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Michael Obland

Publications and source records attributed to Michael Obland.

TPSAS-NF1676L-23459-DND

This talk covers the needs for carbon science, laser absorption lidar approach for atmospheric CO2 measurements, recent campaign findings, and future work on atmospheric CO2 observations.

Bing Lin

ACES Instrument

During the Atmospheric Carbon and Transport–America (ACT–America) suborbital mission (ACT-America) Mission Spring 2018 campaign, ASCENDS CarbonHawk Experiment Simulator (ACES), an intensity modulated continuous wave (IMCW) lidar system funded by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, measured differential optical depths leading to partial-column CO2 lidar retrievals while flying aboard the C-130 aircraft across North America striving to advance technology critical to measuring column carbon dioxide mixing ratios (XCO2) remotely. ACES was developed by NASA Langley Research Center in the aims to have an active remote sensing system able to accurately measure XCO2 from space independent of the presence of sunlight, land surface type, and even through thin clouds. Differential absorption optical depth measurements made during the fourth campaign of ACT-America in Spring of 2018 were processed, analyzed and compared to on board in situ derived differential optical depth CO2 measurements.

XCO2

The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) IV Pathfinder

Atmospheric aerosols and ozone are designated as observing system priorities in the 2017–2027 Decadal Survey report [1]. Accurate records of stratospheric aerosols are a vital piece of the puzzle regarding climate change. Stratospheric ozone has been the subject of observation and research for decades. Its importance is exhibited in the United States Clean Air Act [2], which mandates that NASA monitor atmospheric ozone. Measurements from satellites provided data on the initial decline of ozone in the late 1970s and early 1980s that supported the adoption of the Montreal Protocol, and current observations hint at a potential recovery. Adequate determination of that recovery requires continuous and, in the case of multiple instruments, overlapping data records. However, most current satellite systems are well beyond their expected lifetimes, and so we look towards the future of satellite observations of stratospheric ozone and aerosols to develop the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) IV Pathfinder. Enabled by the NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO)’s Instrument Incubator Program (IIP), the SAGE IV Pathfinder project has developed and validated a prototype demonstration that paves the way for a future SAGE IV spaceflight mission. Utilizing solar occultation imaging, SAGE IV will be capable of measuring ozone, aerosol, and other trace gas species with the same quality as previous SAGE instruments but with greatly improved pointing knowledge. Furthermore, current technological advancements allow SAGE IV to fit within a CubeSat framework and make use of commercial hardware, significantly reducing the size and cost when compared with traditional missions and enabling sustainability of future measurements. SAGE IV will meet the definition of the newly-recommended Venture-Continuity missions by “bringing forward innovative approaches to sustain measurements at lower costs”. The latest results from development of the SAGE IV Pathfinder are presented. [1] “Thriving on Our Changing Planet: A Decadal Strategy for Earth Observation from Space,” National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018. [2] “United State Clean Air Act,” 42 U.S.C. 767 1b(d)(2).

Robert Damadeo