Weekly Report for the Week Ending October 16, 2009
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GSFC Laboratory for Atmospheres, Code 613
Noteworthy science achievements/awards
Noteworthy personnel awards and staff changes
Projects/missions
- The Measurements of Humidity and Validation Experiments (MOHAVE), scheduled to take place from Oct 12 – 26 at the JPL, Table Mountain Facility (TMF) in Wrightwood, CA is underway. The Code 613.1 (David Whiteman, PI) ALVICE and Code 613.3 AT and STROZ (PI, Tom McGee) Raman lidar systems are participating. Wildfires in the vicinity of TMF delayed the arrival of these GSFC systems but they are now on site and preparing for measurements. The objective of this experiment is to validate the Raman water lidar technique for use within the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC), which is tasked with monitoring long term trends in upper troposphere and lower stratosphere water vapor concentrations using the Raman lidar technique.
Significant planned events
Proposals
Highlights of inter-Directorate teaming
External interactions (HQ, universities, other Gov't organizations, etc.)
- Wei-Kuo Tao (Code 613.1) and Xiping Zeng (UMBC/GEST) attended a joint meeting of the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Climate Research Facility (ACRF) Cloud Modeling and Aerosol Working Groups and Atmospheric Science Program at Boulder, Colorado from 29 September to 2 October 2009. Wei-Kuo Tao gave a presentation entitled "The impact of microphysics, the large-scale forcing and vertical resolution on cloud and precipitation processes".
Accepted papers
- The release of latent heating (LH) during the formation of precipitation is of immense consequence to the nature of large and small scale atmospheric circulations, particularly in the Tropics where various large-scale tropical modes controlled by LH persist and vary on a global scale. Latent heat release and its variations play a central role in the Earth's water cycle. Since early 1990, Wei-Kuo Tao (613.1) has organized five TRMM LH workshops. At the last workshop, it was collectively decided to have a TRMM Latent Heating (LH) Special Collection in the Journal of Climate. Currently, there are more then 12 papers that will appear in press in this special TRMM LH issue next year.Wei-Kuo Tao (Code 613.1), Stephen Lang (SSAI), Xiping Zeng (UMBC/GEST), William Olson (UMBC/GEST), and M. Grecu (UMBC/GEST) contributed the following six TRMM LH papers:
- Tao, W.-K., S. Lang, X. Zeng, S. Shige, and Y. N. Takayabu, 2009: Convective and stratiform rainfall and their relationship to latent heating. J. Climate (accepted)
- Grecu, M. W. Olson, C.-L. Shie, T. L'Ecuyer, and W.-K. Tao, 2009: Combining Satellite Microwave Radiometer and Radar Observations to Estimate Atmospheric Latent Heating Profiles. J. Climate (in press)
- Shige, S., Y. N. Takayabu, S. Kida, W.-K. Tao, X. Zeng and T. L'Ecuyer, 2009: Spectral retrieved of latent heating profiles from TRMM PR data. Part IV: Comparisons of lookup tables from two- and three-dimensional simulations. J. Climate (in press)
- Jiang, X., D. Waliser, F. Li, B. Tian, Y. L. Yung, W. S. Olson, M. Grecu, W.-K. Tao, S. E. Lang, A. M. Tompkins, and T. L'Ecuyer, 2009: Characterizing the vertical heating structure of the MJO using TRMM. J. Climate (in press)
- Hagos, S. C. Zhang, W.-K. Tao, S. Lang, Y. Takayabu, S. Shige, and M. Katsumata. 2009: Latent Heating Profiles over the Tropics: Estimates and Uncertainties. J. Climate (in press)
- Takayabu, Y. N., S. Shige, W.-K. Tao and N. Hirota, 2009: Shallow and deep latent heating modes over tropical oceans observed with TRMM PR spectral latent heating data. J. Climate (accepted)
Noteworthy talks/presentations
- 34th Radar Meteorology Conference. Gerry Heymsfield and Ali Tokay (JCET) co-Chaired the AMS 34th Radar Meteorology Conference in Williamsburg, VA during the week of October 5. The meeting had 330 attendees with nearly 100 of those international from as far as Australia. Several of the Japanese involved in GPM and EarthCare missions were in attendance. Approximately 15 papers were presented by presented by Goddard civil servants and contractors including:
a) Reynolds, A. E., G. S. Jenkins, and G. M. Heymsfield, "Changes Within African Mesoscale Convective Systems Under the Presence of Saharan Air Layer Dust as Examined by NPOL Radar During NAMMA"
b) Tanelli, S., S. L. Durden, E. Im, G. M. Heymsfied, P. Racette, and D.O. Starr, " Cloud Profiling Radar for the ACE Mission"
c) Li, L., G. M. Heymsfield, L. Li, J. Carswell, D. Schaubert, J. Creticos, M. Vega, and M. Perrine: "Recent Development of the NASA HIWRAP"
d) Heymsfield, G. M., L. Li,, M. Vega, S. Rodriguez, P. Racette, L. Tian, M. Perrine: "NASA Goddard High-Altitude Radars - Past, Present, and Future"
e) Eyal Amitai (613.1, Chapman University) presented "Toward Combining Space and Ground-based Radar Observations: Challenges and Opportunities" - Robert Cahalan (613.2) is meeting with colleagues at the Max-Planck-Institut fur Meteorologie in Hamburg, Germany October 12-13.
- Lazaros Oraiopoulos (613.2) and Robert Cahalan (613.2) are attending the 20th Session of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) Radiation Panel (GRP), October 13-16.
- Lorraine Remer, Ralph Kahn, Steven Platnick (613.2) and Santiago Gasso (GEST/613.2) are attending the ACE Meeting in Columbia, MD October 14-16.
- On Wednesday, October 7, Susan Strahan, Code 613.3, gave an invited talk at the UMBC Physics Dept., entitled "How do we know whether we can believe models?"
- Randy Kawa, Code 613.3, attended and presented at the 3rd International Workshop on active CO2 DiAL Remote Sensing, held at Hampton, VA, on October 13-15, 2009. His presentation was entitled, ÒSimulation studies of CO2 measurements from an ASCENDS- like mission."
- Joel Susskind (613.0), John Blaisdell (SAIC/613.0), Louis Kouvaris (SAIC/613.0), Gyula Molnar (UMBC/613.0), Robert Rosenberg (SAIC/613.0) attended the NASA Sounder Science Team Meeting, held October 13-16, in Greenbelt, MD. Joel Susskind gave three presentations entitled, "Latest Forecast Impact Experiments Assimilating Quality Controlled AIRS Version 5 Temperature Profiles" by Joel Susskind and Oreste Reale, "Validation of Anomalies and Trends of AIRS Version 5 OLR Over the Seven Year Period 9/02 – 8/09" by Joel Susskind and Gyula Molnar, "Results Using the Current Version 6 Candidate at SRT" by Joel Susskind, John Blaisdell, and Lena Iredell.
Major events in the coming week
Education and Outreach
Issues and Concerns
Status of any major actions
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