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Sept Oct09.Pdf National Aeronautics and Space Administration The Earth Observer. September - October 2009. Volume 21, Issue 5. Editor’s Corner Steve Platnick ebra el t c in EOS Senior Project Scientist – Acting g t 2009 w On September 1, NASA Headquarters released results for the 2009 Earth Science Se- • e n nior Review. The review evaluated extended mission proposals submitted in late March t y s y r e for 13 satellite missions that are, or soon will be, beyond their Prime Mission lifetimes a (ACRIMSAT, Aqua, Aura, CALIPSO, CloudSat, EO-1, GRACE, ICESat, Jason-1, Quik- 1989 2 SCAT, SORCE, Terra, and TRMM); this was the first Senior Review for Aura and CALIPSO. Though the Senior Review is a biennial process, this year’s review provided mission direction and funding guidelines for fiscal years (FY) 2010–2013; the FY2012-13 guidelines are considered prelimi- nary and will be revisited at the next Senior Review in 2011. The process began with a call letter released on January 21. Two budgets were sought: an in-guide budget that covered continuation of the basic mission and its core products and a so-called optimal budget that would sup- port additional activities. There were some notable differences compared to the 2007 Senior Review. First, there was no solicitation for new products or enhanced science. Second, while the total amount intended for mission Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) activities was requested, the details of the proposed effort and an itemized budget are being submitted separately in mission Implementation Plans that are due October 1 (as described in a separate call letter released on August 31). continued on page 2 Super Typhoon Choi-wan had just become a Category 4 super typhoon on the morning of September 15, 2009, when the Moderate Resolution Imag- ing Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured the top image. Approximately a minute later, the CloudSat satellite also flew over the storm system. Cloudsat’s flight path (a section of which is shown as a grey line across the MODIS image) took it just north of the eye at the center of the storm. In the lower image Cloudsat’s radar recorded the cloud structure, captur- ing a vertical cross section view of the storm. The dense clouds at the center of the storm tower above fifteen kilometers. Most distinctive is the eye, which is completely clear to sea level. The clouds on either side of the eye are dense, sending a strong radar signal back to the satellite as indicated by the darkest shades.For more information and to view the images in color please visit: earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Natural- Hazards/view.php?id=40234 the earth observer Credit: NASA’s Earth Observatory www.nasa.gov 02 The Earth Observer September - October 2009 Volume 21, Issue 5 Most mission funding guidelines were at or near the eos.nasa.gov existing in-guide budget level (or at the optimal level in many cases) for the four years. Exceptions include EO-1, which was fully extended through FY2011 with In This Issue funds in FY2012 for final dataset archiving/documenta- tion and mission termination; mission extension into Editor’s Corner Front Cover FY2012-13 may be reconsidered subject to improve- ment in the mission’s utility as assessed by the National Feature Articles Interests Panel in the next Senior Review. EO-1, A Shift in Direction: EOS in the launched in late 2000 with a one-year baseline mission, Mid-1990s 4 was designed as a technology demonstration mission EOS Data and Information System and successfully pioneered new techniques in high spa- (EOSDIS): Where We Were and tial/spectral resolution imagery. ACRIMSAT, launched Where We Are, Part II 8 at the end of 1999, was extended through FY2011 con- The Role of Visuals in Science tingent on instrument characterization plans and imple- Communication 15 mentation. Based primarily on laser life considerations for the last of the 3 GLAS lasers still operating, ICESat Earth System Science at 20 mission operations were directed to terminate following A Symposium to Explore Accomplish- the second observation campaign in FY2010 (scheduled editor's corner ments, Plans, and Challenges 18 for spring 2010); FY 2011/12 activities will include the final processing and archiving of the ICESat dataset. Meeting/Workshop Summaries ICESat was launched in January 2003. The ICE Bridge Global Satellite Vegetation Monitoring: mission will use aircraft-based observations to gather Summary of the 4th Global similar data sets until the launch of the ICESat-II Dec- Vegetation Workshop 32 adal Survey Mission. Landsat Science Team Meeting Summary 34 The Senior Review process involved a considerable SMAP Algorithms & Calibration/ amount of time for the mission teams and Project Sci- Validation Workshop 40 entists (in particular for multi-instrument/multi-center In The News missions), as well as the panel members and chairs. On behalf of the broad domestic and international user NASA Satellites Unlock Secret communities, many thanks to all those who contrib- to Northern India’s uted to this process. Vanishing Water 44 Honey Bees Turned Data Collectors Help Scientists The full Senior Review report, including a description Understand Climate Change 46 of the evaluation process and panel findings, is available at: http://nasascience.nasa.gov/earth-science/mission_list. Regular Features EOS Scientists in the News 48 We continue our ongoing Perspectives on EOS series NASA Science Mission Directorate— with two more articles in this issue. These personal Science Education Update 50 remembrances help to preserve the EOS history and Science Calendars 51 transform it into a dynamic story with relevance to The Earth ObserverInformation/Inquiries future Earth Science missions. The first Perspectives Back Cover article comes from Mark Abbott—see page 4 of this issue. The EOS Program was given a “new start” in 1990, but was the target of a series of political and Two panels were convened to evalu ate the proposals. budgetary assaults each year thereafter, and the system The Science Panel had responsibility for reviewing the that emerged by the end of the decade—three mid-size scientific merit of the mission, while the Core Mission “flagship” missions supplemented by numerous smaller Review Panel (CoMRP) consisted of two sub-panels: satellites—was quite different than what was originally Technical & Cost and National Interests, the latter envisioned. Abbott served as chair of the EOS Payload providing input primarily from research and opera- Panel during this critical and volatile phase of the de- tional data users from other federal agencies. The Sci- velopment of the EOS Program, and in his article, he ence Panel evaluation included mid-May presentations shares some of his memories from that time. from the mission Project Scientists (accompanied by key instrument and mission operations personnel) that The second Perspectives article concludes Rama Ra- responded directly to requests for further information mapriyan’s two-part article on the evolution of the from the panel. Earth Observing System Data and Information System The Earth Observer September - October 2009 Volume 21, Issue 5 03 (EOSDIS)—see page 8 of this issue—Part I of which program and offered glimpses into its future. Staff from appeared in our July–August issue [Volume 21, Issue 4, The Earth Observer attended this meeting and we are pp. 4-10.] pleased to present a summary report—see page 18 of this issue. We also have an interesting article from Laura Roc- chio that summarizes “The Role of Visuals in Science Finally, I would like to publicize an important new Communication”—see page 15 of this issue. She high- development on our EOS Project Science Website that lights some of the history of the use of scientific visuals adds a long sought-after capability. Our office has de- through the centuries and how technological advances veloped an on-line Search Tool for The Earth Observer like the printing press, and, more recently, computers newsletters. Currently one can search any issue dating and digital media greatly enhanced scientists’ ability to back to January–February 19951 by one or more fields create and share visual representations of their science including: Article Title; Article Type (Editorial, Feature, results. In our November–December issue Rocchio Meeting Summary, News Story, etc.); Issue; Author(s); will provide information on the “rules of thumb” of and Keywords (scans the article text). I would like to good scientific visuals and detail some of the resources recognize Maura Tokay for her hard work in setting available to assist with the development of scientific up this database and some of the data entry, as well as visualizations. Nicole Miklus and Ryan Barker who also helped with data entry. The tool can be accessed at: http://eospso.gsfc. As mentioned in our last issue, the Earth System Sci- nasa.gov/eos_homepage/for_scientists/earth_observer.php. ence at 20 (ESS@20) Symposium took place June 22- editor's corner 24 at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, 1 Until now, all issues of The Earth Observer prior to 1995 DC. NASA’s Earth Science Division worked with the (i.e., dating back to the very first issue in March 1989) have National Academy of Sciences’ Ocean Studies Board, been preserved as hard copies in the EOS library; they were Space Studies Board, and Board on Earth Sciences and not available on line. The PSO is now in the process of scan- Resources to organize this symposium. Over 300 people ning these older issues so that they can be viewed as pdf files, attended the three-day meeting, which bought together and possibly incorporated into the newsletter database at a researchers, managers, and policy makers to examine later date.
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