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CYGNSS

Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS)

A new constellation in space is telling us how hurricanes and floods are threatening us on Earth

https://www.nasa.gov/cygnss

On December 15, 2016, an aircraft called “Stargazer” took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida and flew a hundred miles or so off the coast. During flight, a rocket was launched from the aircraft carrying eight NASA micro-satellites into space called Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS). The CYGNSS microsatellites are currently orbiting the tropics about 315 miles up. CYGNSS is used to measure winds in tropical storms and hurricanes. Since it can “see” the winds inside the storms and at the surface of the ocean, CYGNSS is able to improve predictions of how strong hurricanes will get and where they will make landfall. Not only is CYGNSS looking at the ocean, it is also studying moisture levels in the land. These soil moisture measurements can improve predictions of soil saturation, rain runoff and flooding. This data helps keep people who live in coastal areas safe from hurricane disasters and helps them plan better communities to combat future storms.

“It is very gratifying to see the potential CYGNSS has to make useful, practical contributions to people’s everyday lives by improving forecasts of storms and floods.” – Chris Ruf, PI, CYGNSS

The technology on each of the CYGNSS microsatellites is something familiar – a GPS! When CYGNSS sends GPS radio signals to the earth and they are bounced off of ocean waves, the signal that is reflected back to the satellite tells us what the winds are like right at the ocean surface. Since it was launched in 2016, scientists have been learning how to use CYGNSS data in many other ways too. It is able to show us flooded areas on land – during Hurricane Harvey, CYGNSS was used to identify the spread of the flooding over the Houston area. This helps “first responders” know which areas need urgent help during flooding disasters. Recently, CYGNSS has been used to help locate areas of a major locust outbreak in East Africa. CYGNSS satellites may be micro-sized, but they have a huge role in helping us better understand hurricanes, flooding, and locusts.

The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) will probe the inner core of hurricanes to learn about their rapid intensification.

Delta-X

Delta-X – Forecasting the fate of the Mississippi River Delta

Mississippi Delta is in peril with the livelihood of millions in jeopardy
“Good Lord’s willing, and the creek don’t rise.” Johnny Cash

Simulate climate and predict change as it happens!

Deltas everywhere provide many benefits to life on earth – like serving as a natural protection for our cities and towns against storm surges and tsunamis, or being wetland habitats for crustaceans, mammals, and birds. Many deltas are home to large cities, and people depend on the wetlands for their livelihoods. Deltas around the world, however, are in peril! They’re drowning due to sea level rise and lack of sediment deposited by rivers; it is expected that nearly all of the world’s major river deltas are at risk of drowning this century. The natural influx of sediments from upstream would naturally build up the deltas and provide resilience to sea level rise, however, river channels delivering the sediments have been disrupted by human activities.

“We hope Delta-X calibrated hydrodynamic models will support other agencies and stakeholders in planning coastal
restoration projects and managing resources in the Mississippi River Delta.” – Marc Simard, Delta-X Principal Investigator

NASA’s Delta-X project seeks to understand how parts of the Mississippi River Delta (MRD) are growing and others are sinking. Due to a combination of factors (sea level rise; the disruption of sedimentation; a general sinking of the land due to natural compaction, underground extraction of oil, gas, and water), the Louisiana coastline has been losing land at the rate of almost one football field every hour during the last few decades! Delta-X scientists will collect data over the Atchafalaya and Terrebonne basins during two deployments in 2021 using state of the art remote sensing instruments onboard three aircraft and using in-situ (direct) instruments deployed across the basins. The Delta-X scientists will use this data to learn how and where the MRD is gaining and losing land. The data will be used to improve and calibrate models that predict how the MRD will respond to continuing sea level rise over the next century and to identify which areas are the most vulnerable to sea level rise and storms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0oAkijxj-E#action=share
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7601
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beeD3GRTkpQ

ECOSTRESS

ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS)

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ecostress
https://ecostress.jpl.nasa.gov/

NECOSTRESS will provide critical insight into plant-water dynamics and how ecosystems change with climate via highspatiotemporal resolution thermal infrared radiometer measurements of evapotranspiration (ET) from the
International Space Station (ISS). ECOSTRESS will:
• Identify critical thresholds of water use and water stress in key climate-sensitive biomes
• Detect the timing, location, and predictive factors leading to plant water uptake decline and/or cessation over the diurnal cycle
• Measure agricultural water consumptive use over the contiguous United States (CONUS) at spatiotemporal scales applicable to improve drought estimation accuracy.
The ECOSTRESS mission is answering these questions by accurately measuring the temperature of plants. Plants regulate their temperature by releasing water through tiny pores on their leaves called stomata. If they have sufficient water they can maintain their temperature, but if there is insufficient water, their temperatures rise and this temperature rise can be measured with ECOSTRESS. The images acquired by ECOSTRESS are the most detailed temperature images of the surface ever acquired from space and can be used to measure the temperature of an individual farmers field.
One of the core products that will be produced by ECOSTRESS team is the Evaporative Stress Index (ESI). ESI is a leading drought indicator – it can indicate that plants are stressed and that a drought is likely to occur providing the option for decision makers to take action.

Click here for Data Access https://e4ftl01.cr.usgs.gov/ECOSTRESS/

ECOSTRESS data can indicate when plants are stressed and that a drought is likely to occur providing the option for decision makers to take action.

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EMIT

EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation)

EMIT Project Website

Discovering what mineral dust is made of and if it cools or warms our atmosphere

What is in the mineral dust that that can travel from Africa to Texas and why do people care so much?

In June 2020 mineral dust blew from the surface of Africa and arrived in the southern United States impacting states from Florida to Texas. It created visibility hazards for people and had other impacts to our environment. Clearly, our world is interconnected by air, land, and water, but what is the journey of the dust and how does it impact us? The NASA Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) is studying the composition of the Earth’s mineral dust regions and how it impacts our planet and people (radiative forcing, atmospheric chemistry, cryosphere melt, ocean biogeochemistry, fertilization of terrestrial ecosystems, as well as hazards and toxicity to human populations). By measuring the source regions and using sophisticated models, EMIT will assess current mineral dust heating and cooling impacts to the Earth and predict potential future changes, enabling scientists to better understand the role of mineral dust in the Earth System that we all live within.

“The time for EMIT is now. Minerals dust has impacts throughout the Earth System. Only now is the advanced NASA technology available for the EMIT instrumentation. Only now are the modern Earth System Models ready for EMIT type initialization. With EMIT we can better understand how mineral dust heats and cools our planet and make decisions regarding how to accommodate and/or mitigate these impacts.” – Robert O. Green, Principal Investigator, EMIT

Mineral dust blown into the atmosphere has many effects on the Earth System including heating and cooling. These first-of-their-kind EMIT measurements will help us understand and make decisions regarding these impacts. How? The EMIT imaging spectrometer instrument is the next generation based on NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper that mapped minerals and discovered water on the illuminated surface of the Moon. EMIT’s instrument will be mounted to the exterior of the International Space Station to measure the composition of mineral dust source regions around the world. EMIT’s state-of-the-art imaging spectrometer measures the different wavelengths of light reflected by minerals on the surface of deserts and other dust sources. The EMIT science team uses these mineral spectroscopic “fingerprints” in conjunction with advanced Earth System models to achieve its objectives. By measuring in detail which minerals make up the dust, EMIT is helping answer the essential question – to what extent does this type ofaerosol warm or cool the atmosphere?. This helps us to better understand what’s happening to our atmosphere now and predict how things may change in the future. The output of EMIT has both economic and public benefit for you (e.g. natural resources and hazard mitigation). You will be able to access the EMIT measurements and products at NASA’s Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center.

The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) is an Earth Ventures-Instrument (EVI-4) Mission to map the surface mineralogy of arid dust source regions via imaging spectroscopy in the visible and short-wave infrared (VSWIR).

GEDI

Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI)

Data from NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) mission are adding to our understanding of carbon cycling and the structure and development of global biomes.

From red angelim trees in the Amazon towering hundreds of feet above the ground to clusters of shrubs hugging the surface, terrestrial biomes develop in height and density as well as in length and width. Data depicting this three-dimensional structure, however, are limited. This gap is being filled with several recently-launched Earth observing missions. The first data from one of these missions—NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI)—are now publicly available through NASA’s Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC).

Launched on December 5, 2018, and installed on the International Space Station’s Japanese Experiment Module-Exposed Facility (JEM-EF), GEDI is led by a science team at the University of Maryland in collaboration with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. As noted on the GEDI mission website, data are initially transferred to the GEDI Mission Operations Center (MOC) and then processed through the Science Operations Center (SOC), both of which are located at Goddard. Its primary two-year mission is to produce high-resolution laser ranging observations of Earth in order to characterize the effects of climate change and land use on ecosystem structure and dynamics.

Data from NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) mission are adding to our understanding of carbon cycling and the structure and development of global biomes.

GRACE

Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/gravity-recovery-and-climate-experiment-grace/

An award-winning mission that’s changed the way we study Earth’s gravitational forces and the Earth system, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, or GRACE, mission flew twin spacecraft in tandem around Earth to study key changes in the planet’s waters, ice sheets and the solid Earth.

In 2011, the gravity measurement technique pioneered by GRACE, which works by measuring changes in the push and pull between the twin spacecraft as they orbit Earth, was put to use on NASA’s twin GRAIL spacecraft embarking on an ambitious mission to study the gravitational forces of Earth’s moon.

In more than 15 years of operations, the GRACE satellite mission revolutionized our view of how water moves and is stored on Earth.

NAAMES

North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES)

Tracking plankton ecosystems to rescue the balance between our sky and ocean
https://naames.larc.nasa.gov/
http://www.journalistatsea.com/

Predict change, manage Earth’s resources and mitigate impacts,…no this isn’t the new SimCity, this is the story of Plankton and NASA’s NAAMES project

Plankton are a vital food source for ocean life and also a key indicator of climate change. Plankton are very sensitive to the temperature of the ocean, so while plankton can impact the climate, the climate can also impact plankton. So, what makes plankton bloom every year, what determines the size and duration of blooms, how do they impact the atmosphere? How will the warming surface ocean temperatures predicted to happen over the 21st century threaten plankton life? Can we change our future with the most productive ocean ecosystem on Earth?

“Our environment is changing. Our climate is changing. Ocean ecosystems are directly linked to climate. It’s hard to imagine that organisms you can’t see make a difference, but they really do.” – Mike Behrenfeld, NAAMES principal investigator, Oregon State University

The NAAMES investigation aimed to find out how the atmosphere and the ocean are intertwined through that ultimate connector, plankton. Gases and aerosols from plankton are released into the atmosphere and become the seeds of clouds. Because marine clouds are an important part of the Earth’s climate, understanding why and how plankton blooms happen, and how they influence clouds, can help us understand the Earth’s climate.

NAAMES consisted of four joint ship and aircraft field campaigns from 2015-2018 that were each performed at a specific time of the year to target different parts of the annual plankton cycle. Ship-based measurements were taken to learn about how much and what types of plankton were present at different times of the year, how fast they lived and died, and how plankton changed the ocean source of gases and aerosols. Measurements from the overflying aircraft were taken to see how aerosol concentrations varied in the overlying air and how efficiently the aerosols seeded cloud formation. The collected data was studied to help us better understand this beautiful relationship between Plankton and clouds. You can predict climate future and societal impacts with NAAMES. Come take a journey with us!

https://naames.larc.nasa.gov/video/NAAMESoverview.mp4

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The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) is a five year investigation to resolve key processes controlling ocean system function, their influences on atmospheric aerosols and clouds and their implications for climate.

PREFIRE

Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment (PREFIRE)

PREFIRE will document, for the first time, variability in spectral fluxes from 5-45 μm on hourly to seasonal timescales.

Two 6U CubeSats in distinct 470–650 km altitude, near-polar (82°-98° inclination) orbitseach carrying a miniaturized IR spectrometer, covering 0- 45 μm at 0.84 μm spectral resolution, operating for one seasonal cycle (a year).

The Arctic is Earth’s thermostat. It regulates the climate by venting excess energy received in the tropics.
Nearly 60% of Arctic emission occurs at wavelengths > 15 μm (FIR) that have never been systematically measured.
PREFIRE improves Arctic climate predictions by anchoring spectral FIR emission and atmospheric GHE.

PREFIRE will document, for the first time, variability in spectral fluxes from 5-45 μm on hourly to seasonal timescales. Two 6U CubeSats in distinct 470–650 km altitude, near-polar (82°-98° inclination) orbitseach carrying a miniaturized IR spectrometer, covering 0- 45 μm at 0.84 μm spectral resolution, operating for one seasonal cycle (a year).

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