NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION http://www.nasa.gov

The Earth Observer. July - August 2005. Volume 17 . Issue 4.

Editor’s Corner Michael King EOS Project Scientist

Welcome to this the first issue of our all-new The Earth Observer. You will note some changes in the format, and also changes in the arrangement of articles. We hope you find them pleasing. The front por- tion of the newsletter is now devoted to highlighting interesting feature articles and articles on research results. Meeting and workshop reports can be found toward the back. The newsletter team is working diligently to come up with interesting articles. You can help by contacting Alan Ward, Executive Editor, [email protected], or Charlotte Griner, Technical Editor, [email protected]. We look forward to having your article in a future issue.

On June 16, 2005, NASA Headquarters released a report that compiled the results of its recent Earth Science Senior Review held April 26-29 to review proposals for extending a dozen Earth science mis- sions—ACRIMSAT, Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE), Global Positioning System (GPS) At- mospheric Limb Sounding Mission [referred to as GPS Science in figures], Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), Ice Clouds and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), Jason, Quick Scat- continued on page 2

Hurricane Katrina moved ashore over southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi early on August 29, 2005, as an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm. With winds of 135 miles per hour (217 kilometers per hour), a powerful storm surge, and heavy rains, Katrina pounded the U.S. Gulf Coast, triggering extensive life-threatening fl ooding. Th is GOES image shows the storm as it moved over southern Mississippi at 9:02 a.m. Th e eye of the storm was due east of New Orleans, Louisiana. Images courtesy GOES Project Science Offi ce. The Earth Observer In This Issue / Editor's Corner 02 second ranking where they assigned each proposal a a proposal each assigned they where ranking second a compiled also team the this, Toclarify others. than compelling more much are some whether or value scientific their of terms in equal almost are proposals twelve the not or whether indicate really doesn’t it as enough isn’tconclusive however, alone, ranking relative This (12). weakest to (1) strongest from order in others the all to relative mission each for ranking a assign also to asked was team review the of member each mission, individual each of ment assess- absolute an with up coming to addition In activities. outreach public and education review to conducted was mission each of review separate completely A evaluation. their they made as spacecraft and instruments the of health the consideration into took also panel The Objectives. Strategic Science Earth NASA to proposal each of relevance the and value scientific their of terms in both evaluated all were missions these extend to als propos- The panel. the before presentation a gave mission each of Representatives (UARS). Satellite Research Atmosphere Upper the and (TRMM), Mission Measuring Rainfall Tropical (TOMS), eter Spectrom- Mapping Ozone Total Terra, III], SAGE and II SAGE [combined (SAGE) Experiment Gas and Aerosol Stratospheric (QuikSCAT), terometer In theNews Feature Articles In This Issue Regular Features NASA Off 13 Software LearnstoRecognize Spring Th aw Preserving LandSat’s Legacy EOS Senior Project Scientist Visits East Th Information/ e Observer Inquiries Earth EOS ScienceCalendars EOS ScientistsintheNews ScienceMissionNASA Earth Director- E 26 ESIP Federation Elects New Leadership Volcanic Blast LocationInfluences Climate Sensor Web Simulation Investigates Tech- ditor’s Corner 15 Africa Back Cover 21 ScienceEducation Updateate—Earth Reaction Across theGlobe nique toImprove Prediction ofPollution Inside ofHurricanes ers aReal-Time 3-DLookatthe Front Cover 27 23 19 17 16 4 pacted the assessment of these missions. these of assessment the pacted im- have may which proposal, same the in presented were III SAGE and II SAGE that noted be should it low, but scored also anyway.SAGE life useful their of end the near likely very are that UARS and ERBE as such missions older be to tended general in value future of terms in modest more as viewed committee scientifi future Thof terms value. the c that proposals e in compelling as assessed were three all and ranking relative of terms in three top the were GRACE and Jason, Terra,scientifi future example, Forof value. c amount high a having as assessed be to tended also ranking relative high a received that missions general, In respectively. 2 and 1 Figures in graphs bar in shown scientifi future of are terms value c in rankings the and rankings relative the Th both for value average e used: was scale rating following The value. scientific future on based score but lesscompelling,and3-0modest) Figure 2:(bottom)Rankbasedonabsolutescientific value (10-8compelling;7-4excellent Figure 1:(top)Relative rankofeachmission,with1beingthehighestand12lowest. on detected been had that wear excessive assess to time short a for down shut being after again operational This (TES) Spectrometer e Emission Tropospheric period. operations cessful suc- another yet for team ICESat the congratulate I scientifi enhance to and return. c quality data improve eff to Reprocessing continue lasers. orts its of three all using Earth the around measurements million 900 ing approach- is instrument (GLAS) System Altimetry ser Th 23rd. June on La- period Geosciences e operations science seventh its completed ICESat data. new collect to continue missions observing Earth our Meanwhile, �� �� �� � � � � � � � � � � - Modest 3-0 compelling less but Excellent, 7-4 Compelling 10-8 ����� �����

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Editor's Corner 03 Feature Articles 04 Africa from February 26-March 18 to: EOS Senior Project Scientist Michael King visited East during Michael King’s recent triptoKenya and Tanzania. Figure 1.Locationsofprincipalsitevisits,conferences, presentations andmeetingsheld recent trip to Kenya and Tanzania. ferences, presentations, and meetings held during King’s Figure 1 visitations of various scientific institutions. in some of the meetings, a conference in Mombasa, and principal investigator for the AERONET, participated Observations (CALIPSO) mission, and Brent Holben, Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Langley Research Center, a co-investigator on NASA’s Also, during the first week in Nairobi, Ali Omar, NASA Goddard Earth Science and Technology Center (GEST). University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s (UMBC) Charles Gatebe, an Assistant Research Scientist at the Th roughout Kenya and Tanzania, King traveled with • visit potential sites to deploy NASA’s Aerosol Ro- • expose regional scientists, ecological managers, and • discuss potential field experiments on air quality in • meet with local partners in environmental science; Michael King,michael.d.king@nasa.gov, EOSSenior Project Sciencist,NASAGoddard Space Flight Center EOS SeniorProject Scientist VisitsEastAfrica data; and Earth remote sensing satellite, airborne, and surface meteorological services to the capability of NASA’s the region; botic Network (AERONET) sun photometers. Game Reserves National Parks Potential AERONET Sites Burundi Rwanda shows the locations of principal site visits, con- Fort Portal Tanzania Ngorongoro Crater Serengeti Mbita Point Uganda Mikumi NP Masai Mara Kakamega Nakuru Complex Arusha Selous Aberdare NP Nairobi Mt. Kilimanjaro Meru NP Kenya Zanzibar Dar esSalaam Mombasa Malindi and AliOmar visitedthefollowing locations: robi, during whichMichael King, CharlesGatebe, Th efi rstlegofthetripwasathree-day visitto Nai- Nairobi KMD isKenya’s liaison to theKenya CivilAvia- measurements inKenya, Tanzania, and/orUganda. mander 690A)andcouldbeused tomakesimilar South African Weather Aircraft Service (Aerocom- eter (CAR)whichhasrecently beenintegratedona capabilities ofNASA’s CloudAbsorption Radiom- presentation wastoexposethestaff totheunique over theoceanwithsunglint.Th epurposeofthis Namibia, savanna inSouth Africa(Skukuza), and lus clouds.Gatebe showed results forEtosha Pan, gular refl ofmarinestratocumu- ectance properties clearandwell-illustrated presentationa very onan- ural ecosystemsinsouthernAfrica.Th eseincluded that he has made of bidirectional reflectance of nat- Gatebe gave aseminaronairbornemeasurements Deputy Director andseniorstaff, where Charles While atKMD,thegroup alsovisitedwiththe ence inMombasa (elaboratedonbelow). Africa. He alsoinvitedthemtospeakataconfer- throughout 10countriesintheGreater Horn of distribution ofAERONET sun/skyradiometers letter agreement withNASAonthesitingand diplomatic statusandtheabilitytoenterintoa for ourvisittoEastAfrica.Th isorganizationhas dmcn.org Prediction andApplication Centre (ICPAC, Authority onDevelopment (IGAD)Climate Project Coordinator forInter-Governmental At KMD,thegroup metwithProf. LabanOgallo, Kenya Meteorological (KMD) Department Th ehighlightsofeachvisit are summarized below. • Kenya Wildlife (KWS). Service • Regional Centre forMapping ofResources for • International Centre ofInsect Physiology and • Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI); • United Nations Environment Programme • University ofNairobi: • Kenya Meteorological (KMD); Department Development (RCMRD); and Ecology (ICIPE); (UNEP); o CollegeofArchitecture &Engineering o CollegeofEducation &External Studies (CAE); (CE&ES); and ), anorganizationthatactedasourliaison www. ing and interchange with Alexander Alusa, Deputy Th e group visited UNEP and had a very pleasant meet- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (see with special emphasis on observations over East Africa lecture on NASA’s Earth remote sensing capabilities, of the CAE. Th ey also gave a University-wide public the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) and Principal of Architecture & Engineering (CAE) and met with campus of the University of Nairobi to visit the College Charles Gatebe, and Ali Omar traveled to the main NASA’s outreach material. Meanwhile, Michael King, further detailed the Odyssey of the Mind program and (Michael’s wife) stayed with the college faculty and to start OM participation in Kenya, so Diana King Th e CE&ES offi cials expressed interest in helping has not included any students in East Africa. and High School students worldwide, but until now this alone reaches 1.5-2 million Elementary, Middle School, for the past 3 years; the NASA environment problem sored an Odyssey of the Mind Environmental problem Odyssey of the Mind (OM) program. NASA has spon- Observatory Web site ( ments and discussed the Award-winning NASA Earth and Department Chairmen of various academic depart- the group met with the Principal, Prof. Henry Mutoro, learning, and then visited the main campus. At CE&ES, focuses especially on education of teachers and distance actually a campus of the University of Nairobi that of Education & External Studies (CE&ES) which is University of Nairobi. Th ey rstfi visited the College Th e group visited two diff erent campuses of the University ofNairobi anywheresol opticalproperties intheworld. on thecapabilityofAERONET forcharacterizingaero- in Kenya in future years. Finally, Gatebe showed details laborate iftheywishtoplananairbornefield campaign tion authoritieswithwhomNASAwouldneedtocol- special emphasisonEastAfrica(University ofNairobi). Photo by CharlesGatebe. Figure 2.Electroinc Th eater presentation onNASA’s Earth remotesensingcapability, with Figure 2 ). earthobservatory.nasa.gov ) and the ecosystem, againwithaspecialemphasisonEastAfrica data worldwide,andhow itvaries withtimeofyear and ate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) albedoasderivedvariation from inlandsurface Moder- followed withadiscussionof thespectralandseasonal tion Radiometer( from theNASA-builtCloudAbsorp-been observed ofvariousproperties terrestrial thathave surfaces an impromptu seminaronthebidirectional reflectance ture, horticulture, andsoils.CharlesGatebe againgave drought monitoring andstudyingthehealthofagricul- using remote sensingforratherspecific applicationslike in theUnited States. Th eseniorstaff wasinterested in were research scientistswhohadreceived theirPh.D.’s At KARI, the group metwithseniorstaff, allofwhom Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and Malaria, and drought monitoring in Africa. ing to study vector-borne diseases like Rift Valley Fever of which Alusa was familiar with, and what NASA is do- discussed NASA’s Earth remote sensing capability, much Director of the Regional Office for Africa, UNEP. Th ey mosquito vectors. Th eyalsohave extensive experience satellite remote sensinginGISapplications tostudy ing maize, andtheyhave fundingfrom NASAtouse make extensive useofremote sensingdataforstudy- ing internationalstaff anddiplomaticstatus.Th ey from theUnitedcharter Nations withitscorrespond- tsetse flies, andsandfl ies. Th isagencyoperatedunder research onanumberofdifferent (or role, andthusthestudyofinsect- important play avery and environmental health.In allofthesearenas insects cializes inhumanhealth,animalplant first rateinternationalresearch organizationthatspe- heads.ICIPEGeneral, andallofhisdepartment isa At ICIPE, thegroup metwithHans Herren, Director (ICIPE) International Centre &Ecology ofInsect Physiology and itsgrowing season. (ICIPE). Figure 3.MbitaPoint Research and Training Centre ontheshores ofLake Victoria, Kenya vector -) borne diseases is important. ICIPE-) bornediseasesisimportant. conducts car.gsfc.nasa.gov ). Michael Kingalso vectors —mosquitoes,

Feature Articles 05 Feature Articles 06 people have noprevious experience.Asaresult, many in termitemoundsare prevalent butforwhichthese areasing from villages torural where sandflies thatlive Because of manywarsinAfrica,peopleare mov- sprayingDDTinFebruary.started malaria.Acting onthisrecommendation,carry Uganda that DDTbeusedinAfricatocombatmosquitoes marine organisms,theU.S.hasrecently recommended eff onbirdsect ontheenvironment, particularly and has beeneliminatedintheU.S.becauseofitsharmful the factthatDichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) in ecologicalandbiostatisticsmodeling.In spiteof downtown Nairobi, clearlyvisibleinthebackground. Photo by Michael King. Figure 4.Nairobi National Park withitsresident Burchell’s Zebras isrightontheedgeof protected nationalparks Th andreserves. e group met ofthecountry’stion andconservation biodiversity in Kenya Wildlife ischargedwiththeprotec- Service Kenya Wildlife (KWS) Service tion foranAERONET sun/skyradiometer. on AERONET, andgenerallyapproved thisasaloca- where theystayed overnight, gave ascientific seminar Omar madearrangmentstodrive toMbitaPoint, Subsequent tothisdiscovery, Brent Holben andAli science seminarsanddiscussions,asitemanager. are housingfacilitiesforscientists,anauditorium Th elocationisnotonlyidealgeographically, butthere Point Research and Training Centre (see site ontheshores ofLake Victoria, known astheMbita researchinformed themthattheyhadanextraordinary tions inKenya, Tanzania, Uganda, andEritrea. ICIPE AERONET sitesinEastAfrica,includingpossibleloca- Finally, thegroup discussedestablishingseveral you wouldhave adesert. need habitatsuchassoil.If there were noinsectsinsoil, 60% ofplantsneedinsectsforpollination,and funding. Plants are given ahighresearch prioritysince ing onplanthealth,whichaccountsfor50%ofICIPE’s to theenvironmental healthdivision,thework isfocus- investing heavily intreatment. Althoughthefundsgo with itsassociatedvisceralbleeding,theU.S.isnow many soldiersinIraq have contractedsandfly bites people are contractingsandflies. Furthermore, since Figure 3 ). sun photometerbecauseofitscloseproximity toanur- city ofNairobi. Th isanidealsiteforAERONET and thelike,butalsoimmediatelyadjacenttourban Zebra, hippopotamus,lion,rhino,CommonGiraffe, 4 group entered Nairobi National Park itself(see After visitingtheoffices andstaff oftheKWS, visited anumberofparks throughout Kenya. overturned outtobeworth $1000asgroup members $30/person/day. When allwassaidanddone,this access toallnationalparks inKenya, normallyworth quality monitoring,thattheygave themfree passesfor photometer inoneormore ofthenationalparks forair prospect that theywouldlocateanAERONET sun making contactwithNASArepresentatives, andinthe Parks inKenya. Th eKWS cials were sopleasedin offi environmental encroachment around various National to NASA’s MODISandLandsatdatatostudythe Mutero. Mutero wasespeciallyinterested inaccess of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Wycliffe tor (Protected Areas), Joachim Kagiri,andtheHead with theDirector, Julius Kipng’etich, AssistantDirec- sun photometer, butthey intendedtoinstallitsoon at AERONET project staff. Th eyhadnot yetinstalled the a facttotallyunknown toBrent Holben oranyofthe photometer directly from CimelEléctronique inParis, of Rome, thathehadrecently purchased aCimelsun from conference attendee,Giovanni Laneve, University Because ofGatebe’s presentation, thegroup learned the wholeofEastAfrica. (250 stationsorso),butthatatpresent, noneexistedin out thatAERONET iswidelydistributedworldwide validation needsofthissatelliteproject. Gatebe pointed Ali Omar gave apresentation onCALIPSOandthe describe theAERONET sunphotometernetwork, and East Africa.CharlesGatebe alsohadanotherchanceto sensing capability, againwithaspecial emphasison toshowcase opportunity NASA’sdinary remote Earth Horn ofAfrica.Th isturnedouttobeamostextraor- fromDepartments 10different countriesintheGreater was attendedby theHeads oftheMeteorological had invitedthegroup toaddress thisconference that May Season 2005Rainfall Horn ofAfrica15thClimateOutlook Forum forMarch- Nairobi toMombasa, sotheycouldattendthe basa, Kenya. On March 3,thegroup traveled from Th enextlegoftheEastAfricatripwasato Mom- Mombasa location forestablishinganAERONET site. ploration from resident Olive Baboons, thisisanideal the horizon inalldirections, andtoavoid curiousex- of can besituatedhighenoughtogetapanoramicview protected from people.Aslongasthesunphotometer managed by KWSandisrestricted access,soitiswell ban center, butnotwithintheurbancityitself. It isalso ). Th istruly is a National Park, with resident Burchell’s . Earlier, Prof. Ogallo (KMD) Greater Figure Photo by CharlesGatebe. Malindi. Th isdishcan receive EOS Terra/MODISand Aquadataindirect broadcast mode. Figure 5.Th e6.1mX-bandantennaofthe Remote SensingCentre, Broglio SpaceCenter, for themsothatthedatacanbetransmittedtoGod- ity, equipment NASAplanstopurchase thisauxiliary without itssatellitebroadcast andtransmissioncapabil- Since thisstationpurchased aCimelsunphotometer to theAERONET federationofsun/skyradiometers. acquired aCimelsunphotometerwhichwillbeadded mentioned above, thegroup learnedtheyhadrecently profiles withNASA’s TOMS andSAGE IIsatellites.As Marco launchesozonesondes tointercompare ozone andtrackingsupport. orbit insertion Twice aweek San Defense. NASAandESAregularly useSan Marco for cooperative agreement withtheKenyaof Ministry with theItalian Space Agencywho,inturn,have a It isoperatedby theUniversity ofRome undercontract ofMalindiis locatedjustnorth ontheIndian Ocean. Th e Broglio SpaceCentre, betterknown as San Marco, Broglio Space Centre (BSC),Malindi spent onenightnotfarfrom San Marco Station. todrivethe group upthecoasttoMalindi departed and Following theconference presentation andnetworking, helpful. the conference wasvery contacts inZanzibar. Th erefore, thischancemeetingat deploying AERONET, they had notestablishedany to visitZanzibar asanalternative Indian Ocean site for rine SciencesonZanzibar. Althoughtheyhadplanned from theUniversity ofDar esSalaam’s Institute forMa- While attheconference, thegroup alsometaprofessor lishing AERONET inEastAfrica. Th forestab- andisimportant iswasmostfortuitous, to Kenya at thesametimeLaneve waspassingthrough. Holben—who happenedtobe makingatwo-dayvisit had achancetohave atwo-hourmeetingwithBrent flying through Nairobi onhiswaybacktoRome, and of onethebuildings.Th efollowing day, Laneve was anditsfuturethis instrument sitelocationontheroof visited San Marco thenextday(see their nearby San Marco Station inMalindi. Th e group Figure 5 ) andsaw special emphasisonEastAfirca School).Photo (KiritiSecondary by CharlesGatebe. Figure 6.Electronic Th eater presentation onNASA’s Earth remotesensingcapability, with free software thatNASAdistributesforworking with and atleastinSan Marco, theyare notusinganyofthe does notdistributethedatatoanyone inEastAfrica, the dataoutontape,andshipstapestoRome. BSC receives thedataduringallsatelliteoverpasses, writes tions Centre South inHartebeeshoek, Africa.Th eBSC station inallofAfrica,locatedattheSatellite Applica- trip, ofonlyonedirect NASAknew broadcast receiving broadcast receiving stations.However, priortothis (AIRS) [Aqua] datagloballytoalargearrayofdirect DIS [Terra andAqua] andAdvanced Infrared Sounder workshops anddistributesdatafree toprocess MO- in real timeduringsatelliteoverpass. NASAorganizes permits Terra/MODIS andAqua datatobeacquired ing, anX-banddirect broadcast receiving stationthat learned thatSan Marco hadacquired, andwasoperat- Th e group foundan even biggersurpriseatBSC.Th ey and accuracycanbeassured. sothatthedataquality for calibrationandservicing, agreed toperiodicallysendtheirradiometerGoddard AERONET stations.Furthermore, San Marco has dard andprocessed alongwiththerest oftheworldwide Earth science programs andsciencefiEarth ndings, asalways chael Kingspokebefore 700schoolchildren onNASA’s brother isthe Vice Principal ofthisschool,where Mi- National Park andnearGatebe’s ancestralhome.His SchoolinNyeri,the KiritiSecondary nearAberdare At therequest ofCharlesGatebe, thegroup visited School,Nyeri Secondary Kiriti distributionofthesedatainrealsupport time. ting ahigh-speedInternet connectiontoSan Marco to also beeninformedsothattheycancollaborateonget- these direct broadcast receiving stations.Th eKMDhas personnel whowork with,anddistributesoftware to, known tobothGoddard andUniversity of Wisconsin are beingcollected.Michael Kingmadethisfinding Africa hasaccesstothesedata,oreven knows thatthey these data.No organizationintheGreater Horn of

Feature Articles 07 Feature Articles 08 Nevertheless, thisvisitandinteractionwiththeschool itcouldnotbearranged. vironment, butunfortunately Nairobi withProf. Maathai andtheMinister oftheEn- attheNationalto speakinapublicforum theaterin tomakearrangementsforMichael King he wastrying to meetwiththekidsanddiscussenvironment, and pleased thattheyvisitedthispublicschoolonSaturday and talkedwiththegroup from NASA.He wasquite during thisvisit,herpersonalassistantvisitedtheschool Nobel Peace Prize. Althoughshewasoutofthecountry Prof. Wangari Maathai, theKenyan winnerofthe2004 Th ispublicschoolinthe Districtof Parliamentary with aspecialemphasisonEastAfrica(see in-laws, nephews, and nieces) and friends. King was was King friends. and nieces) and nephews, in-laws, sister, brothers, (including Gatebe’s family of members 27 with ceremony Kikuyu a in participated then and lunch had group the farm, this of valley river and grounds the walking After Park. National Aberdare for hotel transfer the Club, Country Aberdare the neighboring location nice very a in farm Th resides. working still 12-acre a Maina is is brother oldest his where and up grew Charles where farm ily fam- Gatebe the visited also wife his and King Michael Nyeri home, family Gatebe Park. National Nairobi neighboring at photometer sun a deploy to plans are there where Nairobi, of north miles 100 only is it since Park National Aberdare in placed be will photometer sun a that unlikely is it but radiometer, sun/sky AERONET an for location better far a be Th forest. the in would deeper site e located is and tops Ark at Park National Aberdare in night second their Aberdare, in hotel panion com- its as off it viewing, does game nor a good as er hole, watering a by hotel game-viewing a as known well Although photometer. sun AERONET an site to locations possible also but game, for looking Th own. your on only walk not to were ey allowed not is one as the Park in Thdrive game a on went group e Park. National Aberdare of animals the attract help to there placed blocks, salt by bordered waterhole large a over out look Guests stilts. on stands that structure night. the during died had VI, notifi George was King she father, her that ed when England of Queen became and Princess a as came England of Elizabeth 1952, in because famous especially is but viewing game for designed hotel a is Park, National Aberdare in reside that lodges guest Th two the visited group e Aberdare National Park teachers andstudentswasmostsatisfying. —one is only allowed one night’s lodging in in night’s lodging one allowed only is —one . . Th Ark e was larger and a more comfortable lodge, lodge, comfortable more a and larger was Treetops is not nearly as nice a hotel, hotel, a nice as nearly not is Treetops Th Ark e Treetops and and . Th . spent group e is a three-story three-story a is Th Ark e Th Ark e Figure 6 Hotel in in Hotel . . Treetops Th e Tree- ). Kenya. Photo by CharlesGatebe. Figure 7.Cerem ony tomakeMichael KingaKenyan Elder, Gatebe familyhome,Nyeri, the independent Republic of Kenya, often carried. often Kenya, of Republic independent the fi the Kenyatta, of Jomo President that rst ones the like fl and cane special a with ywhisk presented then was (see remarkable most was that King for performance and dance a did friends and family Gatebe’s which in ceremony a in Elder Kenyan a made learned about some of the other MODIS datasets that that datasets MODIS other the of some about learned also they discussions, these of result a As maturation. crop maize forecasting in skill gain to able were they data satellite NASA using year. By that for income and yields farmers’ the reducing thereby maize, mature fi the the entering eating from and elds elephants ping stop- at chance better a have can they so ripe fully is maize the when exactly forecasting job better a do to want they practical; quite is this doing for motivation Th Kenya. central in crops eir maize of maturity and health of state the assess to models, computer with together Terraboth Aqua, from and data (NDVI) Diff Normalized MODIS Index Vegetation erence Th Olwero. Nasser using been Analyst, have GIS ey his and Centre, Research Mpala the of Director giadis, Geor- Nicholas with met they where Kenya, Mount of base the near located Nanyuki, to Park National Aberdare from traveled group the 7, March On Park National Meru Figure 8.Meru National Park. Photo by Michael King. Figure 7 Figure ). King King ). where the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya and Mwai Mwai and Kenya to Ambassador U.S. the where garden Treebotanical Acacia an this in planted King recipient.) Prize Peace Nobel 2004 WangariMaathai, (see tree ceremonial a plant to asked each were King Michael and Gatebe Charles where Centre Conservation Biodiversity the to proceeded group the Room, ence Confer- Vice-Chancellor’s the in meetings Following Faculty. selected and Science, Aff of Faculty the (Academic of Dean Chancellor airs), Vice- Deputy the with met group the this, Following lecture. the attended students and members faculty 200 Some Kenya. in education higher of institution oldest the is University Egerton Africa. East over tions observa- on emphasis special with capabilities, sensing NASA’s on remote lecture Earth public versity-wide Uni- a gave King Michael where University Egerton visited group the 9 March On Park. the within nights two spent and night, the for closed Park National the of gates the Th before just Africa. there East arrived ey equatorial Valleyof Rift Eastern the within located Park, National Nakuru Lake to Meru from drive to group the for 8 March on day the of much took It University Egerton Parkand National Nakuru Lake photometers. sun AERONET for location unsuitable an this make area, this in accommodations for cost high its with coupled inaccessibility, relative Th encountered. ever had park’s e they road worst the undoubtedly is Park National Meru to road ever,the (see area surrounding the of views spectacular with trees scattered and grassland extensive possesses it and Kenya’s Parks, of National visited least Th murdered. later were the is is George and she both but country, leopard ideal as lodge this of location the of author the Adamson, Joy and George by occupied previously location the at lodge a in night the spent they where Park National Meru to on drove group the Nanyuki, leaving After albedo. surface and ture eff their tempera- for as helpful be orts—such might Centre, University, Egerton Njoro, Kenya. Photo by CharlesGatebe. Figure 9.Michael KingplantinganAcacia abyssinica tree intheBiodiversity Conservation Figure 9 Figure ). (Th is is a tradition begun by by Prof. (Th ). begun tradition a is is Born Free Born . Joy had described described Joyhad . Figure 8 Figure ). How- ). Reserve, Kenya. Photo by Michael King. Figure 10.Mara Serena Lodgeoverlooking theSerengeti Plain, Masai Mara National and manywere quiteinterested inthelittleknown in additiontofacultyandstudentsfrom theUniversity, lecture inNairobi. Localhighschool studentsattended University ofNairobi, andhadpreviously attendedthe a professor atboth Western University Collegeandthe overobservations EastAfrica.One oftheattendeesis remote sensingcapabilities,withspecialemphasison fore gave aUniversity-wide lecture onNASA’s Earth King’s publiclecture quiteextensively. Kingthere- quite excited Michael withthisvisitandhadadvertised Basin. Th e Deputy Principal (Academic airs)was Aff stretched ofAfricafrom across theCongo thegirth forest isoneoftheremnants ofthevast forest thatonce to KakamegaForest. Th ispocketofvirgin tropical rain- ogy. KakamegaisintheLake Victoria basinandclose the Western University CollegeofScienceand Technol- On March 10thegroup traveled toKakamegavisit ogy, Kakamega Western University CollegeofScienceand Technol- trees. ceremonial planted each have Kenya, of President the Kibaki, geti Plain of Tanzania andKenya. Th isanextensive, National endofthegreat Reserveatthenorth Seren- Th e group’sfi naldestinationin Kenyawas Masai Mara Masai Mara National Reserve questions from aninterested audienceforover 2hours! late afternoon,andCharlesGatebe stayed andanswered the lecture Kingwent totheKakamegaForest forthe 6 years. Th iswasof great regionalinterest. Following that showed dailylightningoccurrence, averaged over Measuring Missionat0.5°xresolution (TRMM) Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS)ontheTropical Rainfall from theOptical Transient Detector (OTD) andthe King showed, amongmanyanimations,ananimation lightning flash ratedensityof158fl ashes km it comestolightningstrikes,withamaximumannual longitude 27.75°E)isthe Democratic Republic oftheCongo(latitude2.75°S, fact thatamountainousregion nearKifukainthe hot spot oftheplanetwhen -2 yr -1 .

Feature Articles 09 Feature Articles 10 Training Center and its location on Lake Victoria, there elephants. However, given the Mbita Point Research and keeping it secure from curious baboons and destructive deployed from the roof of one of the cottages, thereby (see and has a panoramic view of the horizon in all directions AERONET sun photometer since it is above the plains stayed would make an ideal location for deploying an tional Park, Tanzania. Th e Mara National Reserve or in neighboring Serengeti Na- for an AERONET sun photometer, either in the Masai the Mara River, that would seem to be an ideal location open grassland with scattered trees, lowland hills, and in spite of its spectacular location and unofficial desig- able weather conditions for aerosol monitoring. Hence, airflow and creates orographic effects and makes unsuit- an AERONET location. Th e caldera itself modifi es the afternoon cloudiness, thereby making it unsuitable as however, is often shrouded by morning mist and late km in diameter and the skies are often clear. Th e rim, floor of the collapsed volcano. Th e caldera is some 20 located on the rim of the caldera, some 650 m above the four lodges that exist within the conservation area are nary location for an AERONET sun photometer, all Although the Ngorongoro Crater is itself an extraordi- crossing and immigration requirements. to make the transfer because of the international border about 300 km from Masai Mara, it took much of the day Site (see the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, a World Heritage oro Conservation Area, where they spent the night on met at Kilimanjaro Airport and transported to Ngorong- on to Mt. Kilimanjaro Airport, Tanzania. Th e group was son Airport, Nairobi, cleared immigration and continued nia. Th ey ewfl from Masai Mara in a small plane to Wil- On March 13, the group moved from Kenya to Tanza- Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania ideal location to deploy these sensors. reason, however, the Mara Serena Lodge would be an Masai Mara. If Mbita Point were to fall through for any is no need to deploy the AERONET sun photometer in Conservation Area, Conservation Tanzania. Photo by Michael King. Figure 11.Ngorongoro Crater asseenfrom theNgorongoro Sopa Lodge,Ngorongoro Figure 10 Figure 11 ). Th e Cimel sun photometer could be ). Th ough Ngorongoro Crater is only Mara Serena Lodge where they visit the proposed site at Serengeti National Park. Park would be preferable. Th erefore the group did not was that a location further south than Serengeti National for locating AERONET sun photometers, the consensus robi, and Mbita Point in Kenya were all likely locations housing. Since it was becoming clear that Malindi, Nai- and had facilities for visiting researchers, a tower, and tional Park that was the original research site of TAWIRI, that there was a research station within the Serengeti Na- Reserves or National Parks of Tanzania. Sabuni indicated AERONET sun photometers within either Game tor of Research, and discussed their desire to deploy tute (TAWIRI). Th ey met with George Sabuni, Direc- headquarters of the Tanzania Wildlife Research Insti- es Salaam, the group drove to and through Arusha, the Enroute from Ngorongoro Conservation Area to Dar Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) photometers. Crater is not a suitable site for deploying AERONET sun nation as the was atfi disorganized,rst somewhat asitwas notclear Th e group’s visittothe Tanzania Meteorological Agency Tanzania Meteorological Agency standing with the University of Dar es Salaam. establish a letter agreement or memorandum of under- to his office was a necessary step if NASA wanted to fact part of the University of Dar es Salaam and this visit Vice-Chancellor made it clear that this institute was in Marine Sciences in Zanzibar the next day. Th e Deputy resources. Th e group had plans to visit the Institute of and atmosphere that are available from NASA satellite and the wealth of material on the Earth’s land, water, ice, AERONET system of ground-based sun photometers, university, they did describe at length to Prof. Mbise the a formal presentation to faculty and students at this Prof. M. H. H. Nkunya. Although the group never gave ics Department, and later the Chief Academic Officer, with Prof. Godfrey Mbise, the Chairman of the Phys- the largest public university in Tanzania. Th e group met Th e next visit was to the University of Dar es Salaam, University of Dar es Salaam AERONET to this location (see criteria, and that he would work with them to deploy the Selous Complex in southern Tanzania met these Game Reserve or National Park. Sabuni indicated that pressed a desire to locate a sun photometer in a southern Tanzania or Kenya. As a consequence, the group ex- bique, Malawi, and Zambia, than there were in northern aerosol episodes in southern Tanzania, northern Mozam- that there was far more biomass burning and seasonal of aerosol properties worldwide, it was abundantly clear Based on previous experience with satellite observations eighth wonder of the world Figure 1 , Ngorongoro ). members could lookover andseethePresident of open-air environment next doortothehotel,andgroup the President oftheCountry. Th inan ere wasaparty of of theMilitary Tanzania, andthesecondcarwith cars drivingintotheirhotel,one withtheCommander low, andlookedoutfrom thebalcony, onlytoseetwo music anddancingoutsidetheir room on thestreet be- Th at evening, attheirhotel, group membersheard appreciation forthisbriefeducation and exposure. remote sensingcapability, theyexpressed considerable cal Agencydidnotpreviously know ofNASA’s Earth on hiscomputer. Althoughthe Tanzania Meteorologi- and madesure thattheseweb siteswere bookmarked by theNDVI images of drought nearLake Victoria, Serengeti National Park. He wasalsomostintrigued Terra obtained only3hoursbefore handinthenearby excited by beingabletopullupsatelliteoverpasses from Web site( Web site ( Figure 12 went tohiscomputerlocatedjustbehindthem(see and hisstaff thisenormouscapability, CharlesGatebe monoxide seasonality. While Kingwasshowing him season,urbangrowthdry andexpansion,carbon albedovariability duringtheweter change,surface and seasonal and spatial distribution, land-use and land-cov- monitoring capability, lightningflash frequency, aerosol King demonstratedawiderangeofapplications:fire Western University CollegeofScienceand Technology. University, School,Egerton Kiriti Secondary and in large-audiencelectures attheUniversity of Nairobi, cal presentation towhatKinghadpreviously shown with specialemphasisonAfrica.Th iswasanidenti- in-depth briefing onNASA’s sciencecapability, Earth of NOAA operationalsatellitedata.Kinggave himan Organization whodistributedandencouragedtheuse was mostlyconnectedwiththe World Meteorological capability, observing that NASAhadanyEarth ashe surprised tolearnthat Tibaijuka wastotallyunaware two seniormembersofhisstaff. Michael Kingwasmost met withP. F. Tibaijuka, Director ofForecasting, and who theywere supposedtomeet.Asitturnsout,they vegetation, airquality, lightning,andfire monitoring.Photo by CharlesGatebe. zania Meteorological AgencyonNASA’s capabilities,including scienceobservational Earth Figure 12.Michael Kingbriefing theDirector ofForecasting andSenior Staff ofthe Tan- rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov earthobservatory.nasa.gov ) andbrought upNASA’s Observatory Earth ). Tibaijuka wasmost ) andRapidResponse On March 17thegroup visitedtheInstitute ofMarine Institute ofMarine Sciences,Zanzibar of theUnited States andtheSecret Service. one’s experienceintheUnited States withthePresident Tanzania throughout dinner. Th isquitediff erent than that there isadirect broadcast receiving station atthe lished. During theirtravels, thegroup alsodiscovered Portal, Uganda (cf. Brent Holben andAliOmar’s contactsasiteatFort southern Tanzania attheSelous Complex. Th rough likely thatanAERONET site willbeestablishedin the contactestablishedat TAWIRI, forexample,itis Thregion opportunities. andopensupsomenew rough contactsthroughoutestablishment ofmanynew this and Meru National Park. Th etripalso resultedinthe ed aftervisitingtheareas inperson:Ngorongoro Crater ria, ICIPE). Several otherpotentialsiteswere eliminat- (Nairobi National Park), andMbitaPoint (Lake Victo- Kenya were identified: Malindi (San Marco), Nairobi Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Eritrea. Several sitesin be abletoestablishnumerousAERONET new sitesin regards, andthegroup fullyexpectsthatNASAwill Th iswasamost ective trip to EastAfricainmany eff Summary andConclusions of theworldoceansandwaterbodies. chlorophyll-a sensed satellitedataoffers thecapabilitytomonitor but thegroup shared withthemthatNASA’s remotely experience withremote sensingfrom satelliteoraircraft, in situ likely. In general,theInstitute ofMarine Sciencesdoes of anAERONET sunphotometertothisislandisun- ever, alsolocatedontheIndian Ocean, thedeployment Now thattheyhave acontactinMalindi, Kenya, how- should adecisionbemadetolocateoneinZanzibar. interested inhostinganAERONET sunphotometer Institute doesmarinesciencesresearch, butwasmost from Darride north esSalaam (see Sciences inStone Town, Zanzibar, atwo-hourferry barghash, Stone Town, Zanzibar. Photo by Michael King. Figure 13.Palace Museum andHouse of Wonders, theformerceremonial palaceforSultan fisheries andmarineresearch, little andhasvery concentrations and sea surface temperature concentrationsandseasurface Figure 1 ) willlikelybeestab- Figure 13 ). Th e

Feature Articles 11 Announcement Feature Articles 12 and whytheU.S.government wasnotlisteningto ontheKyotowhy theU.S.wasnotasignatory Protocol from space,hewasaskedadirectserved questionabout described theglobalenvironment anditschangesasob- oneoftheUniversity-wideevery lectures inwhichKing and 3generalaudienceUniversity-wide lectures. In schoolchildren science capabilitiesto700secondary Michael Kinggave presentations onNASA’s Earth Kenya. the feasibilityofdoingairbornereflectance mappingof unknown toNASA,andmadecontactsworked Broglio Space Centre, Malindi thatwaspreviously understand. problem washardon thisimportant forKenyan’s to environmental degradation,andtheU.S.intransigence intheglobalcommunity’sparticipating concernsabout thisProtocol insupporting taking anactive part and litical questionthatrepresents thefactthatKenya was scientists.ThEarth delicateinternationalpo- isa very nasa.gov/PRODOCS/ceres/table_ceres.html sample software, toolsforworking withthedata,etc.canbefoundatCERES datatable:eosweb.larc. Information abouttheCERESproducts, includingproducts available, documentation, relevant links, Applicable Studies: File Spatial Coverage: CERESFOV F still calculated. pass through themodelismadeforbothclearskyandtotalsky. If theFOV isovercast, clearskyfluxes are through theradiative transfermodel,theinputparameterstomodelare adjustedandaconstrained atmosphere: 500hPa, thesurface, 200hPa, 70hPa, andthetopofatmosphere (TOA). Afteraninitial pass fi (FOV)eld ofview ontheSSF, fl theCRSalsocontainsvertical ux profi les evaluated atfi ve levels inthe Tha singlescannerinstrument. eCRScontainsalloftheCERESSSF product data. ForeachCERES Th eCloudsandRadiative Swath(CRS) product containsonehourofinstantaneousCERESdatafor CER_CRS_Aqua-FM4-MODIS_Beta1 CER_CRS_Aqua-FM3-MODIS_Beta1 following datasets: the CloudsandEarth’s RadiantEnergy System (CERES)Science Team announcestherelease ofthe Th e AtmosphericSciences DataCenter(ASDC)atNASALangley Research Centerincollaborationwith Announcement ile Temporal Coverage: Instantaneous Cloud andaer Comparison ofradiation,aerosol with modelotherthanthegeneralcirculation andcloud properties Interpretation ofradiationcloudandaerosol variability. property Flux comparisonwithradiative transfermodel. In situFlux comparisonover region. particular model (GCM)(i.e.,LES,CRM). osol radiative forcing estimateorcomparisonwith otherestimate. is known asthe theNobelment forwhichshewon,inpart, Peace Prize, andProf.Maryland, Maathai’s environmental move- ested inthefactthatGoddard waslocatedinGreenbelt, Her scienceobservations. staffEarth wasmostinter- the Nobel Prize muchawareWinner ofNASA’s isvery the Vice President ofKenya orProf. Wangari Maathai, Although thegroup never hadachancetomeetwith and regional scientistsandenvironmental monitors. in all,thetripwasahighlysuccessfulvisitforNASA overpass, directly onthecomputersintheiroffice. All and vegetation stress within1-2hoursofsatellite most fascinatedwiththeabilitytoseefires, droughts, unknownremote tothem.Th sensing,otherwise ey were Agency tothefactthatNASAdoesindoEarth Finally, Kingexposedthe Tanzanian Meteorological Green Belt Movement . Landsat missionshelpedidentifymanyformerlyunknown tectonicfaults.Image credit: NASALandsat7 Team. A Landsat7imageoftheKaratalRiver delta.Th toKazakhstan’s eKaratalRiver isamajortributary closedLake Balkhash.Th elakeissituatedinatectonically createdland depression. Theearly NASA Goddard Space Flighttocreate CenterLibrary is teamingwiththeU.S.Geological Survey andthe tion, theNASALandsatProject ScienceOffice (LPSO) In aneff togatherLandsat’sort technicaldocumenta- the courseofseven Landsatmissions. documentation hasbecomewidelydisseminatedover and aprivate company;consequently, theprogram administrated by amultitudeofgovernment agencies has beentumultuous.Th e program hasbeen variously we know ittoday. ofLandsat But history theforty-year tion andhasbeenthetrailblazer forremote sensingas has stoodattheforefront observa- ofspace-basedEarth Since theLandsatproject’s inceptionin1965,Landsat Laura Roccio, [email protected], NASAGoddard Space Flight Center Preserving Landsat’s Legacy materials thathave beenstored inpersonalarchives. involved withtheLandsatprogram forLandsat-related tation, theLPSOissolicitingthosewhohave been In order ofdocumen- years worth togathertheforty by late2006. documentation thatcanbeusedby thegeneralpublic to have an onlinefreely accessiblearchive ofLandsat the scopeofproject. It istheproject’s ultimategoal and otherprivately copyrightedmaterialsare outside emphasis oninternaltechnicalpapers.Journal articles cal-, policy-andscience-related documentswithan archive, dubbedthe an archive ofessentialLandsatdocumentation.Th e Landsat Legacy , willhousetechni-

Feature Articles 13 Feature Articles 14 for future generationsofLandsatdatausers. willprovidedocument repository avaluable resource scanned, catalogedandarchived, theLandsatLegacy documentshavement submission.Once been pertinent contact potentialdonorstoarrangeamethodofdocu- records, selectappropriate materials,andsubsequently tration system.Th eLPSOwill the review registration mation aboutthesedocumentsintoaweb-based regis- Th e registration process involves enteringbasicinfor- Image credit: NASALandsat7 Team. Russia. It refuge isanimportant andbreeding ground formanyspeciesofSiberian wildlife. rivers inthe world.Th eLena Deltaisthemostextensive Reserve protectedwilderness area in February 27,2000. Th eLenaRiver, some2,800miles(4,400km)long,isoneofthelargest Th isimagewasacquired byLandsat 7’s EnhancedTh ematic Mapperplus(ETM+)sensoron please visit For more informationabouttheLandsatLegacyproject library.gsfc.nasa.gov/landsat . plan touseitfortheremainder ofthemission. has learnedtoclassifytheimagessowell thatscientists recognize changes.In cryosphere software fact,thenew hoursforscientiststotrainit and ittookonlyafew ice. softwareThe new iscapableoflearningby itself, todetectchangesinsnow, Observing-1 Earth waterand Scientists spentseveral monthsdeveloping software for changessuchasicemelting. cryosphere upgrade allows thespacecrafttoaccuratelyrecognize floods andiceformation. The mostrecent software automatically tracksevents suchasvolcano eruptions, on generalguidelinesfrom scientists,thespacecraft hasbeenmakingitsownObserving-1 decisions.Based explicit commandstodoso,butforthelastyear Earth Other spacecraftonlycapture imageswhentheyreceive Antarctic bays. and theItalian Alps,alongwithseaiceinArctic and frozen lakesinMinnesota, Wisconsin, Quebec, Tibet The software hastakenmore than1,500imagesof Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD,managesthesatellite. spacecraft.NASA’s Observing-1 Earth Goddard Space Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA,controls the The software, developed by engineersatNASA’s Jet scientists. frozen, andrelayed theinformationandimagesbackto thatis thesectionofEarth changes inthecryosphere, mous SciencecraftExperiment autonomouslytracked Using thissoftware, theSpace Technology 6Autono- and waterfrom space. trained torecognize anddistinguishbetween snow, ice, version anew ofsoftware NASA spacecraftcarrying tored bysetofeyes anew thisyear—an Earth-orbiting Spring thawintheNorthern Hemisphere wasmoni- NASA/JPL On theright,avisualrepresentation oftheanalysisdoneby JPL’s software. new Credit: On theleft,Resolute Bay seenby theHyperion aboard Observing-1. instrument Earth Natalie Godwin, [email protected], Jet Propulsion Laboratory Software toRecognizeSpringThaw Learns without ground intervention.” and thesoftware hastakenliterallyhundreds ofimages onstrated thataspacecraftcanoperateautonomously, Autonomous SciencecraftExperiment. “We have dem- said Steve Chien,JPLprincipalinvestigator forthe software hasexceeded“The allofourexpectations,” to capture additionalimagesoftheevent. cifi events andreprogramsc cryospheric thespacecraft thesoftware searches Observing-1, On forspe- Earth rectly learnedtotellthemapart.” different imagesandgivingfeedbackuntilithascor- the role of ateacher, repeatedly showing thecomputer commands andmathematicalequations,scientistsplay programming thesoftware usingacomplicatedseriesof puter scientistwhodeveloped thesoftware. “Instead of objects,”saidDominicnew Mazzoni, theJPLcom- of learning,muchthewayachildlearnsnames form software new iscapableofarudimentary “This craft ontheInternet, visit: For space- Observing-1 informationabouttheEarth gram ontheInternet, visit: For more informationontheNew Millennium Pro- Experiment ontheInternet, visit: For more informationontheAutonomous Sciencecraft technologies inspace. software. The program isresponsible fortestingnew lennium Program developed boththesatelliteand Jupiter’s volcanically active moonIo. NASA’s New Mil- on Jupiter’s moonEuropa, andmonitoractivityon track duststormsonMars, search foricevolcanoes Future versions ofthesoftware alsomightbeusedto future climatetrends. understand Earth’s globalenergybalanceandpredict types ofcloudsfrom spacewillhelpscientistsbetter on NASA’s Terra spacecraft.Automatically identifying Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer, aninstrument different typesofcloudsinimagescaptured by JPL’s Similar software hasbeenusedtodistinguishbetween eo1.gsfc.nasa.gov nmp.jpl.nasa.gov ase.jpl.nasa.gov . . .

In The News 15 In The News 16 Scientists at NASA have developed a way to process radar information quickly enough for forecasters to use. and making it appear in 3-D. Th e new process now gives up the process of obtaining the data within three hours, very important to hurricane forecasters. NASA has sped the rain falls throughout parts of a tropical cyclone is Seeing how rain falls from top to bottom and how heavy the stormisput together. For example,whenscientists Th e snapshotalsogives valuableinformationabout how around the eye usually indicate a strengthening storm. and for example. It also gives a 3-D look at the cloud heights storm, such as the eye-wall versus the outer rainbands, how heavy the rain is falling from different parts of the Th e hurricane snapshot gives forecasters information on of the storms. world, the PR will send data to create these 3-D passes over a named tropical cyclone anywhere in the takes snapshots of storms as it passes by. Every time it the entire globe, the Precipitation Radar (PR) instrument Because the TRMM satellite covers the tropical areas of forecasts more accurate. these sociated with a strengthening storm. TRMM can identify open eye, in what is called the clouds reach a certain height surrounding the hurricane’s In 2004, research confirmed that when larger towering weakening. of the rain, whether the hurricane is strengthening or the hurricane. Scientists can tell, based on the intensity rainfall for example are found around the eye or center of ingredient in hurricanes. Th e heaviest concentrations of rainfall measurements from space, and rainfall is a key TRMM is a unique satellite that is able to estimate cyclone.” hours from the time the satellite has flown over a tropical possible. Th is new process gives them data within three change quickly, and meteorologists need data as fast as Outreach Scientist. With hurricane forecasts, events Halverson, Meteorologist and TRMM Education and data used to take a longer time to process,” said Jeffrey “What’s important is that the vertical rain structure in a hurricane’s intensity. (TRMM) satellite that can help with forecasting changes Agency’s (JAXA) Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission data from NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Rob Gutro, [email protected], NASAGoddard Space Flight Center Hurricanes NASA Offers aReal-Time 3-DLookattheInsideof hot towers hot towers inside the storm. Higher hot towers of piled up clouds and can help make eye-wall , they can be as- snapshots TRMM team. “tower” cloud(orhottower) perched ontheeyewallofstorm.Image credit: NASA Th is TRMM Precipitation Radar overfl ightof HurricaneBonnieshows an11milehigh tropical cyclones,” Halverson said. munity tobetterassessthestructure andintensity of “We dataproduct hopethisnew willhelpthecom- TRMM website at data andlookintotheeye ofastormby goingtothe Forecasters andthegeneralpublic canaccessthe wind shear, itweakens. strength. Normally, intoastrong whenahurricaneruns near thetopofstorm,mayimpactstorm’s a windshear, orasuddenchangeindirection ofwinds toward thehottowers, itcouldgive cluesastowhether see thatthebodyofhurricanemaybetiltedinward trmm.gfsc.nasa.gov. ing Spectroradiometer ofthesametargetedarea. (MODIS)work intandemtomakeobservations satellites,Aqua andAura observing thatflNASA Earth y informationhighabove Asanexample,Aura’s Earth. Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer andAqua’s (TES) Moderate Resolution Imag- To testthevalue andbenefit ofusingdynamicsensorweb ontwo strategies,NASAtechnologistshave measurement formulatedexperimentsusinginstruments techniquesandadaptive observing and interactions chemical Complex sources. pollutant traffi vehicular major also are areas metropolitan in c and areas industrial in burning fuel Fossil posphere. tro- the into particulates of plumes large emit can wildfi induced that lightning res as such causes natural have pollutants air cases some In feet. 40,000 about - jet passenger a of altitude cruising the roughly to Earth’s the surface from extends it and occurs weather our where atmosphere the of It’s region the breathe! and play work, live, Thall we where is troposphere e exposure. their minimize to activities outdoor planned modify can pollutants to sensitive people that so advance in days alerts provide to used be can models Such pollution. air forecast to used models computer mathematical complex the improving toward step important an is continent to continent and region to city, region to city from transported and distributed produced, is ozone level near-surface- or tropospheric how Understanding forecasts. web sor a develop to ground the on stations and satellites together tie to trying is NASA activities. everyday signifi can simple impair pollution air cantly problems, respiratory with anyone for and asthmatics For Gretchen Cook-Anderson, [email protected], NASAGoddard Space Flight Center Improve Prediction ofPollutionAcross theGlobe Sensor Web SimulationInvestigates Technique to to track this pollution and improve air quality quality air improve and pollution this track to sen- sor web has the potential to improve the response time time response the improve to potential the has web sor Th areas. metropolitan sen- e large over dispersed then wildfi a of aloft, smoke carried when is or re routes, traffi air to transported is plume ash volcanic a c as measurements new, targeted making by react to able Th is time. over system web unfolds it sensor as e event an about information sharing group, collaborative a as data collect sensors these independently, operating of Instead stations. data-collecting ground-based and instruments airborne spacecraft, by observations web the called technology innovative an exploring are technologists NASA globe, the around towns and cities populated to sources various their from lutants pol- of transport the track to ability To our improve miles. of thousands across pollutants these transport can processes atmospheric strategies, NASA technologists have formulated ex- formulated have technologists NASA strategies, observing adaptive and techniques measurement web benefi sensor and dynamic Tovalue the using of test t areas. impacted the in living people those to issued be can alerts appropriate that so makers decision to information that transmit then and events short-lived or variable to react to sors reconfi by sen- systems their guring observing our of . Th . interconnected is web of sensors of web coordinates coordinates sensor sensor

In The News 17 In The News 18 cooperating sensors. It is able to respond to the needs needs the to respond to able is It sensors. cooperating of team a of part as data collects sensor “Each MD. Greenbelt, Center, NASA’sFlight at Space Goddard Branch Systems Data Science the with technologist Talabac,Stephen lead Investigator Principal said team,” search-and-rescue a “Th as behaves web sensor e (CO). monoxide pollutant—carbon particular one of concentration and distribution global the forecast can that models chemistry atmospheric sophisticated with along Aqua, and flEarth—Aura above that high lites formation in y satel- observing Earth NASA two involving periments Th isimageshows Auraand Aquasatellitesworking asaspace-based “search-and-rescue” forest teamtoobserve fi resusingsensor webexperimentmeasurements. current enhance to used be could web sensor driven model- a such how illustrate to Talabac’s hopes team forecast. the of accuracy the improve to model puter com- the into back fed be then can measurements Th locations. sensor those of actual e observations targeted make to commanded be can instruments web’s sensor the CO, of concentrations high forecasts model a If observations. make should sensors the where decide help also can models forecast Computer help. of need fi in to plan person a a rescue implement and nd then and form to together brought are paramedics fi of skills unique the refi offi police ghters, and cers, whereby team search-and-rescue a of analogy the event.” Talabacoff particular a for data ered collect then and target to accordingly, strategy observing their Th change then capabilities. sensors e complementary diff have that but satellites erent other on sensors other from it to sent information and data to react Th satellite members. one on team the of sensors e predicted by the model. the by predicted locations key at measurements real make and look to commanded be could instrument the TES where regions recommend to software prototype their use to able be to hopes team the future the In prediction. model the improve to locations key at (TES), eter Aura’s using Spectrom- ments TroposphericEmission Th measure- make also distribution. will CO team e global predict to model computer chemistry spheric atmo- an Talabac’suse 2005, will September team In sensors.” their and satellites vation effi more about bring can obser- Earth our of use cient or proach, ap- an such that demonstrate to Talabac. “We hope explained full-fl measurements,” real, web sensor edged enable to systems observing generation next the for concept of category the “Thinto fall simulations ese conditions. environmental changing rapidly to respond to instruments complementary multiple bear to bring and techniques, measurement potentially save lives.” save potentially to and life of quality high a maintain help to available information timely and useful most the to access have will makers decision and policy web, sensor the “With Earth’s Talabacthe environment,” added. assess and monitor to ability our improve is here goal “Our , to assess the feasibility of what is also planned planned also is what of feasibility the assess to , targeted intelligent data collection techniques collection data intelligent targeted proof of of proof , , Alaska, created by strong windsthatpickedupold,loosevolcanic ash.Credit: NASAGSFC Th isimagecaptured bythe Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)onNASA’s Terrasatelliteon September21,2003,shows acloudof volcanicash over Kodiak Island, tropics. the in volcanoes than differently much world’s climate the affect equator the of north far eruptions volcanic major as important, also is tion loca- that shows 1912, June in Alaska, Katmai, Mount of eruption the on focusing Foundation, Science National the and NASA by funded Now,research new patterns. climate affecting sun, and atmosphere the between interactions alter to work sols aero- these size, their Despite vapor. water with bines com- dioxide volcano’s sulfur the when form aerosols called particles tiny Here, Earth’s the surface. above miles 10 than more stratosphere, the into material inject will it enough strong is eruption volcanic the If rain. by out washed quickly not is material volcanic spewed where us, above high actually is effect dramatic most the Instead, days. few a for region a cools and darkens that cloud ash an create just than more does it erupts, volcano a When Mike Bettwy, [email protected],Goddard Space Flight Center Volcanic BlastLocationInfl uences ClimateReaction New Brunswick, N.J., and lead author of the study study the of author lead and N.J., Brunswick, New Sciences, Environmental of Department University’s Rutgers at researcher a Oman, Luke said expect,” to changes and shifts climate of type the on clues tists scien- giving while eruption major next the for pared pre- better be us help will events such “Studying Africa. as away far as haze a spread atmosphere, the in high winds by carried cloud, ash its while more, or foot a of depth a to miles square 3,000 than more of area an covered eruption the from fall ash The (caldera). crater massive a forming collapse, to summit its causing Katmai under drained that (magma) rock molten of amount incredible an released also upta Novar- atmosphere. the into gas dioxide sulfur of tons spewed that west, just Novarupta, of explosion larger the and Katmai of eruption the to refers ally actu- It century. 20th the during world the in est larg- the of one was eruption Katmai Mount The

In The News 19 In The News 20 ics, thisresearch didnotshow achangeinanimportant Unlike inthetrop- earlierstudiesonvolcanic eruptions their climateimpacts. three andaneruption timesaslargetostudy eruption tion. They madeacomputersimulationofKatmai’s researchers studiedtheMount Katmaivolcanic erup- Institute forSpace Studies (GISS),New York, N.Y., the computer climateModels (GCMs)atNASA’s Goddard By usingoneofthemostmodern General Circulation Research —Atmospheres Geophysical the of issue 2005 July the in appeared that generally warmer winters over the Northern Hemisphere. ture gradient results in a “positive” phase of the AO, with subtropics. In turn, the reduced north to south tempera- atmosphere, or troposphere, cooling temperatures in the create aerosols that block heat from the sun in the lower Eruptions in the tropics, like Mount Pinatubo in 1991, sphere doesnotwarmenoughtoinfluence theAO.” radiation,” saidOman. “As aresult, thelower strato- they are heatedlessefficiently by outgoing,orlongwave like Katmai,theyremain of30°Nlatitude, where north sols around theglobe,butwithhigh-latitudeeruptions “Large tropical tendtospread volcanic eruptions aero- cold upnorth. into themid-latitudes,oritcanspinfasterandkeep more slowly andspillcoldairdown toward theequator latitude (abouteven withMoscow). The aircanspin counterclockwise around theArctic atabout55°N AO isaclimatepatterndefined by windscirculating following theMount Katmaieruption. climate patterncalledthe“Arctic Oscillation” (AO) . Journal of of Journal University of Maryland’s Global Land Cover Facility. 3, 1994. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the thor Gavin SchmidtofNASAGISS. how saidco-au- well ourcomputermodelsperform,” the Earth’s overall climaticresponse, italsohelpsussee largelydetermine location andintensityofaneruption evidencethatthe studynotonlyoffersfurther “This India west intothePersian Gulf. temperatures andlessprecipitation across northern the monsoon,bringingreduced cloudiness,warmer worked tolessenthisgradient,weakeningthe eruption ature contrastbetween theIndian Ocean andAsia.But seasonal shiftinwindsthatdevelops outofthetemper- cloudiness andrainduetothesummermonsoon, Normally, India northern experienceslargeamountsof tion,” saidOman. masses causedadecrease intheAsianmonsooncircula- strong cooling over theNorthern Hemisphere land- significant climateeffectwasduringthesummerwhen including distinctcoolinginsouthernAsia,themost tion wasfoundtohave somerole inthewinterclimate, “In ourresearch, althoughtheMount Katmaierup- Th the press release, visit the Website of Goddard Institute for Space Studies at the same processes as eruptions of tropical volcanoes, such as Mt. Pinatubo in 1991. To read scientists concluded that eruptions of high-latitude volcanoes don’t influence climate through Using a model developed by the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, study the effect of the 1912 eruption and others on global climate patterns. tion. Recently, NASA and the National Science Foundation funded a group of scientists to of 1912 in the northern hemisphere was lowered by the reflective dust ejected up by the erup- times that area received at least an inch of ashfall. Th e mean temperature in the last six months world. A foot of ash or more covered as much as three thousand square miles, and nearly ten Th e Novarupta eruption lasted for two days, and it perturbed weather patterns throughout the many have some unassuming names as “Unnamed 2,” “Volcano 1,” and “Cone 3110.” record-breaking ash fall are still visible across the valley floor. So rich is the area in peaks that dome marks the origin of the eruption from the Novarupta crater. But the remains of the and described thousands of smoking fissures etching the ash field. Today, only a small circularon a nearby mountain (named for him), he surveyed the ash-filled valley stretching out below Robert Griggs, who visited the area in the years following the eruption. From his perspective volcanoes. Th e valley’s name came from the writings of a National Geographic Explorer, Th is satellite image shows the Valley of 10,000 Smokes region of the park and the surrounding as people had assumed at first. terns were able to determine the “King of Volcanoes” had been Novarupta, not Mount Katmai the many volcanic peaks in the area had erupted. Scientists studying ash flow and deposit pat- North America. So poorly known was the area, however, that it was unclear at first which of the region entered the record books as it gave rise to the century’s largest volcanic eruption in this area, at least to European people, as recently as a hundred years ago, but on June 6, 1912, Peninsula first begins to reach southwestward into the Bering Sea. Very little was known about Th e Katmai National Park and Preserve is located in mainland Alaska where the Alaska the impact of such ancient eruptions. growth rings in trees, researchers can confirm first hand over polar areas from ice cores and analyzing annual of techniques, including the measurement of acid fallout United States and Europe in 1783-1784. Using a variety one of the coldest winters on record for the Northeast while resulting in a very warm summer in Europe and eruption of 1783 that dimmed and reddened the sun that brought major climate swings, like the Laki, Iceland researchers often investigate historic intense eruptions To verify our knowledge about the effects of volcanoes, e Th ematic Mapper Plus(TM) instrument on Landsat 5 acquired this scene on September www.giss.nasa.gov www.giss.nasa.gov , the . go to To Explorers accessthefullcollection of Earth articles, 5-8 sectionsare speciallywrittenforthosegradelevels. appearing intheFor Students K-4andFor Students ticle under Meet This Month’s NASAEarth Explorer! (click onFor Educators orFor Students, andlookfor ExplorersLook forNASAEarth at answer toourenvironmental andeconomicproblems? and otherbuildings.Couldplant-covered roofs bethe tential benefits ofgreen roofs onhigh-rises, skyscrapers students isstudyingthepo- school andpostsecondary A NASA-fundedresearch teamthatincludeshigh ExplorersNASA Earth templ.cgi?ngg_ jun2005&lang=en&nav=1 For more informationonNGGvisit and NSF. Atmospheric Research (UCAR)andfundedby NASA program basedattheUniversity Corporationfor GLOBE isaninternationalscienceandeducation Annual Conference. NGG shouldbefullyfunctionalby the2006GLOBE from NASAandNational ScienceFoundation (NSF). in Prague, by theDirector aswell asby representatives 2005 GLOBE AnnualConference, July 31-August 5, (NGG). NGGisbeingformallyintroduced atthe a plandescribedastheNext Generation GLOBE the evolution andnextstepsoftheGLOBE program, GLOBE community, hasreleased a ing closelywithitsfundingagenciesandtheworldwide The GLOBE Program Office inBoulder, CO,work- GLOBE Plans fortheNext Generation html sions/informal/overview/F_Explorer_Institutes_ Report. and NASAeducation.URL: united representatives oftheworkshops, focusgroups the NEIPlanning andEvaluation Conference, which conclusions from thepilotworkshops, focusgroups and tions. informationand The report containssummary gardens, youth groups andcommunity-basedorganiza- libraries, parks, aquaria,nature centers,botanical program for sciencecenters,museums,planetariums, NASA Explorer Institutes national (NEI)isanew Online 2004 NASAExplorer Institutes Report Summary Theresa Schwerin, [email protected], IGES Ming-Ying Wei, [email protected], NASAHeadquarters Education Update NASA ScienceMissionDirectorate –Earth science Educational Features . hq.nasa.gov/education/earth_explorers/ education.nasa.gov/divi- ). Versions ofthearticle www.nasa.gov/home white paper globe.gov/fsl/html/ orfind anar- . on . An visit. help visitorstakepictures ofthelandscapewhenthey They have installedtwo system tohelpseeandmeasure changesinlocalparks. pond.org/index.htm Friends ofFresh Pond Reservation( Park ( day.changes every The Friends ofMenotomy Rocks Many ofusdon’t realize justhow muchourlandscape Parks PicturePosts: Using Cameras toSee ChangeatLocal strategies.org/EarthExplorers/EEIndex.htm for Global Environmental Strategies, canbefoundat by topic,maintainedbyindex ofarticles theInstitute Asilomar. from theNovember 2004community meetingsat eo.ucar.edu/roadmap Orlando are now available ontheroadmap website at Presentations from the2005communitymeetingin ScienceEducation RoadmapNASA Earth Update Pickle at picturepost.smugmug.com/gallery/635128 Vegetation Health the Museum ofScienceinBoston,entitled through a NASA-fundededucationgrantat started pating groups andprojects. The beginningdiscussions This project hasbeentheresult ofanumber partici- picturepost.smugmug.com Rocks Park andFresh Pond Reservation, goto movies thathave beencollectedsofarofMenotomy matically marked. To seethepictures andtime-lapse the camera,locationofsetimagesisauto- specific informationinscribedonit,sowiththeclickof by oneedgeoftheoctagon.Eachposthas supported withthebackedgeofcamera on asteadysurface attached tothetop. It allows adigitalcamera torest the ground, witharound diskandanoctagonalplate So whatisa to oraftervisitstheparks. and globalscales,beusedby localclassrooms prior to monitorlandcover changeover regional, national, will alsobeshared withscientistsusingsatelliteimagery see growth andnaturalchangesofplants. The pictures document theencroachment ofinvasive species,andto The accumulatedsequencesofpictures willbeusedto www.friendsofmenotomy.org [email protected] PicturePost . For more information,see , Cambridge,MA)have created a , alongwiththosepreviously posted ? It isasecure post anchored in . PicturePosts . , Arlington,MA)and ineachpark that www.friendsoffresh- orcontactJohn . Measuring www. www.

ESE Update 21 ESE Update 22 knowledge andabilityrequired tounderstandandpro- that future explorers generationsofEarth have the scienceeducationprogram andensuresNASA Earth The roadmap willbea10-year planthatguidesthe document willbeavailable at and submittingtoNASAattheendofSeptember. The August/early September before makingfinal revisions map documentonlineforcommunitycommentinlate scienceeducationroad- The planistoplacetheEarth ments following theMay 2005meetinginOrlando. education roadmap inresponse tocommunitycom- Work continuesonrevision science oftheNASAEarth the Saturday afternoonsofOctober 22inHartford, convention thisfall.Specifically, they will beheldon National Science Teachers Association(NSTA) regional workshops DLESEK-12 Ambassadorsateach fornew willconducttraining (DLESE) CommunityServices System for Earth EducationThe Digital Library DLESE AmbassadorProgram Fall Training or e-mail For more information,contactAIPat(301)209-3690 options available. what itmeanstobeascientistandrealize thevariety of category, sotheclasswillreceive abroad descriptionof ascientist from adifferent group willbeinterviewing then report back to the class on what they learned. Each thescientist, A smallgroup ofstudentswillinterview couple ofhoursfortheentire fallterm. to answer. The expectedtimecommitmentisonlya will beaskedasmanyquestionstheyare willing time required foreache-mailinterview. Eachscientist advance toallow themtoprepare answers, reducing the Scientists willbeprovided withalistofquestionsin as apotentialcareer choice. is toenticemore young peopletoconsiderthesciences available throughof theopportunities science. The goal withscientiststogainanunderstanding mail interviews will allow highschoolphysicsstudentstoconducte- ing developed attheAmericanInstitute ofPhysics that Mentors are sought forapilote-mentoringprogram be- Adopt-A-Scientist Pilot E-Mentoring Project ScienceEducation. Scientist, Earth ScienceEducation, andPaulaEarth Coble,Program map isprovided by Ming-Ying Wei, Program Manager, scienceeducationroad- NASA leadershipfortheEarth son, University CorporationforAtmospheric Research. led by asteering committeechaired by Roberta John- scienceeducationroadmap processThe Earth isbeing for Space Exploration. tect ourhomeplanetandcontributetoNASA’s Vision [email protected] . eo.ucar.edu/roadmap . Department ofSpaceDepartment ScienceEducation andResearch began overseeing allprograms previously underthe andFlightEarth, SciencesEducation (NCSEFSE) As ofJune National 1,2005,anew CenterforSpace, Sciences Education New National CenterforSpace, andFlight Earth, information onDLESE,visit systematalllevels. Forlearning abouttheEarth more the quality, quantity, andefficiency ofteachingand students, andscientistsworking togethertoimprove involving educators, DLESE isacommunityeffort Aivazian at ing anAmbassadorinyour state,pleasecontactBryan you know wouldlikemore informationaboutbecom- ences andworkshops intheirstate.If you orateacher presentation ayear forthenexttwoyears atconfer- who undergoesthetrainingagrees tomakeatleastone teachers foroutreach intheirstates.Eachteacher efforts in Nashville, TN. The workshops willprepare selected CT; November 12inChicago,IL;andDecember 3 mail: 20036; tel.:(202)689-1295;Fax: (202)689-1297,e- 1101 17thStreet, NW, Suite 1004, Washington, DC For more information,contactNCSEFSE c/oUSRA, unchanged. willremain andthelevels ofsupport interruption nationalcenterwithout grams willcontinueatthenew Research Association(USRA).Alltransferred pro- national facilityoperatedby theUniversities Space nationalprograms.of new NCSEFSEisthenewest tion, andgainedresponsibility forgrowing asuite (SSER) atChallengerCenterforSpace ScienceEduca- [email protected]. [email protected] . www.dlese.org . and mountain regions in California. in regions mountain and desert to unique storms recent discussing article an for Angeles Times Severe WeatherPattern Takes Toll erson meteorologist research and Dryden) (NASA pilot ER-2 NASA from quotes Includes mission. research (TCSP) Processes and Systems NASA’s during Emily Hurricane over Tropical Cloud 9; August Study PartNOAA Hurricane of Aircraft Dryden tropics. the in volcanoes than differently much world’s the climate affect equator the of north far tions erup- volcanic major that shows University), (Rutgers and University), (Rutgers Robock GISS), (NASA by led Nova.com tion Infl VolcanicLocation Blast Reac- Climate uences weather. volatile cooler,more but recent the about interviewed is JPL) Angeles Los AM, 790 NewsRadio, Weather TurnsStormy but Cooler satellites. and occupants airplane astronauts, unprotected to fl solar large hazardous be with can ares associated sun the from particles from radiation because important are forecasts Such unlikely. is weather space severe when periods “all clear” forecast to how learning in and Schrijver Chronicle American Forbes, Forecasts Space Weather to Timely Closer Scientists NASA Antarctic’sOcean. Southern the in volume ice sea increase actually may emissions gas greenhouse from temperatures air warmer to due precipitation in increases predicted that discovered and County), Powell Dylan by conducted TerraPhysOrg.com, Daily Air?” “Hot of Lot a to Due nomenon Phe- A Antarctic: the in Increase on Be May Ice Sea , August 11. 11. August , Dick Fisher Fisher Dick (NASA GSFC). (NASA Gavin Schmidt Schmidt Gavin , , . New research funded by NASA and NSF, and NASA by funded Newresearch . , August 16; 16; August , Los Angeles Daily News Daily Angeles Los Marc DeRosa DeRosa Marc . . Achim Stossel Stossel Achim Thorsten Markus Thorsten Bill Patzert Bill (University of Maryland-Baltimore Maryland-Baltimore of (University Luke Oman Luke Innovations Report, I-Newswire, Red- I-Newswire, Report, Innovations (NASA HQ) is making big strides strides big making is HQ) (NASA SpaceRef.com, PR Newswire, Newswire, PR SpaceRef.com, (NASA GISS), GISS), (NASA . A new NASA-funded study, NASA-funded new A . (both Lockheed ATC), Lockheed (both . NASA research by by research NASA . (NASA JPL) is interviewed interviewed is JPL) (NASA (Rutgers University), Alan Alan University), (Rutgers (Texas University) A&M (NASA GSFC), GSFC), (NASA . NASA’s . fl ER-2 ew . . Georgiy Stenchikov Georgiy Bill Patzert Bill , August 8; 8; August , , August 15; 15; August , Reto Ruedy Ruedy Reto , August 16; 16; August , David David Wright Jeff Halv- Jeff (NASA (NASA Los Los Karel Karel KABC KABC , , What’s Behind the Heat / Tropical Heat Wave Hits ocean conditions. illustrate thecontrastbetween anEl Niño andpresent the mostrecent Pacific Jason imagefrom July 2005to TOPEX/Poseidon imagefrom November 1997and to California’s climate. includedaPacifiThe story c discussingthefactorsrelated JPL) isquotedinastory July 27; Southern California Spared Warm Coastal Winds Atlantic hurricane activity. abouttherevised forecastJPL) isinterviewed for2005 News Radio, 790AM,LosAngeles Atlantic Hurricane Forecast Revised Herald, Supercomputing Online 20; Field Tests Unite Weather and Climate Models aerosols. and vegetation Earth’ssurface, the to changes related and surfaces urban global of expanse the represent to way feasible only the is data satellite that and models, climate in effects urban simulate to ability our advancing for useful extremely is information urban satellite-observed that suggest Jin Menglin by led 21; Weatherand Climate on Effects Urban of ing Understand- Our Improve to Observations Satellite Encourage Scientists NASA City”: the & “Satellites blame. to may tures tempera- sea warmer that but life, ocean in declines the behind causes the about unsure still are scientists News Mercury Warming Ocean Harms Wildlife California’s watersupply. of dealingwiththehistory inastory is interviewed 24; SayExperts There isEnough Water -For Now World News Tonight segment was with Peter Ember. across the West, including much of California. The ABC JPL) is interviewed about the prolonged heat wave 19; Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Wave L.A. / Western Heat Wave / Southern California Heat The Washington Times, Business Week magazine, Japan KABC News Radio, 790 AM North County Times PhysOrg.com, WorldChanging.com PhysOrg.com, , July 26; J. Marshall Shepherd Shepherd Marshall J. Pasadena Star News (University of Maryland-College Park), Park), Maryland-College of (University . . KPCC Radio, 89.3 FM Bill Patzert Patzert Bill . Bill Patzert . (NASA JPL) discusses why why discusses JPL) (NASA Bill Patzert . Researchers from NASA . July 20; (NASA GSFC) and and GSFC) (NASA . Bill Patzert . Bill Patzert , July 23; 23; July , (NASA JPL) . July 22; , August 3; . A new study, new A . ABC News (NASA (NASA San Jose Jose San (NASA Los , July , July , July July , KABC . July ,

EOS Scientists in the News 23 EOS Scientists in the News 24 stead of looking at them after they have been mixed into methane, when they are emitted at Earth’s surface, in- scientists need to examine greenhouse gases, especially mate, a study by PhysOrg.com, I-Newswire Previous Estimates Methane’s Impacts on Climate Change May Be Twice the atmosphere, ocean, land surface and sea ice. time combine their mathematical computer models of four new supercomputer simulations that for the first other government and academic institutions have created including Halverson three hours, while making it appear in 3-D, says NASA has sped up the process of getting this data within cal cyclone is very important to hurricane forecasters, and and how heavy the rain falls throughout parts of a tropi- Terra Daily Of Hurricanes NASA Offers A Real-Time 3-D Look At The Inside rainfall predictions for the rainy season. meteorologists, including Future Winner of Rainfall Prediction Contest Sees a Wet and (NASA HQ), cause of that rise, shows research by better predict the rate at which sea level is rising and the New satellite measurements are allowing scientists to 7; NASA Satellites Measure and Monitor Sea Level the atmosphere. The Washington Post, Kansas City Star, Yahoo! News Eric Rignot , July 6; Arlindo daSilva . Seeing how rain falls from top to bottom (NASA GSFC). Steve Nerem , July 5; San Diego Union Tribune Drew Shindell (NASA JPL). , July 18; World Scientist, Science Daily, . To better predict our future cli- Bill Patzert (NASA GSFC) and several (University of Colorado), Science Daily, Space Daily, (NASA GSFC) suggests Waleed Abdalati (NASA JPL) issue . A panel of Jeff , July . Interested in getting your research out to the general general the to out research your getting in Interested web.” “sensor called technology Talabac including technologists, NASA globe, the around towns and cities populated to sources various their from pollutants of transport the track to ability 1; July Globe the Across Pollution of Prediction Improve Technique to Investigates WebSensor Simulation temporarily. least at drought, recent the relieved have rains recent Enterprise Now for Drought Eases Rain NASA’s using ER-2. satellites, existing on those to similar instruments using thunderstorms of clusters disorganized and waves air tropical over fi hurricane fla by discuss study eld Division) ying and HQ) Insight NASA’sHurricane Hope Offer Will ER-2 Scientists Schmaltz, MODISLandRapidResponse Team atNASAGSFC. captured thisimageat10:10a.m.localtime,onAugust Jeff 22,2005.NASAimagecourtesy Th e Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)onNASA’s Terrasatellite at comparablespeeds.Mawar isexpectedtostrikemainlandJapan, whereas Guchol willnot. from Tokyo. Th ey are traveling inparallelwitheachother, bothheaded roughlynorthwest image. Bothstormsare Pacifi faroutinthenorthwestern c Ocean, some900kilometers Typhoon Mawar (left)isposingphotogenicallywith Tropical Cyclone Guchol inthissatellite about. ing learn- in interested be would person average the think you that presentations conference or images satellite new articles, journal upcoming your of know him let and News [email protected] at NASA’s Science on Gutro Rob Earth-Sun contact scientifi the Please and community? c educators public, Science Daily, TerraScience Daily , July 4; 4; July , (NASA GSFC), are exploring an innovative innovative an exploring are GSFC), (NASA . . Robert Rogers Rogers Robert Bill Patzert Patzert Bill Space News Space (NASA JPL) discusses how how discusses JPL) (NASA (NOAA Hurricane Research Research Hurricane (NOAA . . Ramesh Kakar Kakar Ramesh , July 1; 1; July , . . To our improve Riverside Press- Riverside Stephen Stephen (NASA (NASA , , NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDA 37.2 x38.8km. Th elargeimageiscentered near37.4°Nlatitude,100.9°Wlongitude,and covers an area of shown here are 800and1,600meters(0.51mile)indiameter. Central pivot irrigationalsocreates circular fi perfectly elds, asseeninthisimage.Th efi elds sprinklers, lesswaterislosttoevaporation andmore goestonourishingthegrowing plants. water fallsdirectly onthecrops insteadofbeingshotintotheairasoccurswithtraditional pipes perched onwheelsrotate around thepivot, showering thecrops withwater. Because the tion. Centralpivot irrigationdrawswateroutofasinglewell inthecenteroffield. Long Farmers inthisregion have adoptedamore efficient irrigationmethod,centralpivot irriga- measureOne isusingwatermore conservation wiselysolessisdrawnoutoftheaquifer. thewaterofOgallala Aquifer.conserve dry.bank thanisdepositedintoit,itcouldrun For thisreason, eff areorts beingmadeto from region toregion. Likeabankaccount, ifmore wateristakenfrom thisunderground a longtimetotrickledown through thesoiltorecharge theaquifer, thoughtheratevaries disappeared inthe geologicdevelopment ofthe West afterthelasticeage. Water now takes from thelast iceage.Th erivers andstreams thatinitiallyfedtheaquiferhave longsince dry.concerns thatitcouldeventually run Most ofthewaterinaquiferis“fossil water” Th oughtheaquiferisa reliablesource ofwaterforirrigated cropland, there are some greatly from region toregion. is between 30and100metersbelow ground, andtheamountofwaterinaquifervaries kilometers oftheGreat Plains—an area ofeight U.S. states.Th thatincludesparts ewater underground repositories intheworld,Ogallala Aquifer liesunderabout450,000square water from theOgallala Aquifer, agiantlayer ofunderground water. One ofthelargest Like crops throughout largesectionsoftheU.S.Midwest, thesecrops are fedby partly year appear lighter. possibly paler. Fields thathave andplowed beenrecently harvested underorliefallow forthe ghum, whichresembles corn,grows more slowly andwouldbemuchsmaller therefore, Healthy, growing crops are gray. Cornwouldbegrowing intoleafystalksby lateJune. Sor- (ASTER) captured thisimageonJune darker shades. 24,2001,accountingforthevarying development whentheAdvanced Spaceborne Th ermal Emissionand Refl ectionRadiometer County—are corn, wheat,andsorghum.Eachofthesecrops wasatadifferent pointof prairieinsouthwestern Kansas.Thshortgrass emostcommon crops inthis region—Finney Resembling variegated awork green ofmodern art, crop circles cover whatwasonce C/JAROS, andU.S./Japan ASTERScience Team

25 Announcement 26 Committees: New officers include: scienceandenvironmentalsource decisionmaking.” forEarth single gateway. Th iswillbeadefi ning yearforthe Federationinwhichitbecomesa premier information the pullingtogetherofvast public,academicandprivate resources andmakesthemavailable through a educational materialsandanadvanced scienceresearch environment.” He added,“Th is initiative represents stated, “Th eEarth Information tools, Exchange will decisionsupport provide operational data services, velopments, includingtheFederation’s Information work withESRIontheEarth Exchange portal. Yunck tion withdiverse backingfrom NASA,NOAA, USGSandEPA. He highlightedmanyexciting de- new journey from itsconceptionintheNational Research Council,toitsprototype atNASA,toitsfullopera- term. He outlinedhisvision for thecomingyear, speakingoftheFederation’s evolution andthe10-year Th e Federation’s President,Th omas Yunckof NASA’s Jet PropulsionLaboratory, waselectedtoasecond through thenextsummerconferenceserve in2006. tion”) slateofoffi electedanew cers atitsannualmeetinginSan Diego, California.Th new e San Diego, California,June 27,2005—Th cerswill offi e Science FederationofEarth Information (“Federa- Partners ESIP Federation Elects New Leadership Announcement and services todecision makersandresearchers inpublicandprivateand services settings. science dataandderivative products. Initiated by NASAin1997,theFederation provides data,products cations developers. Th e Federation promotes increased accessibility, interoperability and usabilityforEarth Th e sciencedatacenters,scientists, technologists,educators,andappli- ofEarth Federationisaconsortium will beinvolved inpolicydevelopment andplanningforthe Federation. All offi one-year termsontheFederation’scers andcommittee chairswillserve Executive Committee.Th ey Chair ofF Type IIIRepresentative, Bruce Caron, Th eNew Media Studio Type IIRepresentative, Michael Goodman, NASAMarshall Space Flight Center Type IRepresentative, Bruce Barkstrom, NASALangleyResearch Center Vice President, Tamara Ledley, TERC President, Th omas Yunck, Jet Propulsion Lab Vice ChairofProducts, Mohan andServices Ramamurthy, Unidata Chair ofProducts, Rob andServices Raskin,Jet Propulsion Lab Vice ChairofInformation Technology andInteroperability , Tommy Jasmin, University of Wisconsin Chair ofInformation Technology andInteroperability, KarlBenedict, University ofNew Mexico Vice ChairofEducation, Margaret Mooney, University of Wisconsin Chair ofEducation, Alan Gould, University ofCalifornia,Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall ofScience Vice ChairofCommunityEngagement, Danny Hardin, University ofAlabamainHuntsville Chair ofCommunityEngagement, LuAnn Dahlman, TERC Vice ChairofCommercial Development, Dave Jones, StormCenter Communications Chair ofCommercial Development, Hung Pham, RITI Chair ofConstitutionandBylaws, Patricia Reiff, RiceUniversity Chair ofPartnership, Howard Burrows, Autonomous Undersea Systems Institute inance andAppropriations, ChuckHutchinson, University ofArizona Anne Douglass, Aura Validation Workshop, Netherlands. Contact: November 7-11 tact: Sashi Gupta, CERES Science Team Meeting, Hampton, VA. Con- November 1-3 csr.utexas.edu/grace/GSTM Srinivas Bettadpur, GRACE Science Team Meeting, Austin, Contact: TX. October 13-14 gov Benevento, Italy. Contact: International EOS/NPPDirect Broadcast Meeting, October 3-7 jpl.nasa.gov Angela Smythe, AIRS Science Team Meeting, Greenbelt, MD.Contact: September 27-29 Anne Douglass, Aura Science Team Meeting, Greenbelt, Md. Contact: September 20-23 EOS ScienceCalendar . [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]. . URL: . . URL: . www. airs. nual/index.html Meeting, Atlanta, GA.URL: American Meteorological Society (AMS)86 January 29-February 2 Francisco, CA.URL:www.agu.org/meetings/fm05/ American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, San December 5-9 calls/05/ers/ (RS03), Bruges, Belgium. URL: Sensors, Systems, andNext-Generation Satellites XI September 19-22 NASA image courtesy theMODISRapidResponseNASA imagecourtesy Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Rapid Response System provides thisimageatadditionalresolutions. Th ehigh-resolution imagehasaspatial resolutionof250metersperpixel.Th eMODIS much ofthestate,keepingtemperatures highandreducing windsthatwouldcleartheair. many locations,includingFairbanks. Alargearea ofhighatmosphericpressure spread over Quality. Conditionshave rangedfrom “very unhealthy” to“hazardous ”over theweekend in 12 report from ofEnvironmental theAlaskaDepartment Conservation’s Division ofAir Air qualitywarningshave beenissuedforabout90%oftheinterior, according totheAugust across thestateasofAugust 14. out over theBering andChukchiSeas (imageleft).More thanahundred fires were burning Hemmed andthesouth,smokespreads inby mountainstothenorth westward andspills Alaska. Smoke from scores offires fi lled thestate’s broad central valley and poured outtosea. NASA’s Terra satellitecaptured thisstunningimageofforest fires ragingacross thewidthof On August 14,2005,theModerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)on Global Change Calendar www.ametsoc.org/meet/an- spie.org/conferences/ th Annual

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