ASPB and CIMSS Weekly Report
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ASPB AND CIMSS WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 5, 2009

IN THE PRESS:

ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, STAR:

NASA Group Achievement Award for ARCTAS Field Mission: Brad Pierce received a NASA Group Achievement Award for outstanding accomplishments in the successful Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere with Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) mission in Alaska and Canada. The ARCTAS field mission was NASA's largest commitment to research in support of the International Polar Year (IPY) and was sponsored by NASA's Tropospheric Chemistry and Radiation Sciences Program. The NASA effort contributed to a larger interagency and international effort called POLARCAT (Polar Study using Aircraft, Remote Sensing, Surface Measurements and Models, of Climate, Chemistry, Aerosols, and Transport)(R.B. Pierce, E/RA2, 608-890-1892, brad.pierce@noaa.gov)

Manuscript on Applications of High Spectral and Temporal Resolution Measurements Published: A journal article titled "Inferring Convective Weather Characteristics with Geostationary High Spectral Resolution IR (infrared) Window Measurements: A Look into the Future" has been published in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology (JTECH). A PDF copy of the article is available at http://ams.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=res-loc&uri=urn%3Aap%3Apdf%3Adoi%3A10.1175%2F2009JTECHA1210.1 Authors are Justin M. Sieglaff (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS)), Timothy J. Schmit (NOAA/NESDIS), W. Paul Menzel (CIMSS), and Steven A. Ackerman (CIMSS). (J. Sieglaff, CIMSS, 608-265-5357; T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291, tim.j.schmit@noaa.gov)

ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, CoRP:

Simulation of the Edmond Fitzgerald Storm Used in Documentary: Forecast maps of the storm that sank the SS Edmond Fitzgerald on November 10, 1975, were provided to a film company producing a documentary on the event for The National Geographic Society. Scientists at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) used the CIMSS Regional Assimilation System (CRAS) to generate the forecast for a basic meteorology course given by the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Department at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The products are available for viewing on the web at  http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/model/cras61_EF/cras61_EF.html. (R. Aune, E/RA2, 608-262-1071)

Visit to Colorado State University: Andrew Heidinger visited the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) and the NOAA/NESDIS Regional and Mesoscale Meteorology Branch (RAMMB) located at Colorado State University (CSU). While there, he gave a colloquium to the Atmospheric Science Department that dealt with some of the infrared cloud remote sensing advances offered by GOES-R. He also met with several students interested in careers with NOAA. (A. Heidinger, E/RA2, 608-263-6757, Andrew.Heidinger@noaa.gov)

California Wildfires Impact Central US Aerosol Loading: Real-time maps of Aerosol Optical Depth from the NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) and NOAA GOES EAST Aerosol/Smoke Product (GASP) shows transport of smoke from the Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest into the central US during August 31-September 02, 2009. Images were obtained from the NESDIS IDEA (Infusing satellite Data into Environmental air quality Applications) website. IDEA is a NASA-EPA-NOAA partnership to improve air quality assessment, management, and prediction by infusing satellite measurements into Air Quality analyses for public benefit. (R.B. Pierce, E/RA2, 608-890-1892, brad.pierce@noaa.gov, S. Kondragunta, 301-763-8136 x 151 shobha.kondragunta@noaa.gov)

  (Click image to enlarge)

Figure caption: MODIS (left panels) and GASP (right panels) Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) maps for August 31 through September 02, 2009 show transport of smoke from the Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest. The middle panel shows comparisons between MODIS and GASP AOD and surface measurements of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) at the California South Coast Air Quality Management District’s Laurel Avenue monitoring site in Glendora, CA. Elevated surface PM2.5 and satellite AOD after August 26th, 2009 are associated with smoke from the Station Fire.

MODIS and GOES images of the Station Fire in California: MODerate resolution Imaging Spectoradiometer (MODIS) and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) images of the "Station Fire" were added to the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) Satellite Blog (http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/archives/3333). A large amount of smoke was produced by this very large and very hot fire complex, with the subsequent long range transport of this smoke over parts of the western and central United States. As of September 3, the "Station Fires" had burned over 148,000 acres, making it the largest fire in Los Angeles County history. (S. Bachmeier, CIMSS, 608-263-3958)

  (Click image to enlarge)

Figure caption: 250-meter resolution MODIS false color of the Station Fire near Los Angeles, California on September 3, 2009. The fire burn scar shows up as a large darker red feature; the hottest pixels associated with an active fire still burning along the southeastern periphery of the burn scar show up as brighter pink on the false color image.

VISITORS:

Graduate Students from CREST Visit CIMSS/ASPB: Two graduate students from the NOAA Cooperative Remote Sensing Science and Technology Center (CREST) group at the City College of New York (CCNY) visited the NOAA Advanced Satellite Product Branch (ASPB) and the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) for one week. Julia He is working on improving the performance of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) aerosol retrievals in the New York City Region. Ana Picon is working on improving surface reflectance models for aerosol retrievals over land. Both gave seminars. B. Pierce and T. Schmit of ASPB aided Julia in confirming a geolocation offset in the operational GOES aerosol product. (A. Heidinger, E/RA2, 608-263-6757,Andrew.Heidinger@noaa.gov, R.B. Pierce, E/RA2, 608-890-1892, T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-6013)

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