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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Overview of SatCORPS Satellite-Derived Cloud and Radiation Retrieval Coverage of ARM Domains

The ARM Climate Research Facility program maintains a number of climatically representative sites, which provide long-term cloud- and climate-monitoring records via ground-based instrumentation. These measurements provide a valuable data record over a localized region, but can be greatly enhanced by use of satellite monitoring. Satellite analyses over larger domains can provide parameters helpful for monitoring climate and evaluating models. The NASA/Langley Cloud group routinely derives such cloud and radiative parameters, from various geostationary and polar-orbiting satellite coverage over ARM sites; the group provides near-realtime analyses covering the 3 ARM fixed sites, as well as the GO-Amazon AMF site. This is accomplished by employing a suite of algorithms including VISST (Visible Infrared Solar Split-Window Technique), SIST (Solar Infrared Split-Window Technique), and SINT (Solar-infrared Infrared Near-Infrared Technique), now collectively called SatCORPS (Satellite Cloud Observations and Radiative Property retrieval System). An overview and catalog of SatCORPS-derived datasets processed for ASR, and available from both the ARM archive and the NASA/Langley Cloud group website, is provided. Specific improvements included in recently added datasets such as GO-Amazon and Azores are highlighted, including an improved cloud-detection mask, as well as improvements in derived Top-of-Atmosphere (TOA) SW albedoes and LW fluxes. New narrowband-to-broadband (NB-BB) fits and corrections for improved TOA fluxes are illustrated, including MTSAT-1/CERES Aqua NB-BB fits for the TWPICE field campaign, as well as new fits covering the Azores region which incorporate GERB TOA fluxes (Geostationery Earth Radiation Budget). Finally, validation of the reprocessed SatCORPS datasets is shown.

M M Khader↗
NASA NTRS2003

Long Day's Drive: An Alternative Paradigm for Martian Robotic Exploration

Long Day's Drive (LLD) will investigate the north polar layered deposits (PLD). The overarching science rationale for LDD is the belief that the PLD preserve within their stratigraphy an interpretable record of recent climate and geologic history for Mars. Our primary goal is to obtain data that can provide a basis for interpreting that record. In addition, we will test the hypothesis that the ice of the PLD contains organics at higher concentrations than the aeolian dust sampled at the two Viking sites. Finally, we seek to contribute to the understanding of Mars' total volatile inventory by detailed determination of the ice content of the PLD over the traverse.

Sims, M. H.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Overview of NASA's MODIS and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) snow-cover Earth System Data Records

Knowledge of the distribution, extent, duration and timing of snowmelt is critical for characterizing the Earth's climate system and its changes. As a result, snow cover is one of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) essential climate variables (ECVs). Consistent, long-term datasets of snow cover are needed to study interannual variability and snow climatology. The NASA snow-cover datasets generated from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra and Aqua spacecraft and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) are NASA Earth System Data Records (ESDR). The objective of the snow-cover detection algorithms is to optimize the accuracy of mapping snow-cover extent (SCE) and to minimize snow-cover detection errors of omission and commission using automated, globally applied algorithms to produce SCE data products. Advancements in snow-cover mapping have been made with each of the four major reprocessings of the MODIS data record, which extends from 2000 to the present. MODIS Collection 6 (C6) and VIIRS Collection 1 (C1) represent the state-of-the-art global snow cover mapping algorithms and products for NASA Earth science. There were many revisions made in the C6 algorithms which improved snow-cover detection accuracy and information content of the data products. These improvements have also been incorporated into the NASA VIIRS snow cover algorithms for C1. Both information content and usability were improved by including the Normalized Snow Difference Index (NDSI) and a quality assurance (QA) data array of algorithm processing flags in the data product, along with the SCE map.The increased data content allows flexibility in using the datasets for specific regions and end-user applications.Though there are important differences between the MODIS and VIIRS instruments (e.g., the VIIRS 375m native resolution compared to MODIS 500 m), the snow detection algorithms and data products are designed to be as similar as possible so that the 16C year MODIS ESDR of global SCE can be extended into the future with the S-NPP VIIRS snow products and with products from future Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) platforms.These NASA datasets are archived and accessible through the NASA Distributed Active Archive Center at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.

Earth System Data Record↗
NASA NTRS1982

The climatic effect of explosive volcanic activity: Analysis of the historical data

By using the most complete available records of direct beam radiation and volcanic eruptions, an historical analysis of the role of the latter in modulating the former was made. A very simple fallout and dispersion model was applied to the historical chronology of explosive eruptions. The resulting time series explains about 77 percent of the radiation variance, as well as suggests that tropical and subpolar eruptions are more important than mid-latitude eruptions in their impact on the stratospheric aerosol optical depth. The simpler climatic models indicate that past hemispheric temperature can be stimulated very well with volcanic and CO2 inputs and suggest that climate forecasting will also require volcano forecasting. There is some evidence that this is possible some years in advance.

Bryson, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Secondary Science Teachers’ Implementation of a Curricular Intervention When Teaching With Global Climate Models

In the past decade, emphasis on promoting “climate literacy” in K-16 science classrooms has increased. Teachers play a critical role in cultivating these opportunities, especially in secondary science classrooms. However, most prior climate education research has focused on students and student learning; little is known about how teachers implement climate-focused curricular interventions. Here, we report findings from a concurrent mixed methods, multiple-case study of four secondary science teachers’ implementation of a new, NGSS-aligned, model-centric climate curriculum module grounded in the use of a data-driven, computer-based climate modeling tool—Easy Global Climate Model (EzGCM). We employ multiple data sources, including video-recorded classroom observations, interviews, and instructional artifacts, and both qualitative and quantitative analyses, to investigate how teachers implemented the curriculum. Findings show that, overall, teachers implemented the curriculum in ways that were less model-centric than designed, placing greater emphasis on EzGCM itself rather than using the model to investigate Earth’s changing climate. Additionally, we present detailed single-case studies of each participant teacher that highlight differences in teachers’ implementation of the curriculum module and their reasoning for making observed instructional decisions. This research sheds light on the design of secondary science learning environments by illustrating the varied ways teachers implement a climate-focused curriculum to support students’ developing climate literacy. This has important implications for the design of climate-focused curriculum and supports for teachers.

Secondary science teaching↗
NASA NTRS2013

Suomi NPP VIIRS Prelaunch and On-orbit Geometric Calibration and Characterization

The Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor was launched 28 October 2011 on the Suomi National Polarorbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite. VIIRS has 22 spectral bands covering the spectrum between 0.412 m and 12.01 m, including 16 moderate resolution bands (M-bands) with a spatial resolution of 750 m at nadir, 5 imaging resolution bands (I-bands) with a spatial resolution of 375 m at nadir, and 1 day-night band (DNB) with a near-constant 750 m spatial resolution throughout the scan. These bands are located in a visible and near infrared (VisNIR) focal plane assembly (FPA), a short- and mid-wave infrared (SWMWIR) FPA and a long-wave infrared (LWIR) FPA. All bands, except the DNB, are co-registered for proper environmental data records (EDRs) retrievals. Observations from VIIRS instrument provide long-term measurements of biogeophysical variables for climate research and polar satellite data stream for the operational communitys use in weather forecasting and disaster relief and other applications. Well Earth-located (geolocated) instrument data is important to retrieving accurate biogeophysical variables. This paper describes prelaunch pointing and alignment measurements, and the two sets of on-orbit correction of geolocation errors, the first of which corrected error from 1,300 m to within 75 m (20 I-band pixel size), and the second of which fine tuned scan angle dependent errors, bringing VIIRS geolocation products to high maturity in one and a half years of the SNPP VIIRS on-orbit operations. Prelaunch calibration and the on-orbit characterization of sensor spatial impulse responses and band-to-band co-registration (BBR) are also described.

Geolocation↗
NASA NTRS2006

Contributions of Satellite Observations to Understanding Climate Change

One of the challenges facing atmospheric scientists is to interpret trends in multi-decadal data records. Although data records from satellite instruments are not as long as some ground-based records, global coverage and resolved vertical profiles provide unique information for identifying signatures of climate change. For example, the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite provided profiles of O3, H2O, HC1, HF, CH4 from October 1991 until November 2005. There are also multi-annual ground based measurements of the column HCl. Middle latitude ground-based measurements show a seasonal cycle, and the HALOE profiles show that this is driven by the seasonal change in the composition and mass of the region between the tropopause and 380K surface (the lowermost stratosphere). Understanding the processes that produce the seasonal cycle makes it possible to interpret a future change in the seasonal cycle as a marker of a change in the stratospheric residual circulation. Satellite observations have also provided key information for improving the physical basis of models used to predict future composition and climate circulation. An example is the "tape recorder" signature in tropical stratospheric water vapor, i.e., the slow ascent of high and low water vapor anomalies roughly corresponding to the tropopause temperature at the time air entered the stratosphere. This signature has become a key diagnostic of performance for climate models.

Douglass, Anne R.↗
NASA NTRS2010

The Impact of Ocean Observations in Seasonal Climate Prediction

The ocean provides the most significant memory for the climate system. Hence, a critical element in climate forecasting with coupled models is the initialization of the ocean with states from an ocean data assimilation system. Remotely-sensed ocean surface fields (e.g., sea surface topography, SST, winds) are now available for extensive periods and have been used to constrain ocean models to provide a record of climate variations. Since the ocean is virtually opaque to electromagnetic radiation, the assimilation of these satellite data is essential to extracting the maximum information content. More recently, the Argo drifters have provided unprecedented sampling of the subsurface temperature and salinity. Although the duration of this observation set has been too short to provide solid statistical evidence of its impact, there are indications that Argo improves the forecast skill of coupled systems. This presentation will address the impact these different observations have had on seasonal climate predictions with the GMAO's coupled model.

Rienecker, Michele↗
NASA NTRS1992

Geodynamic contributions to global climatic change

Orbital and rotational variations perturb the latitudinal and seasonal pattern of incident solar radiation, producing major climatic change on time scales of 10(exp 4)-10(exp 6) years. The orbital variations are oblivious to internal structure and processes, but the rotational variations are not. A program of investigation whose objective would be to explore and quantify three aspects of orbital, rotational, and climatic interactions is described. An important premise of this investigation is the synergism between geodynamics and paleoclimate. Better geophysical models of precessional dynamics are needed in order to accurately reconstruct the radiative input to climate models. Some of the paleoclimate proxy records contain information relevant to solid Earth processes, on time scales which are difficult to constrain otherwise. Specific mechanisms which will be addressed include: (1) climatic consequences of deglacial polar motion; and (2) precessional and climatic consequences of glacially induced perturbations in the gravitational oblateness and partial decoupling of the mantle and core. The approach entails constructing theoretical models of the rotational, deformational, radiative, and climatic response of the Earth to known orbital perturbations, and comparing these with extensive records of paleoclimate proxy data. Several of the mechanisms of interest may participate in previously unrecognized feed-back loops in the climate dynamics system. A new algorithm for estimating climatically diagnostic locations and seasons from the paleoclimate time series is proposed.

Bills, Bruce G.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Technical Note: A Time-Dependent I(sub 0) Correction for Solar Occultation Instruments

Solar occultation has proven to be a reliable technique for the measurement of atmospheric constituents in the stratosphere. NASA's Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiments (SAGE, SAGE II, and SAGE III) together have provided over 25 years of quality solar occultation data, a data record which has been an important resource for the scientific exploration of atmospheric composition and climate change. Herein, we describe an improvement to the processing of SAGE data that corrects for a previously uncorrected short-term timedependence in the calibration function. The variability relates to the apparent rotation of the scanning track with respect to the face of the sun due to the motion of the satellite. Correcting for this effect results in a decrease in the measurement noise in the Level 1 line-of-sight optical depth measurements of approximately 40% in the middle and upper stratospheric SAGE II and III where it has been applied. The technique is potentially useful for any scanning solar occultation instrument, and suggests further improvement for future occultation measurements if a full disk imaging system can be included.

Burton, Sharon P.↗
NASA NTRS2006

The NPOESS Preparatory Project Science Data Segment: Brief Overview

The NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) provides remotely-sensed land, ocean, atmospheric, ozone, and sounder data that will serve the meteorological and global climate change scientific communities while also providing risk reduction for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS), the U.S. Government s future low-Earth orbiting satellite system monitoring global weather and environmental conditions. NPOESS and NPP are a new era, not only because the sensors will provide unprecedented quality and volume of data but also because it is a joint mission of three federal agencies, NASA, NOAA, and DoD. NASA's primary science role in NPP is to independently assess the quality of the NPP science and environmental data records. Such assessment is critical for making NPOESS products the best that they can be for operational use and ultimately for climate studies. The Science Data Segment (SDS) supports science assessment by assuring the timely provision of NPP data to NASA s science teams organized by climate measurement themes. The SDS breaks down into nine major elements, an input element that receives data from the operational agencies and acts as a buffer, a calibration analysis element, five elements devoted to measurement based quality assessment, an element used to test algorithmic improvements, and an element that provides overall science direction. This paper will describe how the NPP SDS will leverage on NASA experience to provide a mission-reliable research capability for science assessment of NPP derived measurements.

Schweiss, Robert J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The Solar Constant, Climate, and Some Tests of the Storage Hypothesis

Activity related modulation of the solar constant can have practical consequences for climate only if storage is involved, as opposed to a detailed balance between sunspot blocking and facular reemission. Four empirical tests are considered that might distinguish between these opposing interpretations: monochromatic measurements of positive and negative flux; comparison of modelled and measured irradiance variations; the interpretation of secular trends in irradiance data; and the direct test of an anticipated signal in climate records of surface air temperature. The yet unanswered question of the role of faculae as possible reemitters of blocked radiation precludes a definitive answer, although other tests suggest their role to be minor, and that storage and an 11 year modulation is implicated. A crucial test is the behavior of the secular trend in irradiance in the declining years of the present activity cycle.

Eddy, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Satellite Observed Variability in Antarctic and Arctic Surface Temperatures and Their Correlation to Open Water Areas

Recent studies using meterological station data have indicated that global surface air temperature has been increasing at a rate of 0.05 K/decade. Using the same set of data but for stations in the Antarctic and Arctic regions (>50 N) only, the increases in temperature were 0.08, and 0.22 K/decade, when record lengths of 100 and 50 years, respectively, were used. To gain insights into the increasing rate of warming, satellite infrared and passive microwave observations over the Arctic region during the last 20 years were processed and analyzed. The results show that during this period, the ice extent in the Antarctic has been increasing at the rate of 1.2% per decade while the surface temperature has been decreasing at about 0.08 K per decade. Conversely, in the Northern Hemisphere, the ice extent has been decreasing at a rate of 2.8% per decade, while the surface temperatures have been increasing at the rate of 0.38 K per decade. In the Antarctic, it is surprising that there is a short term trend of cooling during a global period of warming. Very large anomalies in open water areas in the Arctic were observed especially in the western region, that includes the Beaufort Sea, where the observed open water area was about 1x10(exp 6) sq km, about twice the average for the region, during the summer of 1998. In the eastern region, that includes the Laptev Sea, the area of open water was also abnormally large in the summer of 1995. Note that globally, the warmest and second warmest years in this century, were 1998 and 1995, respectively. The data, however, show large spatial variability with the open water area distribution showing a cyclic periodicity of about ten years, which is akin to the North Atlantic and Arctic Oscillations. This was observed in both western and eastern regions but with the phase of one lagging the other by about two years. This makes it difficult to interpret what the trends really mean. But although the record length of satellite data is still relatively short and the climate trend difficult to establish, the immediate impact of a continued warming trend may be very profound.

Comiso, Josefino C.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Recovering Nimbus Era Observations at the NASA GES DISC

Between 1964 and 1978, NASA launched a series of seven Nimbus meteorological satellites which provided Earth observations for 30 years. These satellites, carrying a total of 33 instruments to observe the Earth at visible, infrared, ultraviolet, and microwave wavelengths, revolutionized weather forecasting, provided early observations of ocean color and atmospheric ozone, and prototyped location-based search and rescue capabilities. The Nimbus series paved the way for a number of currently operational systems such as the EOS (Earth Observation System) Terra, Aqua, and Aura platforms. The original data archive includes both magnetic tapes and film media. These media are well past their expected end of life, placing at risk valuable data that are critical to extending the history of Earth observations back in time. GES DISC (Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center) has been incorporating these data into a modern online archive by recovering the digital data files from the tapes, and scanning images of the data from film strips. The digital data products were written on obsolete hardware systems in outdated file formats, and in the absence of metadata standards at that time, were often written in proprietary file structures. Through a tedious and laborious process, oft-corrupted data are recovered, and incomplete metadata and documentation are reconstructed.

data recovery↗
NASA NTRS2018

Decadal Seasonal Shifts of Precipitation and Temperature in TRMM and AIRS Data

We present results from an analysis of seasonal phase shifts in the global precipitation and surface temperatures. We use data from the TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) Multi-satellite Precipitation Algorithm (TMPA), and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on Aqua satellite, all hosted at NASA Goddard Earth Science Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). We explore the information content and data usability by first aggregating daily grids from the entire records of both missions to pentad (5-day) series which are then processed using Singular Value Decomposition approach. A strength of this approach is the normalized principal components that can then be easily converted from real to complex time series. Thus, we can separate the most informative, the seasonal, components and analyze unambiguously for potential seasonal phase drifts. TMPA and AIRS records represent correspondingly 20 and 15 years of data, which allows us to run simple “phase learning†from the first 5 years of records and use it as reference. The most recent 5 years are then phase-compared with the reference. We demonstrate that the seasonal phase of global precipitation and surface temperatures has been stable in the past two decades. However, a small global trend of delayed precipitation, and earlier arrival of surface temperatures seasons, are detectable at 95% confidence level. Larger phase shifts are detectable at regional level, in regions recognizable from the Eigen vectors to having strong seasonal patterns. For instance, in Central North America, including the North American Monsoon region, confident phase shifts of 1-2 days per decade are detected at 95% confidence level. While seemingly symbolic, these shifts are indicative of larger changes in the Earth Climate System. We thus also demonstrate a potential usability scenario of Earth Science Data Records curated at the NASA GES DISC in partnership with Earth Science Missions.

surface temperatures↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Principal-Component-Based Radiative Transfer Model (PCRTM) for Hyperspectral Shortwave and Longwave Satellite Sensors and Its Applications

The radiative transfer model (RTM) or forward model is an essential component in satellite remote sensing. For modern hyperspectral remote sensors, fast and accurate RTMs are needed due to a large number of spectral dimensions and high spatial resolutions. We will describe a Principal Component-based radiative transfer model (PCRTM) which can simulate the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiance or reflectance spectra 250 nm to 2000 micrometers quickly and accurately. The PCRTM has been demonstrated to be extremely accurate, compared to the line-by-line RTM benchmarks, and the former is several orders more computationally efficient than the latter. We will demonstrate how the PCRTM and the associated inversion algorithms are used to infer atmospheric temperature, moisture, and trace gas profiles, as well as cloud and surface properties from hyperspectral IR sounders such as Atomspheric Infrared Souder (AIRS) and Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS). High-quality climate records for a 20-year duration have been derived from these IR hyperspectral data. Finally, we will show some examples of using PCRTM to retrieve cloud properties from Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) and its applicability of PCRTM to future missions such as the CLARREO (Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory) Pathfinder (CPF) CPF and the Surface Biology and Geology (SBG).

Xu Liu↗
NASA NTRS2021

A data–model approach to interpreting speleothem oxygen isotope records from monsoon regions

Reconstruction of past changes in monsoon climate from speleothem oxygen isotope (δ 18 O) records is complex because δ 18 O signals can be influenced by multiple factors including changes in precipitation, precipitation recycling over land, temperature at the moisture source, and changes in the moisture source region and transport pathway. Here, we analyse >150 speleothem records of the Speleothem Isotopes Synthesis and AnaLysis (SISAL) database to produce composite regional trends in δ 18 O in monsoon regions; compositing minimises the influence of site-specific karst and cave processes that can influence individual site records. We compare speleothem δ 18 O observations with isotope-enabled climate model simulations to investigate the specific climatic factors causing these regional trends. We focus on differences in δ 18 O signals between the mid-Holocene, the peak of the Last Interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 5e) and the Last Glacial Maximum as well as on δ 18 O evolution through the Holocene. Differences in speleothem δ 18 O between the mid-Holocene and the Last Interglacial in the East Asian and Indian monsoons are small, despite the larger summer insolation values during the Last Interglacial. Last Glacial Maximum δ 18 O values are significantly less negative than interglacial values. Comparison with simulated glacial–interglacial δ 18 O shows that changes are principally driven by global shifts in temperature and regional precipitation. Holocene speleothem δ 18 O records show distinct and coherent regional trends. Trends are similar to summer insolation in India, China and southwestern South America, but they are different in the Indonesian–Australian region. Redundancy analysis shows that 37 % of Holocene variability can be accounted for by latitude and longitude, supporting the differentiation of records into individual monsoon regions. Regression analysis of simulated precipitation δ 18 O and climate variables show significant relationships between global Holocene monsoon δ 18 O trends and changes in precipitation, atmospheric circulation and (to a lesser extent) source area temperature, whereas precipitation recycling is non-significant. However, there are differences in regional-scale mechanisms: there are clear relationships between changes in precipitation and δ 18 O for India, southwestern South America and the Indonesian–Australian regions but not for the East Asian monsoon. Changes in atmospheric circulation contribute to δ 18 O trends in the East Asian, Indian and Indonesian–Australian monsoons, and a weak source area temperature effect is observed over southern and central America and Asia. Precipitation recycling is influential in southwestern South America and southern Africa. Overall, our analyses show that it is possible to differentiate the impacts of specific climatic mechanisms influencing precipitation δ 18 O and use this analysis to interpret changes in speleothem δ 18 O.

speleothem oxygen isotope records↗
NASA NTRS1989

Calculating climate attractor dimension from delta O-18 records by the Grassberger-Procaccia algorithm

The Grassberger-Procaccia method of calculating dimension from a time series is applied to 14 late Pleistocene delta O-18 records. A step-by-step sequence leading from data to the Grassberger-Procaccia dimension is outlined, and the problems encountered when dealing with observed (as opposed to theoretical) data are discussed; for the climatic proxy data these problems include situations where the time series is not very long, is noisy and/or smoothed, and is not sampled at a constant time interval. The delta O-18 records to be used are described, and the results are presented and compared with previously published dimension calculations. New dimension interpretations are assessed, and an example using a synthetic time series that illustrates the possible error due to inconsistencies in the time scale is analyzed.

Maasch, Kirk A.↗