Issues in the Integration of Research and Operational Satellite Systems for Climate Research: Implementation (002) (Compass, Band 2) - Softcover

National Research Council (U. S.); Commission On Physical Sciences, Mathematics, And Applications

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0309069947 ISBN 13: 9780309069946

Verlag: National Academies Press, 2000

Inhaltsangabe

This is the second of two Space Studies Board reports that address the complex issue of incorporating the needs of climate research into the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). NPOESS, which has been driven by the imperative of reliably providing short-term weather information, is itself a union of heretofore separate civilian and military programs. It is a marriage of convenience to eliminate needless duplication and reduce cost, one that appears to be working.

The same considerations of expediency and economy motivate the present attempts to add to NPOESS the goals of climate research. The technical complexities of combining seemingly disparate requirements are accompanied by the programmatic complexities of forging further connections among three different agencies, with different mandates, cultures, and congressional appropriators. Yet the stakes are very high, and each agency gains significantly by finding ways to cooperate, as do the taxpayers. Beyond cost savings, benefits include the possibility that long-term climate observations will reveal new phenomena of interest to weather forecasters, as happened with the El Niño/Southern Oscillation. Conversely, climate researchers can often make good use of operational data.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and the needs of all the parties involved in NPOESS should conspire to foster creative solutions to make this effort work. Although it has often been said that research and operational requirements are incommensurate, this report and the phase one report (Science and Design) accentuate the degree to which they are complementary and could be made compatible. The reports provide guidelines for achieving the desired integration to the mutual benefit of all parties. Although a significant level of commitment will be needed to surmount the very real technical and programmatic impediments, the public interest would be well served by a positive outcome.

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Committee on Earth Studies, Space Studies Board, National Research Council

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ISSUES IN THE INTEGRATION of RESEARCH and OPERATIONAL SATELLITE SYSTEMS for CLIMATE RESEARCH

II. Implementation

NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

Copyright © 2000 National Academy of Sciences
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-309-06994-6

Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..........................................................................11 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................7Characteristics and Requirements of Research and Operational Missions,.....................7Key Implementation Issues,.................................................................8Climate Data Records,......................................................................9References,................................................................................92 CALIBRATION AND VALIDATION...............................................................11Introduction,..............................................................................11Instrument Characterization,...............................................................13Sensor Calibration,........................................................................14Calibration Verification,..................................................................16Data Quality Assessment,...................................................................17Data Product Validation,...................................................................17Conclusions and Recommendations,...........................................................18References,................................................................................193 DATA CONTINUITY..........................................................................20Key Issues and Lessons Learned,............................................................20NPOESS Replenishment Strategy,.............................................................24Recommendations,...........................................................................27References,................................................................................284 DATA SYSTEMS.............................................................................29Introduction,..............................................................................29Operational Versus Research Needs,.........................................................30Long-term Archiving of Raw Data Records,...................................................31Architecture for the NPOESS Climate Data System,...........................................32Evolution, Reprocessing, and Multiple Versions of Data Sets,...............................33Existing NASA and NOAA Data Centers,.......................................................34Conclusion,................................................................................34Recommendations,...........................................................................35References,................................................................................355 TECHNOLOGY INSERTION.....................................................................36Introduction,..............................................................................36Basic Considerations,......................................................................37Technical Issues,..........................................................................39Programmatic Issues,.......................................................................41A Continuing NPOESS System Augmentation Project,...........................................43NASA Strategies and Plans for Technology Development,......................................43Findings,..................................................................................46Recommendations,...........................................................................47References,................................................................................48APPENDIXESA Statement of Task,.......................................................................51B Workshop Discussion and Participants,....................................................53C Solar Reflection Region Measurements,....................................................76D Acronyms and Abbreviations,..............................................................80

Chapter One

Executive Summary

A key objective of climate research and monitoring programs is to deliver scientifically valid knowledge that can be used by the public and by policymakers to make informed decisions about large-scale environmental issues. Because Earth's climate involves a complex interplay among the atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere, and biosphere, meeting this objective will require a comprehensive strategy that includes observations, data analysis, technology development, modeling, and data archiving and distribution. Satellite observations are an essential part of this strategy as they can record global-scale phenomena and collect information on many critical physical, chemical, and biological processes. However, there are challenges in utilizing current satellite observation programs to support climate research and monitoring. The requirements of the climate research community are sometimes at odds with the capabilities of both the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Further, both agencies are likely to continue to operate in a highly constrained fiscal environment. For these reasons, this report and its phase one companion, Science and Design (NRC, 2000), focus on approaches to leverage existing and planned operational and research satellite assets to meet the needs of climate research.

Operational satellite missions are designed primarily to provide observations to support short-term environmental forecasts, while research satellite missions are often designed primarily to study specific processes of scientific interest or to test new observing technologies. Obtaining long-term, well-calibrated measurements from space often falls between these agency objectives. Yet the Committee on Earth Studies believes that, while challenging, the integration of operational and research missions to advance the objectives of climate research is possible and that a unique opportunity to demonstrate such integration is presented by the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) and the redesigned NASA/Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) missions.

NPOESS and the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) offer significant improvements over the capabilities of the two existing separate operational polar-orbiting systems: NOAA's Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) and the Department of Defense's Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). Moreover, the redesigned NASA/ESE missions focus on critical science questions in the area of climate research, and NASA's new strategy of employing a larger number of smaller spacecraft provides a high level of flexibility.

NPOESS will collect critical data sets on variables that are not currently included in operational measurements (such as radiation budget, total ozone, wind speed and direction, ocean topography, and ocean color) and will offer improved quality for some variables now being measured (such as atmospheric moisture and temperature profiles, all-weather sea surface temperature, and vegetation indices). Moreover, the orbits of NPOESS satellites will have stable equator-crossing times, which will significantly improve the utility of the data for climate research....

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: National Academies Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2000
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0309069947
• ISBN 13: 9780309069946
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 98
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar