NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

The Earth Observer. November - December 2005. Volume 17, Issue 6.

Editor’s Corner Michael King EOS Project Scientist

I’m pleased to report that President Bush has signed H.R. 2862, the Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2006 that provides funding to NASA of $16.457 billion for the year that started on October 1. Th is is $1 million above the President’s budget request and $260.3 million more than NASA received for 2005.

With regard to NASA’s Earth Science activities, Congress directed that NASA fund the Glory global climate change research mission at a level $30 million more than NASA had requested, putting this mission on fi rmer ground for development for a planned December 2008 launch. Furthermore, it provides an increase of $15 million to the Earth Science Applications program to support competitively selected projects. Th e conference report also directed an increase of $50 million for a Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission for a total of $271 million that NASA plans to fl y if the next Shuttle mission, scheduled for next summer, goes well. Also tucked into the appropriations bill are Congressionally directed priorities totaling $280 million, spread across 185 diff erent projects, that NASA had not requested. continued on page 2

Th is image of Antarctica was created using data from the Geoscience Laser Altimeter (GLAS) NASA’s Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Satel- lite (ICESat). Clouds of various thickness are shown,ranging progressively from darker gray (thin clouds) to brighter white (opaque layers). Th e mosaic of the underlying surface of Antarctica was produced using data from the Canadian Space Agency’s RADARSAT mission. The Earth Observer

www.nasa.gov In This Issue | Editor's Corner 02 Thimplementa- an have to NASA expects Committee e The Earth Observer The Earth Decadal Survey: “Th Survey: Decadal the by encouraged is Committee e In other news, the Appropriations Conference Report Report Conference Appropriations the news, other In referenced the Senate language report that says the fol- the says that report language Senate the referenced in fi in fully Committee the addition, In 2007. year scal expects this implementation profi implementation this expects continu- a have to le NASA. by funded disciplines science other the for done been already survey, has as decadal Science Earth an eff devise to Sciences of Academy National the of orts lowing concerning the National Academy of Sciences Sciences of Academy National the concerning lowing the highest priority missions from the decadal survey survey decadal the from missions priority highest the initiate to attached, funding start new with plan, tion Feature Articles In This Issue Regular Features Meeting / Workshop Summaries In theNews S Global Land Ice Measurements from Space Th Information/ e Observer Inquiries Earth EOS ScienceCalendars ScienceMissionNASA Earth Director- Scientists intheNews E Workshop on Ecological Modeling Using SORCE ScienceMeeting Addresses “Paleo 22 International Polar Year Workshop Held at GRACE Science Team Meeting Satellite Missions CALIPSOandCloud- 17 A Heated 3-DLookintoErin’s Eye It’s Science AlwaysEarth Week atNASA A Warmer World Might Not Be A Wetter Heavy RainsCanMake More Dust in Combining MISRandMODISData to tudents’ On-Line: CloudObservations ditor’s Corner 05 Back Cover 20 ScienceEducation Updateate—Earth 32 NASA Multi-angle Remote Sensing and Culture” Connections Between theSun, Climate, 21 Goddard SAT Partner withGLOBE Goddard One Earth’s Driest Spots North America Automatically CatalogSmoke Plumes in 07 Eight Years oftheS’COOLProgram Front Cover November -December2005 35 19 26 24 16 15 13 11 “Th the years several past the over that note conferees e Thlan- contains Report Conference e Appropriations Thconsulta- in agencies, above the direct conferees e Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) at existing hangars, create Vehiclescreate Aerial hangars, (UAVs) existing at Administrator in consultation with NOAA to report report NOAA to with consultation in Administrator (OSTP) to report back to the Committees on Ap- on Committees the to back report to (OSTP) 3d—and its third year of active operations. Th operations. active of year third its 3d—and e 2006.” Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) instru- (GLAS) System Altimeter Laser Geoscience UAVs,defi of concept end-to-end an develop and ne USGS, and NOAA for a Landsat Data Continuity Continuity Data Landsat a NOAA for and USGS, EOSDIS and ECS remain the operational foundation foundation operational the remain ECS and EOSDIS and regular guarantee that missions Science Earth Following is Conference Report language concern- language Report Conference is Following Mission. Th Mission. Landsat-type a proposed e Administration Information System (EOSDIS), the Senate report report Senate the (EOSDIS), System Information and Data System Observing Earth the to reference In I’m pleased to report that on November 24, ICESat ICESat November 24, on that report I’m to pleased November 18. ICESat measures the Earth’s the measures ICESat November18. polar-ice with an appropriate alternative for a Landsat mission.” Landsat a for alternative appropriate an with recurring fl recurring Science Earth the for opportunities ight request for NASA, the Department of the Interior’s the of Department the NASA, for request 30, March than later no completed be should report instrument to be fl be to instrument Th NOAA spacecraft. a on own e budget the in proposed was “Funding Landsat: ing severe-storm-prediction and weather- in improvements ment fi ment on earthward shot laser billionth one its red opportunities new up opening thereby missions, use of UAVs to operate in the near-space environment environment near-space the UAVs in of use operate to community.“ concluded its eighth operations period—Campaign period—Campaign operations eighth its concluded no is mission a such that understand now conferees Th capabilities. NASA the direct conferees the erefore, research Science Earth traditional to alternative cost agencies. Language in the Conference Report reads: reads: Report Conference the in Language agencies. UAV civilian for standardized a design develop and integration, vehicle payload-air including operations Unmanned at Wallopsaccommodate Facilityto Flight survey.” decadal ence of all implement to system ground evolutionary the of class observatory and medium small, of mixture ous aerial vehicles has increased substantially. Th increased has vehicles aerial conferees e longer feasible for both funding and technical reasons. reasons. technical and funding both for feasible longer propriations within 120 days of enactment of this Act Act this of enactment of days 120 within propriations the new missions funded as a result of the Earth Sci- Earth the of result a as funded missions new the tion with the Offi the with tion & TechnologyScience of ce Policy potential the on Appropriations on Committees the to unmanned U.S.-manufactured of maturity technology believe UAVs believe off could low- potentially a NASA er ground support facilities for medium and high altitude altitude high and medium for facilities support ground upgrades infrastructure for $4M provides which guage “Th says: the that ensure to NASA directs Committee e for a variety of science and operational missions. Th missions. operational and science of variety a e for possible and exist, currently not do that research for V olume 17,Issue6 Atlantic this season. Th season. this Atlantic a record-breaking been has is Th isanimageof HurricaneKatrinaon Sunday, August28,2005at5:30PMEDT(21:33 UTC) asseen bythe Tropical Rainfall Measuring The Earth Observer The Earth Crisscrossing the globe at nearly 17,000 mph, ICESat ICESat mph, 17,000 nearly at globe the Crisscrossing Epsilon. Epsilon is one of only fi only of one is Epsilon Epsilon. the in hurricanes ve Hurricane Season that runs from June 1 to Novem- Juneto 1 from runs that Season Hurricane Measuring Mission (TRMM) a new lease on life, ex- life, on lease new a (TRMM) Mission Measuring previously, Administra- NASA reported as Meanwhile, vertical characteristics, enabling scientists to see objects objects see to scientists enabling characteristics, vertical reaping benefi reaping been as has TRMM decision that from ts names they had for the Atlantic basin and had to start start to had and basin Atlantic the for had they names of list the exhausted completely they storms, naming Mission satellite’s (TRMM) PR(Precipitation Radar), InfraredVIRS (Visible Scanner), TMI (Tropical Microwave Imager) andtheGOESspace- NASA/JAXA. monitoring the extraordinary hurricane activity in the the in activity hurricane extraordinary the monitoring craft. TRMM looksunderneathofthestorm’s cloudstoreveal theunderlyingrainstructure. Th e Tropical Rainfall Measuring(TRMM) Mission using the Greek alphabet. ToGreek alphabet. the named using twenty-six date, on Earth in three dimensions. three in Earth on provides unprecedented accuracy in mapping Earth’s mapping in accuracy unprecedented provides past 150 years that have formed outside the offi the outside formed have that years 150 past cial hurricane season for the Atlantic basin. For the fiFor the basin. Atlantic the for season hurricane rst time since the National Hurricane Center has been been has Center Hurricane National the since time already is NASA 2010. least at to mission the tending Griffi Michael tor the gave Tropicalrecently n Rainfall ber 30. Armed with an array of sensors, can sensors, TRMM of array an with Armed 30. ber storms have formed, the most recent being Hurricane Hurricane being recent most the formed, have storms lasers. three with forests and mountains, clouds, sheets, is ajointmissionbetween NASAandtheJapan designedtomonitorandstudytropical rainfall.Credit: Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA) November -December2005 Th from e meetingalsoincludedparticipants Wallops Associate Administrator (AA)fortheScienceMission EOS for Radiometer Scanning Microwave Advanced (AMSR-E) on Aqua has been combined with cloud cloud with combined been has Aqua on (AMSR-E) Ed Weiler, spokeatanall-handsmeetingGoddard Directorate Cleave, (SMD),Mary Deputy AAforthe Flight Facility in Wallops Island, VA andtheIndepen- In addition, sea-surface-temperature data from the the from data sea-surface-temperature addition, In SMD, Colleen Hartman, and Goddard Center Director, visit toGoddard positions. sinceassumingtheirnew which formed too far east to be included. Th included. be to east far too formed which anima- is cyclones over the global tropics. tropics. To global recent the over most cyclones the see on November 2.Th iswasCleave and Hartman’sfi rst satellite NOAA GOES-12 the on imager the from data see please from data TRMM, provide unique images and information on tropical tropical on information and images unique provide tion can be accessed from the hurricane resource web web resource hurricane the from accessed be can tion named the of 23 shows that visualization a create to site listed above. listed site Vince Hurricane Beta—save to Arlene from season, hurricane Atlantic 2005 the during formed that storms www.nasa.gov/hurricane V olume 17,Issue6 .

Editor's Corner 03 Editor's Corner 04 WV. Cleave reiterated theearliermessagefrom NASA As ofthiswriting,thelaunchCloudSat and Administrator Michael Griffin thatNASAisfully 3 years. We are deeplyindebtedtoJon forthismost 2005 untilmid-February 2006attheearliestasaresult 2 launchvehicle have beenpostponedfrom November Jon Ranson,the Terra Project Scientistforthepast5 The Earth Observer The Earth CALIPSO missionsthatare co-manifestedonaDelta Cleave, and Hartman, Weiler allanswered questions fi ghting forandmaintainingthesciencegoalssetforth Kaufman fortheprevious 4years, hasdecidedtostep NASA, even inthefaceofreduced budgets.She views years aswell asDeputy Project Scientistunder Yoram SMD andtherole Goddard willplayinthoseplans. was leaderoftheconsolidatedextendedmissionpro- in theschedulingandimplementationof Terra numerous. To highlightafew, heplayed amajorrole in thesuccessof Terra missionover thelast9years, maneuvers. Most recently, andextremely he important, mission, andinleadingthehighlysuccessfuldeep-space ment inachievingtheexplorationgoalsofagency. committed tomaintainingastrong ScienceProgram at and scientific research. Ransonhasplayed akeyrole down andspendmore timeonhisBranch Head duties of aBoeingmachinists’ strike. dent Verification and Validation Facility inFairmont, posal thatgives Terra astablefoundation forthenext having astrong ScienceProgram ele- asanimportant by thesciencecommunity. His successeshave been from theaudience concerningfuture plansforthe November -December2005 (Terra) System astheEarth missionandlaterserved Earth science community in an exemplary fashion. sciencecommunityinanexemplary Earth science,ImhoffEarth willplayakeyrole intheman- Finally, Iamhappytoreport thatMarc Imhoff has In addition,Si-Chee Tsay, whohasabackground both Since Terra isoneofthenation’s flagship missionsfor Science Pathfinder Project Scientistfrom 2000-2004. with abackground intheuseofremote sensingand recent accomplishmentandhisableleadershipof Terra in theoretical radiative transferintheEarth-atmosphere manager duringtheformulationofEOSAM-1 cal cycles. Imhoff previously worked asaninstrument computer modelingtostudyhumanimpactsthebio- activities carried out as part ofthe activities carriedoutaspart Terra Extended Mis- scienceanddatafusion agement ofinterdisciplinary as agreed toserve Terra Project Scientist,replacing Ran- over thelast9years. He willbemissedimmensely. and experienceinatmosphericsciencevalida- der Jon Ransonforthepastfive years. His background helping toformulatetheextendedmissionproposal tial contributiontothe Terra missionandrepresent the terrestrial ecologyandforestry. tion andfield campaigns,andhissubstantialeff in ort sion. Iamconfi substan- dent thathewillmakeavery sphere andclimateresulting from altered bio-geochemi- son. Imhoff isaninternationallyrecognized scientist serving as serving Terra Deputy Project Scientistashehasun- both system aswell asinradiationinstrumentation for Terra, willcomplement Marc Imhoff’s strengths in from theground andaircraft, hasagreed tocontinue V olume 17,Issue6 The Earth Observer The Earth Glaciologists, working individuallyandforlarge, Glaciers and icesheetsare theworld’s chiefrepositories GLIMS: Basis, goals,foundation,andorganiza- Monitoring have Service facedthedauntingchallenge In general,itisunderstoodthatglaciersare meltingat It isclearthattheworld’s climateisundergoingrapid, well-coordinated programs suchasthe World Glacier in theseregions ( indicatorofpastglacialandclimaticflimportant uctua- in order toimprove ourunderstandingofpast,present, nonlinear responses canresult inunexpectedrapidre- ing inasteady, linear(and,therefore, easilypredictable) ings orthenaturalworld. needed downstream. In commonnon-idealcases,gla- periodswhenliquidwaterismost it duringsunny(dry) astheystorenatural reservoirs, waterinfrozen form multi-national, multi-billion-dollarregional hydrologic ment andunderstandrecent glacierfluctuations to unprecedented rates.However, itiscriticaltodocu- undergone rapiddisintegration.Feedback processes and characterizing their stateanddynamics,quantify- catastrophes, anditisurgentforregional and global covered by icesheetsandglaciers,ischangingover time. correlation Some withclimaticperturbations. have changing. Glaciers are alsoresponsive toclimatechange ciers store andsuddenlyrelease vast quantitiesofwater, of inventorying thedistribution oftheworld’sof inventorying glaciers, eral decadesfrom now, makingitallthemore imporant and dynamicsimpendingfuture changesofglaciers and hazards andsea-level rise,andbecausetheyare an enable predictions offuture changesandtheirim- accurate assessmentofhow thecryosphere, thearea and future climatechange,scientistsrequire amore- amount oftheEarth’s covered surface by glacierscan over areas. theirwholesurface Many glaciersare chang- are populatedorutilized incriticalwaysby humanbe- during coldandcloudy(wet) periodsandslowly release of fresh water. In manycases,glaciersare almostideal political stabilitythatscientistsunderstandthestate pacts onsociety. The largericemassesare important have asignificant impactonglobalclimate. Therefore, heterogeneous change,andwithit,glaciersare also that scientists harvest theirclimaticinformationnow.that scientistsharvest to documenttheextentanddistributionofsmallerice tions. Glaciers are criticaldynamicelementsof some bodies. Many oftheseare notlikelytobearound sev- because theyhave amajorimpactonwaterresources sponses ofsomeglaciersandicesheets.Changesinthe sometimes wreaking havoc downstream ifthoseareas tional structure Michael Abrams, [email protected], NASAJet Propulsion Laboratory Global LandIceMeasurements from Space Kargel etal. 2005).It isalsoimportant November -December2005 Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission andreflec- (henceforth, the (henceforth, 2006) hasnearlycompletedthetaskofproducing a These improvements notwithstanding,asteadily Technology andsemi-automatedapplicationsinclude GLIMS makes use of state-of-the-art imagingand GLIMS makesuseofstate-of-the-art Glacier Inventory. Earth-resources satelliteimagingoftheworld’s glaciers org Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS, work ofnearly100scientistsin25countries.GLIMS requires organizationandcoordination, whichcan information diffi expen- cult orimpossible(andvery ing basicglaciologicalparameters,suchaslengthand it alsomakesuse ofimagingfrom theLandsatseries from ASTER,andmanyofitsactivities ily onimagery image-analysis technology, anddraws from a global net- ing andunderstandingglaciologicaldata,especially in flow speedsandaccelerationofglacierretreat. motion were donemanually, butover time,increasingly marily satelliteimaging.In thetimesincefirst civil mapping glaciersandinternalmaterialunitssuchas ciers by ASTERatupto15-mresolution, in14bands changes, provide forchecksonaccuracyanduniformity ed methodsofglacieranalysishave evolved toextract assessments ofglacialextent,materialunits,andice dynamics hasalsogrown dramatically. In theearlydays, analyze these imagestodetermineglacierextentand of coverage. Furthermore, thetechnologyavailable to ago,satelliteglacierimaginghas a third ofacentury area. and manyother satellites,historicmaparchives, and ages forglacierextentandchanges. GLIMSrelies heav- extension ofthe of effort. This isthecontextinwhichGlobal Land of reported data,andreduce excessive redundancy enhance efficiency andgeographiccoverage ofglacier afforded by technologyallthemore critical.It also toglacierchange,makestheeffidata pertaining ciency lakes, mappingderivative iceflow fields andchangesin pictorial record oftheworld’s glaciersandassessingit has thegoalsof:(1)repeat imagingof theworld’s gla- tion Radiometer(ASTER).GLIMSisseenasalogical sophisticated andaccuratesemiautomaticautomat- grown inquality, resolution, coverage, andfrequency stereo in oneofthesebands;and(2)assessingim- spanning thevisiblethrough thermalinfrared, andin shrinking poolofpersonneldedicatedtointerpret- glacier extent,andmappingsecond-derivative changes sive) toobtainfrom theground orby airbornesurveys. for indicationsofglacierstateanddynamicsusingpri- fall undertheauspicesofASTER scienceteam,but ) wasdeveloped asateammemberproject forthe The Satellite Image Atlas oftheGlaciers ofthe World Satellite Image Atlas Satellite Image Atlas V olume 17,Issue6 , Williams etal andthe World www.glims. .

Feature Articles 05 Feature Articles 06 ASTER overpass. ASTER(andotherdata) canalsobe ASTER datacanbeusedtomonitorshort-duration, Arizona (Tucson). Foreign institutionsare fundedat Also in2004,various project-wide coordination ASTER’s launchon Terra in1999. The development (WGI). (NSIDC), Portland State University, theUniversity (USGS)/Flagstaff gainedsmall-scale fundingthrough Team resulted inJ.S.Kargel’s assignmentasanASTER needsformultispectralandthermal The observational Types ofASTERimageapplications. The Earth Observer The Earth One ofthemajorusesforASTERdatain GLIMSis GLIMS wasdesignedby Hugh H.Kiefferandbegan Coordination CenterattheU.S.Geological Survey field studies.Many membersoftheGLIMSconsortium Boulder, Colorado. Parameters are compatiblewithand Researchers from allaround theworldcontribute NASA funding starting in2004through separatebut NASA fundingstarting NASA asaPathfinder project ataboutthetimeof Science Team member. GLIMSgainedsubstantial various levels through theirown government agencies were funded.In 2005,Kargelresigned from USGS retired in2003;recompetition fortheASTERScience rent andfuture glaciologicalhazards used totrackice motion. The motionoflargeglaciers ciological analysisonaglobalscale,itwasevidentthat current andfuture waterresource availability, andcur- extracting therequired informationfrom satellitedata. data iscombinedwithfrom othersources tocreate expanded from thoseofthe World Glacier Inventory analysis results. To organize andarchive theseresults, a and othersources. These foreign investigators provide and brought GLIMSleadershiptotheUniversity of of Maine, andtheUniversity ofNebraska atOmaha. explicitly linked,competitively reviewed proposals wasamajorearlyactivity.of theconsortium Kieffer wasneeded. effort a globalconsortium The GLIMS development ofASTER. To makeprogress toward gla- ambition, butnofundingdedicatedstrictlytoGLIMS. as asmallASTERScience Team project withmajor analysis results toproblems involving climatechange, are dedicatedtopracticalapplicationofglacier- further tasks, databasedevelopment, andglacieranalysistasks tomated classifi units isakeystepin cation ofsurface time seriestostudychange.Automated orsemi-au- glacier observations wereglacier observations considered intheengineering sive ASTERimagesorbetween other datasetsandan global glacierdatabasehasbeendesignedatNSIDCin forGLIMS. support substantiallyexceedssupport thesumofallAmerican substantial scienceleverage, sincethesumofforeign for trackingchangesinglacier extent between succes- fast-evolving changesinglaciers.In othercases,ASTER from USGS,theNational Snow andIce Data Center November -December2005 GLIMS, we refer thereader toanextendedshowcase of Kääb, A.,Paul, F., Maisch, M.,Hoelzle, M.,Haeberli, For detailedpresentations onselectedaspectsof Kargel, J.S.,Abrams, M.J.,Bishop, M.P., Bush, A., References recent glaciervariations andproject likelyfuture results in ries datapermitsnotonlyjusttherateofchangetobe ing ordecelerating. measured, butalsotherateatwhichchangeisaccelerat- changes onthebasisofclimatemodelsandcomputed can bedetectedandmappedusingASTERimages assessments of uncertainty inclimatemodels. assessments ofuncertainty other future directions, we are strivingtounderstand goalofGLIMS.Among database remains theprimary acquired Use weeks onlyafew apart. ofgoodtime-se- W. (2002). remoteThe new sensingderived Swiss Sensing ofEnvironment 34, 362-366. Global LandIce Measurements from Space, R. (2005).Multispectral Imaging Contributionsto Hamilton, G.,Jiskoot, H.,Kääb, A., Kieffer, H.H., Lee, E.M.,Paul, F., Rau,F., Raup, B.,Shroder, J.F., Soltesz, D.,Stainforth, D.,Stearns, L.,and Wessels, glacier inventory: II. Firstglacier inventory: results. Kargel et al. (2005). Population of the GLIMS , 99,185-223. V olume 17,Issue6 Annals of Glaciology Remote , The Earth Observer The Earth (CERES), is a high-priority scientifi c experiment scientifi experiment c high-priority a is (CERES), The Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System System Energy Earth’s Radiant the and Clouds The scientifi c fundamental learn to able are students The In 2003,agirls’ highschoolin Taiwan partnered withtheCentral Weather Bureau toconductaS’COOLworkshop. Shown here is Yuyia Wu, one oftheteachersathighschool,whotaughtstudentsaboutS’COOLandscientifi Observations On-Line (S’COOL) project. This un- This project. (S’COOL) On-Line Observations Since January 1997, in anticipation of the launch of of launch the of anticipation in 1997, January Since which was launched on May 4, 2004. Scientists are are Scientists 2004. 4, May on launched was which rocket as part of the TRMM spacecraft. The second second The spacecraft. TRMM the of part as rocket ments called CERES. CERES. called ments using measurements from each of these instruments instruments these of each from measurements using climate. fi The Terrathe spacecraft. on nal 1999, 18, cember scientists NASA between collaboration conventional actual in part take world the around scientists citizen and third CERES instruments were launched on De- on launched were instruments CERES third and was fi The instrument CERES satellites. rst different instru- satellite NASA the of validation the in assist or observations, dents’ groups. benefi both to remarkably cial is students and launched on Thanksgiving Day, 1997, on a Japanese Japanese a on Day, 1997, on Thanksgiving launched principles, while the scientists are able to use the stu- the use to able are scientists the while principles, to study the ways in which clouds affect Earth’s affect clouds which in ways the study to spacecraft, Aqua the on are instruments CERES two three on fi instruments includes space-based that ve (TRMM) Mission Measuring TropicalRainfall the scientifi c experiments through the Students’ Cloud Cloud Students’ the through scientifiexperiments c and students of thousands helped has NASA satellite, Kaite Lorentz, [email protected], NASALangleyResearch Center of theS’COOLProgram Students’ CloudObservationsOn-Line:EightYears ground-truth measurements ground-truth November -December2005 , to to , “S’COOL hasbeenagreat experiencenotonlyforthe “The S’COOL observations alsogetusintoremote S’COOLobservations “The Cloudsoftenoccurinmanylayers thatare hard to CERES scientistsusethestudents’ ground observations Bruce Bruce Wielicki ing todetectfrom space. To improve theirabilityto use ground observations. use ground observations. The numberofground sites observations usinganon-lineform. observations theskyaboveoutside andobserve theirschoolasthe minutesfromasking themtotakeafew theirdaygo dents from around theworldinS’COOLproject, available limits theseground observations. To increase accurately identifyandaccountforclouds,scientists over suchassnow, brightsurfaces, are alsochalleng- differentiate from space.Small, thinclouds,andclouds and climate. places around theworldwithoutroutine weather sta- the numberofground sites,NASAhasengagedstu- to confirm theaccuracyofsatellitemeasurements test andverify thesatelliteclouddata.” tions. So ofourplanto thestudentdatahave beenpart students andteachersbutalsoforthescientists,”said satellite flies overhead. The studentsthenreport their space-based observations tolearnmore aboutclouds space-based observations from space. They canalsocompare and thesurface- c conceptsassociatedwiththeprogram. , co-principalinvestigator forCERES. V olume 17,Issue6

Feature Articles 07 Feature Articles 08 As of October 2005, the S’COOL program includes These participants have provided more than 45,000 The Impact of S’COOL on its Participants The Earth Observer The Earth Encouraging students in their education is an important In the fallof2005,anothergroup ofS’COOL stu- S’COOL allows students to actually use scientific inquiry reported that they are majoring in atmospheric or oceano- ing their choice of college major and thus their future interest in scientific inquiry [and in clouds], to influenc- During theS’COOLworkshop in Taiwan, studentswere introduced totheatmosphericsciencefield. more students to consider scientific career options. careers, to even uncovering water leaks in their school classroom teachers—from 66 countries around the world. and career plans. However, the program does encourage as a career. A group of S’COOL students at a girls’ high actually is, that they can study atmospheric science in col- and see how data are collected and analyzed. It also helps element of the program. Using hands-on projects like arms of the S’COOL program seem to have impacted observations over the past eight years. The wide-reaching approximately 2,000 registered participants—mostly lege, and that they can pursue studying the atmosphere the influence that S’COOL can have on students’ college tion in the program that several of the school’s alumnae building. graphic science in college. The group is an extreme case of school in Taiwan were so motivated by their participa- students realize how vast the field of atmospheric science students in many different ways—from advancing their November -December2005 The teachersaid,“Armed withourdata,we brought isitsohumidinour They askedthequestion:“Why Other studentshave beeninspired inamore artistic S’COOL hygrometer, adevicethatmeasures humidity, way. Students ataschoolinItaly created a2006cloud readings from outsideoftheirclassroom. ink reader thattrackedthehumidity -andagreed itwas in the[school]District toinvestigate, andtheyhadto under theclassroom andfoundaleak.” uncover ahiddenwaterleakundertheirclassroom. A calendar throughout their school to teach their peers about calendar, where eachmonthfeatures theirown photos classroom?,” andcameupwithahypothesis:“the kids classrooms intheirschool,andeven totheoutdoors. of a different cloud type. The students are distributing the theywentated by intothecrawlspace ourobservations, doors andout. They analyzed theirdataandconcluded dents usedwhattheylearnedthrough theprogram to program withherstudentswhentheyrealized that humidity levels intheclassrooms ontheirhall,bothin- too high.Basedwhichwere ontheirobservations initi- that theirhumidityreadings were definitely higherthan they conductedaninvestigation by keepingtrackofthe the humiditywascominginsomehow.” Using their thought itwasbecausewe were nearthesidedoorand humidascomparedtheir classroom toother wasvery teacher inupstateNew York hadjustbegunusingthe follow through withthegiven data! They installed an V olume 17,Issue6 15 minutes of a satellite overpass time are used for the While new instruments like the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and While S’COOL is aimed at advancing students’ scientific Terra, or Aqua satellites. Only student reports within The Earth Observer The Earth Ground observations made outside of the 15-minute CERES scientists. For example the CERES instruments, Ground Observations Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) S’COOL data have revealed some key insights for the window may not accurately reflect the cloud conditions in the science classroom, but also to help students improve During theS’COOLworkshop heldin Taiwan in2003,studentsfrom agirls’ andcloudproperties. schoollearnedaboutcloudobservations Here, studentsareperiod. inpreparation studyingthecloudcharts fortheirobservation Scientific Results: Matching Satellite Data with comparisons because clouds move and change so quickly. clouds and the S’COOL program. Through the creativity at the time of the satellite observation. dences with processed CERES data from the TRMM, applications. art skills. The ingenuity of teachers has truly expanded of S’COOL teachers, the program has been used not only like most satellite passive remote-sensing instruments, knowledge and inquiry, it is also a scientific data valida- have trouble detecting and measuring thin cirrus clouds. half of the student ground observations have correspon- tion campaign led by NASA scientists. Currently, nearly the usefulness of S’COOL beyond its original expected their math, observation, writing, technology, and now November -December2005 “One of the hardest jobs for CERES is the confident Beyond thin and multilayered clouds, the CERES sci- In addition, S’COOL data are complementary to the will eventually help with this problem, the S’COOL pro- remote sensing, because the snow surface looks very ments. Detecting snow cover is a challenge for satellite misses such clouds. understand the CERES clear-sky algorithms and help cloud layers. clouds. While the upcoming CloudSat instrument will ence team has found that there are other issues that can eventually help quantify multi-layered cloud situations, of the program. “S’COOL observations can help us to observation for the kids,” said Lin Chambers, director determination of clear sky; that’s the easiest part of the however snow and clouds can be easily distinguished. the occurrence of thick, low-level clouds beneath other the kids understand how clouds connect to climate.” team to estimate how often the CERES instrument be investigated with the use of ground-truth measure- be useful because thin cirrus clouds are perfectly visible similar to bright, white, and cold clouds. On the ground satellite data in the case of multilayered or very thick gram has shown that ground observation data can also for now the S’COOL data are able to provide insight on from the ground. The student reports allow the CERES V olume 17,Issue6

Feature Articles 09 Feature Articles 10 Another interesting application of S’COOL data is The CERES team has also started a partnership with Thus, the student reports provide a valuable data set for CERES is a climate effort; not a weather effort. This new Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument on board MODIS Rapid Response site will allow students to “see” Shiffman’s research explored the potential benefits of remote-sensing images. He used S’COOL observations it took six months or more to provide the data because comparing classified test data. For Shiffman, as well as capability will allow students to compare their observa- of study. In addition, a developing partnership with the a week after students report their observations. Before, are essential for understanding, and thus predicting, the as the anic and Atmospheric Administration as his source of automated cloud detection and tracking using remote- a research project conducted by evaluating satellite cloud retrievals in snowy conditions. the clouds from above in near real-time. tion with the satellite observations during the same unit the FLASHFlux project to provide satellite data within the NOAA-14 weather satellite of the National Oce- The Earth Observer The Earth behavior of clouds in our atmosphere. sensing images. He used the Advanced Very High for the CERES scientists, ground-truth measurements from NASA Ames Research Center, Moffit Field, Calif. During theS’COOLworkshop in Taiwan, studentswere introduced totheatmosphericsciencefield andtheywere abletolearnfrom atmospher- ic scientistsandmeteorologists from theCentral Weather Bureau. gold standard for labeling training data and for Smadar Shiffman November -December2005 “From our eight-year project, we have found that the With eightsuccessfulyears ofoperation,theS’COOL All inall,theteam—NASAscientists andK-12stu- The CERESteamiscurrently focusing outreach efforts The Future ofS’COOL Chambers. “A keycomponenttoourprogram isthe vision—is through two-waycommunication,”said well asitschangingclimate system. reasons theproject hasbeensosuccessfulisitsability interaction we have withteachers—encouraginga in areas suchasAlaskaandCanadato helpaddress our understanding ofEarth’s complex atmosphere as inthequesttoimproveas theS’COOLobservations dents—is continuingtostudy the CERESdataaswell of ourneeds.” dialogue sothatwe canevolve theprogram basedonall inpolarclouds. outstanding uncertainties program hasproven itselfasabeneficial collaboration to helpvalidate CEREStimeinterpolationtechniques. to plan,whileatthesametimeproviding observations to theproject. These stable times observation team recently addedgeostationary to adapttheneedsofstudentsandteachers. The best waytogetinformationacross—to share the NASA for boththestudentsandscientists.One ofthe overpass V timeshelpteachers olume 17,Issue6 America. Together canclassifysmoke theinstruments The Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) isseek- The Earth Observer The Earth MODIS’s thermal-infrared sensingcapabilitiesgive MISR hasauniqueabilitytodeterminetheheightof Spectroradiometer intandem (MODIS)instruments, Support Vector Machines (SVM),aformofsuper- vised classification, are usedtodetect MISRpixels water, and/or iceandsnow. Algorithmsthatinvolve where structure inthevertical ofatmosphere with innovative data-miningtechniques. The MISR resolution ofstandard aspart MISRprocessing. Smoke- ness temperatures, incomparisonto nearby pixels for it theuniqueabilitytodetectactive fires with high ing tobetterunderstandtheeffectsofwildfires onair models, canenableabetterassessmentoftheregional/ context, todetectfires andother thermalanomalies. and search fordistinctive plume-likeshapes. This helps examine thoseblocksthatare foundtocontainsmoke of hand-labelledscenescontainingsmoke,clouds,land, data product usesthe4-µmbrightnesstemperature and angles causethinsmoketoappearmore opaque,and dispersion willbegin.In addition,MISR’s obliqueview alone.Additionaleither instrument informationon and classifythousandsofsmokeplumesover North and MODISdataare usedtoautomaticallyidentify diometer (MISR)andModerate resolution Imaging of datafrom NASA’s Multi-angle Imaging Spectro-Ra- quality. This objective isapproached through afusion plume rise is an important componentofemissions plume riseisanimportant plumes withhigherprecision andaccuracythanwith plumes, andoften allows theautomatic extractionof heights are automaticallycomputedat1.1-kmspatial the plumeorientation. Heuristics toorder allof the to reject imagesthatcontainsmokebutno techniques from thefield ofmachinevision are usedto that are smokybasedoncolor, texture, andangular the difference between the4-µmand11-µmbright- temporal resolution. The MODIS Thermal Anomalies the retrieved angularsignature helpsdistinguishsmoke becauseplume-injectionheightdetermines transport smoke plumesusingstereoscopic techniques,andthe global impactofforest fires. smoke plumeheights,whencombinedwithglobal features. AnSVMclassifier wastrained usingdozens from cloudsandotheraerosols. Qinbin Li, [email protected], NASAJet Propulsion Laboratory David Diner, [email protected], NASAJet Propulsion Laboratory Lingling Tong, University of Texas atAustin Jennifer Logan,[email protected], Harvard University Dominic Mazzoni, [email protected], NASAJet Propulsion Laboratory Clare Averill, [email protected], Raytheon America catalog smokeplumesinNorth Combining MISRandMODISdatatoautomatically November -December2005 Alaskan fires. August, 2004,andwere evidentintheMeasurements This work isprobably thelargestresearch project to The summerof2004wasselectedforinitialstudy Of Pollution In The Troposphere Carbon (MOPITT) Experiment (INTEX)field campaignduringJuly and MODIS thermalanomalies. Monoxide asacontinental-scale (CO)observations INTEX scienceteaminanalyzing theplumesfrom the jointly analyzed andcombinedforascienceresearch Several techniques tominethrough themultipleyears Smoke plumesfrom thesefires were intercepted by Statistics onthegeographicdistribution,extent, visibility wasrecorded inFairbanks on42ofthe92 number ofMISRplumeshapes,andthe mined from terabytes ofMISRandMODISdatafrom composition. We are collaborating with members of the each instrument, somanuallycombiningtheproducts each instrument, date intermsofthevolume ofMISRandMODISdata and terabytes worth ofdatahaveand terabytes beentested. Current worth quantitative assessmentoftheireffectson atmospheric days in1977. days ofsummer. This shatterstheprevious record of19 days ofreduced visibilityduetowildfire smoke—poor of 2004,andrecords were alsosetforthenumberof adjacent Yukon Territory ofCanada.In Alaskamore of 2005.In 2006thesameanalysiswillbeappliedto orientation, andinjectionheightofplumesare being problem. Although MISRandMODISare bothon plume over North America.Knowledge oftheinjection heights oftheemissionsfrom thesefires isrequired for to create arobust globalclassifier wouldbetime-con- the Terra platform,their data are organized indifferent the DC-8onIntercontinental Chemical Transport than 6.6millionacres were burntduringthesummer the summerof2004,andwillbedelivered by theend this automatedfusionapproach are promising. blocks combinethenumberofMISRsmokypixels, the because oftherecord settingfires inAlaskaandthe several years’ ofdata. worth suming anddifficult. However, theearly results from formats, and data splitting is performed differentlyformats, anddatasplittingisperformed for V olume 17,Issue6

Feature Articles 11 Feature Articles 12 The Earth Observer The Earth Of the~22,000 blocksofdatafrom ~460 Terra orbits find allblockscontainingsmokeplumesandreject all Manually, itwasdeterminedthat44ofthesecontain was present intheMODISthermalanomaliesproduct. was identified intheMISRimageandanactive fi re which isapproximately 400x140km. The goalisto methods operateatthegranularityofoneMISRblock, analyzed so far, there were 635casesinwhichsmoke entire datasettofind missedplumes. others. It ispreferable toerronthesideofmore false plumes, butisimpracticaltomanuallyexaminethe positives because itiseasytoeliminatecaseswithno “Th elatestclassofmembershipwill propel the Federation toward itsgoalof providing improved access Th e sciencedatacenters, ofEarth researchers, Federationisaconsortium scientists,technologists,educa- Th e Federation now has89partners, representing sciencedatainterests. awiderangeofEarth Federation November 14,2005—Th e Science FederationofEarth Information (“Federation”) Partners haselectedsix Announcement fi data,information,andproducts andthedistributionofthemintohands observation eld ofEarth F Foundation Scienceprovides forEarth administrative andstaff totheFederation support Science ofEarth Federation members: Information Partners. For more information,call877-870-3747 . ESIP Federation Elects 6New Partners ronmental data,educators,andtechnologists.Across thesediverse interests, public,private, and non-profit ing Earth observation information.“ observation ing Earth new partners forfullmembership. partners new Th efollowing projects andorganizations represent thelatestclassof usability for Earth sciencedataandderivativeusability forEarth products. Initiated by NASAin1997,theFederation users. Th e Federationisdeveloping theEarth Information whereExchange, acentralized portal member organizations are represented. data products andtoolswillbeavailable toresearchers, decisionmakers, educators,andanyone elseseek- partners includesciencedatacenters,environmental researchpartners groups, innovators intheapplicationofenvi- provides todecisionmakersandresearchers data,products, inpublicandprivate andservices settings.Th e to thewealth ofdata,tools,andproducts available through Federation members,” saysThomas Yunck, tors, andapplicationsdevelopers. Th e Federation promotes increased accessibility, interoperability, and ederation President. “Th esteady growth ofthe Federationisattributedtoitspositionasaleaderinthe • A0.05Degree Global Climate/Interdisciplinary Long Term Data Set from AVHRR, MODISand VIIRS • Pacific Northwest Regional Collaboratory, Roger Anderson,Pacific Northwest Laboratory/Battelle, • Pacific DisasterCenter , ChristopherChiesa,Kihei,Hawaii • Global ChangeMaster Directory (GCMD),LolaOlsen, NASAGoddard Space Flight Center, Green- • Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI),Jack Dangermond, Redlands, California • Th e System(EOS)Clearinghouse(ECHO),Robin Observing Earth Pfister, NASAGoddard Space Flight I Center S belt, M , Edwardnstruments Masuoka, NASAGoddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland eattle, Washington , Greenbelt, Maryland aryland November -December2005 For work indi- thesmoke-plumeheights,preliminary will improve thisestimateandrelate ittofire size. ing, whileflagging theleastnumberoffalsepositives. cates ameanplumeheightofapproximately 1.7kmfor automatically fl pursu- ag all44oftheseblocksasworth distinct smokeplumes.Asystemisbeingdeveloped to the Alaskanfires inthesummerof2004.Further work V olume 17,Issue6

Announcement The research alsoconfirms thatdustemissionsfrom a Typically drought reduces vegetation growth, increasing Typically we thinkofrainfallascleaningtheairby Zone ofChottsinNorth Africa. The Earth Observer The Earth Th isimageacquired from NASA’s Total Ozone Mapping Spectrom- world’s dustiestareas shows thatheavydownpours can removing dustasitfallsthrough theatmosphere and climate patterns. cially commoninthe Tigris-Euphrates Basin andinthe emissions, released ayear ormore later. This isespe- ers examining14oftheEarth’s dustiestregions found atmosphere. eventually leadtomore dustbeingreleased intothe NASA-fundedstudylookingatsomeofthe a new periods, increasing theamountofairbornedust,or helping plantsgrow thatprotect andholdthesoil.But that eventually getcarriedby windsinsuccessive dry that insomeregions, heavyrainfallandflooding leave to have the oppositeeffect.In studyresearch- thenew behind sedimentsthatincludefi ne grainsize particles season, oryear-to-year, andare largelydependenton specifi considerablyfromc region season-to- canvary soil vulnerabilitytowinderosion, whilerainfalltends Great Salt Utah. Lakeinnorthern Credit: NASAGSFC eter (TOMS) onJuly 23,2003,shows aduststormoriginating inthe western part ofUtahwestern part (bottomright)andblowing northeastward over Mike Bettwy, [email protected],NASAGoddard Space Flight Center Spots Heavy RainsCanMakeMore DustinEarth’s Driest November -December2005 “This study highlights the importance of soil character- soil of importance the highlights study “This 12 of the regions, to vegetation in eight of the regions, regions, the of eight in vegetation to regions, the of 12 dust and aerosol including sources, many from 1993 (NDVI) from the Advanced Very High Resolution VeryResolution High Advanced the from (NDVI) NASA’s from data precipitation satellite, (TOMS) The researchers used information for the period 1979- period the for information used researchers The signifi a have infl particles cant dust Tiny on uence Other areas of the world, including the western western the including world, the of areas Other Overall, in the 14 source regions studied, anomalies in in anomalies studied, regions source 14 the in Overall, (GPCP), Project Climatology Precipitation Global United States, the Great Salt Lake in Utah, the eastern eastern the Utah, in Lake Salt Great the States, United Earth System Science, University of California-Irvine, California-Irvine, of University Science, System Earth Basin of Australia. Other areas have soils consisting consisting soils have areas Other Australia. of Basin For instance, some soils may lack free sand-sized par- sand-sized free lack may soils some instance, For vegetation surface analyze (AVHRR)to Radiometer In some regions, “[as] in Oman and Saudi Arabia, Arabia, Saudi and Oman in “[as] regions, some In Sahel in Africa, and the Lake Eyre basin in Australia, Australia, in Eyrebasin Lake the and Africa, in Sahel vegetation lessens the amount of dust released into the the into released dust of amount the lessens vegetation weeks,” said said weeks,” impact immediate more a has precipitation winds, monsoon-driven with combine rains heavy where refl ecting and absorbing sunlight and by serving as a a as serving by and reflsunlight absorbing and ecting istics in dust emission and shows their infl their shows be and to uence emission dust in istics can clouds that so vapor, water for surface or nucleus more prevalent than previously believed,” said Zender. Zender. said believed,” previously than prevalent more cover. by world the around patterns weather and climate atmosphere. In these regions, rain and ground water water ground and rain regions, these In atmosphere. study. the of author lead and few a just within emissions dust increasing soil, of layer top or crust, surface the erode to appears and and local distribution of water under the Earth’s the sur- under water of distribution local and land including factors, other But emissions. dust results The regions. the of two in speed wind to and in precipitation to related closely were emissions dust Index Vegetation Difference Normalized the and NASA’s from data Spectrometer TotalMapping Ozone largely of clay that naturally produce less dust, while while dust, less produce naturally that clay of largely help form soil layers that diminish the ability of wind wind of ability the diminish that layers soil form help to erode and carry soil particles. soil carry and erode to ticles to initiate dust production, as in the Lake Eyre Lake the in as production, dust initiate to ticles show a more typical response, as precipitation and and precipitation as response, typical more a show some soils may be full of sediments perfect for dust dust for perfect sediments of full be may soils some of predictor climate best the is rainfall that suggest precipitation. form and grow face also greatly affect dust emission. dust affect greatly also face sediments, loose of availability the elevation, features, Charles Zender Zender Charles of the Department of of Department the of V olume 17,Issue6

In The News 13 In The News 14 While these and other factors are somewhat represent- somewhat are factors other and these While The Earth Observer The Earth Future computer models that address these issues will will issues these address that models computer Future Th isimage from NASA’s Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) in April 2003 shows adust storm (lightpixels) over Saudi varies from region to region,” said Zender. “They also also “They Zender. said region,” to region from varies Arabia, thePersian Gulf, andIran. Credit: NASAGSFC underestimate the monthly-to-yearly variations in in variations monthly-to-yearly the underestimate allow scientists to better predict dust production in in production dust predict better to scientists allow impacts.” climate associated its and production dust surface of destruction and formation the for account “theydon’t models, adequately today’s in computer ed production, but are so hard and crusted that none of of none that crusted and hard so are but production, the particles can escape to produce dust. produce to escape can particles the both the short and long term. Such improvements are are improvements Such term. long and short the both soils and how sediment supply for dust production production dust for supply sediment how and soils November -December2005 Journal of Geophysical Research—Atmospheres Geophysical of Journal The study was published online in July 2005 in the the in 2005 July in online published was study The important because dust emissions have a wide impact impact wide a have emissions dust because important and affecting air quality. air affecting and thou- rainfall modifying from weather, and climate on sands of miles away, to infl uencing hurricane intensity inflaway, to intensity miles of hurricane sands uencing V olume 17,Issue6 . “By computingadiagnosticforthewater-cycle rate, “But, itshouldbenotedthatthese contrastinglandand When theresearchers studiedprecipitation simulated A NASA study is offering new insightintohowA NASAstudyisofferingnew the This isonewayofmeasuringhow theglobalwater The globalwatercycle involves thetransferofwater The Earth Observer The Earth water Center (GSFC),Greenbelt, MD,produced climate Earth’s watercycle mightbeinfluenced by global Despite modeldifferences, bothsimulationsshowed an Recently, researchers from NASAGoddard Space Flight Most climatemodelshave shown thatawarmerclimate water cycle maybeaffectedby temperature changes,as with increased temperatures, sea-surface consistent with water cycling rateisreduced asthetemperature warms,” which accountsfortotalatmosphericwatervapor and well studied. will increase globalevaporation andprecipitation, but warmer temperatures canincrease themoisture-holding rological Society’s increase inglobalevaporation andprecipitation during including temperature andprecipitation. molecules between theEarth’s landmasses,cryosphere, used sea-surface-temperature (SST) dataandtwocom- used sea-surface-temperature (SST) cycle mightbeinfluenced by changesinmanyvariables, capacity ofair. change. In recent years, scientistshave warnedthatthe over landandsea,theyfound itdecreased over landas of NASAGSFC. all watervapor were suddenlycondensed. oceans, andatmosphere. It’s agiganticsystempowered lished intheMay 2005issueoftheAmericanMeteo- lated atmospherictemperatures alsoincreased during puter modelsdesignedatGoddard Space Flight Center precipitation, however, hadanupward trend along historical dataandearlierstudies. the localrecycling ofwater vapor was reduced. Oceanic the average rateofprecipitation, themodelsshow the this period,raisingtheatmosphere’s this period.But, torecognize itisimportant thatsimu- to determinehow longwaterstaysintheatmosphere. the atmosphericstorageofwatervapor hasnotyet been between the oceans,atmosphere, andland. by thesun, fuelingacontinuousexchange ofmoisture study include said simulations oftheearlyandlate20thcentury. They Mike Bettwy, [email protected],NASAGoddard Space Flight Center A Warmer World MightNotBeaWetter One Michael Bosilovich —the amountofliquidwaterintheatmosphere if Siegfried Schubert Journal ofClimate , leadauthorofthestudy, pub- and . Co-authorsofthe total precipitable Gregory Walker November -December2005 “In regard totheglobalscale,satellitedataare anessen- Water Cycle Study alsousedatafrom NASAsatellites The studyalsofoundthatlandsources ofwaterforpre- Today, NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellitesare provid- Over time, thecontinentalcycle ofwaterappeared Other research programs liketheNASAEnergy and water cycle. They helptoidentifythebackground state water availability andmanagement. will beincorporatedintoregional andglobalcomputer water cycle.” rates. regional focustoaccuratelydeterminelocalrecycling rates over boththelandandoceanwell intothefuture it mightincrease. But, studyisneededwitha further ing suchdataby givingnew, detailedinformationon models, improving weather forecasts bothshort-term cipitation vary considerablywithinindividualregions. cipitation vary climate andthewatercycle, improving theirabilityto of record anddeficiencies withinhistoricalproducts,” of theclimate,butare duration limitedby theirshort decreases over theGulf ofMexico.” over theNorth Americancontinentincreases, whileit ocean trends are notuniversally applicabletoallre- also criticaltowater-resource managersindetermining and long-termclimateforecasts. Such seasonalpredic- of continuedhigh-quality, well-maintained observa- predict events likefloods anddroughts. processes thatcontributetothewatercycle. Ultimately, tial toolinassessingtherateandintensityofglobal to decline,except inthecentralUnited States, where to helpscientistslearnmore aboutthe linkbetween signifitions carry cant economicimplicationsandare these findings, coupledwithdatafrom future satellites, tions ofatmosphericwatercontentandprecipitation gions,” saidBosilovich. “For instance,theprecipitation so thatwe canmore accuratelyassesschangesinthe studyhighlightstheimportance said Bosilovich. “This V olume 17,Issue6

In The News 15 In The News 16 (TRMM), whichcanseeinsidehurricanes.At the (TRMM), Wal- There is something new in the Earth scienceshappen- There intheEarth issomethingnew The Earth Observer The Earth Goddard alsohelptheircolleagues inother experts One customized systemmadeatGoddard keepsaneye Every send singledaythesesatellitesandinstruments Engineers atGoddard usethelatesttechnologytobuild D.C. At its mainlocationinGreenbelt, Md., andata For manyofNASA’s spacecraft,God- Earth-watching From theozone holeover theSouth Pole tothehealth Monitoring isabigjobthat thehealthofEarth Information System (EOSDIS).Scientists,localgovern- Satellite (ICESat) tomakedetailedmapsoftheice veloped atGoddard isrightnow flying over theNorth well asthe Tropical RainfallMeasurement Mission requires alotofdifferent skills.Goddard engineers ing every dayatNASA’sing every Goddard Space Flight Center, new instruments thatletscientistsseetheworldin instruments new millions ofmegabytesinformationdown ofnew to ways.Formany new de- example,alaserinstrument ments, teachers,andthegeneral publicusetheonline computers on Earth. computers onEarth. To manage allofthisinformation out forforest fires fortheU.S.Forest Service. System Observing Data and on theplanet:Earth at Goddard created thelargestscientific datasystem and getittothepeoplethatuseit,software engineers and South Poles ontheIce, Cloud,andlandElevation dard America’s alsoruns oldestcontinuousrocket range. dard ismissioncontrol where workers makesure the from toolsforseeingEarth design andbuildnew dayanddistributedtousersaround theworld. every all. Globalofourplanetare views received atGoddard and wildfires, Goddard scientistsandengineers seeit of forests around theworldtoairpollutionfrom cities and technicianswork tokeepaneye ontheentire airborne flight facilityin Virginia, scientists,engineers, located in the Maryland suburbsnear located intheMaryland Washington, lops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Atlantic coast,God- planet. parts oftheU.S.governmentparts whowatchtheweather they orbittheglobe. These satellitesincludethethree big satellites are ingoodshapeandworking properly as secrets ofhow ourplanetworks. scientistsunravelspacecraft around the theclock.Earth space. Spacecraft-mission operatorsfly globe-circling scientific instituteinNew York Cityandarocket and system togetinformationfrom more than30satellites. sheets there. Stephen Cole,[email protected], NASAGoddard Space Flight Center It’s ScienceWeek AlwaysEarth atNASAGoddard great observatories —Terra, Aqua, andAura—as November -December2005 Dust Bowl earth/features/index.html Every year Goddard dis- new scientistsmakeimportant Earth ontheInternet,Earth pleasevisit: But thereally bigpayoff ofallthiswork atGoddard is Pacific oceans.Understanding how theworld’s climate For more informationabouttheAmerican Geological For more informationabouthow NASAislookingat Institute (AGI) Science Earth Week ontheInternet, Space SciencesinNew York City. is changing,now andinthefuture, keepsscientistsand ice around theSouth Pole. Using acomputersimula- is goingtogetstronger orweaker. cluethattellsweather forecastersimportant ifthestorm more seaicearound theNorth Pole butcreate sea new coveries. Recent findings includethesurprisingresult canes. NASA’s TRMM satelliteusesradartolookinside computer modelersbusyattheGoddard Institute for a hurricaneandmeasure therainfallrate. This is an dayandkeeptrackofmajorstormshurri- every please visit: tion, otherGoddard scientistsfoundthatthe that warmertemperatures around theglobemaymelt knowledgethe new gainedabouthow ourworldworks. by changesinthetemperature oftheAtlantic and intheUnited States inthe1930swascaused www.earthsciweek.org. V www.nasa.gov/vision/ olume 17,Issue6 Great The Earth Observer The Earth 2001. The missionoriginatedfrom theNaval AirSta- Hurricane Erin Convec- wasanalyzed duringthefourth Hurricane Erin racedacross theNorth Atlantic and On September 11,2005,Hurricane Erin wasmakingherwaynorthward intheAtlantic Ocean. In thisMODISimage,thestormstretches from tic andcostalareas alongtheEastcoastofU.S.were impactedwithlargeswells. Credit: NASA/MODISRapidResponse Team the latitudesof Virginia inthesouth,pastMassachusetts’s CapeCod,andonuptoMaine. Th estormchurnedupthewatersof Westen Atlan- used asanexperimentforastudytoimprove hurricane center oreye canprovide improved understandingof an extremely highaltitudecollectedfrom ahurricane’s along theeasternseaboard inSeptember 2001.She was how hurricaneschangeintensity. took placefrom August 16through September 24, tion AndMoisture Experiment (CAMEX-4),which the public.Studies show thattemperatures measured at tracking andintensitypredictions, allowing meteorolo- gists toprovide more accurateandtimelywarningsto Camille Haley, NASAGoddard Space Flight Center, ScienceNews Team Summer Intern A Heated3-DLookIntoErin’s Eye November -December2005 10 universities, five NASACenters,andtheNational (the ER-2andDC-8). The specialpackagesincluded Twenty packages,calleddropsondes, were instrumented Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. CAMEX-4 For thefirst time,researchers were abletoreconstruct ricanes. instruments thatmappedtemperatureinstruments patterns. is oneinaseriesoffield research investigations tostudy dropped into Erin’s eye by twoNASAresearch aircraft the structure oftheeye inthree dimensionsfrom as tropical cyclones—storms commonly known ashur- tion inJacksonville, FL,andunitedresearchers from V olume 17,Issue6

In The News 17 In The News 18 Although littleisknown ofahurricane aboutthebirth When thePleistocene Ice Agereached itspeakaround 22,000years ago,continent-spanningglacierscovered largesectionsofNorth America The Earth Observer The Earth Observations fromObservations thestudyshow how warmairinthe Hurricane Erin’s rainfallpatternadjustedquicklyto weather conditions around thehurricane’s core. rearrange rainandwindstructure, whichcreate uneven depression intheground. Th esedepressions are calledkettles;whenthey arefi lledwithwater, they are calledkettlelakes,orpotholelakes.Th is and Eurasia likeasheet.AstheIce Agewaned,theglaciersretreated. Occasionally largechunksoficebroke off from theglacierandbecame the University ofMaryland’s Global LandCover Facility. Landsat 7imageshows Siberia. potholelakesinnorthern NASAimagecreated by Jesse Observatory, Allen,Earth of usingdataobtainedcourtesy surrounded oreven buriedby soilandrock debrisdepositedby themeltingicesheet.Eventually, theblocksoficealsomelted,leavingbehinda and whatcausesittostrengthen orweaken, scientists eye ofthe stormislinkedtoreduction inseasurface decreasing whileitwasrapidlyweakening, makingthe pressure, whichisthebasicprocess thatdrives the have madesubstantialstepstoward improving predic- hurricane’s winds. destructive high as70,000feet,down in totheoceansurface, the surrounding atmosphere. Weak horizontal winds surprisingly smallchangesinwindspeedpatterns storm more vulnerabletowindshear, achangeinhori- great detail. The dropsondes showed Erin’s warmcore zontal winds, whichledtothestormfallingapart. November -December2005 During CAMEX-4 American Meteorological Society’s This research paper, titled The research doneonHurricane Erin wasimportant The abilitytoforecast intensitychange,however, has ic Science ricane Erin Diagnosedfrom High Altitude Dropsondes Flooding isthenumberonekiller from hurricanesin rainfall patterncouldbetterprepare usforthenextbig control rain intensityanddistributionforhurricanes always beenachallengeformeteorologists. landing alongtheEasternSeaboard. the Western Hemisphere, andthestudyofahurricane’s tions ofwhere ahurricanewillmove ormakelandfall. because itcouldhelpforecasters understandfactorsthat going tobepublishedinanupcomingissueofthe storm. , CAMEXSpecial Issue, attheendof2005. by Jeff Halverson Warm Core Structure ofHur- V Journal ofAtmospher- olume 17,Issue6 andothers,is Report, SpaceRef.com, RedOrbit.com Daily, Terra Daily (NASA GSFC). (NASA JPL)assistedinthepreparation of“Public 3-D, says JPL) interviewed for a story ontheongoingthreat of forastory JPL) interviewed The Earth Observer The Earth Ocean Literacy: What Residents ofSouthern California encenews.org, PSIGate the Pacific’s Institute Marine Conservation Kaiser (NASAGSFC). net Mars Orbiter LaserAltimeter, says November 28; November 29; New” award by Popular Science magazine. November 18; Satellite (ICESat) fired itsonebillionthlasershottoob- Should Know,” a90-pagereport summarizingresults of vember 1; Public Ocean Literacy wildfires insouthernCaliforniadespiterecord setting Final Testing Forecasts, Try CountingAcorns Instead ofClouds Fire RiskHigh Despite Above-Average Rainfall restrial Relations Observatory (STEREO)spacecraft restrial Relations Observatory rains duringtheprevious wet season. including project scientist highlightingthediffi foranarticle interviewed culties NASA’s ICESat: One Billion Elevations Served Sickening Solar Flares Swift Wins “Bestof What’s New” inPopular Sci- STEREO Spacecraft Arrive atNASAGoddard for So Predictable? When It ComestoMaking Ski arrived atNASAGSFCformajortestinginpreparation air—a numberthattopsthe6.5millionshotsfrom the a CORE-Sponsored workshop. intheNaturean article section. associated withskiandwinterweather forecasting for tions Observatory (STEREO)launches inSpringtions Observatory 2006, to studygamma-raybursts,won the“Best of What’s ence tain elevations from objectsontheland,seaandin for amissionthatwillassessthesunandsolarwindin . Swift, amultifacetedsatelliteusedby researchers , November 9; Mark Jarosz Los Angeles Times , November 9; Science Daily, Innovations Report, Space Hampton Roads Daily Press Los Angeles Times . The Ice, CloudandlandElevation Popular Science, Topix.net, Spacewire. . When the Solar Terrestrial Rela- (NASAGSFC)andMichael , November 8; , November 18; Neil Gehrels . Yahoo! News, Innovations Bill Patzert . Bill Patzert . Two Solar TEr- Waleed Abdalati Space Daily, Sci- Aquarium of . (NASA GSFC) (NASA JPL) Bill Patzert November -December2005 (VA). No- (NASA , , , AM 1070LosAngeles Team at American AssociationfortheAdvancement ofScience Interested in getting your research out to the general general the to out research your getting in Interested KCBS-TV LosAngeles AAAS Honors Russell, LeeasFellows (AAAS) fortheirwork inaerosol andatmo- properties The End ofthe World.” person would be interested in learning about. learning in interested be would person scientifi the Please and community? c educators public, Q&A feature ongloballightningpatterns(tobepub- contact Rob Gutro on NASA’s Earth-Sun Science News News Science NASA’s on Earth-Sun Gutro Rob contact or conference presentations that you think the average average the think you that presentations conference or images satellite new articles, journal upcoming your of 8; viewed abouttheunusuallylargenumberofhurricanes viewed aboutthescientifi 7: c credibility of“Category Lightning Over Africa Hollywood Portrayal ofHurricanes Hurricanes andClimateChange Steve Goodman cations, zap satellites, and worst of all, can penetrate the ers willgainabetterunderstandingofsolarflares and lished onDecember 13). proton storms thatofteninterfere withradiocommuni- this year andclimatechangeinSouthern California. spheric chemistry. skin ofspacesuitsandmakeastronauts feelsick. scientist thy Lee AAAS [email protected] . (NASA ARC) were namedFellows by the Francis Cucinotta Philip B.Russell (NASA MSFC) interviewed fora (NASA MSFC)interviewed . . Bill Patzert Bill Patzert , November 2005; (NASA ARC) and (NASA JSC)saysresearch- V , November 1; (NASA JPL)inter- (NASA JPL)inter- and let him know know him let and olume 17,Issue6 , November 6-7; , November USA Today Timo- KNX- .

Scientists in the News 19 Education Update 20 Application deadline:February 1,2006 An e-maildistributionlisthasbeendeveloped for ( The purposeofthemeetingwastofocusonincreas- The Earth Observer The Earth On September 23-24,Science Systems andApplica- Consortium forAtmospheric ResearchConsortium tohostafol- Center Education Office tohostthe2005Coalitionfor Earth andspacescienceeducation. Earth ScienceEducation (CESE)meeting.Seventy-sixEarth Fund Special Programs Corporationtodevelop and For informationonthe2005CESEmeetingor further NASA haspartnered withtheUnited Negro College [email protected] Science (ESS)inK-16schoolsby creating alarge-scale Frank Ireton related disciplines.Moreover, theJPFPfacilitates ing andimproving System implementationofEarth LOWSHIP PROGRAM (JPFP) HARRIETT G.JENKINSPRE-DOCTORALHARRIETT FEL- manage theHarriett G.Jenkins Pre-doctoral Fellow- tocontinuediscussionsandwork meeting participants meeting were to:(1)establishactionitemstowork more widespread teachingofESS. The goalsofthe development ofamore inclusive, multi-culturaland ofskilledworkers inscience, eliminate theshortage and discussionhighlightsfrom themeetingwillalso developed andwillbeavailable ontheCESE Website on selectedactionitems. toworkand (2)facilitatedevelopment ofpartnerships andunifieffort ed voice tobringaboutgreater and ers metfortwodaystodiscussissuesrelating toK-16 and organizations,curriculummaterialsdevelop- and research), large-scaleprojects, professional societies low-up meetinginBoulder, COinNovember 2006. participants representingparticipants academia(teacherpreparation presentations, focusgroup reports, posterabstracts, topics ofinterest tothegroup. Afinal report isbeing toward overcoming barrierstoimplementationofESS; tions, Inc. joinedwiththeNASAGoddard Space Flight tunity tothose under-represented andunder-utilized technology, engineering,andmathematics(STEM)- the to beincludedintheCESEdistributionlist,contact be available. fortheUniversity Plans are underway started attheGSFCmeetingandtodiscussother started sustainable workforce by providing access andoppor- thetrainingof ship Program which supports (JPFP), www.ceseweb.org Theresa Schwerin, [email protected], IGES Ming-Ying Wei, [email protected], NASAHeadquarters Education Update NASA ScienceMissionDirectorate –Earth next generation ofexplorers , SSAIandCESEMeeting Chair, at ). ACDwiththefinal report, speaker . . The JPFPworks to November -December2005 “Art andsciencehave muchincommon,andhas American Scientist (click onthe“For Educators” or“For Students” links, 29, 2006.Register at The applicationdeadlineisFeb. 1,2006.Contactthe The 2006Sun-Earth Day themeshows how eclipses JPFP Administrative Team at THE SKY Colorado State University’s (CSU) esse21.usra.edu/JenkinsFLIER04-05.pdf edu/JenkinsFLIER04-05.doc Explorer!” graphicorfi under“Educa- nd anarticle org/EarthExplorers/EEIndex.htm science.hq.nasa.gov/education/earth_explorers/ Look for NASA Earth ExplorersLook forNASAEarth at Sun-Earth-moon system.Join NASAinajourneyof variety ofcloudtypes. is uniquelyfamiliarwithboththescientifi c andartistic Light NASA EARTH EXPLORERS MASTERPIECE OF updates. SUN-EARTH DAY 2006:Eclipse inaDifferent designed to observe cloudsatanunprecedented leveldesigned toobserve and upcominglaunchofCloudSat, aNASAsatellite or visit questions. Download theprogram flier at a free welcoming packetofmaterialsandmonthly exploration, discovery, and understanding as we prepare of previous by topiccanbefoundat articles are speciallywrittenforthosegradelevels. To access ent expressions ofthenaturalworldaround us.” of detail,theCSUprofessor ofatmosphericsciencehas persons ofsocietywhowanttoearnadvanced degrees. painted aseriesofoil-on-canvas pictures featuringa have andunderstandthe inspired peopletoobserve the full collection of Earth Explorersthe fullcollectionofEarth goto articles, the For Students K-4andFor Students 5-8sections tional Features”). Versions appearingin ofthearticle then lookforthe“Meet This Month’s NASAEarth been writtenaboutthecommonthreads between both,” sides ofclouds. While spearheading thedevelopment said Stephens, for whohimselfwrote suchanarticle for Sun-Earth Day anda total solareclipseonMarch www.uncfsp.org/nasa/jenkins magazine.“Both,afterall,are differ- sunearthday.gsfc.nasa.gov (MS Word -302KB)or [email protected] . V Graeme Stephens . olume 17,Issue6 www.nasa.gov/home (PDF -236KB), esse21.usra. . Anindex strategies. toreceive with The Earth Observer The Earth CALIPSO and CloudSat missions and gave them a Recently, students from around the world were treated Top: Participating studentsfrom theIndiana SchoolfortheDeaf Student Quotes from the Burlington County Institute website from October 17-21, 2005. The forum gave in English and French. nous question and answer web forum not only allowed missions, both scheduled for launch in early 2006. The chance to learn about clouds and aerosols and their pos- Bottom: ParticipatingBottom: studentsfrom theBurlington CountyInstitute of Technology, Vermont of Technology in Vermont: event, an online web forum, was hosted at the GLOBE lite Observations (CALIPSO) and CloudSat satellite participated as well. Mission scientists provided answers the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satel- to an opportunity to interact online with scientists from students as far away as France, Cameroon, and Thailand students from the United States to participate, but sible role in predicting climate change. The asynchro- students an opportunity to ask questions about the • • • Debra CloudSat, [email protected] Krumm, Barbara Maggi, CALIPSO,[email protected] Becky Boger, GLOBE, [email protected] and Teachers Worldwide with GLOBE:Providing a Web ForumforStudents Satellite MissionsCALIPSOandCloudSatPartner Zoe Bryant Laura Quinn Jessica Tyrrell GLOBE atmosphere observations will soon include ground truth interest to my work.” there were so many students out there that have the same interests in using satellite data.” , 12 for satellites. For me, that adds more , 12 , 12 th grade: “Th e addition of tech- th th grade: “I think it’s great that the grade: “It was fascinating that November -December2005 Related Resources • • • • GLOBE • CloudSat Outreach • CALIPSO Outreach John Moore Dwayne Tattnall Amber Tranchitella GLOBE Program, but I really see the value of these chats outreach working on projects with other students from nature; therefore, the solutions require international nology in GLOBE will attract younger students, ing the questions asked in this forum by students me a larger view of the world out there.” complex environmental problems are of a global cooperation and the sharing of data. After see- around the world!” especially girls.” around the world, I think the next generation is up helped students better understand that many to the challenge.” in helping me prepare for my future. It gives : www.globe.gov , GLOBE Teacher: “Th e web forum , 10 , 12 : th : cloudsat.atmos.colostate.edu/ grade: “I am new to the calipsooutreach.hamptonu.edu th grade: “It’s great to be V olume 17,Issue6

Education Update 21 Meeting / Workshop Summaries 22 Austin, onTX October 13 & 14. (GRACE), a joint NASA/Deutsches Zentrum für Luft 2005, were also presented. The on-board alignments and calibrations were reported The Science Data System (SDS) presentations followed The meeting website is The second day was devoted to the application of The meeting had 75 attendees from the U.S., Germany, The Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment The Earth Observer The Earth GRACE gravity-field estimates to geophysics. In addi- On the first day, one half-day session was devoted to a Earth’s gravity field, held its Science Team Meeting in Program (ESSP) mission for the precise mapping of the France, Korea, and Japan, from disciplines including Release-01 Level-1 products is expected to continue. years from launch. Plans for the swap in position of the Byron Tapley view, GRACE Science had been rated as which converts raw data into Level-1 metric distance, which also leads to pages with session description and ranged in four half-day sessions. results in the user community, and the future product results from the 2005 NASA Senior Review. At this re- in the rest of the morning session. Level-1 processing, including fuel, battery life, altitude decay, and thruster improvements. Following the PI, the operations man- including the potential for future calibration campaigns, meeting proceedings will become available. meeting programs. copyAn electronic of the (pdf) mission data are recovered on a routine, automated basis. upgrade the Level-1 data products. Routine delivery of ucts, reported nominal operation. Practically 100% of und Raumfahrt (DLR) Earth System Science Pathfinder as stable and nominal. There are at present no plans to distance change, acceleration, and orientation data prod- actuations portend a total mission lifetime of at least 9 ager presented the project status. The satellite resources, data products, wider dissemination of GRACE data and expanding the multi-mission applications of GRACE described the findings of the Senior Review Committee, a mission extension to 2009 had been approved. Tapley opened with welcoming remarks. Tapley addressed the on both days. detic methods and GRACE data-processing techniques. discussion of the project status, and the other to geo- oceanography, and glaciology. The meeting was ar- tion to the oral sessions, posters were put up for viewing twin GRACE satellites, to be executed in December geodesy, solid Earth sciences, hydrology, water resources, Srinivas Bettadpur, [email protected], University of Texas atAustin GRACE ScienceTeam Meeting , the GRACE Principal Investigator (PI) www.csr.utexas.edu/grace/GSTM compelling November -December2005 , and , Amazon River basin and Antarctica, at shorter temporal (JPL) reported(JPL) progress in the development of the next These were done either through empirical corrections to The second part of Thursday afternoon focused on GRACE data. Prior to the meeting, the Science Data On Thursday afternoon, the talks on geodesy and Potsdam (GFZ), and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory In the first part, four groups outside the GRACE SDS Level-2 data set that had been evaluated for improved Level-2 centers at the University of Texas, Center for System (SDS) centers had produced a one-year sample Space Research (UTCSR), GeoForschungsZentrum variations was reported using these variations directly from GRACE inter-satellite track- wavelengths. A longer, two-year span of these improved revolutionary.” Some notable features of the improve- resolutions than monthly intervals currently reported by improvement was noted to be “evolutionary, but not improvements over the first-generation products—this into account the spectral distribution of errors in the ing their differences relative to the operational Level-2 ing data. They showed variability estimates over the nals from GRACE measurements, comparing different ment include fixing the unstable estimates of the Earth improvementsmary are in the area of upgrades to the monthly gravity fields. Improved extraction of signals methods for mitigation of residual errors in monthly monthly spherical harmonic gravity models, discuss- monthly solutions from all three centers was made avail- corrections to the Earth gravity field are extracted from oblateness parameter from (J2) the previous estimates, a suitable design of spatial smoothing filters that take ameliorating specific, north-south-aligned striped on local/regional methods to extract regional gravity able to the GRACE Science Team, for assessments and and improvement in accuracy at the lower and mid patterns of errors evident in GRACE gravity estimates. processing by the GRACE SDS. presented their results on the extraction of gravity sig- processing methods roughly divided into three parts. tion methods. to as low as 400-km resolution of equivalent water layer the spherical harmonics of monthly fields, or through the GRACE SDS. Three other papers reported results techniques to the GRACE SDS. Two papers focused background gravity models, relative to which monthly sion. The next-generation products show significant science content. The results were reported in this ses- generation gravity field (Level-2) data products. Pri- geopotential models. The presentations focused on from alternate global dynamical methods of extracting further discussions during the Fall 2005 AGU meeting. V a posteriori olume 17,Issue6 correc- Another talkdiscussedtheprospects ofapplication The Earth Observer The Earth GRACE. Nevertheless, GRACE wasshown tobe GRACE gravityvariability estimates toglaciology, On Friday, themeetingcovered theapplicationof GRACE gravity-field products inthedefi nition and Change (IPCC)-candidatehydrological models,and Estimates oflong-termmasschangeover Greenland Presentations andposters onglobalgeodynamics Presentations onhydrological applicationsofGRACE For theremainder of Thursday afternoon,andalso validation. very short latency, short very andahorizontal resolution ofa were identifi 5-10dayintegrationspan, ed asshort, alignedrelativewas seentobeunfortunately totheN-S ning, weather/climate prediction, andstream-flow from GRACEinertia) andestimatesfrom otherspace and(2)smoothingmethodswereimportance; keyto ity estimatesover longdurationwasoftheutmost in theposters,presentations touchedontherole of ment (GIA)-model-derived rates. The Patagonia region continued addressing river-basin-scale variability. One of GRACE hydrology estimatestodecision-support der 20orso. and over Hudson Bay regions from GRACE were also estimates; patternsofchangeover Southeastern Alaska estimates ofdegree-2 harmonics(moment/product of of GRACE andothergeodeticdata. The results also extraction ofgeophysicalsignalsfrom theGRACE data error calibration ofsimulationmodels,andground ers addressed precise-orbit determinationofGRACE error estimation ofthenext-generationgeoidmodelsin loads andgeocentermotionsfrom acombination presentation evaluated theannualvariability predicted products. phase between thetwowere shown inthelow latitudes. hydrology, andtheoceansciences,respectively inthree the presentations were that:(1)havinguniformqual- the United States, Canada,andinEurope. Other post- by five oftheIntergovernmental Panel onClimate systems, withapplicationstowater-resources plan- scale. Important regional differences inamplitudeand showed theiragreement withGRACE onaglobal toresolve patternsofsecularchangetodegree/or-sary series withcurrent error levels wasthoughttobeneces- striped errors inGRACE estimates,andan8-year time shown tobeinagreement withglacialisostaticadjust- geodetic techniquesandmodels. showed goodagreement between thenew-generation showed successintheabilitytoextractsurface-mass sessions. Commonthreads toemergeacross mostof satellites, determinationofdaily, long-periodvariations, few km—which atthemomentarefew notavailable from forecast. The keyrequirements forsuchapplications from GRACE were shown toagree withothersuch November -December2005 300-km resolution inconjunctionwithsatellitealtime- This oscillationisofinterest asithasbeenshown to GRACE results are tobereconciled withoceanographic Oceanographic presentations covered theapplications final presentations withintheoceanographysection Pacific andtheAntarctic Circumpolar Current. The were: (1)therole ofoceanmodelassumptionsrelated water storagechanges. improvement. The meanfield wasusedinonepresenta- non-seasonal variations ofthesubarctic oceanbottom models; and(2)theproduct accuracyrequires further capable ofcontributingthrough and spatial,vertical, contribution ofhydrological fluxes tothedefinition of able estimatesover theoceanandemphasized theneed of boththestaticandtime-variable gravity-field com- data inan land-ocean boundary are becomingmore if land-ocean boundary important lead theEl Niño by approximately oneyear. Other re- perhaps beexplainedby aself-consistenttreatment of paper showed thatoceanicgeoidvariability estimates points toemergefrom thepresentations andposters ponents oftheGRACE gravityfields. Some common pressure gradientpredicted by oceanographicmodels. that were heretofore thoughttobetoolarge,could try. Anotherpresentation discussedtheuseoftime-vari- dynamictopographyto tion toestimatenorth-Atlantic andexchangeto mass/volume conservation across the temporal disaggregation ofcontributionstotheground- tide modelscouldbeobtainedfrom usingtheGRACE tom pressure wasshown tocontainthecharacteristic, the geoidover theoceans.GRACE-derived ocean-bot- showed thatsensiblecorrections tothe gions addressed withGRACE dataincludedthecentral for uniform-qualitymonthlygravitysolutions.One in situ regional analysis. V olume 17,Issue6 a priori ocean-

Meeting / Workshop Summaries 23 Meeting / Workshop Summaries 24 Year (IPY). To beconducted from March 2007through Year aftertheagencywasborn. of1957-58,shortly To review theagendaforthisworkshop andaccessany The purposeoftheSeptember 2005IPY Workshop The Earth Observer The Earth www.ihy2007.org Outreach (EPO)communityacross theagencyon Given NASA’s fl andSun-eet ofsophisticatedEarth- On September 8-9,2005,NASA heldakick-off endar/view.php?id=64&year=2005&month=09&day=08 Electronic Geophysical Year (For (eGY). more informa- March 2009,theIPYisaninternationally coordinated NASA is looking forward tojoiningwithitsinterna- NASA islookingforward verse community of Earth systemscientists,ouragency verse communityofEarth workshop atGoddard Space Flight Centertobegin of thepresentations, please visit at Goddard wastoupdatetheEducation &Public of science,pleasevisittheir Web sites,at as theInternational Heliophysical Year andthe (IHY), satellitesensorscurrently inorbit,itsair-and observing environmental change in the polar regions as well as the planning theagency’s educationandpublicoutreach process ofcross-mission andcross-center communica- plans tocontributesignificantly totheotherinterna- played amajorrole intheInternational Geophysical has considerable assets to contribute. Likewise, NASA has considerableassetstocontribute.Likewise, tion abouttheresearch focioftheseinternationalyears tional years ofsciencecurrently beingplanned—such asamajorcontributortoIPY,tional partners justasit the globe. teleconnections linkingthepolarregions totherest of tions inplanningNASA’s EPOstrategyforIPY. The surface-based datacollectionfacilities,anditslarge,di- surface-based suite ofscientific fi eld campaignstostudyclimaticand oftheFourthstrategy insupport International Polar specific objective oftheworkshop wastodiscussthe state ofthescienceinpolarresearch, andtobeginthe following: • Canwe deviseanoverarching framework,or • Who are ourtargetaudiencesandhow willwe • What NASA-uniquecontributionswillwe make • What are NASA’s mainthemesandmessages, • Who are thekeyEPOpersonnelwithinNASA Paula Coble,[email protected], NASAHeadquarters David Herring, [email protected], NASAHeadquarters PolarYearInternational Workshop HeldatGoddard folding can contribute? adapt our strategies to serving theirneeds? adapt ourstrategiestoserving partners? how dotheymeshwiththoseofourinternational to IPY? that willcontributetoIPY? , to which all NASA IPY EPO participants , towhichallNASAIPYEPO participants , and www.egy.org esdepo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cal- , respectively.) www.ipy.org November -December2005 scaf- , . Antarctica. Such a collapse, he noted, would signifi cantly Jerry Brown On the fi rst day of the workshop, participants received a Part of the IPY focus will be to better understand polar- Robert Bindschadler Richard Lammers Such thawing is a natural hazard, as it can cause surface IPY Science Presentations will lead to more absorption, and so forth. Moreover, he water-cycle dynamics and how they may be impacted by region, which will speed the melting and iceberg-calving regions, and the various NASA satellites being used today regions warm, we are likely to see increased and accelerated raise global sea level. Thus, the polar-ice situation warrants infrastructure, such as oil pipelines, railways, etc. Thawing monitoring glaciers and ice sheets.) collapses that destroy homes, buildings, and other human climatic change. changes. Lammers noted the ArcticRIMS Data System site dark absorber. This absorption will likely help to warm the ologists today—as the ice sheets retreat, theat surfacework in changes the polar region is of particular concern to glaci- are among the most rapidly changing regions on Earth due about ongoing changes to ice sheets and sea ice in the polar a and potentially adding to global warming and setting up as a potentially useful scientifi c resource ( and space, are not well understood. Therefore,of the it Arctic is hard water to balance, and how they vary over time out that we currently have only very sparse dataage basinsabout that empty into the Arctic Ocean, but pointed a presentation on water dynamics in the Arctic climate large-scale collapse of the ice sheets on Greenland or West process, which will expose more ground surface, which position, thus releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere permafrost is also signifi cant climatologically. Once thawed, presented on permafrost and coastal dynamics. As the polar predict how the Arctic water cycle will change as climate physics of ice-sheet dynamics that says there cannot be a to global climate changes. He said the to study how and why polar ice is changing. Earth’s poles the carbon locked in the soil is available to bacterial decom- thawing of series of scientifi c presentations in eight different topic areas. system. Lammers showed maps of the major river-drain- said, there is nothing in our current understanding of the from a bright white refl ector of sunlight, to a relatively freshwater discharge rates. Lammers said the major features focus of IPY. (The article on GLIMS in thisfurther issue scientifidiscusses c study and monitoring and will be a central positive feedback loop permafrost (International Permafrost Association) (University of New Hampshire) gave —frozen soil beneath the surface. . He invited folks to attend the 9th (GSFC) began with a presentation V olume 17,Issue6 positive feedback loop RIMS.unh.edu ). Watch Web page (ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov). Antarctic Lake Environments (SALE) Working Group in (see The Earth Observer The Earth energy budget edu/us_sale Earth’s surface. Thus, monitoring ozone will be a vital part He reported on the recent formation of the Subglacial International Conference on Permafrost in Fairbanks, AK year, and is quite large in extent. Newman noted that while Brent Christner view is that subglacial lakes can be an Paul Newman which scientists are studying the formation and evolu- role. He said ozone loss is one of the greatest examples of inhabiting the planet. But as the surface changes—particu- ies—on Earth and on other worlds. is supercharged with gases. How does life persist in such million years. While it is cold and dark, there are tempera- Seiji Kato underwater vehicles could prove invaluable to such stud- ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, it is essential for life on changes of sunlight absorbed at the surface can make a conditions? Christner speculated the food web there could century, it has not recovered yet and currently shows no energy equivalent of 10 power plants per personand emittedcurrently by Earth back to space. The Sun beams the atmosphere and sunlight by a very thick sheetdata of iceover for Lake 15 Vostok, which has been isolatedof our knowledgefrom the of such lakes comes from bore hole of any research that NASA has ever directed darktoward of Antarctica’slife in subglacial lakes. ecologist,He said he gave is nota presentation aware about life in the cold and of IPY. Newman encouraged folks to visit his new Ozone ozone depletion over time. The lower latitudes—so does the amount of sunlightlarly refl snow and ice ected extent in the polar regions as well as at like pattern in the lake. The lake’s shallows appear to be more polar regions. Kato said tracking Earth’s energy budget is human impact on Earth’s atmosphere. Newman showed tion of such environs. (For more details, see ture differences and scientists have detected a circulation thought that Antarctica was a lifeless to scientists’ search for life on other planets. Scientists once the stratospheric ozone layer is projected to recover over this time series data from the TOMS and OMI (aboard Aura) big difference in Earth’s climate. Key questions are: how back to space. Kato noted that even small percentage be biologically productive than its deeper waters, and the lake subglacial lakes, although such work certainly has relevance signs of doing so. Because ozone blocks harmful incoming sensors that demonstrated the evolution of the Antarctic studies about stratospheric ozone loss, including NASA’s from the Sun as compared to how much energy is refl ected chemoautotrophic www.nicop.org bookkeeping (LaRC) gave a presentation about Earth’s radiant .) He said NASA’s development of unmanned and the ways in which it is infl uenced by the (GSFC) gave a brief historical overview of —we monitor how much energy comes , (University of Montana), a microbial ). , but the answer is currently unknown. ozone hole desert oasis of life is back again this , but their new salepo.tamu. November -December2005 . Most Although overarching themes are still being discussed at this Tony Freeman On the second day of the workshop, participants divided Center (December 2). Chaired by Knowledge, has received a grant to assist with development Mars have been in the equatorial region, any human land- IPY and IHY. There will likely be an IPY/IHY funding IPY planning group has been formed at NASA HQ to EPO Discussions near-term research foci about Mars, including studies of ings will almost certainly target the polar regions because including cloud formation? And overall, how will those including: into four discussion groups as a function of target audience, mobility, protection against natural hazards, communica- much will the polar regions change over time, and how will up workshop at JPL (November 30) and at Ames Research current exploration roadmap and timeline for exploration changes affect the energy budget? These questions will be changes in sea-ice extent drive changes in the atmosphere, coordinate and guide efforts across the agency in planning of Mars in the next decade. Whereas almost all landings on an explorer?” he asked. “They are air, power, water, fuel, explored as part of IPY. of a plan for the agency. He is currently planning a follow- opportunity announced in calendar year 2006 to help and conducting the specifi cs of NASA’s EPO strategy for thread of study during IPY. the history of water on Mars, sub-surface water, and water- there is water there in frozen form. He elaborated on some tions, and self-cleaning space suits.” Freeman presented the tion systems and technologies. “What are the needs of time, NASA’s expressed interests include: support activities. formed minerals. Mars-Earth analogs will be an important • outreach/inreach • public media • informal education • formal education 1. understanding contributions of polar glaciers and ice 5. comparing the poles to polar regions on other planets. 4. using the polar regions as analogs for exploration of 3. understanding high-latitude biogeochemical and 2. understanding polar feedbacks and the role of polar Earth system; regions in the Earth system in terms of chemistry and climate; and other planets and test-beds for planetary operations; ecological processes and their relationships within the sheets to sea level; Ming Ying Wei (JPL) gave a presentation about explora- Geoffrey Haines-Stiles , (NASA/Headquarters) an V olume 17,Issue6 , of Passport to

Meeting / Workshop Summaries 25 Meeting / Workshop Summaries 26 Th e 2005 SORCE meeting focused on both the empiri- Th e third annual SORCE Science Meeting was held in Th ese include changes in the location of the intertropi- Walker Circulations. Civilizations most susceptible to ( The Earth Observer The Earth Durango, CO on September 14-16, 2005, and concen- Furthermore, comparisons of paleoclimate records with In addition to the many oral and poster presentations, Solar activity, the Earth’s climate, and human culture all Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and in the Hadley and Introduction view the Anasazi ruins that are a result of sudden culture records, such as are found in ice-cores, ocean sediments, rays themselves. Th e lack of global climate records makes including the North Atlantic Oscillation, the El Niño it difficult to discern the spatial pattern of the appar- ing galactic cosmic rays which produce the isotopes. modulation is a million times larger than that of cosmic modulation of the heliosphere alters the flux of incom- understanding the relationship between solar irradiance undergo change. An increasing number of paleoclimate climate, and culture in the distant past. Th is includes cal evidence and physical processes that link the sun, considered to be proxies of solar activity, because solar changes influenced by severe droughts at about 1300 AD. cal convergence zone and in various dynamical modes data sets, a number of processes have been suggested. ent climate response to past solar variability, which can and cosmogenic isotopes, which are typically assumed archeological evidence of past human cultures suggest optional field trip to the Mesa Verde National Parkof westernto Colorado. Th e meeting concluded with an attendees enjoyed a special dinner speaker who discussed and culture. About 80 scientists attended this meeting. lake levels, and tree-rings, suggest a solar contribution latitudes, sometimes in combination with more recent provide clues about possible mechanisms. Nevertheless, to past climate change because many records correlate the rich history of early inhabitants and the archeology trated on the paleo-connections between the Sun, climate, to reflect changes in solar brightness since this energy the prosperity and demise of various civilizations, found that solar-driven climate change may have contributed to strongly with the Berillium-10 ( from assorted paleo evidence at equatorial, mid- and high- for example, in the Yucatan and East Africa. 14 C) cosmogenic isotopes. Th e cosmogenic isotopes are Paul Mayewski, [email protected], ClimateChangeInstitute, University ofMaine Gary Rottman, [email protected], LaboratoryJudith Lean,[email protected], for Naval ResearchAtmospheric Laboratory, Washington, and DC Space Physics, University of ColoradoTom Woods, [email protected], Laboratory forAtmospheric andSpace Physics, University ofColorado nections BetweentheSun,Climate,andCulture” SORCE ScienceMeetingAddresses “PaleoCon- 10 Be) and Carbon-14 November -December2005 2005ScienceMeeting/. Wednesday, September 14, 2005 Judith Lean Between special keynote speakers, the meeting was ar- Most of the presentations are available on the SORCE Meeting website at ranged into five sessions to address the meeting topic: regions where rainfall and drought are especially vulner- years (from J.Lean). culture connection. circulation patterns, emphasizing the need to understand able to changes in these climate variability modes and discussing the current understanding of secular changes the role of the hydrological cycle in the sun, climate, and Figure 1:Estimatesofsolarirradiancevariability over thepast400 solar-driven climate change appear to be those located in ���� • Reconstruction of Past Solar Irradiance and Modeled • SORCE Observations of Solar Radiation—New • Linkages of Climate Cultural Responses and Solar • Interpreting the Solar and Climate Sources of Cos- • Evidence for Climate Responses to Solar Variability ���� ���� ���� ���� ����������� �������������������������� Variability. Climate Responses Science Results Solar Irradiance mogenic Isotope Variations and their Relationship to ������ ���� began the meeting with a keynote talk ���������������������� ���������� ��������������������������� lasp.colorado.edu/sorce/ ���� ���� V olume 17,Issue6 ������ ���� ���������������������� The Earth Observer The Earth GregKopp He discussed TSI variations, including the fi the including variations, TSI Hediscussed mea- rst Minimum (~1650) to the modern maximum (today’s Rottman Rottman Session 1 took up the remainder of the morning, and and morning, the of remainder the up took 1 Session workshop topics concerning solar variability and possible Figure 1 ing about one quarter of the increase from the Maunder irradiance variations are smaller than prior estimates, hav- in the heliosphere. Th e new estimates of long-term solar netic activity, which are sensitive to long-term variations in the Sun-Earth system. She introduced many of the ment (SORCE) observations of the total solar irradi- solar total the of observations (SORCE) ment magnetic flux on the Sun. For comparison, prior recon- climate effects over the past 1000 years. As shown in and some of its results. Rottman also discussed his re- his discussed also Rottman results. its of some and (SSI). irradiance solar spectral the and (TSI) ance or on cosmogenic isotopes ( ance variability obtained from modeling the transport of highlighted the Solar Radiation and Climate Experi- Climate and Radiation Solar the highlighted tions by the SORCE the by Totaltions (TIM). Monitor Irradiance SORCE mission. the for Scientist Project LASP the offi has Investigator Principal of role the tirement; cially Figure 2: Total solarirradiance(TSI)measurement record for3solarcycles (from G.Kopp). been transferred to to Tomtransferred been WoodsLASP. at Tom been has surements of fl of surements and series, the in time TSI detected ares solar irradiance level). structions have been based on variations in sun-like stars , Lean presented a new estimate of solar irradi- fi SORCE mission the of overview an gave rst summarized results of the the of observa- TSI results summarized 14 C and 10 Be) and geomag- November -December2005 Gary Gary 120 nm to the NUV. He showed that the SOLSTICE NUV. the to SOLSTICE nm the 120 that Heshowed (SIM) regarding solar variability from the near ultra- near the from variability solar regarding (SIM) July to begin to address this issue. issue. this address to begin July to 2 Other talks in the SORCE morning session addressed addressed session SORCE morning the in talks Other Satellite (UARS) and SORCE are consistent within within consistent SORCE are and (UARS) Satellite violet (NUV) near 300 nm, through the visible, and and visible, the through nm, 300 near (NUV) violet workshop are that the TSI uncertainties should be be should the uncertainties that TSI are workshop results from both the Upper Atmosphere Research Research UpperAtmosphere the both from results results (SOLSTICE) Experiment Comparison radiance irradiance expected from the presence of solar features, features, solar of presence the from expected irradiance re- Harder nm. 2500 near (NIR) infrared near the into Monitor Irradiance Spectral the from results new detail. more in instrumen- that and measurements most for increased images. images. of total solar irradiance which is about 5 5 W/m about is which irradiance solar total of of solar irradiance from the far ultraviolet (FUV) near near (FUV) ultraviolet far the from irradiance solar of lated the measured spectral variability to the modeled modeled the to variability spectral measured the lated the spectral solar irradiance. irradiance. solar spectral the diff aperture as such corrections, tal eff raction and ects Wednesdaythe in morning later results workshop the in shown as measurements, previous the than by diff by studied be should and teams, instrument erent scattered light off light scattered baffl applied consistently not are es, the of validation TSI conclusions the of Some session. TIM’svalue concerning issues absolute the of some such as sunspots and faculae, as identifi as faculae, and sunspots as such solar from ed . A A . TSI Validationin NIST at Workshopheld was Bill McClintock McClintock Bill presented the Solar Stellar Ir- Stellar Solar the presented Jerry Harder Jerry V Joe Rice JoeRice olume 17,Issue6 presented presented discussed discussed Figure 2 lower lower

Meeting / Workshop Summaries 27 Meeting / Workshop Summaries 28 Th by presentation a with concluded session e Modeled Climate Responses Climate Modeled Tom showed that the XUV radiation from 0.1-27 nm nm 0.1-27 from Tomradiation XUV the that showed Viereck Viereck The Earth Observer The Earth OMPS instruments, and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) (EUV) ultraviolet extreme and instruments, OMPS Caspar Ammann Ammann Caspar Reconstructions (SATIRE) model over the past 3 solar solar 3 past the over (SATIRE) model Reconstructions Minimum. Th Minimum. addressed session this in talks other e II core-to-wing ratio (solar proxy for chromospheric chromospheric for proxy (solar ratio core-to-wing II Natalie presented estimates of the total solar irradi- solar total the of estimates presented Natalie series the from measurements SSI NUV-Visible-NIR Shindell, both both Shindell, temperature, simulating E, Model (GISS) Studies Space temperature global predicts 1.4) (CSM Model System Maunder the to back present the from variations SSI 2, Session 10 of factor (a band nm 0.1-0.8 the in (XRS) Sensor variability) from the POES SBUV and NPOESS NPOESS and SBUV POES the from variability) variability that forces ozone changes in the stratosphere stratosphere the in changes ozone forces that variability which dynamically couple to the troposphere. Th troposphere. the to couple dynamically which ey ozone, for as such responses, photochemical and winds, radiance measurements. Th measurements. radiance and include TSI plans ese is about 30% of the TSI variation during large fl large during the of variation TSI 30% about is ares noting that there is a slightly colder global temperature temperature global colder slightly a is there that noting Solanki changes of about 0.5 °C over the past 1000 years due due years 1000 past the over °C 0.5 about of changes of and TSI reconstruction a presented Sami cycles. the with TIM’sfl the compared of detection TSI ares. and much larger regional temperature changes (both (both changes temperature regional larger much and variability. Matthes solar to response regional and from (SSI) irradiance spectral solar and (TSI) ance Twoafternoon. by talks, the from measurements irradiance solar X-ray and Mg the and irradiance UV solar satellites, NPOESS of fl a from energy the total that TSI and 110-150 is are 5%. about predictions of temperature, winds, and ozone global global ozone and winds, temperature, of predictions Like session. this ended processes dynamical posphere higher than past studies have assumed). assumed). have studies past than higher hotter and colder). colder). and hotter the 4-component Spectral And And Spectral Total 4-component the Irradiance X-Ray GOES the by measured energy total the times of (accuracy) uncertainty calibration respective their to solar forcing. forcing. Twosolar stratosphere-tro- to the about talks records. ture tempera- paleo the with consistent variations, solar to series of GOES satellites. GOES of series solar irradiance values during the Maunder Minimum, Minimum, Maunder the during values irradiance solar lower from changes temperature predicted the showed (GCM) model circulation general and data showed irradiance UV solar the of importance the stressed infl solar Climate NCAR the that and climate on uence forcing. solar to response climate the of simulations fully coupled chemistry-climate Goddard Institute for for Institute Goddard chemistry-climate coupled fully (XPS), System Photometer SORCE XUV the from , discussed solar irradiance reconstructions. reconstructions. irradiance solar discussed , regarding NOAA’s regarding ir- solar future for plans Reconstructions of Past Solar Irradiance and and Irradiance Past of Solar Reconstructions Tom Woods Drew Shindell DrewShindell Kunihiko Kodera Kodera Kunihiko showed that paleo-records suggest a a suggest paleo-records that showed presented fl presented observations are Natalie Krivova Natalie , took place on on Wednesday place took , presented results from the the from results presented and and Katja Matthes Matthes Katja November -December2005 and and Rodney Rodney Sami Sami 14 postersinthe Th epostersessionfortheSORCE Science Meeting A probable mechanism for these changes is deep ocean Ammann (lefttoright),taketimediscusstheirresearch. Thursday, September 15,2005 Gerard had attended the 2003 SORCE meeting and DeMenocal presented an overview of the late Holocene North Atlantic Ocean sediments. Th e sediment records Pilewskie Dick White Peter deMenocal’s was hoping to also participate in the Durango meeting. related to small solar variations over the past 3000 years. in the indicate temperature variations of 1-2 °C that appear records (from P. deMenocal). convection changes in response to solar forcing. Th is occupied theremaining of part Wednesday afternoon. analysis and results concerning paleoclimate changes, day of the meeting. Peter dedicated this morning session listed attheendofthisarticle. long afterthepostersessionintodinner. Th eposters are Session 2speakers,Drew Shindell, Kunihiko Kodera, andCaspar the results inthesepostersensued,several continuing to Figure 3: Temperature estimatefrom North Atlantic Ocean sediment solar and ocean circulation variability observed in the for his innovative research involving ocean sediment Gerard Bond Sun-Climate followed, withasummary openedthesessionwithasummary , who passed away this year. Well known Solar Variability keynote talk commenced the second poster session.Lively discussionsof poster session. V olume 17,Issue6 of the5posters Peter of the (rainfall) and solar variations. variations. solar and (rainfall) uncorrelated). (sometimes Twoby talks other ability The Earth Observer The Earth He also presented instrumentally calibrated proxies for calibrated Hepresentedinstrumentally also Session 3, Bhattacharyya Bhattacharyya variations appear to be caused by signifi caused be to appear variations changes cant PaulMayewski related to ENSO and Indian Ocean circulation changes, changes, Indian and Oceancirculation ENSO related to induced changes in stratospheric ozone. Furtherozone. aspects stratospheric in changes induced disruptions that and patterns, circulation polar the in India. in over Lake variability at solar Africa Victoria and East in Harry van Loon(left)andSultanHarry Hameed enjoy oneofthemeeting mechanism also supports the observed ocean salinity mate variations indicate large temperature variations of of variations temperature large indicate variations mate Thoveryears. variations 110,000 mate past the cli- ese rainfall between relationship the of puzzle—that mate cores. Comparison with the the with cores.Comparison rainfall and droughts associated and changes circulation changes. cycle solar the of impact the for evidence compelling relation- the was session this during theme common changes (fresher during colder periods). of the hydrological cycle were the focus of the next two two cyclenext hydrological the the were of of focus the solar via forced zonalwinds strength of the and ability signifi demonstrates vari- solar between correlations cant ice from Antarctic developed circulation atmospheric Greenland in C yearsbefore20° about 10,000 to prior Pacifi on decadal temperature and Oceancirculation c present (BP). Mayewski showedpresent temperature (BP). the that his discussion of the Greenland the of discussion his ice-core records cli- of talks, namely, talks, riverlevels between relationships possible periods. coldest the during occur civilization Asian to Indian the Ocean and variability solar between tions Thyears. 1000 past and century past the are e variations the than are more much dramatic regional changes that records tope variability. solar of note Itto important is iso- cosmogenic the with rainfall, and drought for those but their linkages with solar activity are intermittent are intermittent activity solar with linkages their but globally averaged changes. changes. averaged globally proxies, especially regional climate long-term of ships breaks. , on Th on , A talks. eight comprised morning ursday CurtStager Evidence Solar Responses to Climate for Vari- and and provided a longer term perspective in in perspective provided term longer a Ashish Sinha Ashish revisited a long-standing, sun-cli- long-standing, revisiteda Harry van Loon van Loon Harry 10 Charles Perry Charles Be proxy of solar activity Beactivity proxy solar of also showed also correla- November -December2005 presented presented Subarna Th the of focus e session, Session afternoon ursday Th Thare rays how cosmic the described three talks next e Age (LIA: 1200-1850 AD) and that this increase could increase could this that and AD) 1200-1850 (LIA: Age Mode Annular (NAO), aff circula- Hadley the ecting Irradiance 4, was was 4, (ITCZ) response to in southward migration having Maunder the Minimum). during as (such GulfStreamIce Little the levelincreasedduring salinity 14 14 mogenic Isotope mogenic Variations Solar to Relationship their and MississippiRiverfl owresults over years 140 past the Raimund Muscheler Raimund variations at 11 years, 88 years, and 260 years. Heyears. 260 and years, 88 years, also 11 at variations variations have a stronger 22-year cycle than the solar solar cycle the 22-year stronger have than a variations rainfall that aff that rainfall MississippiRiverfl the ects ow. records. isotope has more simple processes compared with the the compared with processes more has simple isotope the that yearsassuming 1000 past the for irradiance and rainfall, showed He cloud, that irradiance. further modulated, how this modulation aff how modulation this modulated, produc- the ects connected solar variability to changes in the Northern the in changes to variability solar connected changes of the geomagnetic fi geomagnetic the of changes Th eld. ere are signifi cant equatorial Africa during periods of less solar irradiance irradiance solar less of periods during Africa equatorial solar to changes overrelatingyears, these 1400 past the showed and how Pacifi the circula- and Oceanheating c and indicate long-term solar variations. variations. solar long-term indicate and arerelated. Muscheler the that out pointed also lower solar irradiance values. lowerirradiance solar long-term climate changes of the cosmogenic isotope isotope cosmogenic the of changes climate long-term moment. dipole geomagnetic the in changes long-term activity. solar well as as by geomagnetism lated Th e rst fi presented the fi presentedthe showing that session, this in talk nal presented results using the GISS Model GISS the presentedresultshow using on E the on impacts activity bydriven solar modulation, particle short-term and long-term the providedof overviews heliospheric modulation and solar irradiance changes changes irradiance solar and modulation heliospheric tion and thus the rainfall in Africa. Alexander showed Alexander Africa. in rainfall the thus and tion the of driver lagged are possible a changes pattern tion teraction with the biosphere and oceans. Th oceans. biosphereand the with teraction e He heliosphere. the solar of showed reconstruction a climate. the on forcing ray cosmic of importance the suggesting signal, 22-year have a do data temperature diff these isolated be could erentpotentially forcings that and both) (or rays cosmic or irradiance solar the in changes to due be could changes temperature term for implications the and isotopes, cosmogenic of tion by talks, two der Ruzmaikin der be explained by the Inter-Tropicalby the explained be Zone Convergence by examining the 22-year variations. Th variations. 22-year the byexamining ray cosmic e support for the hypothesis that rainfall increases in increasesin rainfall that hypothesis the for support geomagnetic fi geomagnetic magnetic/ solar the and variations eld fi geomagnetic are rays modu- how and cosmic eld the for the cosmogenic isotope production of both the the both of production isotope cosmogenic the for C records over the past 12,000 years are very similar records C similar over yearsare very 12,000 past the in- by its are which complicated processes, isotope C InterpretingSources Cos- of Climate and Solar the HorstFichtner . Th . e the discussed session this in talks ve fi MonikaKorte analyzed the Nile the analyzed Riverfl owrecords re-emphasized the importance importance re-emphasizedthe pointed out that the long- the that out pointed and and CathyConstable V olume 17,Issue6 Christy Field Christy DavidLund 10 Alexan- Be and 10 Be ,

Meeting / Workshop Summaries 29 Meeting / Workshop Summaries 30 Variability 1628-1643, which occurred during the Sun’s the occurred during which 1628-1643, Maunder Th 5, meeting, Session the of the of remainder topic e Thenjoyed the participants meeting evening, at Fort Varien’sFriday’s for great a introduction was talk tour Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) could be a mechanism for for mechanism a (NAO)be Oscillation could Atlantic The Earth Observer The Earth JoanFeynman Puebloarea how and local the the in Indian settlements Minimum. In an excellent demonstration of the impact impact the of Minimum.In excellent demonstration an In a graphic illustration of how the sun, climate, and and climate, how of sun, the illustration In graphic a Friday on talk Inkeynote his morning, Later that evening, the group dined at the histori- the at groupdined the evening, that Later College’s Lewis Southwest of Studies Center cultural was was Friday,2005 September 16, responses of the Norwegian Sea to solar forcing. Scott Norwegian the Scott responsesof forcing. Sea solar to records) and suggested that the fall of the Ming the of Dynas- fall the records)that suggested and introduced fi introduced solar between relationship linear the rst ism during severe droughts (as based on China’s on severe based (as during droughts ism written cannibal- and rebellions peasant increasedfrequencyof Bradley geographical presenteda regional rainfall. is ments, which is related to air temperature when it is is it when temperature air related to is which ments, culture may be connected, connected, be culturemay forcing. solar with associated changes fl (SST) temperature surface sea causing uctuations. Strater cal Hotel. Th speaker, dinner e the modulates itself climate agriculture development—its history, development—its agriculture factors driving riverfl the dominate area.resources ow the water in and Colorado in howperiods drought 22-year the discussed society, present-day on droughts of arelower advances with correlated activity, solar as from the derived climate related to plausibly changes cultural for dence He recordsshowed deposited. term then longer over the Gerard discussed to then tribute Bond, paid also Mesa of VerdeNational Park. presented a fascinating talk about the history of the the of history the about talk fascinating presenteda past 10,000 years that are correlated with solar activity. aresolar yearsthat with correlated 10,000 past ∂ proxiesthe and historical ecology, historical culture. their impacted drought, e.g., reception. a and viewing hosted which museum history the past 10,000 years and discussed how North the discussed yearsand 10,000 past the forcing. solar to the that ty in 1644 is probably linked to the severe the to in drought linked probably is 1644 in ty activity solar in changes secular possible about talked house house solar variations when used to model climate responses climate model to used when variations solar solar variations. variations. solar responsesto climate supporting evidence of synopsis for its development, and how the dramatic changes in in changes how and dramatic the development, its for State for and Riverbasin managers, Colorado the for the during culture changes and ferentregional climate Linkages of Climate Cultural LinkagesClimate of Solar Responses and showed the importance of water-fl of showedimportance the owrecords 10 . Th . e presentedevi- session this in talks ve fi Beoverestimate record to expected be may concluded the session with a talk about about talk a with session the concluded Basvan Geel 18 14 0 isotope record sedi- isotope 0 ocean the in C record, C showed then glacier that SultanHameed 10 Be deposition, suggesting suggesting Bedeposition, talked about several dif- several about talked Connie Connie Wood- Ray Bradley Ray Mark Varien Scott Lehman Scott November -December2005 showed an , , fi rst , , Accuracy from Determinations Solar ofSolar Radius What wastheProbable State oftheSolarChromosphere Variability andRedundancy across theSolarSpectrum 200ky with Observed Microvariability200ky withObserved of582Solar-Class Empirical Function Orthogonal Analysis and ofObserved Eclipse andComparisonwithSDS Observations, Modeled Solar Spectral Irradiances MDI andHMIInstruments Cyclic andSecular Activity ChangesinSolarAnalog Stars Connecting Inferred SolarMicrovariability over thePast Observing the SolarPhotosphereObserving from Space usingthe SOHO Data Spectral Irradiance Modeling andLong-Term Trends Stars from theESAHipparcos Program Session 1.Solar Variability: To concludetheSORCE Meeting, and Corona duringtheMaunder Minimum? Juan Fontenla Judge Goddard Sciencesand Earth Technology Centerand Center forAtmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado University, California Barbara, California Physics (LASP), UniversityPhysics (LASP), ofColorado,Boulder Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CaliforniaandSanta NASA Goddard Space Flight Center versity, Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland Poster Sessions Peter Fox mate andsolaractivitypossibleimpactsoncultural changes, and in raising new questionsandencouraging changes, andinraisingnew might yearsago 12,000 about activity) (solar climate and detailswillbepostedontheSORCE website as ofenergy.dynamical transport Everyone iswelcome diative energy issuesoftheSun-Climate systemrelating discussing manyoftheinteresting linksbetween cli- pointed outthesuccessofmeetinginreviewing and have enabled agricultural development. development. agricultural haveenabled they becomeavailable: to, forexample,clouds,aerosols, solarradiation,and jorie Meinel by spheric Research, Boulder, Colorado fall of2006onthetopicmanyoutstandingra- for thenextSORCE ScienceMeeting, plannedforthe future collaborations.Pilewskie introduced theconcept ter Pilewskie Jeffrey Hall , High Altitude Observatory (HAO),, High National AltitudeObservatory , HAO/ESSL/National CenterforAtmo- , by , University ofArizona, Tucson andJet provided briefoverall summaries. White , Laboratory forAtmospheric andSpace, Laboratory , Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona David Dunham lasp.colorado.edu/sorce , by Rock Bush , by , Johns Hopkins Uni- V Dick White olume 17,Issue6 , by Guoyong Wen Aden &Mar- , Stanford by . Phil and , by , by , Pe- , 11-Year Signal in the Northern Hemisphere Atmosphere 1974 A Climatological Spectral Study for Diagnosing the Solar Absolute Calibration of SORCE SOLSTICE Th eLASP Interactive Solar Irradiance Database (LISIRD) Th e NOAA MgII Core-to-Wing Ratio Preliminary Estimate of the Mg II Index from 1932 to II Observations SORCE Data Processing and Data Products SORCE SOLSTICE High-Time Cadence Magnesium Session 2. Sun-Climate: Among thehuman-tailored landscapesthatinfluence carbonand watercycles inAmerica are lawns.Th ismapshows satellite-derived estimates The Earth Observer The Earth Colorado, Boulder NOAA, Space Environment Center, Boulder, Colorado Pankratz ington, DC across thecountry, despiteawidevariability ofclimateandsoils.Th escientists who produced themapestimatethatmore surface area isdevoted grass(lawn)areaof thefractionalturf across theUnited States. Areas where islawn-covered alargefractionofthelandsurface are darker, while to lawnsthananyothersingleirrigatedcrop inthecountry. Map Cristina Milesi, courtesy NASAAmes Research Center. Snow by locations where thelawnscover are small(orno)fractionofthelandsurface lightest orwhite.Th avery emapshows how commonlawns are Marty Snow , by , LASP, University of Colorado, Boulder Jeff Morrill , LASP, University of Colorado, Boulder , by , LASP, University of Colorado, Boulder Marty Snow , Naval Research Laboratory, Wash- , LASP, University of , by Larry Puga , by , by November -December2005 Chris Marty , , by , A Model for Investigating Sun-Climate Questions Temperature and Snowfall Accumulation over the Past 200 Th e Fossil Record of UV-B in Juncus Seeds and the Rela- Connecting the Inverse Correlation between Amsterdam, Th e Netherlands Ky with Relevance to the Variation of 80 Ky and to the 40-Ky BP Surge (IMSG) at NOASS/NESDIS, Camp Springs, Maryland Solar Variability, Climate, and Human Response: A view California Center for Desert Archaeology, Pinetop, Arizona tion with Climate Change from the Southwest Zita Meinel Ming Chen sion Laboratory, Pasadena, California and Santa Barbara, , Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington , University of Arizona, Tucson and Jet Propul- , Information Management Systems Group , by David Gregory , by Dan Yeloff , by V 10 olume 17,Issue6 Aden & Marjorie Be during the past and , University of 10 Be and GRIP Fred Nials , by E. J. ,

Meeting / Workshop Summaries 31 Meeting / Workshop Summaries 32 The Earth Observer The Earth A workshop on Ecological Modeling using NASA NASA using Modeling Ecological on workshop A (MRPV). The parameters derived from the latter latter the from derived parameters The (MRPV). 20, 2005, at the Marriott Hotel in Greenbelt Mary- Greenbelt in Hotel Marriott the at 2005, 20, Jet Propulsion Laboratory [JPL]) and and [JPL]) Laboratory Propulsion Jet ER-2 aircraft over a number of forested sites, obtain- sites, forested of number a over aircraft ER-2 Pinty-Verstraete bidirectional refl ectance function refl function bidirectional ectance Pinty-Verstraete MISR observes the Earth at nine discrete along-track along-track discrete nine at Earth the observes MISR September on held was Sensing Remote Multi-angle MISR, but with georectifi ed spatial resolution of 27.5 27.5 of resolution georectifi with spatial ed but MISR, Subsequent presentations were divided into two two into divided were presentations Subsequent view angles between nadir and 70° off-nadir, in four four in off-nadir, 70° and nadir between angles view Multi-an- the of initiative An institutions. of set verse David J. Diner Diner J. David with resolutions between 275 m and 1.1 km. Cur- km. 1.1 and m 275 between resolutions with remote-sensing provide to intended was workshop rent standard surface products from MISR include include MISR from products surface standard rent instrument capabilities, observational principles, and and principles, observational capabilities, instrument possibili- future and limitations capabilities, imaging ing data with the same angular/spectral coverage as as coverage angular/spectral same the with data ing and angles, off-nadir to nadir from ing include m. conventional the supplant to information multiangle bidirec- surface refl the and canopy ectance modeling as such techniques associated and imaging multiangle with familiar scientists remote-sensing and munity counterpart, AirMISR, has been fl been has NASA on own AirMISR, counterpart, categories: ecological modeling needs from remote remote from needs modeling ecological categories: devoted to discussion. to devoted airborne MISR’s refl asymmetry. fore-aft of ectance absorbed fractional and (LAI) index area leaf albedos, refl and directional ectances atmospherically-corrected products. surface MISR on focusing products, data MISR the of overview comprehensive but concise a multiangle current with modelers acquaint to and land, with 30 participants in attendance from a di- a from attendance in participants 30 with land, prescription of a known biome type, and parameters parameters and type, biome known a of prescription the using (FPAR), radiation active photosynthetically tional refl ectance distribution function (BRDF). function refl distribution tional ectance ideas of exchange the facilitate to was goal The ties. between members of the ecological-modeling com- ecological-modeling the of members between brief discussion, with much of the afternoon also also afternoon the of much with discussion, brief scientists with details of ecosystem modelers’ needs; needs; modelers’ ecosystem of details with scientists the project, (MISR) SpectroRadiometer Imaging gle structure. Each talk was followed by questions and and questions by followed was talk Each structure. forest assessing in MISR of applications and sensing, obtained routinely are data Global bands. spectral from a modifi ed form of the semi-empirical Rahman- semi-empirical modifithe a of from form ed tonchik David J.Diner, [email protected], NASAJet Propulsion Laboratory Mark Chopping,[email protected], Montclair State University Multi-angle RemoteSensing Workshop onEcologicalModeling usingNASA k (MISR Co-Investigator, NASA/JPL) gave gave NASA/JPL) Co-Investigator, (MISR , an indicator of brightening or darken- or brightening of indicator an , (MISR Principal Investigator, NASA/ Investigator, Principal (MISR John V.John Mar- b November -December2005 , a measure measure a , With this new constrained regional carbon cycle model, (excluding ice-covered areas) has been impacted by hu- The ED2 Land Surface Model parameterizes the surface est Structure to Constrain Terrestrial Ecosystem Models fire regimes, carbon in soils. The individual-based Eco- George Hurtt Land-use history reconstructions are rapidly advancing, ventories in northern temperate countries, but data are Paul Moorcroft which presented the results of research showing that which forest structure differs. NASA EOS remote sens- inventories are far less complete. ing can provide phenology metrics from the Moder- million km man activities; secondary land area increased by 10-44 Meeting Highlights cently been modified (ED2) and used in a fully-fledged covering recent developments in using forest structure conditions is available over some regions, e.g., forest in- challenge is to adequately characterize the land surface, operate ED at much larger, regional, scales and it has re- depend on various forms of disturbance, e.g., regrowth, ecology is expressed through successional dynamics that estimates in terrestrial ecosystem modeling. Forest detailed talk, and to develop the capability to project future land-sur- especially outside the Northern hemisphere where forest ate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) as a potentially heterogeneous mosaic of patches within dynamics); the model incorporates and accommodates and long-term scenarios (expressed in terms of Carbon land-surface biophysics model, which incorporates long-term (200-yr) trends in above-ground biomass well limited in spatial and temporal resolution and coverage. progress has been made in fitting to both short-term harvesting and shifting cultivation generated 70-90% of trial ecosystems are not in a this secondary land with permanent agriculture change talk ( the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS). but hampered by lack of relevant historical data. On the be very useful in initializing and validating the model, both fast processes and long-term vegetation dynamics. system Demography (ED) model was shown to predict generating the remainder. Hurtt pointed out that terres- sensor; forest structure measures from MISR would also for tropical forest. Statistical mechanics can be used to face dynamics. Direct measurement of contemporary from 1700-2000, 42-68% of the global land surface The ED Ecosystem and LM3 Land Surface Models 2 , of which about half is forested. Wood Using Remote Sensing Estimates of For- (University of New Hampshire) gave a (Harvard University) presented a potential state V olume 17,Issue6 ; the scientific , ) A particular area of interest is in understanding the ef- Structure Wenge Ni-Meister Transfer (GORT) model to understand the sensitivities The Earth Observer The Earth Jon Ranson [GSFC]) presented a talk entitled ED were shown to be very similar for a tropical forest of Satellite Multiangle and Lidar Data for Assessing Forest Demography (ED) model. Above ground biomass grating AirMISR and Lidar for Forest Structure Extraction MISR. For study sites in Maine and Maryland, the MISR on the Terra satellite with those from Geoscience MISR, lidar data are not acquired over large areas: a ma- New York [CUNY]) gave a presentation entitled Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) on the Ice, Cloud and Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor (LVIS); and those from jor question is, therefore, how to scale up to the regional Several of the presentations on retrieving forest struc- She has been using the Geometric Optical Radiative was obtained. This preliminary work indicates that a retrievals in a neural net. Following the training, a high methods are needed to characterize vegetation structure multi-angle data. Ni-Meister used by ecologists to estimate stand-age-structure and clumping. AirMISR data were used to show sensitivity complete spatio-temporal coverage such as those from of optical multi-angle and lidar data to canopy structure. dense network of forest heights from lidar can be used degree of correlation between canopy heights predicted appropriate for calibrating multi-angle data with more data from AirMISR together with those from the NASA and global levels? estimates (kg C/m of current resources. Ultimately, new remote-sensing other hand, advances in remote sensing of vegetation lidar data were used to land Elevation Satellite (ICESat). Although the lidars provide only a sparse spatial sampling, these data are providing information on forest structure and are being passive BRDF and its spatial variance in the detection of to clumping in multi-angle data. Correction for atmo- to develop a method for estimating heights from using tural parameters, e.g., canopy height, leaf area index, biomass (carbon), and to initialize and validate height- bining multiangle remote sensing with lidar ( biomass, cover, included results from experiments com- bilities, relevant ecosystem modeling, and field surveys. spheric effects is important. site ( structured ecosystem models such as the Ecosystem globally, requiring investment in remote-sensing capa- structural properties are promising but limited in terms fects of canopy clumping on lidar signals, and the use of from the imager data and the more-direct lidar profiles Hurtt , describing the successful synergistic use of ). However unlike multiangle data from ) and MODIS ( (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center 2 ) from field measurements, lidar, and (Hunter College, City University of train Braswell the multi-angle imaging Towards Synergistic use ). Lidar data are November -December2005 Ranson Inte- , . Carbon: Experiments andPreliminary Results Workshop alsodiscussedmethodsforre- participants The Polarization andDirectionality ofEarth’s Reflec- and Empirical Modeling Xue Liu Jing Chen plications ofPOLDERandMISRfor Vegetation Structure [LaRC]) gave atalkonobtainingMISR dataproducts field-of-view, asclosetothe MISRdoesnotobserve Hampshire) presented atalk( volume scatteringkernelweights obtainedviaadjust- versity) demonstrated how the isotropic, geometric, and well withcanopyclumpingindex,aparameterthat which is important forimprovingwhich isimportant over estimatesofLAI research isusingMISRforestimationofforest ageand refl system, ectance from thecombinedcanopy-surface ing discriminationofareas younger than20years from ization Tools. is aprerequisite forsuccessfulapplicationofgeometric- in physicalmodels. networks, orcombinationsofempiricalrelationships multiplies LAI indescribingphotontransmissionprob- multiplies LAI models where con- thebackground makesanimportant ment ofaLi-Ross kernel-driven modelagainstMISR Nancy Ritchey ability through acanopy. Due toitssmallercross-track early regeneration stages.Preliminary results indicat- ern Virginia/southern usingMISRdatafor Maryland, entitled of the and provided information onavailable On-Line Visual- optical andhybridgeometric-optical/radiative transfer complex. angular response ofthesoil-understory This data canbeexploitedtosemi-empiricallyestimatethe dent variables. data inwhichMISRchannelsare treated asindepen- down, multivariate approach toexploitingmulti-angle data sets. The mostsuccessfulmethodstodateseem on theuseofMISRdataforseparatingbackground of higherspatialresolution, forre- whichisimportant proved from 53%-74%whenmulti-angleinformation principal planeasPOLDER,buthastheadvantage the principalscatteringplanewere shown tocorrelate in tance sensor(POLDER)multi-angleobservations those between 20and40years oldwere shown. tribution inthetotalsignal. terrestrial applicationsinwhichhedescribedatop- attributesusingmulti-angle trieval ofcanopystructural trieval of3-Dcanopystructure. Recent work hasbeen been studyingatemperatedeciduousforest innorth- be empiricalorsemi-empirical,e.g.,regression, neural scene classification. Accuracy inforest-extent dataim- from several angleswere view area combined.Anew of forests. gans (both of NASA/JPL) demonstrated a new version(both ofNASA/JPL) demonstratedanew misr_view MISR Multi-angle Remote Sensing ofForest for (George Mason University) presented atalk (University of Toronto) gave atalkon Charles Thompson Mark Chopping (NASA/Langley Research Center displayandanalysis software tool, Rob Braswell ) onmulti-angle-multispectral Combined useofPhysical (Montclair State Uni- V and (University ofNew olume 17,Issue6 Brian Rhein- . Liuhas Ap- .

Meeting / Workshop Summaries 33 Meeting / Workshop Summaries 34 The modelerswere interested andexcited very by the The Earth Observer The Earth nelfoundation.org/projects/misr_view_5.2 In theafternoon,breakout groups (eachheadedby an Interactive Data Language(IDL). LAI, an existing standardLAI, MISR product with capability Outcomes from theMeeting Discussion which makesitmucheasiertomanipulate,reproject, at ensuringthattheworkshop couldidentifynextsteps: ecologist) discussedthefollowing keyquestionsaimed package isavailable free ofchargeat potential MISRcapabilitiesandtheMISR/lidarsyner- to dealwithsituationswhere single-angleapproaches time series of other structural parameters,including: time seriesofotherstructural saturate, the participants expressedsaturate, theparticipants direct interest in gies thatwere presented atthemeeting.In additionto subset, andtransformMISRdatasets. This software • Are there impedimentstoMISR anyparticular • How canMISRdata,eitheraloneorinsynergy • To whatextentis • What are thekeysciencequestionsthatterrestrial with othermeasurements, helpmeettheserequire- ing thesequestions?How canwe focusthegeneral ments? concept of data usagethatneedtobeovercome? ecology isfacing? by modelers? structure structure onspecific parametersrequired akeyelementofanswer- www.openchan- ), andusesthe November -December2005 Continuation of the dialog initiated at this meet- this at initiated dialog the of Continuation fi in place take will which workshop, follow-up day) ve ing will focus on several key issues. First, given the the given First, issues. key several on focus will ing ing approaches and inversion methods, and how to to how and methods, inversion and approaches ing focus community needed. Third, is community ing multi-angle retrieval algorithms to establish the range range the establish to algorithms retrieval multi-angle of determinable parameters of interest to the model- the to interest of parameters determinable of correla- high the of understanding physical a develop to important critically is it shown, results empirical as experimental forests, is necessary to understand the the understand to necessary is forests, experimental as such areas, well-studied over sets data multisensor on lidar canopy heights. Second, further development of of development further Second, heights. canopy lidar potentially use them in combination. The third issue issue third The combination. in them use potentially tion observed between multi-angle refl multi-angle between observed tion and ectances the Spring of 2006. of Spring the stimulated participants to propose a longer (three to to (three longer a propose to participants stimulated sens- remote different of limitations and strengths • detection of subcanopy changes, e.g., thinning by by thinning e.g., changes, subcanopy of detection • biomass; above-ground • shape; and size crown • density; tree • area; basal • height); in (variance roughness canopy • height; tree • (defi index clumping canopy • expres- the from ned G( is the clumping index); clumping the is angle angle selective logging. selective at transmittance light of probability the for sion θ ) is the mean projection of leaf normals and and normals leaf of projection mean the is ) θ , as p( as , θ )=exp[-G( θ )*LAI* V olume 17,Issue6 Ω /cos( θ )], where where )], Ω Air_Quality_Remote_Sensing 2006 2006 Workshop onExploring andUsing Multi-angle Imag- Asia GIS2006International Conference, Universiti American Meteorological Society (AMS)86 Th e relatively smallislandishometoasurprisingnumberofplants Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)Skudai, Johor, Malaysia. The Earth Observer The Earth January 29-February 2 Team atNASAGSFC. Tasmania has been listedwithUnited Nations Educational, Scientific, Call forPapers. URL: [email protected] Community Workshop onAirQuality Remote Sensing URL: Fourth International Workshop onMulti-angular Mea- nual/index.html Meeting, Atlanta, GA.URL: February 21-23 ing SpectroRadiometer ofthe (MISR)Data (part MODIS RapidResponse Team atNASAGSFC. NASA image courtesy JeffNASA imagecourtesy Schmaltz, MODISLandRapidResponse connected toAustralia until10,000years ago,whenrisingsealevels and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)asa World Heritage Area. coastal areas Besides the toalpineshrubs. Tasmanian devil,wildlife at theendoflastIce Agecutitoff from thecontinent.Before this of Australia istheislandstateof Tasmania. Tasmania wasprobably and animals.Its vegetation rangesfrom temperature rainforests todry and thesmokehadspread stillfarther. the NASAimagescourtesy the landscape,wasnoteven visiblebeneaththesmoke.Nearly three tens ofkilometers.London,normallyalargecement-colored circle on London. Th eensuingoilfi resentthickcloudsofsun-blockingblack Londoners. At about6a.m.localtime,anexplosionrocked afuelde- when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) March 9-10 March 20 smoke billowing over LondonandSouth England. By 11:50a.m., fl overew onNASA’s Terra satellite,the smokehadfannedsouthover egy, Boulder, CO.URL: lia. Contact:Nancy Ritchey, pot in Hertfordshire, approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) of north surements andModels [IWMMM-4]),Sydney, Austra- from Space: Defi Strat-ning anOptimum Observing includes wombats,echidnas,andplatypuses. More than20percent of happened, awiderangeofspeciesmanaged topopulate Tasmania. hours laterwhenAqua MODISfl over,ew thefire wasstillburning, Lying about200kilometers(124miles)off thesoutheastern coast Sunday, December 11,2005,wasadaywithoutsunformany Global Change Calendar EOS ScienceCalendar eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/PRODOCS/misr/workshop/ . . www.utm.my/asiagis/ www.acd.ucar.edu/Meetings/ . Contact:David Edwards, [email protected] www.ametsoc.org/meet/an- November -December2005 th Annual . . Assembly, Vienna, Italy. URL: 4 4 August 13-17 April 2-7 2006: 2nd International Symposium ontheRecent Advances The European Geosciences Union (EGU)General July 12-14 July 3-6 www.uv.es/raqrs/index.htm colloquium.fr/sfpt2006 cfm?fuseaction=OEI101 Call forPapers. URL: URL: URL: org/egu2006/. February 1,2006. ISPRS CommissionISymposium, Paris, France. Call Systems XI(OEI101)Conference, San Diego, CA. SPIE’s Optics Observing andPhotonics 2006:Earth nel Processing (SAM), Westin Hotel, Waltham, MA. in Quantitative Remote Sensing, Torrent, Spain. URL: ments andModels (IWMMM-4),Sydney, Australia. September 25-29 March 20-24 for Papers. Email: th th IEEE Workshop onSensor ArrayandMulti-Chan- International Workshop onMultiangular Measure- www.sam2006.org spie.org/conferences/calls/06/op/conferences/index. [email protected] [email protected] . . www.eoc.csiro.au/iwmmm-4/ . Callforpresentations, due . Abstracts dueFebruary 15, meetings.copernicus. V olume 17,Issue6 URL: www. .

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