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national aeronautics and space administration earth science reference handbook a guide to nasa s earth science program and earth observing satellite missions

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national aeronautics and space administration earth science reference handbook a guide to nasa s earth science program and earth observing satellite missions www.nasa.gov

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earth science reference handbook editors claire l parkinson alan ward michael d king design and production sterling spangler national aeronautics and space administration washington d.c 2006

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abstract the earth science reference handbook provides a guide to the satellite missions and other elements of nasa s earth science program this volume updates the 1999 eos reference handbook now that the major missions of the earth observing system eos have been launched and are transmitting data and broadens the coverage to include not just eos but also additional nasa earth science missions the book begins with overviews of nasa s earth science program and its following aspects earth observations the data and information system and policies regarding the data the applied sciences program the education program the technology program and the collaborative efforts with other nations and with other agencies within the u.s this preliminary material constitutes the first 25 of the book the remaining 75 centers on nasa s satellite earth-observing missions many of them joint with other nations and/or agencies beginning with the active cavity radiometer irradiance monitor satellite acrimsat and proceeding alphabetically through the upper atmosphere research satellite uars the chapters on individual missions include summaries of the mission and its science goals descriptions of each instrument on the spacecraft and its relevance to the mission a list of data products points of contact and a list of references the program as a whole is collecting hundreds of gigabytes a day of data about the earth system these data are being processed by numerous data centers and are being made available to the research community weather forecasters and a wide variety of additional users earth science reference handbook iii

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table of contents abstract acknowledgements nasa s earth science program earth observing program earth observing system data and information system data and information policy applied sciences program education program technology program international cooperation interagency coordination nasa s earth observing missions acrimsat adeos ii aqua aquarius aura calipso cloudsat eo-1 ep/toms erbs glory gpm grace icesat jason landsat 7 ldcm meteor-3m npp oco ostm quikscat orbview-2/seawifs sorce terra topex/poseidon trmm uars points of contact acronyms and abbreviations iii vii 1 11 27 35 37 45 49 53 59 63 65 69 73 95 101 119 125 129 135 137 141 149 157 163 167 175 181 183 187 199 205 211 215 219 225 239 243 255 259 265 earth science reference handbook v

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list of figures atmospheric carbon dioxide monthly mean mixing ratios earth science mission profile 1997­2003 earth science mission profile 2004­2010 satellites of the a-train satellites of the morning constellation results of a round-robin aperture-area comparison eosdis context applied sciences program approach to integrated system solutions 8 earth science research and applied sciences matrix 9 earth science education program approach 10 program elements of earth science technology focus areas 1 2a 2b 3 4 5 6 7 1 18 19 23 23 23 33 37 41 47 51 list of tables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 nasa earth science satellite program 1991­2010 instrument complement of the coordinated earth system science satellite measurements of nasa and its partners instrument complement satellite platform instrument counts and data rates representative airborne field campaigns data centers disciplines and contact information applied science program elements nasa education program operating principles investment portfolio foreign contributions to nasa earth science satellite missions ccsp research goals and associated nasa earth science research questions ccsp core approaches and associated nasa earth science programs ccsp research elements and associated nasa earth science research focus areas 7­9 16­17 20­21 24­26 32 42­43 46 50 54­55 61 61 61 vi earth science reference handbook

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acknowledgements the earth science reference handbook substantially revises and expands the content of the 1999 eos reference handbook edited by michael d king and reynold greenstone and includes significant contributions from many individuals involved in the nasa earth science program we especially want to recognize the contributions of jack kaye and greg williams from nasa headquarters both of whom reviewed an early draft of many of the sections we d also like to recognize the contributions of individuals from the earth observing system project science office eospso all from ssai who were responsible for substantial content development and/or editing of individual sections of the book as well as the production of graphics these people include carla evans charlotte griner reynold greenstone bill bandeen tim suttles and alex mcclung the contribution of carla evans was especially notable as she oversaw the production of the handbook until november 2004 gathered content for many of the sections organized much of this content and dealt with numerous scientists and other contributors in addition to these individuals the table below lists major contributors including reviewers to each section of the handbook the names in italics served as primary eospso points of contact for developing content for the missions section robert wolfe of nasa gsfc also helped significantly by providing data set start and when appropriate end dates for past and ongoing missions handbook section nasa s earth science program earth observing program earth observing system data and information system contributors affiliation bill bandeen ssai bill bandeen ssai jim closs ssai jennifer brennan gst kenneth mcdonald gsfc hampapuram ramapriyan gsfc francis lindsay hq martha maiden hq alan ward ssai bruce davis ssc fritz pollicelli gsfc diane schweizer hq ming-ying wei hq mariann albjerg gsfc eduardo torres-martinez gsfc susan west hq shahid habib gsfc matthew koeppe hq elizabeth williams hq susan west hq data and information policy applied sciences programs education program technology program international cooperation interagency coordination earth science reference handbook vii

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handbook section introduction to missions section acrimsat adeos ii contributors affiliation alan ward ssai richard willson col u michael freilich osu haruhisa shimoda jaxa w timothy liu jpl bill barnes gsfc steve broberg jpl mous chahine jpl chelle gentemann rss gary gibson larc dorothy hall gsfc elena lobl uah chuck mcclain gsfc eni njoku jpl claire parkinson gsfc vince salomonson gsfc akira shibata eorc/jaxa roy spencer uah bruce wielecki larc jack xiong gsfc gary lagerloef esr david le vine gsfc john barnett ou reinhard beer jpl ernest hilsenrath gsfc john gille cu and ncar joanna joiner gsfc gilbert leppelmeier fmi pieternel levelt knmi rene noordhoek knmi robert voors knmi joe waters jpl david winker larc richard austin csu ralph basilio jpl ron boain jpl alan buis jpl steve durden jpl debbie krumm csu graeme stephens csu deborah vane jpl aqua aquarius aura calipso cloudsat viii earth science reference handbook

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handbook section eo-1 contributors affiliation thomas brakke gsfc lawrence ong gsfc stephen ungar gsfc richard mcpeters gsfc robet lee larc joseph zawodny larc michael mischenko giss robert adler gsfc john durning gsfc steve neeck hq steve horowitz hq arthur hou gsfc ramesh kakar hq j marshall shepherd gsfc eric smith gsfc erich stocker gsfc alan buis jpl ab davis jpl srinivas bettadpur utcsr margaret srinivasan jpl byron tapley utcsr michael watkins jpl david hancock gsfc bob schutz utcsr chris shuman gsfc kelley case jpl shailen desai jpl lee fu jpl gary kunstmann jpl tim munson jpl annie richardson jpl glenn shirtliffe jpl margaret srinivasan jpl theresa arvidson lmto steve covington aero john barker gsfc richard irish ssai brian markham gsfc jeff masek gsfc laura rocchio ssai darrel williams gsfc tracy zeiler usgs ep/toms erbs glory gpm grace icesat jason landsat 7 earth science reference handbook ix

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handbook section ldcm contributors affiliation jim irons gsfc laura rocchio ssai william chu larc pat mccormick hu ernie hilsenrath gsfc jim gleason gsfc sergey krimchansky gsfc karen latham gsfc jeffrey privette gsfc james shuie gsfc joel susskind gsfc david crisp jpl hamilton sundstrand sensor systems oco project staff jpl oco science team orbital sciences corporation paula bontempi hq chuck mcclain gsfc gene feldman gsfc ocean biology processing group gsfc orbital imaging corporation kelley case jpl shailen desai jpl annie richardson jpl margaret srinivasan jpl michael freilich osu w timothy liu jpl vanessa george lasp-cu jerald harder lasp-cu greg kopp lasp-cu william mcclintock lasp-cu gary rottman lasp-cu sean ryan lasp-cu thomas woods lasp-cu michael abrams jpl david diner jpl james drummond ut ann kahle jpl retired jon ranson gsfc vince salomonson gsfc si-chee tsay gsfc bruce wielicki larc meteor-3m/sage iii npp oco orbview-2/seawifs ostm quikscat sorce terra x earth science reference handbook

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handbook section topex/poseidon contributors affiliation lee fu jpl tim munson jpl annie richardson jpl margaret srinivasan jpl robert meneghini gsfc jeffrey halverson umbc james shiue gsfc erich stocker gsfc charles jackman gsfc trmm uars acronyms and abbreviations aero cu col u csu eorc eos eospso esr fmi giss gsfc hq hu jaxa knmi aerospace corporation university of colorado columbia university colorado state university earth observation research center earth observing system eos project science office earth space research finnish meteorological institute nasa goddard institute for space studies nasa goddard space flight center nasa headquarters hampton university japan aerospace exploration agency royal dutch meteorological institute ncar osu ou rss ssai ssc uah umbc usgs ut utcsr lmto jpl mit nasa lockheed martin technical operations nasa jet propulsion laboratory massachusetts institute of technology national aeronautics and space administration national center for atmospheric research oregon state university oxford university remote sensing systems science systems and applications incorporated nasa stennis space center university of alabama huntsville university of maryland baltimore county united states geological survey university of toronto university of texas center for space research lasp-cu laboratory for atmospheric and space physics university of colorado larc nasa langley research center earth science reference handbook xi

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nasa s earth science program introduction nasa s earth science program is dedicated to understanding the total earth system and the effects of natural and human-induced changes on the global environment the vantage point of space provides information about earth s land atmosphere ice oceans and biota that is obtainable in no other way nasa is studying the interactions among these components to advance the new discipline of earth system science with a near-term emphasis on global climatic change our research results contribute to the development of sound environmental policy and economic investment decisions nasa develops innovative technologies and applications of remote sensing for solving practical societal problems in food and fiber production natural-hazard mitigation regional planning water resources and national-resource management in partnership with other federal agencies with industry and with state and local governments earth science discoveries are shared with the public to enhance science mathematics and technology education and increase the scientific and technological literacy of all americans earth science combines the excitement of scientific discovery with the reward of practical contributions to the sustainability of our home planet dressing these issues through research efforts coordinated under the u.s climate change science program ccsp encompassing the climate change research initiative ccri and the u.s global change research program usgcrp the international geosphere-biosphere program igbp and the world climate research program wcrp the strategy of nasa s earth science program is explained in the document earth science enterprise strategy nasa 2003 which can be accessed at science hq.nasa.gov/strategy/index.html scientific research shows that earth has continually undergone changes throughout its history and continues to change human activity has altered the condition of earth by reconfiguring the landscape by changing the composition of the atmosphere and by stressing the biosphere in countless ways there are strong indications that natural change is being accelerated by human intervention in its quest for improved quality of life humanity has become a force for change on the planet building upon reshaping and modifying nature often in unintended ways the by-products of human activities such as carbon dioxide methane nitrous oxide and other gases once in place in the atmosphere trap heat emitted from earth s surface thus potentially warming the global atmosphere measurements over the past several decades have documented a rapid rise in concentrations of these greenhouse gases figure 1 changes in other variables such as global cloudiness concentration of atmospheric dust particles sea ice concentrations and ocean-circulation patterns also background in the 21st century planet earth faces the potential hazard of rapid environmental changes including climate warming rising sea level deforestation desertification atmospheric ozone depletion increased acid rain and reduced biodiversity such changes could have a profound impact on all nations and on the natural system but many important scientific questions remain unanswered for example while most climate scientists agree that global warming is occurring details on its magnitude timing and causes especially at the regional level are quite uncertain additional information on the rate causes and effects of global change is essential to developing the understanding needed to cope effectively with it nasa is working with the national and international scientific communities to establish a sound scientific basis for ad co2 concentration ppm year figure 1 atmospheric carbon dioxide monthly mean mixing ratios as observed by tans and keeling at mauna loa hawaii data prior to may 974 are from the scripps institution of oceanography and data since may 974 are from the national oceanic and atmospheric administration noaa earth science reference handbook nasa s earth science program ]

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have impacts on earth s climate prior to the late 1990s space-based systems for global monitoring lacked the spatial temporal and spectral coverage necessary to provide observations with the accuracy and precision desired to interpret the interactions among these variables and their individual and combined contributions to global climate furthermore modeling of these interactive processes did not represent them with sufficient accuracy to generate reliable predictions of the magnitude and timing of global climate change in a variety of orbits these will include a `sensorweb of small smart satellites in low earth orbit large-aperture sensors in geostationary orbits and sentinel satellites at the lagrangian points l1 and l2 about 1.5 million kilometers from earth to provide synoptic day/night views of the entire globe from pole to pole onboard data processing and high-speed computing and communications will enable delivery of tailored information products from satellites direct to users at the cost of today s international telephone calls overview nasa uses space ground and aircraft-based measurement systems to provide the scientific basis for understanding the earth system especially its climate weather and natural hazards components nasa contributes ongoing and near-term satellite missions new missions under development planned future missions management and analysis of satellite and in situ data and a continuing basicresearch program focused on process studies modeling and data analysis the space-based components of nasa s earth science program provide a constellation of satellites to study earth from space sustained observations allow researchers to monitor earth s climate variables over time to determine trends however launching satellites alone is not sufficient a comprehensive data and information system a community of scientists performing research with the data acquired and extensive ground and airborne campaigns are all important components more than any other factor the commitment to make earth science data easily available to the research community is critical to mission success satellites operating in a variety of orbits form the space component of nasa s earth science program no single orbit permits the gathering of complete information on earth processes for example the low-inclination orbit of the tropical rainfall measuring mission trmm was chosen specifically because trmm was designed to study tropical rainfall and the associated release of energy that helps to power the global atmospheric circulation highinclination polar-orbiting satellites are needed to observe phenomena that require relatively detailed observations on a routine basis often from a constant solar-illumination angle geostationary satellites are needed to provide continuous monitoring of high-temporal-resolution processes an international array of these platforms now provides coverage on a near-global basis this coverage may be improved in the next few years by geostationary satellites with advanced instrumentation planned by nasa and its international partners advances in observing and information technologies research and modeling are all required to fulfill nasa s long-term vision for earth system prediction the observing system of the future will continue to include satellites earth science mission goals and objectives nasa s earth-sun exploration division is currently in charge of nasa s earth science program and plans its scientific and programmatic endeavors in accord with nasa s vision and mission in the context of current scientific societal and national imperatives the nasa vision to improve life here to extend life to there to find life beyond the nasa mission to understand and protect our home planet to explore the universe and search for life to inspire the next generation of explorers the former earth science enterprise ese expanded the earth-oriented parts of the nasa vision and mission to the following ese mission statement to understand and protect our home planet by using our view from space to study the earth system and improve prediction of earth system change one of nasa s goals is understand the earth system and apply earth system science to improve the prediction of climate weather and natural hazards and among nasa s objectives within this goal are understand how earth is changing better predict change and understand the consequences for life on earth these objectives are at the core of the earth science mission and lead to the following fundamental question guiding scientific research and applications in nasa s earth science program how is earth changing and what are the consequences for life on earth nasa s earth science program earth science reference handbook

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