The Earth Observer


July/August 1996, Vol.8, No.4

Editor's Corner

-Michael King, EOS Senior Project Scientist

A Payload Panel meeting was held in Annapolis, Maryland on July 29-31. Unlike previous Payload Panel meetings, this one was prompted by the desire to articulate and prioritize the strategic directions of Mission to Planet Earth in the upcoming years, rather than by some imminent budget reduction or program restructuring. The Payload Panel first articulated the fundamental principles that set EOS apart, and which we consider to be self-evident. These are:

  1. integrated, comprehensive observations - an observing strategy that combines spectral, temporal, and spatial measurements to maximize the scientific return;

  2. long-term measurements - a strategy that resolves seasonal and interannual variability to improve the scientific understanding and provide a firm starting point for assessing decadal and longer changes (e.g., 15+ year data sets for global change research);

  3. calibration and characterization - provide adequate pre-flight and on-orbit calibration for climate and global change research to enable intercomparisons of measurements from different instruments and platforms;

  4. validation - an end-to-end assessment of data product quality;

  5. product documentation - peer-reviewed algorithms are described in the open literature and accessible to the entire scientific and educational user communities;

  6. data accessibility - all EOS data products are available to any user at the cost of filling the user request.
The Payload Panel also formed four task forces with the goal of developing white papers in the following areas: (i) strategy for the second series of missions (AM-2, Chemistry-2, etc.); (ii) the relationship between EOS and the National Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS); (iii) the insertion of new technology, including the role of the New Millennium Program (NMP) and Earth System Science Pathfinders (ESSP), among other instrument incubator initiatives, and (iv) EOSDIS and the emerging role of the federation, long-term archives, and DAAC certification.

I am happy to report that Dr. Yoram Kaufman has agreed to serve as AM Project Scientist, replacing Dr. Piers Sellers, who left Goddard at the end of July to join Johnson Space Center as an astronaut candidate. Dr. Kaufman is an internationally recognized scientist with an in-depth understanding of the scientific requirements and impact of the EOS AM mission. His special areas of expertise include: (i) the remote sensing of aerosols and clouds and their impact on global change; (ii) remote sensing of biomass burning, including the development of methods for satellite retrieval of fire characteristics, smoke aerosols, and trace gases; (iii) atmospheric correction of satellite observations; and (iv) validation campaigns involving aircraft, surface, and satellite observations. He is also a member of the MODIS Science Team with primary responsibility for the aerosol retrieval algorithm over land, and hence I am confident that he will make a very substantial contribution to the EOS AM Project and represent the Earth sciences community in an exemplary fashion.

In addition, Dr. Jon Ranson, who has a background in forestry and agronomy with a specialization in optical and microwave scattering from vegetation canopies, has agreed to serve as Deputy AM Project Scientist. Dr. Jim Collatz, a climate modeler and plant biologist, has agreed to serve as Assistant AM Project Scientist. These land scientists will complement Yoram Kaufman's strengths in atmospheric science.

Finally, our EOS Project Science Office Web address has been changed to http://eospso.gsfc.nasa.gov. A list of recently added items can be found on Page 28 of this issue.

|Table of Contents |Next|