Aqua Science

Claire L. Parkinson Aqua Project Scientist NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Afternoon Constellation Working Group Meeting NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland March 17, 2003

The Aqua Spacecraft

Highlights of Aquas Early On-Orbit Progress

May 4, 2002 -- Launch; deployment of the solar array. May 12 -- First AMSU science data. May 14 -- First HSB science data. May 24 -- First AMSR-E science data. May 26 -- First AIRS visible/near-infrared science data. June 12 -- First AIRS infrared science data. June 17 -- Final ascent burn to 705 km operational altitude. June 18 -- First CERES science data. June 24 -- First MODIS science data. July 12 -- Direct broadcast turned on. September 1 -- End of 120-day checkout period.

Data Flow and Capture Rates from Aqua 89 Gbytes/day (8,230.6 kbps) data flow rate with all instruments operating
AIRS AMSU HSB AMSR-E CERES (2) MODIS 1,270.0 kbps 2.0 kbps 4.2 kbps 87.4 kbps 20.0 kbps 6,847.0 kbps (15.43%) (0.02%) (0.05%) (1.06%) (0.24%) (83.19%)

Near 100% data capture rates by the Flight Operations Team

99.9876186% for May 10-December 31, 2002 99.99999084% for January 2003

The Aqua Sounding Suite

Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU; two units)

Humidity Sounder for Brazil (HSB)

AMSU A1

AMSU A2

Key Goals for the AIRS/AMSU/HSB Science Team

Improved atmospheric temperature measurements. Improved humidity measurements. Improved weather forecasts. Improved climate understanding through analysis of the AIRS/AMSU/HSB temperature, water, cloud, ozone, methane, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide information.
Failed regional forecast for January 24, 2000, when Washington, D.C. was struck by a major snowstorm. (Map courtesy of Brett McDonald.)

Sample AIRS Infrared Spectra

a. Data from all 2378 AIRS infrared channels for one footprint off the coast of South Africa, June 13, 2002, 1:30 UTC.

500 20

1000 10

1500 6.7

2000 5

2500 4

wavenumber (cm-1) wavelength (m)

b. Detail showing the leftmost 128 channels in plot a.

(spectra courtesy of the AIRS Team)

Mt. Etna Eruption as Seen in AIRS Imagery, October 28, 2002

Visible/Near IR image IR difference image highlighting SO2

(images courtesy of M. Chahine and the AIRS Science Team)

Texas Thunderstorms as Seen in AMSU and HSB Imagery, June 16, 2002
AMSU Ch. 2 (31.4 GHz) AMSU Ch. 3 (50.3 GHz) AMSU Ch. 4 (52.8 GHz) AMSU Ch. 5 (53.94 GHz)

HSB Ch. 2 (150 GHz)

HSB Ch. 3 (1831 GHz) HSB Ch. 4 (1833 GHz) HSB Ch. 5 (1837 GHz)

(images courtesy of the AIRS Science Team)

Rain Rate Images from AMSU/HSB June 16, 2002

Scandinavia

South central U.S.

(images courtesy of the AIRS Science Team)

Arctic Snowstorm Tracked with AMSU/HSB Data, July 20, 2002

a. 1118 UTC b. 1248 UTC

c. 1439 UTC

d. 1610 UTC

(images courtesy of Dave Staelin, AIRS Science Team)

Clouds and the Earths Radiant Energy System (CERES; two copies)

Schematic view

Actual CERES instruments, undergoing inspection

Key Goals for the CERES Science Team

Obtain and analyze accurate measurements of fluxes of outgoing radiation at the top of the atmosphere.
Shortwave radiation Total radiation Longwave radiation Radiation in the 8-12 m atmospheric window.

Analyze clouds and their effects on climate, using CERES, MODIS, and other data. Analyze the diurnal cycle of radiation fluxes, using the CERES data from Terra and Aqua. Obtain and analyze long-term climate records using data from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) and the CERES on TRMM, Terra, and Aqua.

Sample Global Image from CERES

150

200

250

300

350

June 22, 2002 Outgoing Longwave Radiation (W m-2)

Sample Hemispheric Images from CERES

Hemispheric Reflected Solar Radiation (left) and Outgoing Longwave Radiation (right), both in W m-2
(images courtesy of the CERES Science Team)

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)

Goal: Improved understanding of numerous physical and biological processes in the Earth system.

MODIS on Aqua, with the cover removed

Sample MODIS Land Imagery

Fires in Oregon, 8/12/02

Nile River, 7/23/02 Greenland Ice Sheet, 7/13/02

(images courtesy of the MODIS Science Team)

Mt. Etna eruption, 10/30/02

Sample MODIS Atmospheric Imagery

Clouds over Northwest Africa and vicinity, July 24, 2002

Water Vapor over Spain and North Africa, July 17, 2002 Plume of dust blowing from Syria over the eastern Mediterranean, October 19, 2002.

(images courtesy of the MODIS Science Team)

Chlorophyll a in the vicinity of Cuba, February 26, 2003, from the Terra and Aqua MODIS sensors

Terra MODIS Chlorophyll a

Aqua MODIS Chlorophyll a

(images courtesy of the MODIS Ocean Group)

Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E)

Key AMSR-E Data Products

Rainfall Water vapor (total atmospheric column) Cloud water (total atmospheric column) Sea surface temperature Sea surface wind speed Sea ice concentration Sea ice temperature Snow depth on sea ice Snow-water equivalent on land Surface soil moisture

Global Sea Surface Temperatures from AMSR-E, June 2-4, 2002

(image courtesy of NASDA)

Merging of September 26, 2002 SST data from the Aqua AMSR-E and the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI)
TMI AMSR-E

Combined Product

(courtesy of F. Wentz)

Super Typhoon Higos, October 1,

2002, as seen in AMSR-E Imagery

AMSR-E color composite using the 89 GHz V + H and 23.8 GHz V channels.

Close-up of the Karman vortex street caused by Yaku Island.

(images courtesy of NASDA)

Global Sea Ice Coverage June 2-4, 2002 (top) and July 21-22, 2002 (bottom) from AMSR-E

(images courtesy of NASDA)

Near Real Time Data Usage

ECMWF, NCEP, and the UK Met Office are testing the AIRS/ AMSU/HSB data for use in operational weather forecasting. ECMWF expects to begin operational use this summer. The interagency Near Real Time Processing Effort (NRTPE) is incorporating Aqua MODIS and AIRS data and is in the preparatory phase toward incorporating AMSR-E data. Throughout the mission, numerous instances of near-real-time value in the data products have occurred.

6/24/02 Australian fires from MODIS

7/4/02 East China Sea typhoon from AMSR-E

(courtesy of NASDA)

6/16/02 Texas thunderstorms from HSB

Data Validation Progress CERES FM4 Level 1b radiances have been declared validated; FM3 Level 1b radiances and all Level 2 and 3 ERBE-like TOA fluxes are expected to be validated by the end of May. MODIS SSTs have been declared validated. Under clear conditions, the AIRS Team has met its goal of 1 K temperature accuracies in the lower atmosphere. AMSR-E validation campaigns are underway. Inter-instrument comparisons have been very encouraging. E.g., AIRS/MODIS SSTs have an RMS difference of less than 0.2 K, and AIRS/ TOMS ozone retrievals agree to 7% RMS.

Instructional Data Products Workshops

MODIS Land Products Workshops
Univ. Maryland, June 2002 (land cover products) Univ. Montana, July 2002 (vegetation products) Univ. Maryland, July 2002 (fire product) Boston Univ., October 2002 (radiation, snow, and ice products).

First CERES Data Products Workshop, Norfolk, Virginia, January 29-30, 2003. First MODIS Ocean Products Workshop, Univ. New Hampshire, February 3-4, 2003.

(photos courtesy of the CERES Team)

Performance Difficulties
HSB has been in survival mode since February 5. MODIS band 6 has 14 failed detectors (out of 20). The AMSR-E 6.9 GHz channels are impacted by radio frequency interference (RFI). The CERES FM3 unit had a 4% shift between ground and inflight calibration. The AIRS primary cooler required defrosting. There was a geolocation error until March 5, 2003.

AMSR-E RFI Index, 6.9 GHz, horiz., 10.7 GHz, horiz., June 2002 (from AMSR-E Team)

Summary of Aqua Status

The spacecraft and data capture and processing systems are all working well. AIRS, AMSU, AMSR-E, MODIS, and CERES are all working well. HSB is in survival mode. Subsets of the AIRS/AMSU/HSB and MODIS data are being used in near real time forecasting efforts, and subsets of the AMSR-E data will be shortly. The science teams are analyzing the data and carrying out validation efforts. The MODIS SSTs and CERES FM4 Level 1b radiances have been declared validated. An Aqua Special Issue of the IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing is due out in April (February 2003 issue).