GSFC Earth-Sun Exploration Division
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center’s Earth Sciences Division Activities, Challenges, and Strategic Plan Our Mission “To Improve Life on Earth and to Enable Space Exploration through the Use of Space-Based Observations” February 2009 www.nasa.gov Table of Contents Preface ................................................................................................................................... v Part I: The Earth Sciences Division 1. The NASA Vision and Mission ................................................................................................ 3 2. GSFC Support of National Needs for Earth System Science .............................................. 4 3. The Earth Sciences Division Mission and Goals .................................................................. 7 4. Inside the Earth Sciences Division ........................................................................................ 9 4.1 What the Earth Sciences Division Does .............................................................................. 9 4.2 Development and Management of Long-Term Data Sets ................................................ 15 4.3 Winning New Business and Supporting National Needs .................................................. 16 4.4 Supporting Mission Planning for HQ ................................................................................. 17 4.5 Partnerships with the Academic Community and Government Laboratories ................... 17 4.6 Partnerships with Operational Agencies ........................................................................... 18 4.7 Education and Public Outreach ......................................................................................... 18 4.8 Toward a More Diversified Workforce ............................................................................... 19 5. How the Earth Sciences Division Operates ........................................................................ 21 5.1 Organizational and Administrative Structure ..................................................................... 21 5.2 Crosscutting Themes ........................................................................................................ 22 5.3 The Workforce Composition .............................................................................................. 23 5.4 The Funding Sources for the Division ............................................................................... 25 6. Challenges and Opportunities .............................................................................................. 28 6.1 The Funding Process and Full Cost Accounting ............................................................... 28 6.2 Retention of Skills and New Hires ..................................................................................... 28 6.3 Some Measures of Performance ....................................................................................... 30 6.4 The Opportunity to Apply Terrestrial Knowledge to Other Planets ................................... 30 i Part II: Our Scientific Foci and Strategic Plan 7. Science/Research Areas ....................................................................................................... 35 7.1 Atmospheric Composition ................................................................................................. 35 7.1.1 Atmospheric Chemistry ........................................................................................... 35 7.1.1.1 Observations of Chemical Constituents ......................................................... 36 7.1.1.2 Chemical Modeling ............................................................................................ 39 7.1.2 Atmospheric Aerosols .............................................................................................. 42 7.2 Hydrospheric Processes ................................................................................................... 45 7.2.1 Oceanography ......................................................................................................... 45 7.2.1.1 Physical Oceanography .................................................................................... 46 7.2.1.2 Biological Oceanography .................................................................................. 47 7.2.2 Polar Climate Change ............................................................................................. 49 7.2.3 Terrestrial Water Cycle ............................................................................................ 52 7.2.4 Atmospheric Water Cycle ........................................................................................ 55 7.3 Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems ......................................................................................... 59 7.3.1 Terrestrial Carbon Cycle .......................................................................................... 62 7.3.2 Terrestrial Ecosystems and Land Cover ................................................................. 63 7.3.3 Biological Oceanography ......................................................................................... 64 7.4 Climate and Weather Prediction ........................................................................................ 64 7.4.1 Climate Modeling and Analysis ................................................................................ 66 7.4.2 Weather and Short-Term Climate ............................................................................ 68 7.4.2.1 Assimilation ......................................................................................................... 69 7.4.2.2 Weather Prediction ............................................................................................ 71 7.4.2.3 Subseasonal-to-Decadal Climate Variability and Prediction ....................... 72 7.4.2.4 Prediction of Constituents – Chemical Weather Prediction ......................... 73 7.5 Managing and Analyzing Data .......................................................................................... 73 7.5.1 Data Management Focus Areas .............................................................................. 74 7.5.2 High Performance Computing ................................................................................. 78 7.5.3 Advanced Software Development ........................................................................... 79 8. Instruments, Technology, and New Missions ..................................................................... 80 8.1 Instruments ........................................................................................................................ 80 8.2 Improving the Instrument and Mission Development Process .......................................... 82 8.3 New Platforms and Vantage Points ................................................................................... 82 8.3.1 Unmanned Aircraft Systems .................................................................................... 82 8.3.2 Geostationary Orbit.................................................................................................. 83 8.3.3 Venture Class Concepts .......................................................................................... 84 9. Applications ........................................................................................................................... 85 10. Education and Public Outreach ........................................................................................... 87 ii Part III: Appendices Appendix A. Missions and Application Activities ................................................................................. 91 Appendix B. Education and Public Outreach Activities ....................................................................... 96 Appendix C. Hiring Strategies .............................................................................................................. 109 Appendix D. Project Scientists and Deputy Project Scientists ......................................................... 116 Appendix E. Field Campaigns and Workshops .................................................................................. 117 Appendix F. Professional Activities, Honors, and Awards ................................................................ 121 Appendix G. The Organizational Structure of the Division’s Laboratories and Offices .................. 129 Appendix H. Acronyms ......................................................................................................................... 132 iii iv Preface Welcome to the report and strategic plan of the Earth Sciences Division (ESD) at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). This Division, Code 610, is one of the four Divisions of the Sciences and Exploration Directorate. The others are the Astrophysics Science Division, the Heliophysics Science Division, and the Solar System Exploration Division. The writing of this report takes place at a particularly interesting and hopeful time for Earth system science. The National Research Council (NRC) report entitled Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond, 2007, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, 2007, have called the attention of the general public as well as the politicians and decision makers to the potential impact of global change on society. Wildfires, floods,