Deborah G. Vane

THE CLOUDSAT MISSION AND THE A-TRAIN A New Dimension of Space-Based Observations of Clouds and Precipitation

CloudSat is a satellite experiment designed to measure the vertical structure of clouds from space. The expected launch of CloudSat is planned for 2004, and once launched, CloudSat will orbit in formation as part of a constellation of satellites (the A-Train) that includes NASAs Aqua and Aura satellites, a NASA–CNES lidar satellite (CALIPSO), and a CNES satellite carrying a polarimeter (PARASOL). A unique feature that CloudSat brings to this constellation is the ability to fly a precise orbit enabling the fields of view of the CloudSat radar to be overlapped with the CALIPSO lidar footprint and the other measurements of the constellation. The precision and near simultaneity of this overlap creates a unique multisatellite observing system for studying the atmospheric processes essential to the hydrological cycle. The vertical profiles of cloud properties provided by CloudSat on the global scale fill a critical gap in the investigation of feedback mechanisms linking clouds to climate. Measuring these profi...

On the Use of CloudSat and MODIS Data for Estimating Hurricane Intensity

This letter presents preliminary results concerning the use of new observations from the A-Train Constellation for testing a new technique of remotely sensing hurricane intensity from space based on modeling a hurricane as a balanced, convectively neutral vortex. The key observational requirements are simultaneous, accurate measurements of cloud-top height, cloudtop temperature, and cloud profiling information across the center of the storm, although there are ways to bypass the need for cloud-top temperature. In this letter, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer onboard Aqua provides an estimation of the cloud-top temperature, and the near-simultaneous CloudSat observations provide the essential cloud-top height and cloud profiling information. Initial results indicate that the new technique is a promising method for estimating storm intensity when compared post facto to the best track database. Potential uncertainties and room for further refinement of the technique are discussed.

CloudSat and CALIPSO within the A-Train: Ten Years of Actively Observing the Earth System

AbstractOne of the most successful demonstrations of an integrated approach to observe Earth from multiple perspectives is the A-Train satellite constellation. The science enabled by this constellation flourished with the introduction of the two active sensors carried by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) CloudSat and the NASA–Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellites that were launched together on 28 April 2006. These two missions have provided a 10-yr demonstration of coordinated formation flying that made it possible to develop integrated products and that offered new insights into key atmospheric processes. The progress achieved over this decade of observations, summarized in this paper, clearly demonstrate the fundamental importance of the vertical structure of clouds and aerosol for understanding the influences of the larger-scale atmospheric circulation on aerosol, the hydrological cycle, t...

The CloudSat Mission

The CloudSat Mission deploys the first spaceborne 94 GHz cloud profiling radar in space. The mission was selected under the NASA Earth System Science Pathfinder Program (ESSP http://essp.gsfc.nasa.gov) with a scheduled launch for the alter part of 2004. The unique feature of the CloudSat radar lies in its ability to observe jointly most of the clouds and precipitation within its nadir field of view. The CloudSat satellite also flies as part of a constellation of satellites that includes EOS Aqua and EOS Aura at each end of the constellation. CloudSat, as second ESSP mission that flies an aerosol lidar (CALIPSO) and another small satellite, PARASOL, carrying the POLDER polarimeter inserted in the formation between the larger EOS spacecraft. This constellation is referred to as the A-train. An overview of the CloudSat mission, its science goals, science products and validation are summarized. CloudSat seeks to solve a number of outstanding cloud-climate problems and thereby spur improvements in both weather forecasting and climate prediction. It aims to evaluate quantitatively the representation of clouds and cloud processes in global atmospheric circulation models, and the relationship between the vertical profiles of cloud liquid water and ice content and cloud radiative properties, including the radiative heating by clouds.

Remote Sensing of Tropical Cyclones: Observations from CloudSat and A-Train Profilers

CloudSat (CS) heralded a new era of profiling the planet’s cloud systems and storms with its launch in 2006. This satellite flies the first 94-GHz spaceborne Cloud Profiling Radar, and the data collected have provided a unique perspective on Earth’s cloudiness and processes that affect clouds. CS flies in formation with the afternoon satellite constellation, a collection of active and passive satellite sensors offering near-simultaneous observations of the same cloud phenomena. While passes of the nadir-pointing Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) antenna occur infrequently over tropical cyclones, they happen enough to provide a detailed compilation of the inner structure of clouds and precipitation of these complex storm systems. Nearly 8,000 vertical profiles of TCs have been collected during the period June 2006–December 2013 and observations continue as CS flies in daylight-only mode. These observations have been assembled into a one-of-a-kind dataset of three-dimensional features revealing precipitation area...

The CloudSat Mission and the A-Train: A Revolutionary Approach to Observing Earth's Atmosphere

On April 28, 2006 a millimeter radar system, designed expressly for the vertical profiling of hydrometeors, was launched from Vandenburg Air Force Base. Both Cloudsat, carrying the cloud profiling radar (CPR), and the lidar satellite CALIPSO, were inserted into nearly identical orbits each approximately one minute behind the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua satellite and in formation with the French PARASOL satellite and the EOS Aura satellite. This creates the A- Train satellite constellation. The early results of the CloudSat mission underscore the value of synergy of the A- Train observations for studying clouds and precipitation.

Earth Observing System: A Platform For Imaging Spectrometers

Several advanced imaging spectrometers will be deployed on the Space Station Polar Platforms as a part of the Earth Observing System (Eos) program. Two of these, the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) and High-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (HIRIS), will be provided as facility instruments, and currently are under conceptual study at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Goddard Space Flight Center. Other imaging spectrometer concepts, including proposals for a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer, are expected in response to the Eos Announcement of Opportunity scheduled for release in January of 1988.