Anticipated Outcomes from the Constellations in 2010

Strategic DiscussionAgenda Item 25

Mary KiczaSIT Chair 2007-2009

NOAA

1The 23rd CEOS Plenary I Phuket, Thailand I 3-5 November 2009

CEOS Virtual Constellations

Constellation for Atmospheric Composition (ACC)

To collect and deliver data to improve monitoring, assessment, and predictive capabilities for changes in ozone, air quality, and climate.

Constellation for Land Surface Imaging (LSI)

To determine optimal capabilities to acquire, receive, process, archive, and distribute land surface image data to the global user community.

Constellation for Ocean Colour Radiometry (OCR)

To provide long time series of calibrated ocean colour radiance (OCR) at key wavelength bands from measurements obtained from multiple satellites.

The 23rd CEOS Plenary I Phuket, Thailand I 3-5 November 2009 2

CEOS Virtual Constellations (con’t)

Constellation for Ocean Surface Vector Wind (OSVW)

Promote the widespread use of scatterometer-derived surface vector winds (SVW) and altimeter-derived significant wave heights (SWH) in operational marine analyses and forecasts worldwide, as a contribution to the protection of life and property at sea.

Constellation for Ocean Surface Topography (OST)

The implementation of a sustained, systematic capability to observe the topography of the surface of the global oceans ranging from basin-scale to mesoscale.

Constellation for Precipitation (PC)

To guide, facilitate, and coordinate continued advancements of multi-satellite global precipitation missions.

The 23rd CEOS Plenary I Phuket, Thailand I 3-5 November 2009 3

CEOS Virtual Constellations for GEO Co-Leads

The 23rd CEOS Plenary I Phuket, Thailand I 3-5 November 2009 4

• Atmospheric Chemistry (ACC)– Ernest Hilsenrath, NASA– Claus Zehner, ESA

• Land Surface Imaging (LSI)– Tom Holm, USGS– V.S. Hegde, ISRO

• Ocean Colour Radiometry (OCR)– Mark Dowell, JRC– Hiroshi Murakami, JAXA – Paula Bontempi, NASA – James Yoder, IOCCG/WHOI (support)

• Ocean Surface Topography (OST)– François Parisot, EUMETSAT – Stan Wilson, NOAA

• Ocean Surface Vector Wind (OSVW)– Hans Bonekamp, EUMETSAT – Stan Wilson, NOAA – B.S. Gohil, ISRO

• Precipitation (PC)– Riko Oki, JAXA – Steven Neeck, NASA

Generic Constellation ActivitiesAll six Constellations are engaged in various stages of activities:• Collaboration in cal/val and algorithm development• Agreement for timely exchange of data and products• Standardization of products and formats• Generation of integrated, multi-mission products and

distribution from a central site• Training & capacity building for both researchers and

operational users• Definition of requirements for future systems• Harmonization of orbits to optimize observational coverage

The 23rd CEOS Plenary I Phuket, Thailand I 3-5 November 2009 5

2010 and Beyond

The 23rd CEOS Plenary I Phuket, Thailand I 3-5 November 2009 6

• ACC and LSI: Data Portals – recognizing the need for accessibility and interoperability– Development of a enhanced LSI Data Portal which builds upon prototype LSI

Data Portal, released March 2009– ACC Data Portal – one-year demonstration project

• Will serve forecasters, assessment, climate users and provide access, tools, and guidance to investigators and value-adding organizations

– Both supported by WIGISS

• LSI: Contribution of LSI data to the Forest Resources Assessment 2010 Project

• LSI: Establishment of a WG on Regional Data to coordinate LSI data contribution to the Global Land Survey 2010

2010 and Beyond (con’t)• OSVW and OST: “Use of Satellite Wind and Wave Products for

Marine Forecasting” – Dec 2009; Oostend, Belgium– Organized by NOAA and EUMETSAT, in collaboration with IOC– Other workshops to be scheduled in Developing Countries

• OSVW and OST: Address deficiencies in the operational utilization of observations from OSVW & OST Constellations

• OST: Continue to work with the altimetry community to realize the recommendations put forth in The Next 15 Years of Satellite Altimetry: Ocean Surface Topography Constellation User Requirements Document

• PC: ISRO & CNES have augmented ground-station coverage for Megha-Tropique to reduce data latency

The 23rd CEOS Plenary I Phuket, Thailand I 3-5 November 2009 7

• The opportunity exists to more fully realize the objective of CEOS through the Virtual Constellations– Excellent start with the six existing Constellations

The 23rd CEOS Plenary I Phuket, Thailand I 3-5 November 2009 8

2010 and Beyond (con’t)

• The recent OceanObs’09 Conference – attended by more than 600 oceanographers from 36 countries – suggested that CEOS Virtual Constellations be used as a means to focus space-based efforts in support of the GCOS Essential Climate Variables (ECVs)

• CEOS could make a major contribution to achieving GCOS Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) by encouraging the initiation of new Constellations as well as strengthening existing Constellations– Possible candidates for new Constellations

• Sea Surface Temperature• Radio Occultation• Sea Ice

The 23rd CEOS Plenary I Phuket, Thailand I 3-5 November 2009 9

Constellations and ECVs

GCOS Essential Climate Variables

• ECVs are required to support the work of the UNFCCC and the IPCC and thereby GEO.

• ECVs are technically and economically feasible for systematic observation.

• These variables require international exchange to access both current and historical observations.

• Currently, there are 44 ECVs (plus soil moisture recognized as an emerging ECV) as shown in the following table.

• Additional variables required for research purposes have not been included.

The 23rd CEOS Plenary I Phuket, Thailand I 3-5 November 2009 10

The 23rd CEOS Plenary I Phuket, Thailand I 3-5 November 2009 11

Domain GCOS Essential Climate Variables

Atmospheric(over land,

sea and ice)

Surface: Air temperature, Precipitation, Air pressure, Surface radiation budget, Wind speed and direction [over the oceans], Water vapour.

Upper-air: Earth radiation budget (including solar irradiance), Upper-air temperature (including MSU radiances), Wind speed and direction, Water vapour, Cloud properties. Composition: Carbon dioxide, Methane, Ozone, Other long-lived greenhouse gases, Aerosol properties.

Oceanic

Surface: Sea-surface temperature, Sea-surface salinity, Sea level, Sea state, Sea ice, Current, Ocean colour (for biological activity), Carbon dioxide partial pressure. Sub-surface: Temperature, Salinity, Current, Nutrients, Carbon, Ocean tracers, Phytoplankton.

Terrestrial

[Water]: River discharge, Water use, Ground water, Lake levels, Snow cover, Glaciers and ice caps[Radiative]: Permafrost and seasonally-frozen ground, Albedo, Land cover (including vegetation type), Fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fAPAR), Leaf area index (LAI), Biomass, Fire disturbance, Soil moisture.

Observations being collected by current Constellations are underlinedObservations that could be collected by new Constellations are in red font

Thank you to the Constellation Co-Leads for your time and

dedication

The 23rd CEOS Plenary I Phuket, Thailand I 3-5 November 2009 12