Engineering topics
Fetzer, Eric J.
Publications and source records attributed to Fetzer, Eric J..
Responses of Cloud Type Distributions to the Large-Scale Dynamical Circulation: Water Budget-Related Dynamical Phase Space and Dynamical Regimes
Goals: Water budget-related dynamical phase space; Connect large-scale dynamical conditions to atmospheric water budget (including precipitation); Connect atmospheric water budget to cloud type distributions.
The Observed State of the Water Cycle in the Early Twenty-First Century
This study quantifies mean annual and monthly fluxes of Earth's water cycle over continents and ocean basins during the first decade of the millennium. To the extent possible, the flux estimates are based on satellite measurements first and data-integrating models second. A careful accounting of uncertainty in the estimates is included. It is applied within a routine that enforces multiple water and energy budget constraints simultaneously in a variational framework in order to produce objectively determined optimized flux estimates. In the majority of cases, the observed annual surface and atmospheric water budgets over the continents and oceans close with much less than 10% residual. Observed residuals and optimized uncertainty estimates are considerably larger for monthly surface and atmospheric water budget closure, often nearing or exceeding 20% in North America, Eurasia, Australia and neighboring islands, and the Arctic and South Atlantic Oceans. The residuals in South America and Africa tend to be smaller, possibly because cold land processes are negligible. Fluxes were poorly observed over the Arctic Ocean, certain seas, Antarctica, and the Australasian and Indonesian islands, leading to reliance on atmospheric analysis estimates. Many of the satellite systems that contributed data have been or will soon be lost or replaced. Models that integrate ground-based and remote observations will be critical for ameliorating gaps and discontinuities in the data records caused by these transitions. Continued development of such models is essential for maximizing the value of the observations. Next-generation observing systems are the best hope for significantly improving global water budget accounting.
AIRS Version 6 Validation Report, ATBD, and Science Results
No abstract available
Plans for Version 5 and 6 Validation and The V6 Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document
UNKNOWN
November 2010 NASA Sounder Workshop Recap Recommendations Relevant to Current Instruments
No abstract available
Science Highlights and Lessons Learned from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and companion instrument, the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) on the NASA Earth Observing System Aqua spacecraft are facility instruments designed to support measurements of atmospheric temperature, water vapor and a wide range of atmospheric constituents in support of weather forecasting and scientific research in climate and atmospheric chemistry. This paper is an update to the science highlights from a paper by the authors released last year and also looks back at the lessons learned and future needs of the scientific community. These lessons not only include requirements on the measurements, but scientific shortfalls as well. Results from the NASA Science Community Workshop in IR and MW Sounders relating to AIRS and AMSU requirements and concerns are covered and reflect much of what has been learned and what is needed for future atmospheric sounding from Low Earth Orbit.
Recent Science Highlights
Enormous breadth to Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) research. Reflected in the approximately 400 publications mainly in Weather, Climate and Atmospheric Composition.
Understanding Climate with Merged Water Vapor, Temperature and Cloud Observations from the A-Train
No abstract available
A Multi-Sensor Perspective on the Interannual Variability of Tropical Temperature, Water Vapor, and Clouds
The motivation for this work is to better characterize the controls on the tropical upper tropospheric/lower stratospheric (UTLS) temperature and humidity.
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on the NASA Aqua Spacecraft: A General Remote Sensing Tool for Understanding Atmospheric Structure, Dynamics and Composition
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on the EOS Aqua Spacecraft was launched on May 4, 2002. Early in the mission, the AIRS instrument demonstrated its value to the weather forecasting community with better than 6 hours of improvement on the 5 day forecast. Now with over eight years of consistent and stable data from AIRS, scientists are able to examine processes governing weather and climate and look at seasonal and interannual trends from the AIRSdata with high statistical confidence. Naturally, long-term climate trends require a longer data set, but indications are that the Aqua spacecraft and the AIRS instrument should last beyond 2018. This paper briefly describes the AIRS data products and presents some of the most significant findings involving the use of AIRS data in the areas of weather forecast improvement, climate processes and model validation, cloud and polar processes, and atmospheric composition (chemistry and dust).
Global Daily Atmospheric State Profiles from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) is a hyperspectral infrared instrument on the EOS Aqua Spacecraft, launched on May 4, 2002. AIRS has 2378 infrared channels ranging from 3.7 (micro)m to 15.4 (micro)m and a 13.5 km footprint. AIRS, in conjunction with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), produces temperature profiles with 1K/km accuracy on a global scale, as well as water vapor profiles, clouds, dust and trace gas amounts for CO2, CO, SO2, O3 and CH4.[1] AIRS data are used for weather forecasting and studies of global climate change. The AIRS is a 'facility' instrument developed by NASA as an experimental demonstration of advanced technology for remote sensing and the benefits of high resolution infrared spectra to science investigations.
NEWS Integration: Observations
This viewgraph presentation reviews The NASA Energy and Water Cycle Study (NEWS) methodology and integration of data products from remote sensing observations. The contents include: 1) Theme Objective; 2) Scope of Current Theme-related NEWS investigation; 3) Progress; 4) Anticipated Accomplishments (near-term and long-range); 5) Assessment of Overall Science Value (to NEWS and Earth Science in general); and 6) Outstanding Issues.