NASA presentations at 2005 fall american geophysical union meeting

Rob Gutro/Steve Cole
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Dec. 2, 2005
AGU Press Room Phone: (415) 348-4440 or
GSFC Public Affairs: (301) 286-4044

MEDIA ADVISORY: M05-54

NASA PRESENTATIONS AT 2005 FALL AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION MEETING

NASA researchers will present findings on a variety of Earth and space
science topics at the 2005 Annual Fall meeting of the American Geophysical
Union. The meeting runs Monday through Friday at the Moscone Convention
Center West, 800 Howard Street, San Francisco. Sessions are open to the
media.

Following are some presentations that members of the media may find
newsworthy:

INTEGRATION OF GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGIES AND ENHANCING SCIENCE INITIATIVES IN
THE NORTH DAKOTA TRIBAL COLLEGES
TIME: Dec. 5, 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. PST), MCC 3000
SESSION: ED23B-01

NASA is working with a consortium of Tribal Colleges and Universities in
cooperation with other Federal agencies to establish engineering degree
programs at these schools. This session will explore NASA's initial
collaboration with Salish Kootenai College, Pablo, Mont.

REAL-TIME MONITORING AND PAYLOAD CONTROL USING SAMPLE/ISC AND REVEAL IN
ATMOSPHERIC ELECTRICITY RESEARCH
TIME: Dec. 5, 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. PST), MCC Level 2
SESSION: IN21B-1184

This session discusses how NASA's Storm Airborne Monitor for Precipitation,
Lightning and Environment, using Intelligent Sensor Control (SAMPLE/ISC),
integrates aircraft payload, communications and data recording components
with ground-based applications. SAMPLE/ISC allows researchers to track
aircraft status in addition to real-time radar, lightning and satellite
data.

SOFTWARE & HARDWARE FOR SUBORBITAL TELEPRESENCE: UAVS ON THE WEB
TIME: Mon., Dec. 5, 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. PST), MCC Level 2
SESSION: IN21B-1185

This session spotlights NASA-developed Research Environment for
Vehicle-Embedded Analysis on Linux (REVEAL) software, a self-configuring
framework for real-time distributed data systems. REVEAL systems serve as a
data transmission and communications gateway for internet-based
experimenters and are well suited for long-endurance unmanned aerial
vehicles. The systems provide traditional Earth sciences platform data
systems configured for each experimenter and allow efficient distribution of
data across the Internet.

SAGAN LECTU SPIRIT, OPPORTUNITY, AND EXPLORATION OF THE RED PLANET
TIME: Mon, Dec. 5, 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. PST), Marriott Salon 8
SESSION: P11D
and MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS: ONE MARTIAN YEAR OF IN SITU PLANETARY GEOLOGY I
TIME: Mon, Dec. 5, 12:00 p.m. EST (9:00 a.m. PST), Marriott Salon 8
SESSION: P11E
and MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS: ONE MARTIAN YEAR OF IN SITU PLANETARY GEOLOGY
II
TIME: Mon, Dec. 5, 1:20 p.m. EST (10:20 a.m. PST), Marriott Salon 8
SESSION: P12A

NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, are finishing a full
Martian year of operations on the surface of Mars, more than 22 months into
a mission that was originally planned for three months. Opportunity examined
a stack of exposed sedimentary layers that bear evidence of periods of
blowing sand and shallow surface water. Spirit has identified an assortment
of compositions in outcrop exposures on a hill that it is now descending.

SPACE-BORNE OBSERVATIONS OF AEROSOLS
TIME: Mon., Dec. 5, 11:05 a.m. EST (8:05 a.m. PST) MCC 2004
SESSION: A11D-01

NASA satellites are an essential component of space-based aerosol
observations. In this session, NASA's Yoram Kaufman will offer an historical
perspective on the study of aerosols from space, a discipline that aids in
improved air quality forecasts worldwide

LIDAR MEASUREMENTS FROM SPACE: NEW GLOBAL RESULTS ON CLOUD AND AEROSOL
DISTRIBUTION AND OVERLAP, PBL HEIGHT AND ELEVATED AEROSOL
TIME: Mon., Dec. 5, 11:30 a.m. EST (8:30 a.m. PST), MCC 2004
SESSION: A11D-02

NASA's Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS), launched in 2003, uses a
laser beam to explore Earth. It measures the presence and height of cloud
layers and aerosol layers such as dust and pollution. NASA's Jim Spinhirne
will discuss how this instrument is enabling researchers to detect the
thinnest clouds and haze thereby providing first-ever insight into how dust
and pollution are transported.

EARTH'S ENERGY BALANCE FROM SPACE: A 35-YEAR PERSPECTIVE
TIME: Mon., Dec. 5, 12 noon EST (9:00 a.m. PST), MCC 2004
SESSION: A11D-04

In this session, NASA's Bruce Wielicki offers a history of the dramatic
progress that has occurred over more than three decades in measuring
planetary radiation, or Earth's energy, from space with NASA's
Earth-orbiting satellites.

INCREASING THE ENGINEERING WORKFORCE PIPELINE THROUGH HANDS-ON STUDENT
INSTRUMENT PROGRAMS II
TIME: Mon., Dec. 5, 4:40 p.m. EST (1:40 p.m. PST), MCC Level 2
POSTER SESSION: ED13D

This poster session offers options for increasing student pursuit of
engineering careers, including sessions on preparing students at minority
institutions for work on NASA missions through student programs, and using
ionospheric monitoring to engage students.

SCIENTIFIC RESULTS OF THE ESA MISSION MARS EXPRESS I
TIME: Mon, Dec. 5, 4:40 p.m. EST (1:40 p.m. PST), MCC 3004;
SESSION: P13C
and SCIENTIFIC RESULTS OF THE ESA MISSION MARS EXPRESS II
TIME: Mon, Dec. 5, 7:00 p.m. EST (4:00 p.m. PST), MCC 3004
SESSION: P14A

This session reveals results from the European Space Agency's Mars Express
orbiter, that include observations by the radar instrument, Mars Advanced
Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding, that NASA helped provide.
This radar instrument has detected a semi-circular underground structure
that scientists believe to be a buried crater partially filled with a thick
layer of possibly ice-rich material. The instrument has also revealed an
unexpectedly lumpy and complex shape of Mars' ionosphere, a radio-reflective
layer at the top of the atmosphere.

HYDROLOGY FROM SPACE I & II
TIME: Mon., Dec. 5, 4:40 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. EST (1:40 p.m.-3:30 p.m. PST) MCC
3002
SESSION: H13J
TIME: Mon., Dec. 5, 7:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m. EST (4:00 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. PST)
MCC 3002
SESSION: H14B

These two sessions on "Hydrology from Space" will highlight space-based
findings on environmental change in the global water cycle. Data from NASA
and other satellites contributed to related research developments, including
the evolution of surface water extent in central Siberia; near real-time
monitoring of African surface water; and a new strategy for integrated water
cycle observations. Presenters include Dennis Lettenmaier, University of
Washington, Seattle, and Larry Smith, University of California, Los Angeles.

THERMAL INFRARED REMOTE SENSING OF MARS FROM TES AND THEMIS I
TIME: Tues, Dec. 6, 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. PST), MCC Level 1
POSTER SESSION: P21C

This presentation reveals information about the composition of Mars'
surface, as seen by the Thermal Infrared Spectrometer on NASA's Mars Global
Surveyor and the Thermal Emission Imaging System on NASA's Mars Odyssey.

MONITORING VOLCANIC PLUMES AND CLOUDS WITH THE NASA EARTH OBSERVING SYSTEM
TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 11 a.m. EST (8 a.m. PST), MCC Level 1
POSTER SESSION: V21E-0663

The NASA series of Earth Observing System satellites present volcanologists
with a complimentary new set of tools for studying the content and transport
of volcanic plumes and clouds. This presentation focuses on the analyses of
data from the Terra and Aqua spacecraft, including a data time-series from
the 2002-03 eruption of Mount Etna, as well as more recent eruptions in
Russia's Kamchatka Penninsula and the Mariana Islands.

USING MISR AND MODIS DATA FOR DETECTION AND ANALYSIS OF SMOKE PLUME
INJECTION HEIGHTS OVER NORTH AMERICA DURING SUMMER 2004
TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 11 a.m. EST (8 a.m. PST), MCC Level 2
POSTER SESSION: A21B-0853

This session investigates the relationship between climate, fires and air
quality in order to predict the effect of possible future climate changes on
North American air quality. Partial results from an ongoing five-year study
that uses data from NASA's Terra spacecraft to gather statistics on smoke
plumes from North American fires will be presented.

KU-BAND RADAR OBSERVATIONS OF EXTREME SURFACE WATER CONDITIONS
TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 11:00 a.m. EST (8 a.m. PST), MCC Level 2
POSTER SESSION: H21D-1381

This presentation gives an overview of how spaceborne Ku-band radars such as
NASA's QuikScat satellite scatterometer can measure extreme conditions of
liquid and solid surface water on land, ice and oceans. Results include data
from Hurricanes Katrina and Ivan, last winter's record-breaking California
rains, drought in the U.S. Midwest and Kenya, and cold lands data from
Greenland, the Arctic and Antarctica.

TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS PROMOTING AUTHENTIC SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH IN THE CLASSROOM III
TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. PST), MCC Level 2
POSTER SESSION: ED23A

This series of posters highlight a plethora of professional development
programs to improve teacher knowledge of and ability to instruct in the
sciences, including a session on the NASA-sponsored "GLOBE at Night" program
(Session ED23A-1238).

MONITORING VOLCANIC PLUMES AND CLOUDS WITH THE NASA EARTH OBSERVING SYSTEM
TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. PST), MCC Level 1
SESSION: V21E-0663

NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites provide scientists with a new
set of tools for the study of volcanic plumes and clouds. This presentation
will discuss the use of data from the first two EOS spacecraft, in
determining how sulfur dioxide, silicate ash and sulfate aerosols mix in a
volcanic plume.

SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS OF COUPLED OCEAN-ATMOSPHERE INTERACTION
TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 11:15 a.m. EST (8:15 a.m. PST) MCC 3012
SESSION: OS21D-02

Based on research using data from NASA's QuikSCAT and Aqua satellites, this
presentation highlights seminal findings on the interaction between ocean
currents and surface winds at previously undetected scales.

HIGH-RESOLUTION MAPPING OF THE ARCTIC SEA ICE COVER WITH RADARSAT AND ICESAT
FOR CLIMATE AND PROCESS STUDIES
TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 11:45 a.m. EST (8:45 a.m. PST) MCC 3012
SESSION: OS21D-04

In this session, researchers will discuss how NASA's ICESat and RADARSAT
satellite data were used to examine changes in Arctic sea ice and shed light
on the current trend in sea ice reduction due to climate change.

MID-DEPTH CIRCULATION OF THE WORLD'S OCEANS: A FIRST LOOK AT THE ARGO ARRAY
TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 12:15 p.m. EST (9:15 a.m. PST) MCC 3012
SESSION: OS21D-06

This presentation highlights a technological breakthrough expected to have
profound impact on oceanography and climate research. The scientists used
radar altimeters, NASA satellite-based devices in their research. The radar
altimeters provide the first direct measurements of ocean flow by capturing
vertical measurements of land and sea surfaces.

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF PYRO-CUMULONIMBUS INJECTIONS OF
AEROSOL ON THE UPPER TROPOSPHERE AND LOWER STRATOSPHERE CLIMATE DURING
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE SUMMER
TIME: Tues. Dec. 6, 1:20 p.m. EST (10:20 a.m. PST), MCC 2004
SESSION: A22B-01

The direct transport of forest fire smoke into the stratosphere by
pyro-cumulonimbus clouds provides a dramatic example of the rapid rise of
dust and particles from the lower atmosphere. This presentation will discuss
the role of these events in aerosols in the lower stratosphere and its
effect on the circulation of the atmosphere as seen in computer model
simulations.

CHLOROPHYLL BLOOMS IN THE OLIGOTROPIC GYRES: OCEAN OASES?
TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 1:35 p.m. EST (10:35 a.m. PST), MCC 3012
SESSION: OS22B-02

This session discusses NASA's SeaWIFS satellite observations, which show
large unexplained phytoplankton blooms in the Pacific Ocean that can be as
large as the state of California. The blooms develop in a part of the ocean
with low nutrients that would seem incapable of supporting them. A second
talk, "Western Pacific Modulation of Large Phytoplankton Blooms in the
Central and Eastern Equatorial Pacific," at 2:35 p.m. EST (11:35 a.m. PST)
on Tuesday (Session OS22B-06), details a recently discovered pattern of
large blooms following El Niños and examines a hypothesis for their
existence more than 6,214 miles away.

SOUTHERN OCEAN "SUPERBLOOM" OF 2000
TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 4:40 p.m. EST (1:40 p.m. PST), MCC 3012
SESSION: OS23B-01

This presentation offers a valuable glimpse into seasonal and inter-annual
fluctuations in ocean carbon cycling in the Antarctic's Southern Ocean, an
area responsible for removal of a large fraction of atmospheric CO2. This
study finds these high fluctuation rates have implications for the world's
marine ecosystems and the global carbon cycle.

A DECADE-LONG RECORD OF GLOBAL SEA-SURFACE HEIGHT FROM SATELLITE ALTIMETRY:
STATUS AND OUTLOOK
TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 8:20 p.m. EST (5:20 p.m. PST), MCC 3001
SESSION: U24A-03

This session presents findings from the long-term data record of the
sea-surface height of Earth's ocean, which is revealing basin-wide changes
in the circulation patterns of the oceans and how they affect atmospheric
variability.

SMOKING PYROCUMULONIMBUS: ANALYSIS OF A MAJOR CANADIAN BOREAL FIRE BLOWUP
FROM SATELLITE AND GROUND MEASUREMENTS
TIME: Wed., Dec. 7, 12:40 p.m. EST (9:40 a.m. PST), MCC 2002
SESSION: A31C-07

An August 2003 Canadian forest fire exploded into a pyro-cumulonimbus cloud,
creating a distinct plume of smoke. This presenations focuses on the use of
NASA satellites to study the life cycle of this plume, cloud-top changes,
and the transport of smoke from the lower atmosphere through to the
stratosphere.

TELECONNECTION OVER THE ATLANTIC: THE BODELE DEPRESSION, A SINGLE DUST
SOURCE IS RESPONSIBLE TO MOST OF THE WELLBEING OF THE AMAZON RAINFOREST
TIME: Wed., Dec. 7, 4:40 p.m. EST (1:40 p.m. PST), MCC Level 2
SESSION: A33C-0920

Saharan dust, suggested to be the main mineral source that fertilizes the
Amazon basin, is generally carried on the westward trade winds from Africa
between November and March. Using a combination of data from three satellite
instruments, this presentation will show that the emissions and transport of
Saharan dust to the Amazon originate mostly from a small source northeast of
Lake Chad.

OBSERVED TRENDS OF NDVI AND CLIMATE OVER THE AMAZON BASIN
TIME: Thurs., Dec. 8, 4:40 p.m. EST (1:40 p.m. PST), MCC Level 1
SESSION: B43B-0269

The carbon balance of Amazon rainforests plays a key role in the global
carbon budget. NASA-funded researchers suggest a possible increasing trend
in the growth rate of these forests. This presentation will discuss the
probability that an increasing vegetation trend could be due to the rise in
short-wave radiation that is enhancing growth in these light-limited
ecosystems.

DID PLIO-PLEISTOCENE WARM EVENTS CAUSE DESTABILIZATION OF ICE SHEETS, OR
VICE-VERSA?
TIME: Thurs., Dec. 8, 6:25 p.m. EST (3:25 p.m. PST), MCC 3006
SESSION: PP43C-08

Historically, short duration, apparently climate-changing events occurred
during the Pliocene and early Pleistocene eras. Emerging evidence suggests
that major changes also took place in the Greenland and West Antarctic ice
sheets at the same time as these events. In this talk, NASA researchers
explore physical processes and mechanisms at play. They also argue the
sources for the global signals we interpret as "warm events," and how we can
better understand what, if any, implications there may be for future
behavior of the ice sheets.

A LANDSAT RECORD OF NORTH AMERICAN FOREST DISTURBANCE
TIME: Fri., Dec. 9, 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. PST), MCC Level 1
SESSION: Session B51C-0220

Analysis of Landsat satellite data has proven useful in diagnosing forest
disturbance, growth and recovery. This presentation examines regions with
high rates of biomass loss (disturbance) or gains (recovery) and finds a
strong correlation between areas of harvesting and fire activity, such as
the southeastern U.S., Maine and the Pacific Northwest.

For detailed information about each of these sessions, please visit on the
Web:

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/env...05agu_tip.html

For more information about the American Geophysical Union 2005 Joint
Assembly Meeting, visit:
http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm05/



- end -


--
--------------

Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info