NASA/TM–20210013331 Atmospheric Research 2019 Technical Highlights June 2021 On the Cover Top left: HIWRAP (High-altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler) The HIWRAP scanner shown on test stand with Lihua Li, Gerald McIntire, Michael Coon, Matthew McLinden, Gerald Heymsfield, and Martin Perrine. Wind measurements are crucial for understanding and forecasting tropical storms since they are closely tied to the overall dynamics of the storm. HIWRAP is a dualfrequency (Ka- and Ku-band), dual-beam (300 and 400 incidence angle), conical scan, solid-state transmitter-based system, designed for operation on the high-altitude (20 km) Global Hawk UAV. HIWRAP has also flown on the WB-57 aircraft, and in a nadir scanning configuration on the ER-2. Top right: Finding the World’s Ship-tracks with a Deep Learning Model A deep learning model was developed to identify in satellite images marine clouds modified by ship emissions, also known as ship-tracks. This paves the way for routine automatic detection of ship-tracks worldwide and the creation of a unique dataset for detailed aerosol-cloud interactions studies. They can also be used to identify shipping activities around the world. Middle: Mapping the Oxidizing Capacity of the Global Remote Troposphere August 2016 column-average tropospheric OH concentrations (X[OH]) derived from a combination of ATom insights, OMI retrievals, and additional parameters from GSFC’s GMI model. Median uncertainty in individual grid cells is 0.35×106 molecules cm-3. This is the first ever satellite-derived estimate of the near-global distribution of OH. Note, it is currently only possible to apply this technique in remote regions (over water).The hydroxyl radical (OH) destroys methane and is central to the chemistry of the lower atmosphere. Lower Left: CATS (The Cloud-Aerosol-Transport System) The CATS instrument team (from left to right)—Andrew Kuphock (engineer), Matt McGill (PI), Stan Scott (Instrument Manager), John Yorks (Science Lead), and many others (not pictured) - developed the path-finding CATS instrument, which operated from the International Space Station (ISS) for 33 months (Feb. 2015 to Oct. 2017) and fired over 200 billion laser shots. In addition to demonstrating new lidar technologies, CATS showcased how affordable spaceborne experiments can take advantage of existing platforms, such as the ISS, paving the way for less costly experiments on smaller missions with more rapid access to space. Lower Right: MiniCarb (Miniaturized Carbon Observer) A CubeSat built in partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) that featured a laser heterodyne radiometer (LHR) payload developed at NASA/GSFC for passively observing CH4, CO2 and H2O in the Earth’s atmosphere. MiniCarb was transported to the ISS via SpaceX in December 2019 for launch into orbit in January 2020. The GSFC team with the LHR: Jennifer Young (front), Guru Ramu (left), A.J. DiGregorio (back), Emily Wilson (PI) (middle), and Paul Cleveland (right). Credit: NASA/W. Hrybyk. Bottom: GPM-WFF Validation Network The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Ground Validation (GV) program is based at GPM Precipitation Research Facility (PRF) which is located at NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF). The GV team obtains measurements of precipitation from a variety of instruments including multi-frequency radars, disdrometers and rain gauges. The flagship instrument is NASA’s S-band dual-polarimetric radar (NPOL) which provides high-resolution estimates of precipitation rates as well as types. Notice for Copyright Information This manuscript is a work of the United States Government authored as part of the official duties of employee(s) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 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National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 Dear Reader, Welcome to the 2019 Atmospheres Highlights report. Here, we summarize research and communication/outreach accomplishments from the portion of atmospheric science activities at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) that comprises the Earth Science Division’s Atmospheres organization. As in previous years, this report is intended for a broad audience, including colleagues within NASA, scientists outside the Agency, science graduate students, and members of the public. Organizationally, the report covers research activities under the Office of Deputy Director for Atmospheres (610AT), which is within Earth Sciences Division (Code 610) in the Sciences and Exploration Directorate (600). Laboratories and office within 610AT include: Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes Laboratory (612), Climate and Radiation Laboratory (613), Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory (614), and the Wallops Field Support Office (610.W). As of this writing, the 301 personnel in Code 610AT consist of 57 civil servants and 244 cooperative agreement associates, postdoctoral fellows, as well as contractor scientific and technical staff. While the report provides a comprehensive summary of 610AT 2019 activities, below are a few highlights. Satellite Observations: The Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra satellite celebrated 20 years in orbit this past December. 610AT scientists have long been active in the Terra mission (and the sister EOS Aqua and Aura missions), serving as project scientists, algorithm product developers, and data users. Terra’s long lifetime, vantage point from space, and robust suite of sensors combine to provide a unique source of climate and environmental data records not available from any other platform. During 2019 alone, the Terra project distributed over 10,000 TB of data to hundreds of thousands of domestic and international users. For comparison, the entire text holdings of the Library of Congress are estimated to be about 10 TB. In addition to scientific research, multiple agencies use Terra’s land and atmosphere products for monitoring volcanic ash, forest fires, air quality, crops as well as for weather forecasting, and carbon management. GPM celebrated its 5-year anniversary in February. The GPM Core Observatory and an international network of satellites