EOS Validation Program

Institution: University of Maryland Baltimore County
                    Baltimore, MD 21250-0001
Phone: (410) 455-6315
FAX: (410) 455-1072
E-mail: mcmillan@umbc.edu

Ray Hoff, UMBC / JCET
Steve Platnick, UMBC / JCET
Frank Schmidlin, NASA Wallops

Ken Rutledge, NASA LaRC

Progress Report, March 2003

We propose to deploy a suite of complementary instruments to an offshore lighthouse platform for the primary purpose of providing correlative measurements characterizing the atmosphere and sea surface for validation of AIRS forward algorithm and measured radiances. The known emissivity of the sea surface is essential for AIRS forward model and radiance validation. The chosen location, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Chesapeake Light lighthouse platform located 25 km east of Virginia Beach, VA, permits validation activities under a variety of climatic conditions from cold, low absolute humidity winters to sub-tropical summers. Already well instrumented by the National Weather Service's National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) and the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Ocean Validation Experiment (COVE), Chesapeake Light offers an easily accessible, true over ocean site.

The Baltimore Bomem Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (BBAERI) lends its name to the BBAERI AIRS Ocean Validation Experiment (BAOVE). BBAERI observations will quantify atmospheric temporal variability at ten minute intervals and provide characterization of the atmospheric boundary layer, sea surface temperature, and emissivity. A co-located elastic backscatter Lidar will provide determination of cloud free conditions, cloud-base heights, and thicknesses of thin clouds. Total precipitable water vapor will be measured with a deployed GPS receiver. Radiosonde launches timed for AIRS over-passes using Vaisala, VIZ, and Snow White chilled mirror sondes will provide characterization of the total atmospheric column including upper tropospheric humidity. Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations eventually will assist determination of both atmospheric and sea surface spatial variability within AIRS fields-of-view.

The timing of the initial two--eight week deployment is totally flexible and will occur at the discretion of the AIRS science team, likely within two--four months of launch, to provide the essential measurements required for the first update of the AIRS forward model by launch+8 months. Subsequent deployments in different seasonal conditions over the term of the proposal will provide ongoing forward model validation, including water vapor continuum spectroscopy. In addition, serving as a `mini-ARM site,' BAOVE will provide AIRS Level 2 product validation including retrievals of atmospheric temperature, water vapor, upper tropospheric humidity (UTH), and trace gases; and possibly sea surface temperature (SST) and cloud clearing algorithms. All BAOVE activities will be closely coordinated with the AIRS Science Team to provide the necessary data in a timely manner.