National Aeronautics and Space Administration GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER’S EARTH SCIENCES DIVISION Strategic Plan / Annual Report January 2011 IceBridge Floods in Pakistan Our Mission “To Improve Life on Earth and to Enable Space Exploration through the Use of Space-Based Observations” India’s Groundwater 2010 Ozone Hole Maximum GloPac Flights Global Hawk Gulf Oil Spill www.nasa.gov Strategic Plan/Annual Report 2011 Table of Contents Preface . iii Part I The Earth Sciences Division 1. Philosophy . 3 2. The NASA Vision and Mission . 5 3. GSFC’s Support of National Needs for Earth System Science . 6 4. GSFC Earth Sciences Division’s Mission and Goals . 9 5. Inside GSFC’s Earth Sciences Division . .11 5.1 What the Earth Sciences Division Does . .11 5.2 Development and Management of Long-Term Data Sets . 13 5.3 Managing and Setting Priorities within the Earth Sciences Division . 14 5.4 Supporting Mission Planning for NASA Headquarters . 15 5.5 Partnerships with the Academic Community and Government Laboratories . 15 5.6 Partnerships with Operational Agencies . 16 5.7 Toward a More Diversified Workforce . 16 6. How GSFC’s Earth Sciences Division Operates . 17 6.1 Organizational and Administrative Structure . 17 6.2 Workforce Composition . 18 6.3 Funding Sources for the Division . 19 7. Challenges and Opportunities . 22 7.1 The Funding Process and Full Cost Accounting . 22 7.2 Retention of Skills and New Hires . 22 7.3 Some Measures of Our Performance . 23 Part II Our Scientific Foci and Strategic Plan 8. ESD Science/Research Areas . 27 8.1 Atmospheric Composition . 27 8.1.1 Atmospheric Chemistry . 27 8.1.1.1 Observations of Chemical Constituents . 28 8.1.1.2 Chemical Modeling . 31 8.1.2 Atmospheric Aerosols . 33 8.2 Hydrospheric Processes . 36 8.2.1 Oceanography . 36 8.2.1.1 Physical Oceanography . 37 8.2.1.2 Biological Oceanography . 38 i NASA GSFC Earth Sciences Division 8.2.2 Polar Climate Change . 39 8.2.3 Terrestrial Water Cycle . 42 8.3 Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems . 49 8.3.1 Terrestrial Carbon Cycle . 51 8.3.2 Terrestrial Ecosystems and Land Cover . 52 8.4 Climate and Weather – Analysis, Modeling, Assimilation, and Prediction . 54 8.4.1 Data Assimilation . 57 8.4.2 Weather Prediction . 58 8.4.3 Chemical Constituents - Analysis and Prediction . 59 8.4.4 Subseasonal-to-Decadal Climate Variability and Prediction . 60 8.4.5 Climate Change Modeling and Analysis . 61 8.5 Earth Observing System (EOS) Project Science Office . 64 8.6 Managing and Analyzing Data . 66 8.6.1 Data Management Focus Areas . 67 8.6.2 High-Performance Computing . 75 8.6.3 Advanced Software Development . 79 9. Instruments, Technology, and New Missions . 80 9.1 Instruments . 80 9.2 New Platforms and Vantage Points . 81 9.2.1 Unmanned Aircraft Systems . 81 9.2.2 Geostationary Orbit . 82 9.2.3 Venture Class Concepts . 82 9.2.4 International Space Station Utilization . 82 9.3 Operating Missions . 82 9.4 Airborne Missions . 86 9.5 Missions in Development . 88 9.6 Future Missions . 97 10. Applications . 103 11. Education and Public Engagement . .112 Part III Appendices Appendix A. Missions and Application Activities . .116 Appendix B. Education and Public Engagement Activities . 123 Appendix C. Project Scientists and Deputy Project Scientists . 137 Appendix D. Field Campaigns and Workshops . 139 Appendix E. Professional Activities, Honors, and Awards . 143 Appendix F. Acronyms . 149 ii Strategic Plan/Annual Report 2011 Preface The national and international issues surrounding climate change make this a particularly interesting time for the Earth Sciences Division (ESD) at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The National Research Council (NRC) report, Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change (2010), notes that although the “...demand for information to support climate-related decisions has grown rapidly as people, organizations, and governments have moved ahead with plans and actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to.