Franco Einaudi

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Earth-Sun Exploration Division Presentation to
Goddard Contractors Association January 25, 2006
Franco Einaudi Director Earth-Sun Exploration
Division Goddard Space Flight Center
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Earth-Sun Exploration Division Organization
Earth-Sun Exploration Division Director Dr.
Franco Einaudi Deputy Director Dr. Dorothy
Zukor Chief Engineer Robert Connerton Chief
Scientist Dr. Mark Schoeberl Code 610
Global Modeling and Assimilation Office Head
Dr. Michele Rienecker Code 610.1
Goddard Institute for Space Studies Chief Dr.
James Hansen Code 611
Global Change Data Center Chief Dr. Stephen
Wharton Code 610.2
Laboratory for Solar and Space Physics Chief
Dr. James Slavin Code 612
Software Integration and Visualization
Office Head Dr. Michael Seablom Code 610.3
Laboratory for Atmospheres Chief Dr. William
Lau Code 613
Hydrospheric Biospheric Sciences
Laboratory Chief Dr. Peter Hildebrand Code 614
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• What do we seek to discover?

• How does the Earth work?
• How do the five components of the Earth system --
  air, water, ice, biosphere, and solid Earth --
  interact with each other?
• What can we learn about life on other planets by
  studying the Earth?
• How and why is the Earth changing?
• What forces drive change on the Earth?
• To what extent are these forces natural or
  man-made?
• How do these forces alter the Earths
  environment?
• What are the causes of solar variability?
• What are the causes of changes in solar
  irradiance?
• To what extent can large solar flares and coronal
  mass ejections be forecast?
• How do coronal events drive changes in the
  Earths ionosphere and magnetosphere?
• How does our changing environment affect life on
  Earth?
• What will the Earths future condition be?
• How will Earths changes affect ecosystems,
  availability of water, agriculture, the spread of
  diseases, etc.?

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• How do we seek to discover and understand

• By designing satellite missions and the attending
  technology to use the unique vantage point of
  space to
• measure critical parameters temperature, winds,
  moisture, chemical constituents, etc., for
  weather and climate research and applications
• understand processes cloud structure, hurricane
  development, aerosol transport, etc.
• observe changes in the environment sea ice
  extent, thickness of polar caps, sea level, soil
  moisture, land cover, solar irradiance, etc.
• By calibrating instruments, validating
  measurements, and developing algorithms to
• produce environmental and climate quality data
  sets
• enable the use of satellite observations for
  scientific research, societal applications, and
  operational needs
• validate and improve numerical models from the
  Sun to the Earths atmosphere and surface.
• By developing numerical models to
• demonstrate and maximize the utilization of
  satellite data in understanding and predicting
  the Earths behavior
• facilitate the transfer of research data derived
  from space to the operational community
• enhance the use of satellite data for research by
  the scientific community.
• By establishing partnerships with
• the academic community through Joint Institutes,
  student support and programs, visiting fellows
  programs and sabbatical leaves
• the operational community to further translate
  these capabilities into real-time benefits.
  Example The Joint Center for the Assimilation
  of Satellite Data with NOAA and DoD.

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The Dynamic Earth Hurricane Hot Towers
Declining Perennial Sea Ice
Average location of the edge of the perennial ice
cover from 1978 to 2004

• TRMM observations of Katrina, Rita and other 2005
  hurricanes show towering thunderclouds, called
  hot towers, that may signify the onset of
  intensification in high-octane storms

Russia
Sea Ice 2005
Greenland
Alaska
Canada

• Continuous sea ice data set, compiled at GSFC,
  shows 2005 Arctic perennial ice cover lowest on
  record in satellite era
• 19 lower than average value
• from 1978 to 2005

Hurricane Katrina, 8/28/05 Towers are 15 km in
height
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Asian Dust ( microbes) Long Range Transport
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Antarctic Ice Sheet Elevation Data
Lake Vostok
ICESats Antarctic ice sheet 5km digital
elevation model (DEM) V.1 from the profile data
at left is shown using a light source shading
which brings out features like ice shelves,
divides, and even Lake Vostok (105 E).
Elevation data obtained during ICESats
operations from September 25 to November 18, 2003
over Antarctica. The same track pattern is now
being acquired for repeat track and crossover
analyses and thus ice mass change detection.
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Elevation Profiles for Studying Change

• Portions of two ICESat profiles show changes to
  the Byrd Glacier as it flows from East
  Antarctica, crosses through the TransAntarctic
  Mountains, and then discharges into the Ross Ice
  Shelf
• The red-line, more upstream, shows a thicker,
  narrower glacier
• The black line (further into the ice shelf)
  shows that ice flow has caused the Byrd to become
  wider and thinner
• Rough surfaces, such as crevasses, which have
  never before been observed from space with this
  degree of vertical before are also evident

Byrd Glacier
TransAntarctic Mountains