Rob Gutro/Steve Cole<br />Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.<br />Dec. 2, 2005<br />AGU Press Room Phone: (415) 348-4440 or<br />GSFC Public Affairs: (301) 286-4044<br /><br />MEDIA ADVISORY: M05-54<br /><br />NASA PRESENTATIONS AT 2005 FALL AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION MEETING<br /><br />NASA researchers will present findings on a variety of Earth and space<br />science topics at the 2005 Annual Fall meeting of the American Geophysical<br />Union. The meeting runs Monday through Friday at the Moscone Convention<br />Center West, 800 Howard Street, San Francisco. Sessions are open to the<br />media.<br /><br /> Following are some presentations that members of the media may find<br />newsworthy:<br /><br />INTEGRATION OF GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGIES AND ENHANCING SCIENCE INITIATIVES IN<br />THE NORTH DAKOTA TRIBAL COLLEGES<br />TIME: Dec. 5, 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. PST), MCC 3000<br />SESSION: ED23B-01<br /><br />NASA is working with a consortium of Tribal Colleges and Universities in<br />cooperation with other Federal agencies to establish engineering degree<br />programs at these schools. This session will explore NASA's initial<br />collaboration with Salish Kootenai College, Pablo, Mont.<br /><br />REAL-TIME MONITORING AND PAYLOAD CONTROL USING SAMPLE/ISC AND REVEAL IN<br />ATMOSPHERIC ELECTRICITY RESEARCH<br />TIME: Dec. 5, 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. PST), MCC Level 2<br />SESSION: IN21B-1184<br /><br />This session discusses how NASA's Storm Airborne Monitor for Precipitation,<br />Lightning and Environment, using Intelligent Sensor Control (SAMPLE/ISC),<br />integrates aircraft payload, communications and data recording components<br />with ground-based applications. SAMPLE/ISC allows researchers to track<br />aircraft status in addition to real-time radar, lightning and satellite<br />data.<br /><br />SOFTWARE & HARDWARE FOR SUBORBITAL TELEPRESENCE: UAVS ON THE WEB<br />TIME: Mon., Dec. 5, 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. PST), MCC Level 2<br />SESSION: IN21B-1185<br /><br />This session spotlights NASA-developed Research Environment for<br />Vehicle-Embedded Analysis on Linux (REVEAL) software, a self-configuring<br />framework for real-time distributed data systems. REVEAL systems serve as a<br />data transmission and communications gateway for internet-based<br />experimenters and are well suited for long-endurance unmanned aerial<br />vehicles. The systems provide traditional Earth sciences platform data<br />systems configured for each experimenter and allow efficient distribution of<br />data across the Internet.<br /><br />SAGAN LECTURE: SPIRIT, OPPORTUNITY, AND EXPLORATION OF THE RED PLANET<br />TIME: Mon, Dec. 5, 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. PST), Marriott Salon 8<br />SESSION: P11D<br />and MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS: ONE MARTIAN YEAR OF IN SITU PLANETARY GEOLOGY I<br />TIME: Mon, Dec. 5, 12:00 p.m. EST (9:00 a.m. PST), Marriott Salon 8<br />SESSION: P11E<br />and MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS: ONE MARTIAN YEAR OF IN SITU PLANETARY GEOLOGY<br />II<br />TIME: Mon, Dec. 5, 1:20 p.m. EST (10:20 a.m. PST), Marriott Salon 8<br />SESSION: P12A<br /><br />NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, are finishing a full<br />Martian year of operations on the surface of Mars, more than 22 months into<br />a mission that was originally planned for three months. Opportunity examined<br />a stack of exposed sedimentary layers that bear evidence of periods of<br />blowing sand and shallow surface water. Spirit has identified an assortment<br />of compositions in outcrop exposures on a hill that it is now descending.<br /><br />SPACE-BORNE OBSERVATIONS OF AEROSOLS<br />TIME: Mon., Dec. 5, 11:05 a.m. EST (8:05 a.m. PST) MCC 2004<br />SESSION: A11D-01<br /><br />NASA satellites are an essential component of space-based aerosol<br />observations. In this session, NASA's Yoram Kaufman will offer an historical<br />perspective on the study of aerosols from space, a discipline that aids in<br />improved air quality forecasts worldwide<br /><br />LIDAR MEASUREMENTS FROM SPACE: NEW GLOBAL RESULTS ON CLOUD AND AEROSOL<br />DISTRIBUTION AND OVERLAP, PBL HEIGHT AND ELEVATED AEROSOL<br />TIME: Mon., Dec. 5, 11:30 a.m. EST (8:30 a.m. PST), MCC 2004<br />SESSION: A11D-02<br /><br />NASA's Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS), launched in 2003, uses a<br />laser beam to explore Earth. It measures the presence and height of cloud<br />layers and aerosol layers such as dust and pollution. NASA's Jim Spinhirne<br />will discuss how this instrument is enabling researchers to detect the<br />thinnest clouds and haze thereby providing first-ever insight into how dust<br />and pollution are transported.<br /><br />EARTH'S ENERGY BALANCE FROM SPACE: A 35-YEAR PERSPECTIVE<br />TIME: Mon., Dec. 5, 12 noon EST (9:00 a.m. PST), MCC 2004<br />SESSION: A11D-04<br /><br />In this session, NASA's Bruce Wielicki offers a history of the dramatic<br />progress that has occurred over more than three decades in measuring<br />planetary radiation, or Earth's energy, from space with NASA's<br />Earth-orbiting satellites.<br /><br />INCREASING THE ENGINEERING WORKFORCE PIPELINE THROUGH HANDS-ON STUDENT<br />INSTRUMENT PROGRAMS II<br />TIME: Mon., Dec. 5, 4:40 p.m. EST (1:40 p.m. PST), MCC Level 2<br />POSTER SESSION: ED13D<br /><br />This poster session offers options for increasing student pursuit of<br />engineering careers, including sessions on preparing students at minority<br />institutions for work on NASA missions through student programs, and using<br />ionospheric monitoring to engage students.<br /><br />SCIENTIFIC RESULTS OF THE ESA MISSION MARS EXPRESS I<br />TIME: Mon, Dec. 5, 4:40 p.m. EST (1:40 p.m. PST), MCC 3004;<br />SESSION: P13C<br />and SCIENTIFIC RESULTS OF THE ESA MISSION MARS EXPRESS II<br />TIME: Mon, Dec. 5, 7:00 p.m. EST (4:00 p.m. PST), MCC 3004<br />SESSION: P14A<br /><br />This session reveals results from the European Space Agency's Mars Express<br />orbiter, that include observations by the radar instrument, Mars Advanced<br />Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding, that NASA helped provide.<br />This radar instrument has detected a semi-circular underground structure<br />that scientists believe to be a buried crater partially filled with a thick<br />layer of possibly ice-rich material. The instrument has also revealed an<br />unexpectedly lumpy and complex shape of Mars' ionosphere, a radio-reflective<br />layer at the top of the atmosphere.<br /><br />HYDROLOGY FROM SPACE I & II<br />TIME: Mon., Dec. 5, 4:40 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. EST (1:40 p.m.-3:30 p.m. PST) MCC<br />3002<br />SESSION: H13J<br />TIME: Mon., Dec. 5, 7:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m. EST (4:00 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. PST)<br />MCC 3002<br />SESSION: H14B<br /><br />These two sessions on "Hydrology from Space" will highlight space-based<br />findings on environmental change in the global water cycle. Data from NASA<br />and other satellites contributed to related research developments, including<br />the evolution of surface water extent in central Siberia; near real-time<br />monitoring of African surface water; and a new strategy for integrated water<br />cycle observations. Presenters include Dennis Lettenmaier, University of<br />Washington, Seattle, and Larry Smith, University of California, Los Angeles.<br /><br />THERMAL INFRARED REMOTE SENSING OF MARS FROM TES AND THEMIS I<br />TIME: Tues, Dec. 6, 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. PST), MCC Level 1<br />POSTER SESSION: P21C<br /><br />This presentation reveals information about the composition of Mars'<br />surface, as seen by the Thermal Infrared Spectrometer on NASA's Mars Global<br />Surveyor and the Thermal Emission Imaging System on NASA's Mars Odyssey.<br /><br />MONITORING VOLCANIC PLUMES AND CLOUDS WITH THE NASA EARTH OBSERVING SYSTEM<br />TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 11 a.m. EST (8 a.m. PST), MCC Level 1<br />POSTER SESSION: V21E-0663<br /><br />The NASA series of Earth Observing System satellites present volcanologists<br />with a complimentary new set of tools for studying the content and transport<br />of volcanic plumes and clouds. This presentation focuses on the analyses of<br />data from the Terra and Aqua spacecraft, including a data time-series from<br />the 2002-03 eruption of Mount Etna, as well as more recent eruptions in<br />Russia's Kamchatka Penninsula and the Mariana Islands.<br /><br />USING MISR AND MODIS DATA FOR DETECTION AND ANALYSIS OF SMOKE PLUME<br />INJECTION HEIGHTS OVER NORTH AMERICA DURING SUMMER 2004<br />TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 11 a.m. EST (8 a.m. PST), MCC Level 2<br />POSTER SESSION: A21B-0853<br /><br />This session investigates the relationship between climate, fires and air<br />quality in order to predict the effect of possible future climate changes on<br />North American air quality. Partial results from an ongoing five-year study<br />that uses data from NASA's Terra spacecraft to gather statistics on smoke<br />plumes from North American fires will be presented.<br /><br />KU-BAND RADAR OBSERVATIONS OF EXTREME SURFACE WATER CONDITIONS<br />TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 11:00 a.m. EST (8 a.m. PST), MCC Level 2<br />POSTER SESSION: H21D-1381<br /><br />This presentation gives an overview of how spaceborne Ku-band radars such as<br />NASA's QuikScat satellite scatterometer can measure extreme conditions of<br />liquid and solid surface water on land, ice and oceans. Results include data<br />from Hurricanes Katrina and Ivan, last winter's record-breaking California<br />rains, drought in the U.S. Midwest and Kenya, and cold lands data from<br />Greenland, the Arctic and Antarctica.<br /><br />TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS PROMOTING AUTHENTIC SCIENTIFIC<br />RESEARCH IN THE CLASSROOM III<br />TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. PST), MCC Level 2<br />POSTER SESSION: ED23A<br /><br />This series of posters highlight a plethora of professional development<br />programs to improve teacher knowledge of and ability to instruct in the<br />sciences, including a session on the NASA-sponsored "GLOBE at Night" program<br />(Session ED23A-1238).<br /><br />MONITORING VOLCANIC PLUMES AND CLOUDS WITH THE NASA EARTH OBSERVING SYSTEM<br />TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. PST), MCC Level 1<br />SESSION: V21E-0663<br /><br />NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites provide scientists with a new<br />set of tools for the study of volcanic plumes and clouds. This presentation<br />will discuss the use of data from the first two EOS spacecraft, in<br />determining how sulfur dioxide, silicate ash and sulfate aerosols mix in a<br />volcanic plume.<br /><br />SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS OF COUPLED OCEAN-ATMOSPHERE INTERACTION<br />TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 11:15 a.m. EST (8:15 a.m. PST) MCC 3012<br />SESSION: OS21D-02<br /><br />Based on research using data from NASA's QuikSCAT and Aqua satellites, this<br />presentation highlights seminal findings on the interaction between ocean<br />currents and surface winds at previously undetected scales.<br /><br />HIGH-RESOLUTION MAPPING OF THE ARCTIC SEA ICE COVER WITH RADARSAT AND ICESAT<br />FOR CLIMATE AND PROCESS STUDIES<br />TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 11:45 a.m. EST (8:45 a.m. PST) MCC 3012<br />SESSION: OS21D-04<br /><br />In this session, researchers will discuss how NASA's ICESat and RADARSAT<br />satellite data were used to examine changes in Arctic sea ice and shed light<br />on the current trend in sea ice reduction due to climate change.<br /><br />MID-DEPTH CIRCULATION OF THE WORLD'S OCEANS: A FIRST LOOK AT THE ARGO ARRAY<br />TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 12:15 p.m. EST (9:15 a.m. PST) MCC 3012<br />SESSION: OS21D-06<br /><br />This presentation highlights a technological breakthrough expected to have<br />profound impact on oceanography and climate research. The scientists used<br />radar altimeters, NASA satellite-based devices in their research. The radar<br />altimeters provide the first direct measurements of ocean flow by capturing<br />vertical measurements of land and sea surfaces.<br /><br />AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF PYRO-CUMULONIMBUS INJECTIONS OF<br />AEROSOL ON THE UPPER TROPOSPHERE AND LOWER STRATOSPHERE CLIMATE DURING<br />NORTHERN HEMISPHERE SUMMER<br />TIME: Tues. Dec. 6, 1:20 p.m. EST (10:20 a.m. PST), MCC 2004<br />SESSION: A22B-01<br /><br />The direct transport of forest fire smoke into the stratosphere by<br />pyro-cumulonimbus clouds provides a dramatic example of the rapid rise of<br />dust and particles from the lower atmosphere. This presentation will discuss<br />the role of these events in aerosols in the lower stratosphere and its<br />effect on the circulation of the atmosphere as seen in computer model<br />simulations.<br /><br />CHLOROPHYLL BLOOMS IN THE OLIGOTROPIC GYRES: OCEAN OASES?<br />TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 1:35 p.m. EST (10:35 a.m. PST), MCC 3012<br />SESSION: OS22B-02<br /><br />This session discusses NASA's SeaWIFS satellite observations, which show<br />large unexplained phytoplankton blooms in the Pacific Ocean that can be as<br />large as the state of California. The blooms develop in a part of the ocean<br />with low nutrients that would seem incapable of supporting them. A second<br />talk, "Western Pacific Modulation of Large Phytoplankton Blooms in the<br />Central and Eastern Equatorial Pacific," at 2:35 p.m. EST (11:35 a.m. PST)<br />on Tuesday (Session OS22B-06), details a recently discovered pattern of<br />large blooms following El Niños and examines a hypothesis for their<br />existence more than 6,214 miles away.<br /><br />SOUTHERN OCEAN "SUPERBLOOM" OF 2000<br />TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 4:40 p.m. EST (1:40 p.m. PST), MCC 3012<br />SESSION: OS23B-01<br /><br />This presentation offers a valuable glimpse into seasonal and inter-annual<br />fluctuations in ocean carbon cycling in the Antarctic's Southern Ocean, an<br />area responsible for removal of a large fraction of atmospheric CO2. This<br />study finds these high fluctuation rates have implications for the world's<br />marine ecosystems and the global carbon cycle.<br /><br />A DECADE-LONG RECORD OF GLOBAL SEA-SURFACE HEIGHT FROM SATELLITE ALTIMETRY:<br />STATUS AND OUTLOOK<br />TIME: Tues., Dec. 6, 8:20 p.m. EST (5:20 p.m. PST), MCC 3001<br />SESSION: U24A-03<br /><br />This session presents findings from the long-term data record of the<br />sea-surface height of Earth's ocean, which is revealing basin-wide changes<br />in the circulation patterns of the oceans and how they affect atmospheric<br />variability.<br /><br />SMOKING PYROCUMULONIMBUS: ANALYSIS OF A MAJOR CANADIAN BOREAL FIRE BLOWUP<br />FROM SATELLITE AND GROUND MEASUREMENTS<br />TIME: Wed., Dec. 7, 12:40 p.m. EST (9:40 a.m. PST), MCC 2002<br />SESSION: A31C-07<br /><br />An August 2003 Canadian forest fire exploded into a pyro-cumulonimbus cloud,<br />creating a distinct plume of smoke. This presenations focuses on the use of<br />NASA satellites to study the life cycle of this plume, cloud-top changes,<br />and the transport of smoke from the lower atmosphere through to the<br />stratosphere.<br /><br />TELECONNECTION OVER THE ATLANTIC: THE BODELE DEPRESSION, A SINGLE DUST<br />SOURCE IS RESPONSIBLE TO MOST OF THE WELLBEING OF THE AMAZON RAINFOREST<br />TIME: Wed., Dec. 7, 4:40 p.m. EST (1:40 p.m. PST), MCC Level 2<br />SESSION: A33C-0920<br /><br />Saharan dust, suggested to be the main mineral source that fertilizes the<br />Amazon basin, is generally carried on the westward trade winds from Africa<br />between November and March. Using a combination of data from three satellite<br />instruments, this presentation will show that the emissions and transport of<br />Saharan dust to the Amazon originate mostly from a small source northeast of<br />Lake Chad.<br /><br />OBSERVED TRENDS OF NDVI AND CLIMATE OVER THE AMAZON BASIN<br />TIME: Thurs., Dec. 8, 4:40 p.m. EST (1:40 p.m. PST), MCC Level 1<br />SESSION: B43B-0269<br /><br />The carbon balance of Amazon rainforests plays a key role in the global<br />carbon budget. NASA-funded researchers suggest a possible increasing trend<br />in the growth rate of these forests. This presentation will discuss the<br />probability that an increasing vegetation trend could be due to the rise in<br />short-wave radiation that is enhancing growth in these light-limited<br />ecosystems.<br /><br />DID PLIO-PLEISTOCENE WARM EVENTS CAUSE DESTABILIZATION OF ICE SHEETS, OR<br />VICE-VERSA?<br />TIME: Thurs., Dec. 8, 6:25 p.m. EST (3:25 p.m. PST), MCC 3006<br />SESSION: PP43C-08<br /><br />Historically, short duration, apparently climate-changing events occurred<br />during the Pliocene and early Pleistocene eras. Emerging evidence suggests<br />that major changes also took place in the Greenland and West Antarctic ice<br />sheets at the same time as these events. In this talk, NASA researchers<br />explore physical processes and mechanisms at play. They also argue the<br />sources for the global signals we interpret as "warm events," and how we can<br />better understand what, if any, implications there may be for future<br />behavior of the ice sheets.<br /><br />A LANDSAT RECORD OF NORTH AMERICAN FOREST DISTURBANCE<br />TIME: Fri., Dec. 9, 11:00 a.m. EST (8:00 a.m. PST), MCC Level 1<br />SESSION: Session B51C-0220<br /><br />Analysis of Landsat satellite data has proven useful in diagnosing forest<br />disturbance, growth and recovery. This presentation examines regions with<br />high rates of biomass loss (disturbance) or gains (recovery) and finds a<br />strong correlation between areas of harvesting and fire activity, such as<br />the southeastern U.S., Maine and the Pacific Northwest.<br /><br />For detailed information about each of these sessions, please visit on the<br />Web:<br /><br />http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/2005agu_tip.html<br /><br />For more information about the American Geophysical Union 2005 Joint<br />Assembly Meeting, visit:<br />http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm05/