The Earth Science Decadal Survey: Status, Progress, and the Role of Active Remote SensingPresentation to the 16th Bi-Annual Coherent Laser Radar Conference (CLRCXVI)

June 20, 2011

George J. Komar

Associate Director/Program Manager

Earth Science Technology Office

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Earth Science at NASA•

Highlights of Earth Science outlook•

Future directions for Earth Science activities

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Technology Activities•

The Earth Science Technology investments in active remote sensing•

Future directions

Topics

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BUDGET OUTLOOK (incl. FY11 Appropriation)

FY11 PB

FY12 PB

FY10 PB

Previous Admin.

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NASA Major Operating Earth Science

Satellites X

X

5DRAFT – FOR INTERNAL NASA USE ONLY

Future Orbital Flight Missions – 2011 – 2022

X

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VENTURE-CLASS UPDATE/STATUS•

Venture-Class is a Tier-I Decadal Survey recommendation– Science-driven, PI-led, competitively selected, cost- and schedule-

constrained, regularly solicited, orbital and suborbital– Venture-class investigations complement the systematic missions identified

in the Decadal Survey, and provide flexibility to accommodate scientific advances and new implementation approaches

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Venture-Class is fully funded, with 3 “strands”– EV-1: suborbital/airborne investigations (5 years duration)

o Solicited in FY09 (selections in FY10) and every 4 yearso 5 investigations selected; flights beginning in FY11

– EV-2: small complete missions (5 years duration)o Solicited in FY11 (selections in FY12) and every 4 yearso Small-sat or stand-alone payload for MoO; $150M total development costo AO release June 17, 2011; Proposals Due September 15, 2011

– EV-Instrument: Spaceborne instruments for flight on MoO (5 years dev.)o Solicited in FY11 (selections in FY12) and annually thereaftero Final AO release in 2nd half of FY11o ~$90M development costs, accommodation costs budgeted separatelyo Common Instrument Interface specs being developed

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Earth Venture-1 Summaries

Airborne Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (AirMOSS) - Univ Mich/JPLNorth American ecosystems are critical components of the global exchange of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and other gases within the atmosphere. To better understand the size of this exchange on a continental scale, this investigation addresses the uncertainties in existing estimates by measuring soil moisture in the root zone of representative regions of major North American ecosystems. Investigators will use NASA's Gulfstream- III aircraft to fly synthetic aperture radar that can penetrate vegetation and soil to depths of several feet.

Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment (ATTREX) - ARCWater vapor in the stratosphere has a large impact on Earth's climate, the ozone layer and how much solar energy the Earth retains. To improve our understanding of the processes that control the flow of atmospheric gases into this region, investigators will launch four airborne campaigns with NASA's Global Hawk remotely piloted aerial systems. The flights will study chemical and physical processes at different times of year from bases in California, Guam, Hawaii and Australia.

Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE) - JPLThis investigation will collect an integrated set of data that will provide unprecedented experimental insights into Arctic carbon cycling, especially the release of the important greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. Instruments will be flown on a Twin Otter aircraft to produce the first simultaneous measurements of surface characteristics that control carbon emissions and key atmospheric gases.

Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from COlumn and VERtically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality (DISCOVER-AQ) - LaRC

The overarching objective of the DISCOVER-AQ investigation is to improve the interpretation of satellite observations to diagnose near‐surface conditions relating to air quality. NASA's B-200 and P-3B research aircraft will fly together to sample a column of the atmosphere over instrumented ground stations.

Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) – GSFC/ARCThe prediction of the intensity of hurricanes is not as reliable as predictions of the location of hurricane landfall, in large part because of our poor understanding of the processes involved in intensity change. This investigation focuses on studying hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean basin using two NASA Global Hawks flying high above the storms for up to 30 hours. The Hawks will deploy from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia during the 2012-14 Atlantic hurricane seasons.

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Glory Aftermath/Status•

Glory mission was lost - LV failure (fairing non-sep) on 4 March– Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) and Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor (APS) + Cloud

Cameras– Refurbished Vegetation Canopy Lidar satellite bus– Taurus-XL failure has similar manifestations to OCO loss (24 Feb 2009)

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Way forward: Glory– Carbon-copy Glory recovery mission will not be developed – VCL bus obsolete

• Way forward: TIM– SORCE, ACRIMSAT missions continuing through at least 2016– TSIS instrument development passed KDP-C in 1/2011 (reimbursable, NOAA-funding

to NASA SMD/JASD)– Instrument delivery planned late CY2012; no s/c or LV yet identified

– Way forward: APS– Science viability study – 90-days (due late June)

o Utility of flight of APS-capability sensor in 3-5 yearso Possible NRC (or ESS) review

– Implementation study for APS replacement mission – 120 days (late July)o Cost, schedule, instrument approach, satellite approach, LV

– No recovery mission without top-line ESD budget augmentation o Same programmatic approach as for OCO-2

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CLIMATE INITIATIVE

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CLIMATE INITIATIVE (cont.)

• Develops selected Climate Continuity Missions• SAGE-III refurbishment/hexapod development, ready for flight to ISS late

CY2014-2015• GRACE-FO (GRACE Follow-on), launch late CY2016 (joint with DLR)• PACE (Pre-ACE, ocean color/productivity and aerosol polarimetry, 2019/2020)

• Accelerates all Tier-2 Decadal Survey missions, launches 2 before 2021• ASCENDS (Active lidar for atmospheric CO2), launch 2019/2020• SWOT (Wide-swath altimeter for land hydrology, ocean processes) with CNES,

launch 2019-2020)

• Enables Key Non-Flight activities• Multi-year carbon monitoring pilot program• Expanded Earth Science-specific technology program• SERVIR expansion• Expanded modeling, synthesis, computing capability• NASA substantial support/participation in National Assessment activities• Geodetic ground network expansion/modernization• Expanded NASA support for GLOBE

NASA ESD’s Unique Role in US

Science and Technology Development

Space and Airborne Observing Systems

National Needs

NASA is the Only US Entity that Occupies all Three Areas and Creates Synergy from Them!

Role of Active Optical Remote Sensing in ESD

Science and Technology Development

Space and Airborne Observing Systems

National Needs

NASA’s Investments in Active Optical Remote Sensing are critically tied into all three areas

Lidar Mission Development – Sensor/Platform Integration

Technology and Technique Development, Demonstration, and Scientific Utilization

Application to Climate, Weather, Natural Hazards for Forecasting, Policy Development, and Resource Management

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NASA Major Operating Earth Science

Satellites – with International Partners

X

X

ICESat MissionIce, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite Launched in January 2003 600-km altitude, 94° inclination 91-day repeat ground track Last laser failed October 2009

Primary Science ObjectiveTo measure spatial and temporal variationsin ice-sheet topography

Secondary Science ObjectivesTo measure cloud and aerosol parameters,and to measure land-surface topography

Timber Volume Map10°x12° Study Area

Using GLAS and MODIS dataMODIS forest class,MODIS %tree cover,GLAS timber volume

Non-Forest140-175176 - 200201 - 219Study Area

Total Timber Volume (m3/ha):Mean Forested Area:

• MODIS/GLAS = 202• Shepashenko (1998) = 211

Total Study Area:• MODIS/GLAS = 113• Shepashenko (1998) = 109

Timber Volume (m3/ha):

Forest Timber Volume Estimates from Forest Timber Volume Estimates from GLAS Lidar and MODIS Spectral DataGLAS Lidar and MODIS Spectral Data

Central SiberiaCentral SiberiaCombined use of satellite Combined use of satellite data improves regional data improves regional carbon stock estimatescarbon stock estimates

(Nelson et al. 2009, RSE)

CALIPSO MissionCloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation Launched in April 2006 705-km altitude, 98° inclination 16-day repeating orbit ground track

Science ObjectivesDirect aerosol forcing and uncertaintyIndirect aerosol forcing and uncertaintySurface and atmospheric fluxesCloud-climate feedbacks

Pioneering views of the Ocean Subsurface

• CALIPSO offers a promising new technique for observing suspended particular matter in the ocean.

• Technique utilizes cross polarization signal (unsaturated) normalized by atmospheric transmittance

• Takes advantage of established wind speed and surface reflectance relationships (obtained from AMSR-E) to calibrate CALIPSO surface backscatter

• Derived subsurface backscatter distributions show a striking resemblance to regions of high marine productivity inferred from Ocean Color measurements (e.g., SeaWIFS).

NASA Observations of the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano Eruption and Tracking of the Ash Plume

Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull Volcano burst into life on March 20, 2010. In mid-April, a huge plume of ash erupted and spread across the North Atlantic, shutting down air traffic in Europe. By April 21st, the eruption had quieted, but some ash emissions continued.

Above: ASTER (Terra) data were used in this processed image showing the composition of the plume – silicate ash (red), water vapor (green) and Ice (blue).

Left: MODIS (Terra) visible imagery of the plume monitoring posted on the Iceland Met Office April 17

Right: CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) satellite provided a bird's- eye view of the ash cloud's horizontal sprea. In this image, the ash cloud is seen as a thin, wispy layer of particles ranging in altitude from about 5,000 to 22,000 feet.

Exploratory Measurements of Gulf Oil Spill – May 2010 Detecting subsurface oil signature from lidar and polarimeter

Lidar signal from sea surface:Red spots: oil

Lidar signal from sub-surface scatter

• Lidar backscatter from oil slick surface is about twice as large as from water

• Extinction property of the oil slick may be characterized using the difference of HSRL measurements of sub- surface signals between oil and oil-free surfaces.

LiDARLiDAR for Archaeological Prospectingfor Archaeological Prospecting• For below-canopy archaeological feature detection, airborne LiDAR shows tremendous

promise which holds true for some of the densest tropical canopies • The so far brief examination of the bare-earth DEM for Caracol has revealed many

unknown features including 11 new causeways and five new termini (concentration of buildings on a causeway)

• The synoptic view provided by LiDAR will have ramifications for our interpretation of Caracol’s ancient social structure and complexity.

100 m100 m

Partially excavated Caracol epicenterunveiled by LiDAR

New mission: IceBridgeUsing aircraft to bridge gap in data collection between ICESat & ICESat-2; linking to CryoSat 2; making key measurements for predictive models involving ice

Campaigns completedArctic 2009 (Greenland, sea ice, Alaska)Antarctic 2009 (Peninsula & East Antarctica)Arctic 2010

InstrumentsLidar•ATM/NASA-GSFC•LVIS/NASA-GSFC•Photon counting/ Sigma-U. TexasRadar•Accumulation&snow radars/Kansas •MCoRDS/U. Kansas•HiCARS&WISE /U. Texas,-JPLGravimeter/LDEO & U.TexasMagnetometer-U. TexasDMS-High res camera/NASA ARC

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION

Australia, UK, France, Denmark

Airborne Experiments to Measure CO2 Column Densities to Support ASCENDS Mission Definition – July 2010

GSFC instrument LaRC/ITT instrument JPL/LMCT instrument

Objective: Measure & compare CO2 column densities over various topographic targets with developmental lidar candidates for the ASCENDS mission

Multi-functional Fiber Laser Lidar (MFLL)Ed Browell/LaRC, Team LeaderInstrument development via ITT IRAD,

NASA AITT program, LaRC IRAD

CO2 Sounder lidar with O2 measurementJim Abshire/GSFC, Team LeaderInstrument development via NASA ACT &

IIP programs, GSFC IRAD

CO2 laser absorption spectrometer(CO2 LAS)Gary Spiers/JPL, Team LeaderInstrument development via NASA ACT, IIP & AITT

programs, JPL IRAD

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GRIP: (Hurricane) Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes Field Experiment

Global Hawk (UAV) (240 hours)

Radar (Heymsfield/GSFC), Microwave Radiometers (Lambrigtsen/JPL), Dropsondes (NOAA), Electric Field (Blakeslee/MSFC)

Geosynchronous Orbit Simulation

DC-8 four engine jet (120 hours)

Dual frequency precipitation radar (Durden/JPL)

Dropsondes (Halverson/UMBC), Variety of microphysics probes (Heymsfield/NCAR)

Lidars for 3-D Winds (Kavaya/LaRC) and for high vertical resolution measurements of aerosols and water vapor (Ismail/LaRC)

In-situ measurements of temperature, moisture and aerosols (Bui/ARC)

Six to Eight week deployment centered on September 1, 2010

RED= IIP, GREEN= IIP+AITT

Blue line: DC-8 range for 12-h flight, 6 h on station

Red lines: GH range for 30-h flight with 10, 15 and 20 h on station

Light blue X: Genesis locations for 1940-2006

NASA Earth Science Decadal Survey Missions

Tier I Tier II Tier III

Climate Absolute Radiance and

Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO)

Ice, Cloud,and land Elevation

Satellite II (ICESat-II)

Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP)

Deformation, Ecosystem Structure and Dynamics of Ice (DESDynI)

Gravity Recovery and Climate

Experiment - II (GRACE - II)

Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HYSPIRI)

Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions

(ASCENDS)

Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT)

Geostationary Coastal and Air

Pollution Events (GEO-CAPE)

Aerosol - Cloud - Ecosystems (ACE)

LIDAR Surface Topography

(LIST)

Precipitation and All-Weather Temperature and Humidity (PATH)

Snow and Cold Land Processes (SCLP)

Three-Dimensional Winds from Space Lidar (3D-Winds)

Global Atmospheric Composition Mission (GACM)

Lasers Radars Passive Optics Passive Microwave

The Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) is a targeted, science-driven, competed, actively managed, and dynamically communicated technology program and serves as a model for technology development.Competitive, peer-reviewed proposals enable selection of best-of-class technology investments that retire risk before major dollars are invested: a cost-effective approach to technology development and validation. ESTO investment elements include:

Observation Technologies:

Advanced Component Technologies (ACT) provides development of critical component and subsystem technologies for instruments and platforms

Instrument Incubator Program (IIP) provides robust new instruments and measurement techniques

Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) provides innovative on-orbit and ground capabilities for communication, processing, and management of remotely sensed data and the efficient generation of data products and knowledge

Information Technologies:

Earth Science Technology: Program Elements Earth Science Technology: Program Elements

Earth Science Technology: New Investments Enabling the Decadal Survey Earth Science Technology: New Investments Enabling the Decadal Survey

Upon publication of the Earth Science Decadal Survey in 2007, ESTO investments already supported all 18 of the recommended mission concepts. Since then, ESTO has awarded 73 additional technology projects representing an investment of over $172M directly related to the Earth Science priorities outlined by the Decadal Survey.

Tier I Tier II Tier III

2007

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0920

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ConclusionsConclusions

Over the past decade, many ESTO investments have supported key Earth Science measurements.

Active optical remote sensing is making significant contributions to NASA’s Earth Science Programs through surface-, aircraft-, and space-based observations

Active optical remote sensing can be expected to play an increasing role in the future, especially as we advance into the “Decadal Survey Area” and benefit from investments in lidar technology

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