baseline, which the teamappreciates. At the end of January, thesystem will have processed 15 months ofdata in 7 months. This is about 2X, or 2.4TB/day. In 2002, they plan to add 128Linux dual-processors to the system, andincrease disk space by 60 TB. Per therecommendation of the MDPRT, they aretalking with ESDIS about the possibility ofgetting a machine-to-machine gatewaybetween the GES DAAC and MODAPS tostreamline processing.

PROGRAMMATIC PERSPECTIVES

Diane Wickland, MODIS ProgramScientist, presented some of the EarthScience Enterprise performance metrics,

especially as they relate to MODIS:

• Quantify year to year variation inmarine and terrestrial primaryproduction (PP) in five years

• Describe ten-year (decadal) variationin PP and more detailed relationships

• Provide global fire inventory in fiveyears

• Discriminate phytoplankton fromdetritus and other matter in coastalwaters

• Provide first comprehensive data setfor aerosol sources and sinks

• Characterize role of land coverchange associated with natural fires

• Extend ISCCP data set• Describe radiative forcing due to

aerosols.

Specific metrics include merging MODISand SeaWiFS ocean color data to increasecoverage 25%, testing ability to discrimi-nate phytoplankton using fluorescence,validating results from SAFARI, andmaking AVHRR-MODIS correlations.Wickland explained that Headquartersmust conduct a self-analysis based on themetrics that can be audited by OMB.Salomonson and the Discipline Groupleaders indicated their desire to continueto be involved in the development of themetrics and their assessment.

CONCLUSIONS

Salomonson thanked everyone forattending and observed that MODIS ismaking considerable progress in gettingresults that are useful to the science andapplications community. He observed that“MODIS success” will continue to be thesum of: (a) science-quality products beingdeveloped and validated; (b) the MODISdata products being produced, repro-cessed as necessary, and delivered to thearchives; and (c) the access to the MODISproducts being such that users can get


8

what they want without undue difficultyor burden. It was Salomonson’s opinionthat (a) is going fine, but considerablechallenges lie ahead for (b) and (c). Of thetwo, (c) is probably the largest, near-termchallenge, and he and the Science Teamneed to work with the ESDIS, et al. to dowhatever can be done to make the dataaccess “user-friendly” as quickly aspossible. The data processing, (b) above,will continue to be a challenge, involvingthe utilization of known or expectedresources for processing and reprocessingin as efficient and strategic a manner aspossible. The Team also needs to dowhatever can be done in terms of outreachand interaction with the community toinform and assist them regarding thestatus and use of MODIS data andproducts. This means planning work-shops, attending and presenting atscientific meetings, etc.

The next Science Team Meeting shouldoccur 6-7 months from this one. In themeantime everyone will be kept informedvia Technical Team minutes and, possibly,telecons as issues requiring such occur.This article is a summary of the minutes ofthe two-day plenary session. For fullmeeting minutes, as well as additionalminutes and attachments from breakoutmeetings, please visit the “Science Team”section of the MODIS web site -modis.gsfc.nasa.gov.

Recent Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imageryanalyzed at the University of Colorado’s National Snow and Ice Data Center revealed thatthe northern section of the Larsen B ice shelf has collapsed. The section that collapsed wasapproximately the size of the state of Rhode Island. Larsen B is a large floating ice mass onthe eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The series of images above show a progression ofthe breakup over time - starting in the top left image and progressing clockwise to thebottom left. The shattered ice formed a plume of thousands of icebergs adrift in the WeddellSea. A total of about 3,250 square kilometers of shelf area disintegrated in a 35-day periodbeginning on January 31, 2002. Over the last five years, the shelf has lost a total of 5,700square kilometers and is now about 40 percent the size of its previous minimum stableextent.

Ice shelves are thick plates of ice, fed by glaciers, that float on the ocean around much ofAntarctica. The Larsen B shelf was about 220 meters thick. Based on studies of ice flow andsediment thickness beneath the ice shelf, scientists believe that it existed for at least 400years prior to this event and likely existed since the end of the last major glaciation 12,000years ago.

This is the largest single event in a series of retreats by ice shelves along the peninsula overthe last 30 years. The retreats are attributed to a strong climate warming in the region. Therate of warming is approximately 0.5ºC per decade, and the trend has been present since atleast the late 1940s. Overall in the peninsula, the extent of seven ice shelves has declined bya total of about 13,500 square kilometers since 1974. This value excludes areas that wouldbe expected to calve under stable conditions.

Larsen B Ice Shelf Collapses


9

Minutes from the CERES ScienceTeam Meeting

— Shashi K. Gupta ([email protected]) and Jennifer M. Hubble ([email protected]) NASA Langley Research Center

The 25th Clouds and the Earth‘s RadiantEnergy System (CERES) Science Teammeeting was hosted by Steven

Dewitte of the Royal MeteorologicalInstitute of Belgium (RMIB) in Brussels,Belgium, on January 21-23, 2002. Themeeting focused on the status of newTropical Rainfall Measuring Mission(TRMM) and Terra data products indevelopment and validation, Terra long-term calibration stability, and ScienceTeam results. The CERES meeting wascoordinated with a Geostationary EarthRadiation Budget (GERB) meeting at thesame venue to encourage interactionbetween the two teams.

Bruce Wielicki (LaRC), CERESPrincipal Investigator, gave an EarthObserving System (EOS)/CERES statusreport. EOS Team recompetitions areexpected by June. Proposal inputs forCERES-heritage instruments on theNational Polar-orbiting OperationalEnvironmental Satellite System (NPOESS)are currently being developed. The nextCERES Science Team Meeting is scheduledfor May 14-16, 2002, in Williamsburg, VA.

Instrument Status

Bruce Wielicki reported that the Terrainstruments continue to operate withoutproblems, and the Aqua instruments are

being readied for launch in April 2002. ForTerra Flight Model (FM)-1, all channelgains in orbit were initially within 0.5% ofground values and there has been nodetectable gain change in any channel. ForTerra FM-2, initial Total and shortwave(SW) channel gains were within 0.2% ofground values, but the window (WN)channel was higher by 1.3%. There was nodetectable gain change in the SW or WNchannels, but the Total channel gainchanged by 0.4%/yr. The Mirror Attenua-tor Mosaic (MAM) has experienceddegradation. MAM performance for FM-1is marginal (1% changes) and poor for FM-2 (3-6% changes).

Data Production

Wielicki next showed the progress onTRMM and Terra science data products.CERES is meeting science communityexpectations and needs, but all of the Terradata products are behind the originalgoals established in the early 1990s. Lastfall, CERES delivered the first of a newgeneration of validated radiation dataproducts that go well beyond the EarthRadiation Budget Experiment (ERBE)capability for climate analysis andaccuracy. The remainder of the full suite ofvalidated CERES TRMM products willappear by fall 2002. The ERBE-likeversions of CERES data, however, have

been validated and in the archive sinceeight months after launch, and the globalrecord of CERES Terra top-of-atmosphere(TOA) radiative fluxes is available fromMarch 2000 through November 2001.

Clouds: TRMM and Terra

Patrick Minnis (LaRC) of the CloudWorking Group presented the status ofcloud property retrievals from the VisibleInfraRed Scanner (VIRS) and ModerateResolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS). Beta versions of CERES MODIScloud properties have been archived.Papers describing VIRS imager calibrationhave been accepted for publication and apaper describing cloud property compari-sons with surface data has been submit-ted. A comparison of VIRS and MODISimager calibration showed good agree-ment for most channels. A preliminarycomparison of cloud properties derived bythe CERES and MODIS groups usingMODIS data showed overall consistencybetween the retrievals, but several scene-dependent anomalies were identified.

TRMM Angular Modeling and TOAFluxes

Norman Loeb (Hampton University[HU]) reported on the status of TRMMSingle Satellite Footprint (SSF) Edition 2Angular Distribution Models (ADMs) andTOA flux validation. An area of concernfor the TRMM SSF product is the need toadjust the ADMs and TOA fluxes to amore appropriate reference level. Loebshowed that in order to ensure that allEarth radiation contributions are ac-counted for when constructing ADMs, thefield-of-view reference level where theviewing geometry is defined must be wellabove the Earth’s surface. Loeb showedthat the optimal reference level fordefining TOA fluxes in Earth radiationbudget studies is about 20 km.


10

TRMM SSF Edition 2 Surface Fluxes

Shashi Gupta (Analytical Services &Materials, Inc. [AS&M]) presented resultsof the validation studies of surface-onlyfluxes. For cases involving shortwave(SW) clear-sky fluxes, the study indicatedgood agreement between 1-minute surfacemeasurements and the Langley Param-eterized Shortwave Algorithm results. Incontrast, the study also indicated a 30 W/m2 bias, attributable to aerosol forcings,between surface measurements and the Li-Leighton formulation. Large all-sky rmserrors were significantly reduced by using60-minute averaged surface data. Forlongwave (LW) clear-sky fluxes, there isgood agreement between the surfacefluxes and the Inamdar and Ramanathanmodel. The Langley ParameterizedLongwave Algorithm was in goodagreement with surface fluxes for bothclear- and all-sky conditions.

SARB Retrievals

Thomas Charlock (LaRC) and Fred Rose

(AS&M) gave a status report on theretrieval of the vertical profiles of fluxes -the Surface and Atmospheric RadiationBudget (SARB). This component of CERESuses a radiative transfer code to simulatethe fluxes observed at TOA. Inputs to thecode include imager-based cloud andaerosol properties, as well as EuropeanCenter for Medium Range WeatherForecasts (ECMWF) temperature andhumidity profiles. The SARB algorithmconstrains (tunes) key inputs (i.e., cloudoptical depth) and observables (i.e.,outgoing LW radiation, OLR) to achieve aleast squares fit based on a priori uncer-tainties for the key inputs andobservables.

Rose covered recent changes to the CERESalgorithms to retrieve the SARB profiles.Improvements to the radiative transfercode included adding a water vapor

continuum, modifications to the spectralshape of land surfaces in the near IR, andparameterization of ocean surface spectralalbedo according to wind speed, sunangle, and aerosol/cloud optical depth.Constrainment (tuning) now uses new apriori uncertainty values for TOA fluxes,consistent with the more accurate CERESobservations. Charlock chronicled theimprovement in the performance of theSARB algorithm through the current (Beta3) version. He demonstrated that con-strainment (tuning) reduces bias and rmserrors by roughly one half. A disappoint-ing comparison with AtmosphericRadiation Measurement (ARM) SouthernGreat Plains (SGP) data at the surface wasattributed to questionable surface observa-tions, rather than to CERES retrievals.

Geostationary Data EnhancedAveraging

David Young presented the status of thetemporal interpolation of CERES productsusing data from imagers aboard geosta-tionary satellites. The first Level 3 resultsbased on Edition 2 CERES TRMM datawere shown. A comparison of monthlymean SW and LW fluxes derived with andwithout geostationary data revealed largecorrections in regions of poor temporalsampling near the upper latitude limit ofthe TRMM orbit. Histograms of monthlymean flux revealed no significant shiftsdue to the inclusion of the geostationarydata. Processing of the geostationaryimager data is on schedule. Cloudproperties derived from the geostationarydata were shown to be consistent withVIRS-derived properties.

Surface and Atmospheric RadiationBudget Working Group

The SARB meeting was chaired by Tom

Charlock. The goal of the meeting was toget recommendations of the WorkingGroup (WG) on several outstanding issues

facing the SARB team. The Beta 2 versionof SARB/CRS data has a problem in theice-cloud tuning part of the code whichresults in larger errors for the ice-cloudovercast footprints. The WG recom-mended that the SARB team not releasethe Beta 2 version and release the cor-rected (Beta 3) version when ready.

Charlock presented a revised table of apriori uncertainties (tuning sigmas) used inthe constrainment process in SARBprocessing. He noted that the sigma of thenatural logarithm of aerosol optical depthfor land areas was smaller than that ofocean areas. The WG recommended thatthis tuning parameter for land areasshould be equal to or greater than forocean areas. Constrainment in the LWregion is currently performed on thefluxes; however, since constrainingradiances in some instances providedbetter results, the WG discussed theconstrainment options, but did not makespecific recommendations. Charlockpointed out that the bulk of the error inSARB products is in the SW fluxes. TheWG recommended that the SARB teamconduct extensive objective tests toestablish the benefits of 4-stream process-ing.

Cloud Working Group

The CERES Cloud Working Group, led byPatrick Minnis, held a discussion onrecent developments fromintercomparisons of VIRS and MODISimager calibrations. The VIRS 3.7 µmchannel calibration used by CERES/TRMM has a 0.5 K bias for some scenes.This will be corrected in future editions.Jim Coakley (Oregon State University[OSU]) presented a calibration comparisonof VIRS and MODIS 1.6 µm channelsbased on sunglint scenes and presentedresults of a simulated surface/satellitecloud property comparison. Alessandro


11

Ipe (RMIB) investigated the normalizationof cloud property retrievals from twodifferent imagers. The results will be usedto apply CERES-derived angular distribu-tion models based on VIRS cloud propertyretrievals to GERB data using cloudproperties from the Spinning EnhancedVisible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI).

ADM and TOA Flux Working Group

Norman Loeb led the ADM workinggroup meeting and presented a generaloverview of critical ADM/inversionresearch issues. David Doelling (AS&M)presented results from several instrumentsto examine the dependence of daytime LWand WN radiances on relative azimuthangle. Radiances tended to be larger in thebackscattering direction and smaller in theforward scattering direction due todifferences in surface temperature. Therelative azimuth dependence was relatedto time of day and surface roughness.Seiji Kato (HU) conducted a sensitivitystudy to determine the uncertainty in TOAflux caused by using the MODTRANradiative transfer model to approximatethe flux contribution of radiances emerg-ing from above the Earth's tangent point.

Nicolas Clerbaux (RMIB) describedthe methodology used in GERB to convertmeasured radiances to LW fluxes. Themethod uses the correlation between theangular and spectral dependence of LWradiation to derive a theoretical regressionfunction that converts SEVIRI spectralradiances to LW fluxes. GERB broadbandradiances are used to adjust the SEVIRI-based fluxes. Norman Loeb (presenting

for Konstantin Loukachine) showedresults from a validation study of TOACERES TRMM LW and WN fluxes.Compared to TOA flux estimates from theERBE-like product, the new CERES SSFADMs show a reduction in bias withviewing geometry by up to a factor of 5.

Nitchie Manalo-Smith (AS&M) presentedan overview of current plans for develop-ment of Terra LW and WN ADMs.Improvements can be made in sceneidentification, geometry, angular resolu-tion, a theoretical model for estimatingradiances in under-sampled angular bins,and implementing LW and WN modelsover snow surfaces.

TISA Working Group

The Temporal Interpolation and SpatialAveraging (TISA) Group, led by David

Young, discussed recent progress in thedevelopment of monthly mean CERESproducts. New models of diurnal albedovariability are being developed from eightmonths of Edition 2 fluxes. Initial com-parisons show general consistencybetween these empirical models withtheory. Testing is underway to compareinterpolations using these new models tothe previously used models based onERBE data. A discussion was held on thevalidation strategy for calibration of thenarrowband geostationary imager data.Comparisons with VIRS and possiblyISCCP data are planned. Deep convectivecloud albedos will be used to monitorimager gain consistency.

Invited Presentations

John Harries (Imperial College, London)presented an overview of the activities ofthe GERB project, a joint project betweenthe United Kingdom, Belgium, and Italy.GERB was designed for measuring thebroadband SW and LW radiation budgetof the Earth from a geostationary plat-form. The GERB instrument will be flownonboard the first METEOSAT SecondGeneration (MSG-1) spacecraft, currentlyscheduled for launch in July 2002. Harriespresented results from the characterizationof the gains of SW and total channels,filter transmission, spectral response, andpoint-spread function. The GERB process-

ing system will use a number of modelsand methods developed for CERESprocessing.

Anthony Slingo (Hadley Center [UK])presented an overview of the climateresearch at the Hadley Center. He de-scribed the model currently in use forclimate studies, namely, the HadCM3.This model has a varying horizontalresolution over land and ocean areas, 19vertical levels, and uses the Edwards andSlingo radiation code. Slingo showed atime-series of the observed surfacetemperature for 1860 to 2000 and statedthat HadCM3 is being used to determinewhether the observed temperaturechanges were caused by natural oranthropogenic factors. Model simulationsshowed precipitation decreasing in theabsence of a CO2 sink, and a positivefeedback. Comparisons of LW and SWcloud forcing (LWCF and SWCF) werepresented between the 40-year ECMWFReanalysis (ERA40) which uses HadCM3and ERBE observations. Good agreementwas found for LWCF but not for SWCF. Itwas suggested that cloud forcing wasstrongly affected by highly interactivedynamical processes.

Investigator Presentation Highlights

Tom Charlock (LaRC) discussed earlyresults from the Chesapeake Lighthouseand Aircraft Measurements for Satellites(CLAMS) flights and summarized the newmeasurement capabilities at the CERESOcean Validation Experiment (COVE) site.At COVE, the long-term Baseline SurfaceRadiation Network (BSRN), AerosolRobotic Network (AERONET), and Multi-Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer(MFRSR) measurements continued. Windspeed/direction and temperature/humidity measurements at 10 m will startin February/March. Wenying Su (HU) isinitiating a study of ocean foam using data


12

from a second spectral photometer. Giventhe high accuracy of CERES at TOA,surface albedo is now regarded as theprimary uncertainty to assessments ofTOA aerosol radiative forcing (ARF) inclear conditions.

James Coakley (OSU) presentedestimates of direct ARF derived fromCERES TOA radiances and aerosol opticaldepth (AOD) data from AERONETstations. Derived ARF values weregenerally independent of the aerosolmodel used but varied greatly from site tosite. Low sensitivity was associated withsites with highly absorbing aerosols. Siteswith non-absorbing aerosols showed highsensitivity.

Xiquan Dong (University of Utah)presented comparisons of CERES/MODISretrievals of cloud properties with thosemeasured at the ARM/SGP site. Satelliteretrievals were performed by the CERESteam using MODIS data for November2000 to June 2001. Surface data taken withthe mm-wave cloud radar providedreflectivity profiles. For thin clouds, cloudheight and temperature showed goodagreement during the day, but not atnight. Results for thick clouds showedbetter agreement. He also comparedeffective droplet radius for daytime stratusclouds and concluded that MODISretrievals overestimate cloud heightduring the night and underestimateeffective droplet radius during both dayand night. Liquid water path retrievalsshowed better agreement.

Leo Donner (Geophysical Fluid Dynam-ics Laboratory) presented results from astudy of convective mass fluxes and tracertransport in a new parameterization ofcumulus convection. Most existingcumulus parameterizations model onlythe deep convective aspects of thesystems. In the new parameterization,

mesoscale circulation is also accounted forand the resulting tracer transport wasmuch lower. This result is very significantwith regard to atmospheric chemicalcomposition when chemistry is includedin the General Circulation Models(GCMs).

Steven Dewitte (RMIB) presentedresults of blending GERB-like fluxesderived from METEOSAT-7 data andcorresponding CERES fluxes. A factordeveloped to correct for viewing zenithangle effects was found to be dependenton surface scene type. A correspondingeffort for SW fluxes is more difficultbecause of the complex angular modelsand surface classifications.

Alexander Ignatov (NOAA) presentedcomparisons of aerosol optical depth(AOD) retrieved from TRMM/VIRS andAdvanced Very High Resolution Radiom-eter (AVHRR) data. Because of thepersistent problem with VIRS channel 2,Ignatov recommended that the team useonly the AOD retrievals from VIRSchannel 1.

Seiji Kato (HU) estimated the absorp-tion by atmosphere and tropical oceanfrom CERES and ARM data taken atManus Island. The results indicated thatclouds over Manus Island presentbetween January and August 1998 had acooling effect to the column and awarming effect to the atmosphere com-pared to clear-sky conditions.

Robert B. Lee (LaRC) briefed the teamon the long-term precision of ERBEnonscanner data. For 1984 to 1999, theERBE nonscanner active cavity radiometer(ACR) measurements of SW and LWirradiances were stable at precision levelsapproaching 1 W/m2. A special spacecraftmaneuver is being planned to observedeep space and the sun to provide the

calibrations required to determine thefinal ACR gains and zero-irradianceoffsets, and to process the October 1999through 2002 measurements.

Bing Lin (LaRC) reported on usingCERES data to test the Iris hypothesisproposed by Lindzen et al. Lin usedCERES ERBE-like and SSF data to detecthigh clouds and to estimate the radiativeproperties of tropical dry, clear- moist, andcloudy-moist regions. The net radiativeforcing between cloudy-moist and clear-moist regions was generally an order ofmagnitude smaller than that of Lindzen etal. Using the CERES observed radiativeproperties, the climate feedback calculatedfrom Lin’s model was about a factor of 5-10 smaller than the Iris hypothesis.

Sergei Matrosov (University ofColorado) presented multi-year datasetsof the properties of Arctic clouds collectedat the ARM/North Slope of Alaska siteand during the Surface Heat Budget of theArctic (SHEBA) experiment. Theseproperties were derived from measure-ments made by cloud radars, microwaveradiometers, depolarization lidars, andAtmospheric Emitted Radiance Interfer-ometer (AERI) instruments. These datasetsare available to the science communityand can be used for validation of CERESand MODIS cloud retrieval algorithms.

V. Ramanathan (Scripps Institution ofOceanography [SIO]) presented results ofa validation of spatio-temporal propertiesof tropical convective clouds simulated inthe GCMs using geostationary satelliteimages from METEOSAT-5. A Lagrangiananalysis scheme was used to identifybiases in cloud sizes and precipitationrates. The winter monsoon cloud systemsare dominated by very large clouds, andthe probability of cloud precipitationincreased with increasing cloud size. Hestated that most GCMs do not simulate


13

tropical convective clouds well.

David Randall (Colorado State Univer-sity) presented results from a modelingstudy of mesoscale convective systems.The shapes, orientation, and propagationspeed of these systems are their mostimportant observed features, yet they arenot well simulated in the large-scalemodels. The study was motivated by thefact that mesoscale convective systems orthunderstorms have widespread effects onhuman activities. In this study, latentheating was included as a forcing factorand linearized 3-dimensional equations ofmomentum, continuity, and thermody-namics were solved for the system. Modelsimulation comparisons with observationsgenerally showed good agreement.

G. Louis Smith (Virginia Tech)described the annual cycle of surfaceradiation budget in terms of empiricalorthogonal functions. He also examinedtemporal variations with periods between10 days and a year, using the first year ofCERES/Terra data. The data showvariations that have a lifetime beyond theusual 10-day limit of predictability. Theequatorial eastern Indian Ocean hasespecially strong variations in the 20 to 60day range, which could be due to Mad-den-Julian oscillations.

Petra Udelhofen (State University ofNew York at Stony Brook) presentedresults from a study exploring relation-ships between cloud amount variabilityand variables like the galactic cosmic rayflux or the sunspot number over the U.S.Both galactic cosmic ray flux and sunspotnumber showed negative correlation withcloud amount.

Francisco Valero (SIO) presented anupdate on the Triana mission. Thisspacecraft will be located at the firstLagrangian point between the Sun and the

Earth. From this location, it will provide asynoptic view of the entire sunlit side ofthe Earth. A 10-channel imaging instru-ment will be used to monitor radiationbudget, ozone, aerosols, cloud phase, andultraviolet radiation at the surface. Theexpected lifetime of this spacecraft isabout 10 years.

Michel Viollier (Laboratoire deMeteorologie Dynamique, France)presented correlations betweennarrowband (NB) fluxes from METEOSATand broadband (BB) fluxes from Scannerfor Radiation Budget (ScaRaB). LWcorrelation worked well for the entireregion. SW correlation worked well exceptfor some regions affected by sunglint.These NB-BB correlations can be used toderive broadband SW and LW fluxesusing METEOSAT NB measurements.Another ScaRaB launch is scheduled for2007.

Betsy Weatherhead (University ofColorado) presented results from a trenddetection study on regionally averagedERBE data. From a trend detection pointof view, cloud and radiation data sets arenot very well behaved and do not provideunambiguous results. Overall, regionaltrends in ERBE data were not strong.

Bruce Wielicki (LaRC) summarizedhis recent Science paper on the tropicaldecadal variability seen in 22 years ofoverlapping broadband radiation data,and what appears to be a shift of 3 W/m2

in the tropical mean SW and LW fluxesfrom the late-1980s (85-89 baseline) to themid-1990s (94-97 period between Pinatuboand the strong 97/98 El Niño). Thedecadal variations also show a shift in theseasonal variations in tropical albedo inspring and fall seasons. Comparisons weremade to the major current climate modelsforced with observed sea surface tempera-tures, but the models failed to reproduce

the radiation field variations, includingthe large 1998 El Nino tropical meananomalies. Wielicki also discussed acompanion paper by Chen et al. Whichshows a new method to compare uppertropospheric humidity, vertical velocities,and cloud fraction to the radiativeanomalies shown in Wielicki et al.

Shi-Keng Yang (NOAA/NationalCenters for Environmental Prediction)presented results from validation of theMedium Range Forecast (MRF) modelusing CERES data. He described manyimprovements made to the MRF recently,especially those to the radiation scheme. Acomparison between CERES OLR andAVHRR-derived OLR from NOAAshowed good agreement only in themiddle of the range.

Outreach

David Young (LaRC) presented an updateon the CERES Students’ Cloud Observa-tions On-Line (S’COOL) educationaloutreach program. During the past sixmonths, S’COOL signed up its 1000thparticipant and logged its 10,000thobservation. S’COOL now has over 1000schools in all 50 states and in 57 othercountries.


14

The Federation of Earth Science Informa-tion Partners (ESIPs) held its eighth semi-annual meeting in Anchorage, AK, fromJanuary 23-25, 2002. The first day wasdedicated to small group meetings ofCommittees, Working Groups andClusters. Much of the focus was on theoverarching theme of developing end-to-end value chains for Federation activities.Below is a summary of the plenarysessions from Thursday and Friday andthe Business Meeting.

THURSDAY JANUARY 24

General Announcements

Pat Reiff brought to the Assembly'sattention the World Space Congressmeeting in Houston, October 10-20, 2002,which is an opportunity for the Federationand individual ESIPs to get major visibil-ity. The Standing Committee for Commu-nity Engagement, along with Reiff'sMuseum Teaching Planet Earth ESIP, willbe displaying at the meeting and areoffering to share the display space (andcost) with any other Federation members.

George Seielstad made the Assemblyaware of a one-day symposium onAgricultural Technology for RuralDevelopment to be held at the University

of North Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks onFebruary 21, 2002. The UMAC consortiumwill follow this meeting with its annualtwo-day planning meeting February 22and 23, also at UND. All ESIPs arewelcome to attend both meetings.

Remarks from the FederationPresident

Federation President Bruce Caron

presented several issues facing theFederation on the dynamics of member-ship, communication and voting, as theFederation grows and moves forward. Theunderlying theme was the necessity forthe Federation to be “vital” to its mem-bers. One specific area Bruce addressedwas the need for changes in the Federationvoting procedures to ensure a quorum.The Constitution and Bylaws currentlyrequire a quorum of 2/3 of the entireFederation to conduct a business meeting.As the membership continues to grow,attendance at meetings becomes morevital in order to conduct business. Yet, formany members of the Federation, atten-dance at the Assembly business meetings(and voting on Federation issues) is nottheir number one priority for becomingFederation members. Several possiblechanges were proposed:

• Reduce the quorum requirement tosomething less than 2/3, for example1/2.

• Impose a nominal dues structure toreduce membership rolls to thosewilling to pay a nominal fee.

• Have any ESIP missing two meetingsin a row declared inactive, and non-voting.

• Solicit members to voluntarily opt forinactive status.

After discussion from the floor, theConstitution and Bylaws Committee wastasked with bringing forth recommenda-tions on this subject to the Assembly at theMay meeting.

Summary of Wednesday January 23Discussions

Don Collins presented an overview of theend-to-end value chain discussions heldon Wednesday in the smaller groupmeetings. A number of important topicsarose during one or more of thesediscussion that the Assembly shouldconsider.

Role Between Clusters and the Federa-tion. One issue that was discussed was therole between Clusters and the Federations.At issue was whether or not the Federa-tion should develop rules for endorsing aproposal submitted by a Cluster. Therewas also discussion as to whether therewas value in a Federation “endorsement”for a proposal from a single ESIP? Indeveloping such procedures, is theFederation becoming a “Funding Busi-ness”? In wrestling with these issues theprevious day, it was felt that the recentlycreated Foundation should bare primaryresponsibility for pursuing new fundingsources, and consistent with that, theFederation itself should keep a “lighttouch” in regard to the current NASAfunding.

Minutes from the Meeting of theFederation of Earth ScienceInformation Partners— John K. Soldner, [email protected], SAIC - ESIP Federation Front Office,

Washington, DC


15

Adding Raytheon as a New Partner. Thequestion was raised whether Raytheonshould be invited to join the Federation,vis-à-vis the Synergy program? Whilethere was no definitive answer to thisquestion, after much discussion it wasdecided that the Federation should engageRaytheon in discussions on this topic.

The Need for a Federation Review. Inconcluding the Thursday morningdiscussion regarding the Federation‘sfuture planning, George Seielstad

proposed asking for a review of theFederation from the National Academy.Since the NRC spawned the Federationseveral years ago, it is appropriate now toask for a report card on the Federationexperiment. Seielstad also offered hisopinion that the Federation should be theorganization tapped by NASA to imple-ment NewDISS/Stragegic Evolution ofESE Data Systems (SEEDS). Further, heproposed the Standing Committee forCommunity Engagement (SCCE) shouldbe tasked with targeting new Type IV‘s inits outreach efforts.

Breakout Session on Metrics

Frank Lindsay concluded the morningsession by moderating a breakout sessionon Federation metrics. His report back tothe Assembly was presented during theFriday morning session.

FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2002

The Friday morning session consisted ofthe reports from the Federation’s StandingCommittees, plus two special presenta-tions by NASA HQ Earth Science Applica-tions management. Copies of the slidespresented can be found on the Federationweb site - www.esipfed.org. A listing of thetalks that were presented and thespeaker’s name follows.

• Standing Committee for CommunityEngagement - David Etter

• Standing Committee for Earth ScienceProducts and Services - AnnetteSchloss

• Metrics - Frank Lindsay• Guest Speaker - Ron Birk, NASA HQ• Guest Speaker - Ed Sheffner, NASA

HQ Applications Division• Standing Committee for

Interoperability - Rob Raskin• Standing Committee for Commercial

Development - Doug Kliman• Federation 2002 Budget - Doug

Kliman

Business Meeting

Bruce Caron, Federation President, calledthe formal voting session to orderpromptly at 2:00 PM. It was noted that amaximum of 43 votes are possible, makingthe required number for a quorum 29. Arole call was conducted by the ExecutiveSecretary to determine the voting mem-bers, or approved proxy voters, present. Atotal of 23 Assembly Representatives werenot present for the voting session; how-ever, 14 designated a proxy voter, result-ing in nine "no votes."

The following are the major accomplish-ments of the meeting:

• A decision by the Assembly to createa fifth Standing Committee, a Stand-ing Committee for Education. Thesponsors of the Resolution argued thatit was important to elevate Educationactivities to full Committee status.Critics argued that another committeewould further dilute already sparseFederation funds. The vote wasclosely contested but the resolutionwas passed.

• Rejection by the Assembly of aResolution that would have placedmore explicit language in the Federa-tion Bylaws that would clearly definethe expectations of each Federation

partner. The Constitution and BylawsCommittee will create a WorkingGroup to consider the issue of how toget partners to more actively partici-pate in Federation-wide activities–attending meetings for example.

• Unanimous approval by the Assem-bly of a Resolution by President BruceCaron to create rules by which theFoundation (non-profit entity set upby the Federation) may go aboutseeking out new sources of fundingfor the Federation. These rules are tobe voted on by the full Assembly at itsnext meeting.

Final Notes

Paul Hemenway read a statement to theFederation that the Distributed Oceano-graphic Data System (DODS) is migratingDAP to a non-profit organization calledOpenDAP, thereby adding anotherorganization to the Federation family.

It was agreed that the next meeting of theFederation Assembly would be in theWashington, DC-area the week of May 13-17.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:45 PM.


16

The Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) wasclearly visible in many different ways atthe Winter Olympics in Salt Lake Cityrecently, thanks to a team of GoddardSpace Flight Center employees headed byFritz Hasler, Code 912, NASA GSFC.A few of ESE’s activities are discussedbelow.

A total of 22,000 visitors at The Children'sMuseum of Utah (TCMU) Olympic WalkOn The World exhibit saw the 16-ft BlueMarble Terra/MODIS Globe, 30-ft floormounted Earth, the NASA/NOAA EarthScience Electronic Theater, and the largeU.S., Utah, Salt Lake City, and Park Citymurals using Landsat, ASTER and SpaceImaging/IKONOS data. Since theinternally illuminated globe was clearlyvisible outside the Museum, it is estimatedthat several hundred thousand saw asthey passed by. Also, the globe was usedas a backdrop for numerous broadcasts byNBC News Affiliates.

A total of 150,000 attendees at the re-hearsal for the Opening Ceremonies onFebruary 6, Opening Ceremonies onFebruary 8, and Closing Ceremonies onFebruary 24 saw the NASA MODIS/Landsat/Space Imaging IKONOS/Goddard/SVS Zoom from space to RiceEccles Olympic Stadium that opened theproduction on each occasion. The audi-ence included George W. Bush, Presidentof the United States, John Glenn and

numerous other dignitaries. The NASA/Space Imaging/Goddard SVS visualiza-tion brought the audience zoomingtowards Earth. Soon a buzz went throughthe crowd, and as the view approachedUtah, the buzz turned into a roar whichcontinued as the spectacular ceremoniesbegan.

Approximately 1,000,000 viewers of KSL-TV/NBC-5 in Salt Lake City saw repeatedbroadcasts of the zooms by Chief Meteo-rologist Mark Eubank in his reports on theOlympics and promotion of the TCMUexhibit. KSL-TV also ran a very nicespecial report on the exhibit during thegames.

Approximately 20,000,000 viewers of theNBC Network Olympic Broadcast, Access

Hollywood, NBC Headline News, andnumerous NBC local affiliates saw thezooms at various times throughout thegames.

An estimated two billion viewers aroundthe world saw broadcasts of the zoomsthat were distributed by InternationalSports Broadcasting (ISB) Inc.

Similar globes were installed at three otherlocations throughout the Olympic area.The globe at the Olympic Village willremain through the Paraolympics that endon March 17. The globe at TCMU willremain indefinitely and is intended to actas the beacon for the TCMU when it openspermanently at the Gateway Center in2003. The globes were provided by theEarth Science Enterprise/Earth ScienceTechnology Office and the World QuestFoundation in partnership with TCMU.

The NASA/NOAA Earth Science Elec-tronic Theater ran continuously from 3 PMto 8 PM during the Olympics. An E-theater presentation was given at BarrattElementary School in American Fork,Utah, to approximately 800 students onFebruary 22. The final E-theater presenta-tion was given at Brigham Young Univer-sity.

Earth Science Enterprise at theOlympics— Fritz Hasler, [email protected], Goddard Space Flight Center


17

NASA researchers have found strongrelationships between El Niño episodesand changes in climate and sea ice coveraround Antarctica. Identifying theserelationships is important because itprovides new insights into the changingcharacteristics of the Antarctic region andtheir role in Earth's climate system.

The findings, published in the March 1issue of the American MeteorologicalSociety's Journal of Climate, show thatalthough the total ice coverage of thesouthern ocean has not changed signifi-cantly over the last 20 years, the El Niñoand its related Southern Oscillation appearto affect regional ice distributions. Theoscillation is a recurring warming andcooling of the surface ocean in the centraland eastern Pacific. El Niño refers to thewarm phase of the oscillation.

“Understanding the connection betweenthe Southern Oscillation and southernocean climate and the sea ice cover willsubstantially improve our understandingof global climate,” said Ron Kwok, asenior research scientist at NASA‘s JetPropulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.“Our study concludes that the southernocean‘s climate and ice cover is somehowconnected to climate in the tropicallatitudes. While we don‘t know yet thecause-and-effect relationship between thetwo, we do know the changes in sea ice

cover cannot be explained by local climatevariations alone and are instead linked tolarger scale climate phenomena.”

The study was conducted by scientists atJPL and NASA‘s Goddard Space FlightCenter, Greenbelt, Md. It is based on datafrom 1982 to 1999. The NASA scientistsalso noted changes in sea ice cover inregions not normally associated with ElNiño, such as the Weddell Sea east of theAntarctic peninsula.

The strongest links were observed to be inthe Amundsen, Bellingshausen andWeddell Seas of the west Antarctic, wherethe connections are localized and welldefined. Within these sectors, higher sealevel pressure, warmer air temperatureand warmer sea surface temperature aregenerally associated with the El Niñophase.

A number of observations in the scientificliterature can be explained by this ElNiño/Southern Oscillation connection.Examples include a record decrease in seaice coverage in the Bellingshausen Seafrom mid-1982 through early 1999; thereduced sea ice concentration in the RossSea; and the shortening of the ice season inthe eastern Ross, Amundsen and farwestern Weddell Seas. Four El Niñoepisodes over the 17 year period occurredat the same time as ice cover retreated in

the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas,showing unique associations between theSouthern Oscillation and this region of theAntarctic.

“The study shows that the impact of ElNiño is global and that processes asremote as those in the polar regions areaffected,” said co-author Joey Comiso,senior research scientist from NASA‘sGoddard Space Flight Center. “The effectcan be profound since these El Niñoepisodes affect the Weddell and Ross Seas.These areas are regarded as key sources ofcold and dense bottom water that have aninfluence on global ocean circulation.Also, the ice cover in the BellingshausenSea is the habitat for a wide variety ofmarine life and is crucial to their sur-vival.”

Data for the study were acquired fromseveral sources, including satellite datafrom the National Oceanic and Atmo-spheric Administration, Washington, D.C.;climate data from the joint data set of theNational Centers for EnvironmentalPrediction, also in Washington, and theNational Center for Atmospheric Re-search, Boulder, Colo.; sea ice data fromthe National Snow and Ice Data Center inBoulder; and sea ice motion data fromJPL‘s Remote Sensing Group.

The complete paper, “Southern OceanClimate and Sea Ice Anomalies Associatedwith the Southern Oscillation,” is availableto journalists from Alan Buis at JPL TheAmerican Meteorological Society is thenation’s leading professional society forscientists in the atmospheric and relatedsciences. The study was funded by theCryospheric Sciences Program withinNASA’s Earth Science Enterprise, a long-term research effort dedicated to under-standing how human-induced and naturalchanges affect our global environment.

NASA Study Links El Niño andSouthern Ocean Changes— Robert Gutro ([email protected]), NASA Goddard Space Flight

Center, SSAI— Carolina Martinez ([email protected])

Alan Buis, ([email protected]), NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory— Stephanie Kenitzer, American Meteorological Society


18

A NASA-funded study uses temperatureand vegetation data from satellites to helptrack and predict where West Nile Virus isspreading in North America. Scientistsand public health officials hope one day touse near real-time maps to focus resourcesand stave off the disease more efficiently.

The disease, first reported in the U.S. in1999, causes flu-like symptoms that canlead to fatal encephalitis in people withcompromised immune systems, like theelderly. Though not yet proven, scientistsbelieve the West Nile Virus may be spreadacross the country by infected birdstraveling along their migration routes.Mosquitoes that act as a vector carry thevirus, and pass it on when feeding onhosts like birds, livestock, other animalsand people.

The satellite maps show nation-widetemperatures, distributions of vegetation,bird migration routes and areas pinpoint-ing reported cases. The combined datahelp scientists predict disease outbreaksby showing where conditions are right forthe insects to thrive and where the diseaseappears to be spreading.

David Rogers, lead author of the study,says, “The images are derived fromsatellite data that capture a number of

variables that are crucial for detectingwhether a habitat is suitable for a vector,like a mosquito that carries West NileVirus.” He adds that, “It's not a singlevariable that tends to determine whether adisease will occur, but rather a combina-tion of variables.” Satellite sensors, like theNational Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration‘s Advanced Very HighResolution Radiometer (AVHRR), provideinformation on vegetation and peak andaverage annual temperatures.

Mosquito populations are constrained bydifferent factors in different places. In theNorth, colder temperatures hold mosquitopopulations back. In the south, wheretemperatures are higher, the insects aremore dependent on the availability ofmoisture for survival. Lush vegetationprovides a good indicator of areas withincreased levels of moisture. Mosquitoestend to thrive in warmer, wetter areas.Satellites let researchers see which areashave these conditions, allowing for betterprediction of disease transmission.

Similarly, satellites also help plot patternslike the timing of when temperatures peakduring a year. Mosquito populationsappear to increase during the first half ofthe year but only reach sufficient levels totransmit the disease during the second

half of each year.

“The timing of a seasonal peak of tem-peratures determines the increase ofvector populations in that place,” saidRogers. “An early rise in spring tempera-ture is likely to get the mosquito off to aflying start.”

The idea is to let the satellite capturewhere the disease is spreading from yearto year and make some predictions aboutwhere the disease is going. Computermodels can determine areas that havetemperatures and moisture levels mostsuitable for mosquitoes and transmissionof West Nile Virus. Then, efforts andresources can target those high-risk areas.

The study suggests that a mild winter in1998 to 1999 may have provided favorableconditions for mosquitoes to survive thewinter, leading to a greater number ofcarriers in 1999. In that first year reportedcases were found in three states. Thenumber grew to 12 states in 2000, andmore than 20 in 2001, despite the fact thatthe winters preceding these years wereeither average or slightly below average.“Once a disease like West Nile Virusestablishes a foothold and spreads, it willbe very difficult to eradicate,” said Rogers.The methods used in this research may bemodified and applied to study a variety ofother diseases like malaria, dengue fever,Lyme disease, influenza and even asthma.

For more information, see:www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/

20020204westnile.html

Satellites vs. Mosquitoes: TrackingWest Nile Virus in the United States— Krishna Ramanujan, [email protected], NASA Goddard

Space Flight Center, SSAI— Cynthia O’Carroll, [email protected], NASA Goddard

Space Flight Center


19

Earth's Magnetic Field Controls Damag-

ing Radiation, February/March 2002 —(American Geophysical Union’s EOSnewspaper). James Heirtzler (NASA/GSFC) was featured in an article thatconcerns how the Earth's magnetic fieldcontrols damaging radiation in low earthorbits and how this has caused damage toa number of spacecraft (and injury tohumans, including Shuttle astronauts).The changing geomagnetic field isexpected to cause even more damage.

Snow Science, Not Sport, in the Rockies,

February 26 — (Denver Rocky MountainNews, Science Daily). This month, dozensof scientists on the ground, in the air andusing satellite observations will begin amulti-year experiment to study wintersnow packs on the Colorado side of theRocky Mountains. Scientists came from:NASA, NOAA, the USDA Forest Serviceand the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,and from several universities. NASA’s JetPropulsion Laboratory (NASA/JPL),Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC), Dryden Flight Research Center,and NASA Headquarters were all in-volved in this project.

Satellites Track Mosquitoes, February 25— (United Press International). David

Rogers (Oxford Univ.) is using tempera-ture and vegetation data from satellites totrack and predict the course of West NileVirus in North America.

NASA‘s Aqua Satellite Shipped to

Launch Site, February 25 —(UPI, Space-flight Now, Santa Maria Times). NASA'sAqua spacecraft is ready to be shipped toVandenburg Air Force Base in Californiato begin launch preparations, according toPhil Sabelhaus (NASA/GSFC) AquaProject Manager.

The Growing Season Is Growing as

Warming Trend Persists, February 25 —(Philadelphia Inquirer). Compton Tucker(NASA/GSFC) was featured in this articlediscussing an increase in the density ofvegetation throughout Pennsylvania andmuch of the Northern Hemisphere as aresult of warming and increased carbondioxide.

Polar Warming Continues With Ice Mass

Losses, February 20 — (Spacedaily.com,Christian Science Monitor, Nature News).A study of the Arctic during the summerof 2000 noted that temperatures in theArctic were the warmest in 400 years, andthat there has been an 18-year downturnin ice cover over the Atlantic Ocean. Ted

Scambos and Mark Serreze (both Univ. ofColorado Boulder), were quoted in thisarticle.

Pollution Drying Up Rainfall, February19 — (United Press International, NatureNews). At the American Association forthe Advancement of Sciences meeting,Daniel Rosenfeld (Hebrew Univ., Israel),used satellite data to explain how tinyairborne particles are changing rainfallpatterns around the world, and making itmore difficult for clouds to precipitate.

Terra Takes Sea Surface Temperature

With Precision, February 15 —(Spaceflightnow.com). Otis Brown andPeter Minnett (both of Univ. of Miami)were featured in this article about NASA'sTerra satellite. Terra is collecting the mostdetailed measurement of sea surfacetemperatures ever made, enablingscientists to advance their studies onocean-atmosphere interactions that helpdefine the Earth's climate.

Satellites Blow the Surprises Of World’s

Wild Weather, February 12— (BostonGlobe). 23 speakers made presentationson NASA Earth Science topics at theAnnual Meeting of the American Associa-tion for the Advancement of Sciences.Included were: Yoram Kaufman (NASA/GSFC), Harold Annegarn (Univ. ofWitwatersrand, South Africa), PauloArtaxo (Universidad de Sao Paulo, Brazil),V. Ramanathan (Scripps Institution ofOceanography), Daniel Rosenfeld(Hebrew Univ., Israel), James Hansen(NASA/GISS), Azita Valinia (NASAHeadquarters), Mark Abbott (OregonState Univ.), David Skole (Michigan StateUniv.), Richard Reynolds (NationalEnvironmental Satellite Data and Informa-tion Service), Mark Meier (Univ. ofColorado), Claire Parkinson (NASA/GSFC), Bob Bindschadler (NASA/GSFC),Ted Scambos (National Snow and Ice Data

— Robert Gutro ([email protected]). NASA earth Science News Team,SSAI


20

Center), Mark Serreze (National Snow andIce Data Center), Shripad Deo (NOAA/National Weather Service), Tim Liu(NASA/JPL), Bob Adler (NASA/GSFC),Steven Goodman (NASA/MSFC),Marshall Shepherd (NASA/GSFC), andEdward Gutro (EA Kelley Insurance).

Satellites Help Track Disease Epidemics,

February 7 — (Space.com,Cosmiverse.com, Environment NewsService). Satellite images of droughts,floods and heatwaves are now helpingscientists track and predict the conditionsthat are favorable for transmissions ofdiseases such as West Nile Virus in theU.S., and Rift Valley Fever and Ebola inAfrica. This article discussed recent papersby Compton Tucker and Assaf Anyamba(both of NASA/GSFC).

The Blue Marble, February 7 — (ABCnews, BBC news, CBS news, NBC news).The most detailed true-color image of theentire Earth was created by scientists andvisualizers (NASA/GSFC) from a collec-tion of satellite based observations, andaired around the world during theOlympic games. To see the image:www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/News-room/BlueMarble/

Climate Studies Point to More Floods in

This Century, January 30 -(NationalGeographic.com). EOS-fundedresearcher P. Christopher Milly (U.S.Geological Survey) reviewed data on 100-year floods that occurred in the lastcentury to look for flooding trends. Millyand his colleagues concluded that much ofcentral and northern Europe will be fivetimes more likely to suffer very wetwinters this century.

Ecology Dramatically Altered by Fertiliz-

ers, Acid Rain, January 25 — (SpaceflightNow, ScienceDaily.com, Spacedaily.com).Steve Perakis (U.S. Geological Survey) and

Lars Hedin (Princeton Univ.) found thathigh levels of inorganic nitrogen in theUnited States are really the result of acidrain and agricultural fertilizers.

Study Links El Niño to Deadly South

American Disease, January 22 — (Balti-more Sun newspaper, Science News,Spacedaily.com). William K. Lau (NASA/GSFC) and U.S. military health specialistsmay have discovered a way to predictoutbreaks of Bartonellosis by observingsea surface temperatures in the tropicaleastern Pacific.

Climate Change May Bring More Winter

Floods in California, January 22 —(Spacedaily.com, ScienceDaily.com). Overthe next century, climate change will likelybring more wintertime flooding, andsummertime drought to California,according to a study by EOS researcherNorman Miller (Lawrence BerkeleyNational Labs), and his colleagues at theNational Weather Service.

A Chilling Effect on the Great Global

Melt, January 18 – (New York Times,Associated Press). Ian Joughlin (NASA/JPL), Slawek Tulaczyk (Univ. of California,Santa Cruz), and Richard Alley (Pennsyl-vania State Univ.) were all quoted in thisarticle that discussed how ice in parts ofwestern Antarctica is getting thicker.

Growth of Greenhouse Gases Slowing,

January 17 – (Christian Science Monitor,CNN, LA Times, UPI). James Hansen(NASA/GISS) published a paper in theProceedings of the National Academy ofSciences that explained the current growthof greenhouse gases has slowed since 1980because of the phase-out ofchlorofluorcarbons.

Seawinds Satellite Provides Faster

Cyclone Warnings, January 16 –(Cosmiverse.com, ScienceDaily). Ryan

Sharp (Florida State Univ.) used Seawindsdata to see rotating winds and identifycyclones earlier than the present system.In 2001, out of the 17 tropical cyclones thatdeveloped in the Atlantic Ocean, eightwere detected an average of 43 hoursbefore they were classified by the NationalHurricane Center.

New Technique Greatly Improves

U.S. Seasonal Forecasts, January 16 -(United Press International,Cosmiverse.com) William Lau (NASA/GSFC) presented a paper at the annualAMS meeting demonstrating a techniqueto increase predictability of precipitationduring all seasons by examining changesin sea surface temperatures in variousocean basins and their individual impactson regional climate.

Scientists Unsure of Absorption, Decem-ber 13, 2001 – (Associated Press). Scien-tists are uncertain how much of the carbondioxide emitted naturally each year withinthe North American ecosystem is reab-sorbed by that system, complicatingcalculations of the net effect of humanactivities on emissions of the greenhousegas. Christopher Potter (NASA/Ames)and Jing Chen (Univ. of Toronto) wereboth featured in this article.


21

SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE'S 4-DAY EDUCATION WORKSHOP FORSCIENTISTS, ENGINEERS, AND EPOMANAGERS

21-24 April 2002, Boulder, Colorado

Sponsored by NASA and NSF, thisworkshop offers scientists, engineers, andeducation managers the knowledgenecessary to design and implementeffective Education and Public Outreach(EPO) programs for scientific programsassociated with universities, NASAcenters and flight projects, researchinstitutions, and government agencies. Itis targeted towards those who work in anysphere of Space or Earth Science, includ-ing scientists or engineers interested in K-14 EPO, EPO managers who are taskedwith EPO program design and withproviding meaningful ways for scientistsand engineers to contribute to EPO efforts,and educators interested in gainingperspective about working with scientistsand engineers in EPO. For more informa-tion, application, and registration visitwww.spacescience.org, or contact ChristyEdwards at [email protected].

WANTED: EDUCATORS FOREARTH SYSTEM SCIENCEACADEMY FOR TEACHERS

21-22 June 2002

The Earth System Science Academy offers

K-12 educators the opportunity to learnabout the health of local waterways andthe Great Dismal Swamp in NorthCarolina. The Academy will include a tourof the Great Dismal Swamp Boardwalk;hands-on water quality labs; and work-shops on Earth System Science. Internetworkshops will focus on NASA educa-tional resources on Earth System Science.The Academy will challenge educators todevelop new skills through the experienceof working with university and NASAresearchers. There is a $99 registration feeand seating is limited. Call (252) 335-3696to reserve a place or see nia.ecsu.edu/nrts/workshops/essa2002/essa2002.htmlfor more information.

WILDLIFE BIOLOGISTS WANTEDFOR ONLINE PROGRAM

The NASA-funded "Signals of Spring"(www.signalsofspring.com/) along withnewest program sponsor National Geo-

graphic, is seeking a diverse team of Earthscientists and wildlife biologists to interactwith students online in their interactiveanalysis journals for the Spring 2002investigation. In the classroom program,student teams use Earth imagery and GISto explain the migratory movement ofanimals tracked by satellite, includingbald eagles, whales, sandhill crane andother species. Scientists receive a stipendof $250 for interacting with electronic

journals during April and May. Studentteams will study phytoplankton, weather,sea surface temperature, bathymetry,geography, and wildlife species. The timeinvolved is 5-15 total hours. Participatingscientists will be featured online andreceive a Signals of Spring Certificate ofParticipation. For more information, email:[email protected] and includeyour name, affiliation, and contactinformation.

EDUCATION RESOURCES

oea.larc.nasa.gov/PAIS/AtmSciCareer.html

Fact sheet on Atmospheric Science Careersdeveloped by NASA Langley ResearchCenter.

NEW ON THE NASA EARTHOBSERVATORY

earthobservatory.nasa.gov/

The following are new references andfeature articles included in NASA's EarthObservatory. In addition to these re-sources, visit the Earth Observatory to seethe latest images and summaries of Earthscience stories from radio, newspaper, andtelevision.

Hantavirus Risk Maps (DAAC Study)

earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/Hanta/

Satellite and ground truth data helpscientists predict the risk of hantaviruspulmonary syndrome.

Tracking a Volcano: SatelliteObservations of Piton de la Fournaise

earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/ReunionIsland/

NASA satellite data from Terra andLandsat provide a unique perspective onthe current eruption of the Piton de laFournaise volcano.

Earth Science Education ProgramUpdate— Blanche Meeson ([email protected]), NASA Goddard Space Flight

Center— Theresa Schwerin ([email protected]), IGES


22

SCIENCE NEWS

For the latest NASA Earth science news,visit the NASA Earth Observatory -earthobservatory.nasa.gov - orScience@NASA - science.nasa.gov/.

NASA GLOBAL CHANGE MASTERDIRECTORY AVAILABLE

NASA's Global Change Master On-lineDirectory (GCMD) 2002 provides descrip-tions of Earth science data sets andservices relevant to global change re-search. The Global Change MasterDirectory now holds more than 10,600descriptions of Earth and environmentalscience data, with information on how toobtain the data and/or direct links to datasources. The individual data set descrip-

tions were contributed by more than 1,300data centers, government agencies,universities, research institutions andprivate researchers around the world. Thedirectory is organized by topics: Agricul-ture, Atmosphere, Biosphere, HumanDimensions, Hydrosphere, Land Surface,Oceans, Paleoclimate, Radiance/Imagery,Solid Earth, Snow and Ice and Sun-EarthInteractions.

Access to the directory is availablethrough globalchange.nasa.gov orgcmd.nasa.gov. Selected portions of thedirectory can be placed on a CD for userswithout Internet connections. New dataset descriptions are added daily, andothers are updated on an ongoingbasis.their interactive analysis journals for

the Spring 2002 investigation. In theclassroom program, student teams useEarth imagery and GIS to explain themigratory movement of animals trackedby satellite, including bald eagles, whales,sandhill crane and other species. Scientistsreceive a stipend of $250 for interactingwith electronic journals during April andMay. Student teams will study phy-toplankton, weather, sea surface tempera-ture, bathymetry, geography, and wildlifespecies. The time involved is 5-15 totalhours. Participating scientists will befeatured online and receive a Signals ofSpring Certificate of Participation. Formore information, email:[email protected] and includeyour name, affiliation, and contactinformation.

On March 12, 2002, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite obtained thisstunning image of haze over China. The haze has turned the sky an opaque grey over much of eastern China. Beijing, China'scapital city, is situated roughly 150 km (93 miles) west of Bo Hai Bay, just north of what appears to the densest portion of theaerosol pollution in this scene. The heavy aerosol concentrations can be seen blowing eastward across the Bo Hai Bay and YellowSea.


23

EOS Science Calendar

June 17-21 (Tentative)

Second Public Workshop on the StrategicEvolution of ESE Data Systems (SEEDS),location TBD. The focus of this workshop willbe on developing community-based processesto guide the development and validation ofSEEDS protocols and standards, cost models,interfaces, technology and accountability.

July 22-26

The International Tropical RainfallMeasurement Mission (TRMM) ScienceConference, Honolulu, Hawaii. Contact:Robert Adler, e-mail:[email protected].

July 15-19

Community Outreach Workshop on MODISVegetation Variables (VI/LAI/FPAR/NPP),University of Montana, Missoula, MT. Contact:Steven Running, [email protected]. SeeURL: www.forestry.umt.edu/ntsg/MODISMTG

Global Change Calendar

April 22-26

2002 American Society ofPhotogrammentry and Remote SensingAnnual Conference, Washington, DC. URL:www.fig2002.com/.

May 13-17 (Tentative)

Ninth Meeting of the Federation of ESIPs,Washington, DC. URL: www.esipfed.org/.

May 28-June 1

American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2002Spring Meeting, Washington DC. URL:www.agu.org/.

May 20-22

Seventh International Conference on RemoteSensing for Marine and Coastal

Environments, Miam. Contact Nancy Wallman.e-mail: nancy.wallman@veridian. com; URL:www.erim-int.com/CONF/marine/MARINE.html.

June 5-7

59th Eastern Snow Conference, Stowe,VT. Contact Ken Rancourt, email:[email protected]

June 11-13

Third International Symposium on“Remote Sensing of Urban Areas,”Istanbul, Turkey. Call for Papers. ContactFiliz Sunar Erbek, e-mail:[email protected], URL:www.ins.itu.edu.tr/rsurban3.

July 7-10

Second Large Scale Biosphere-AtmosphereExperiment in Amazonia (LBA) ScienceConference, Manaus, Brazil. ContactFlavio Luizao of the National Institute forSpace Research (INPE), Manaus, Brazil,e-mail: [email protected].

July 9-12

2002 Joint International Symposium onGeoSpatial Theory, Processing andApplications, Ottawa, Canada. Call forPapers. For details, tel. +1 613 224-9577;e-mail: [email protected];URL: www.geomatics2002.org.

September 2-6

ISPRS Commission V Symposium,Thessaloniki, Greece. Call for Papers.Contact Prof. Alexandra Koussoulakou,e-mail: [email protected].

September 3-6

Pan Ocean Remote Sensing Conference(PORSEC) 2002, Bali, Indonesia. ContactBonar Pasaribu, e-mail:bonarpp@indosat. net.id, URL:www.porsec2001.com.

September 9-13

ISPRS Commission III Symposium 2002,Graz, Austria. Contact Institute for

Computer Graphics and Vision, tel. +43316 873-5011, email: [email protected], URL: www.icg.tu-graz.ac.at/isprs

September 18-25

Joint CACGP/IGAC 002 InternationalSymposium, “Chemistry Within the EarthSystem: From Regional Pollution toGlobal Change,” Crete, Greece. ContactMaria Kanakidou, email:[email protected], URL:atlas.chemistry.uoc.gr/IGAC2002

September 23-27

Conference on Sensors, Systems, and NextGeneration Satellites VIII (RS03), an SPIESymposium on Remote Sensing, Crete,Greece. Contact Steve Neeck, [email protected], or SPIE, [email protected]

October 14-19

COSPAR Scientific Commission A,Houston, TX. Contact Robert Ellingson, email:[email protected], tel. 301-405-5386.

October 26-28

3rd International Symposium onSustainable Agro-environmental Systems:New Technologies and Applications,Cairo, Egypt. Contact Derya Maktax,e-mail: [email protected].

December 3-6

International Symposium on Resource andEnvironmental Monitoring, Hyderabad, India.Contact R. Nagaraja, e-mail:[email protected], tel. 91-40-388-4239

Code 900National Aeronautics andSpace Administration

Goddard Space Flight CenterGreenbelt, Maryland 20771

Official BusinessPenalty For Private Use, $300.00

Printed on Recycled Paper

PRSRT STDPostage and Fees PaidNational Aeronautics andSpace AdministrationPermit G27

The Earth Observer

The Earth Observer is published by the EOS Project Science Office, Code 900, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, telephone (301) 614-5559, FAX (301) 614-6530, and is available on the World Wide Web ateos.nasa.gov/ or by writing to the above address. Articles, contributions to the meeting calendar, and suggestions arewelcomed. Contributions to the Global Change meeting calendar should contain location, person to contact, telephonenumber, and e-mail address. To subscribe to The Earth Observer, or to change your mailing address, please callHannelore Parrish at (301) 867-2114, send message to [email protected], or write to the address above.

The Earth Observer Staff:

Executive Editor: Charlotte Griner ([email protected])Technical Editors: Bill Bandeen ([email protected])

Jim Closs ([email protected])Tim Suttles ([email protected])

Design and Production: Alan Ward ([email protected])Winnie Humberson ([email protected])

Distribution: Hannelore Parrish ([email protected])

Date post:	11-Nov-2021
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	2 times
Download:	0 times

In this issue EDITOR’S CORNER - NASA

Documents