Weekly Report for the Week Ending July 10, 2009
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GSFC Laboratory for Atmospheres, Code 613
Noteworthy science achievements/awards
Noteworthy personnel awards and staff changes
Projects/missions
Significant planned events
Proposals
Highlights of inter-Directorate teaming
External interactions (HQ, universities, other Gov't organizations, etc.)
- Eyal Amitai (613.1, Chapman University) participated at the NOAA Hydro-Meteorology Testbed (HMT-SE) Research Planning Workshop at Chapel Hill, NC, June 15-17, 2009. NASA is planning to participate in this field campaign as part of the GPM ground validation effort.
Accepted papers
- Lau, C. Peters-Lidard, X. Li, T. Matsui, B.-W. Shen, J.-J. Shi, and X. Zeng, 2009: Goddard Multi-Scale Modeling Systems with Unified Physics, Annales Geophysics, (accepted). Importance: One of reviewers has a very good comment on the paper": Few (if not none) modeling groups in the world have gone so far and tested their models in so many places of distinct weather and climate regimes."
- Dynamics and Predictability of Hurricane Humberto (2007) Revealed from Ensemble Analysis and Forecasting, Jason A. Sippel and Fuqing Zhang, submitted to: Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, Importance: This study uses short-range ensemble forecasts initialized with radar velocity data in an Ensemble-Kalman filter to study Hurricane Humberto, which made landfall along the Texas coast in 2007. Statistical correlation is used to determine why some ensemble members strengthen the incipient low into a hurricane and others do not. It is found that deep moisture and high convective available potential energy (CAPE) are two of the most important factors for the genesis of Humberto. CAPE differences here are related to the interaction between the cyclone and a nearby front, which tends to stabilize the lower troposphere in the vicinity of the circulation center. This subsequently weakens convection and slows genesis. Eventually the wind-induced surface heat exchange mechanism and differences in landfall time result in even larger ensemble spread.
- Yang Y., (613.2/GEST) A. Marshak (613.2), T. Varnai (613.2/JCET), W.J. Wiscombe (613.2), and P. Yang, 2009. Uncertainties in ice sheet altimetry from a space-borne 1064 nm single channel lidar due to undetected thin clouds. IEEE Trans. Geos. Remote Sens., [accepted July 2009].
- Analysis of the impact of the forest fires in August 2007 on air quality of Athens using multi-sensor aerosol remote sensing data, meteorology, and surface observations, Liu, Y.; Kahn, R.; Chaloulakou, A.; Koutrakis, P.,Environ., Vol.43, pp. 3310-3318, 2008 [Published]
Noteworthy talks/presentations
- David Whiteman/613.1 presented three talks at the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) Lidar Working Group Meeting in Egbert, Canada during the week of June 15. His talks concerned the use of Raman Lidar for profiling upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric water vapor with sufficient accuracy to monitor anticipated trends in water vapor concentration.
- Alexander Marshak (Co-Chair), Eric Wilcox (613.2), who will present a poster on extreme rain events and global warming, and other branch members are attending the Gordon Conference on Radiation and Climate in New London, New Hampshire,July 6-10, 2009.
- Ralph Kahn (613.2) is serving on the External Review Panel ÒBattlespace EnvironmentsÓ Focus Area (Marine Meteorology Technology Research Program) at the Naval Research Laboratory, Monterey, California, July 8-10, 2009.
- Dr. Tom Bell (613.2/Emeritus) was interviewed July 1, 2009 for a science news clip on his recent research results related to pollution effects on storms. It is produced by Karin Heineman for ÒDiscoveries & Breakthroughs Inside ScienceÓ at the American Institute of Physics.
- Alexander Marshak (613.2) gave a presentation "Atmospheric Range Delay from ICESat; An UpdateÓ at the ICESat CryoSat Science Team meeting held in Reykjavik, Iceland June 22-26, 2009.
- 613.3/ Drs. Paul A. Newman and Anne R. Douglass attended the Planning Meeting for the Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2010. The meeting included the Coordinating Lead Authors of the 2010 assessment along with the co-chairs of the Scientific Assessment Panel to the Montreal Protocol agreement that regulates ozone depleting substances. This was the first meeting of the authors who will be writing the assessment and involves refining the outline of the assessment and coordination amongst the various chapters of the assessment. The meeting was held at the Royal Society in London, UK.
Major events in the coming week
Education and Outreach
Issues and Concerns
Status of any major actions
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