Atmospheric radiation measurement program facilities newsletter, June 2002.
ARM Intensive Operational Period Scheduled to Validate New NASA Satellite--Beginning in July, all three ARM sites (Southern Great Plains [SGP], North Slope of Alaska, and Tropical Western Pacific; Figure 1) will participate in the AIRS Validation IOP. This three-month intensive operational period (I...
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2018
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| Online Access: | http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/797946 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/797946 https://doi.org/10.2172/797946 |
| Summary: | ARM Intensive Operational Period Scheduled to Validate New NASA Satellite--Beginning in July, all three ARM sites (Southern Great Plains [SGP], North Slope of Alaska, and Tropical Western Pacific; Figure 1) will participate in the AIRS Validation IOP. This three-month intensive operational period (IOP) will validate data collected by the satellite-based Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) recently launched into space. On May 4, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched Aqua, the second spacecraft in the Earth Observing System (EOS) series. The EOS satellites monitor Earth systems including land surfaces, oceans, the atmosphere, and ice cover. The first EOS satellite, named Terra, was launched in December 1999. The second EOS satellite is named Aqua because its primary focus is understanding Earth's water cycle through observation of atmospheric moisture, clouds, temperature, ocean surface, precipitation, and soil moisture. One of the instruments aboard Aqua is the AIRS, built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a NASA agency. The AIRS Validation IOP complements the ARM mission to improve understanding of the interactions of clouds and atmospheric moisture with solar radiation and their influence on weather and climate. In support of satellite validation IOP, ARM will launch dedicated radiosondes at all three ARM sites while the Aqua satellite with the AIRS instrument is orbiting overhead. These radiosonde launches will occur 45 minutes and 5 minutes before selected satellite overpasses. In addition, visiting scientists from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will launch special radiosondes to measure ozone and humidity over the SGP site. All launches will generate ground-truth data to validate satellite data collected simultaneously. Data gathered daily by ARM meteorological and solar radiation instruments will complete the validation data sets. Data from Aqua-based instruments, including AIRS, will aid in weather forecasting, climate modeling, and greenhouse gas studies. These instruments will ... |
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