Solar Storms Affirmative – 4 Week Lab [1/3]
DSCOVR K2 Satellite Calibration
Download 0.93 Mb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- Satellite Data K2 Solve Warming
DSCOVR K2 Satellite CalibrationDSCOVR is key to determining the effects of climate change on the Earth—it measures variables that Earth-orbiting satellites cannot such as albedo Charlson 4 (Robert J., scientist at the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington, request sent to Mr. Sean O’Keefe of NASA, 28 January 2004, http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/released%20FOIA%20documents%20re%20DSCOVR.pdf) I am writing to you as an individual scientist to bring to your attention a serious gap in the development of an observational basis for quantifying the natural and forced change in the Earth's climate. Specifically, I want to urge NASA to move ahead with the deployment of the Deep Space Climate observatory, DSCOVR, as a means to significantly refine the understanding and quantification of the Earth's reflectance or albedo. My own research for the past 14 years has focused on quantification of the effects of anthropogenic aerosols tm the Earth's reflection and absorption of solar radiation; indeed, my colleagues and I published the first papers on the complex topic of climate forcing by anthropogenic aerosols As a member of the Science Team for the NASA satellite CALIPSO, I am fully aware of the fine opportunities for measurement that its laser radar will provide along with the rich data set expected from the Aqua-Train. We are confident that these new data sources will significantly improve our ability to calculate the climate forcing by aerosols, and it will provide important reductions in the dependence upon assumptions regarding am01 effects in climate models. But, the larger context of these aerosol effects is the albedo of the planet, which is one of the least well-quantified factors influencing the Earth's energy balance. The global albedo is largely determined by the properties and a real extent of clouds. It is very difficult to model and is measured only with large uncertainties, even by the best radiometers aboard NASA satellites, such BS CEBES. Among the difficulties with information gained from instruments in low Earth orbit is the fact that the satellite "sees" only a small portion of the planet at any instant, and polar orbiting platforms are usually sun-synchronous such that they make observations at only one time of day and at one or a few angles. The classical technique for determining the Earth's albedo is based on observations of the portion of the moon illuminated by "Earthlight”. This method complements existing satellite observations, and at times can "see" nearly the whole sunlit hemisphere, but still has an accuracy of only about 0.006 (in albedo units), which in turn results in an uncertainty in energy balance around 2 Watts per square meter. For reference, the total forcing by greenhouse gases is 2.4 Watts per square meter, which has an uncertainty of only about 10%. Thus, the uncertainty in the measurement of albedo and its variations is as large or larger than the whole man-made greenhouse effect. Importantly, much work has been done over the last century on the greenhouse effect but very little has been done about global albedo, largely because clouds are so difficult to model and to measure globally. In order to obviate this serious problem, radiometers carried aboard have been built and are now in storage for want of a launch opportunity. When launched, DSCOVR will continuously observe the same exact scenes as will be observed by the satellites of the A- DSCOVR could be used to provide much refined data on albedo and its geographical and temporal variability. Its accuracy should be comparable to that of the lunar method. Its high time resolution will undoubtedly reveal new aspects of the factors causing albedo fluctuations. It would observe continuously nearly the entire sunlit side of the Earth from a unique vantage in the vicinity of the L1 point between Earth and the SUII. These instruments and the satellite pltat50m for them Train, providing coincident, multivariate data jets for detailed analysis. Great synergistic value will be added to the A-Train data sets via comparisons and contrasts to the more global data of DSCOVR. Just as albedo is the global context for studying and understanding aerosol effects, the near-hemispheric data of DSCOVR will provide a continuous context for the more detailed measurements made from those platforms in low Earth orbit. Considerable additional value will accrue, far beyond the actual cost of launching and operating DSCOVR. Recent papers (e.g., J. Geophys. Res. 108@22) 4709doc: O.lO29/2OO3JM)o36lO,2Oo3; %id, 47 1 Odoi: 1 0.1 029/2OO3JDOO36 1 1,22003) including both satellite- and lunar-based observational estimates show that the global albedo is a dynamic quantity with large (many percent) variations that are not captured well in global climate models. However, tests of the internal consistency of these estimates show significant disagreements in the nature of the annual variations. DSCOVR will provide an objective means for testing the internal consistency of all of the above as well as the data from the A-Train. Again, I urge you to press the case for launching and operating DSCOVR so that we in the scientific community can make real progress toward understanding climate and the impacts of human activity upon it. Without it, we will continue to be stuck with excessive uncertainties and dependence upon assumptions instead of data. Satellite Data K2 Solve WarmingSatellites are key to predictive models—ground, sea, and airborne observation don’t give the complete picture GAO 10 (Government Accountability Office, “ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITES Strategy Needed to Sustain Critical Climate and Space Weather Measurements,” April 2010, https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=13153eda6bd0cba7&mt=application/pdf&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D1d49613b60%26view%3Datt%26th%3D13153eda6bd0cba7%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dsafe%26realattid%3Df_gqfpmsjd0%26zw&sig=AHIEtbTemLrr0aEGSwRmvZHYiRE3WOw2kg) Since the 1960s, the United States has used satellites to observe the earth and its land, oceans, atmosphere, and space environments. Satellites provide a global perspective of the environment and allow observations in areas that may be otherwise unreachable or unsuitable for measurements. Used in combination with ground, sea, and airborne observing systems, satellites have become an indispensable part of measuring and forecasting weather and climate. For example, satellites provide the graphical images used to identify current weather patterns, as well as the data that go into numerical weather prediction models. These models are used to forecast weather 1 to 2 weeks in advance and to issue warnings about severe weather, including the path and intensity of hurricanes. Satellite data are also used to warn infrastructure owners when increased solar activity is expected to affect key assets, including communication satellites or the electric power grid. When collected over time, satellite data can also be used to observe trends and changes in the earth’s climate. For example, these data are used to monitor and project seasonal, annual, and decadal changes in the earth’s temperature, vegetation coverage, and ozone coverage. Predictions are necessary to create plans to combat warming—people can’t form effective strategies if they’re trying to fix the wrong problem Hamre 10 (John, President and CEO of the Center for Strategic & International Studies, “Earth Observation for Climate Change,” June 2010, http://csis.org/files/publication/100608_Lewis_EarthObservation_WEB.pdf) Slowly, painfully, we are developing a new policy framework that we hope will enable our society to cope with a changing climate. But currently we do not have in place the necessary “knowledge infrastructure” to make this new system work. As we develop new policies, we are confronted with critical questions of capacity and responsibility for this endeavor. The scientific community has done a great deal to study the nature and pace of global climate change and increase our understanding of these global phenomena—both in terms of what we know and what we do not know. Now, as policymakers, businesses, the international community, and households consider ways to reduce emissions in the hope of avoiding the most severe effects of a changing climate, build more resilient infrastructure and systems to withstand the unavoidable impacts of climate change, and plan for dealing with climate-related disasters, our ability to provide decisionmakers with the information that they need must grow and improve. Among many complex issues, we need to understand climate-related trends as they apply to state and local communities; we must decide how to monitor emissions and check results against agreed-upon reductions and expected outcomes; we must address how to better model the economic effects of emissions reductions plans and a changing natural environment in ways that will help us understand the impact of new climate policies. We need to establish methods of assessing the relative costs and benefits of more aggressive action that will allow us to prioritize actions to take for climate change, and, of course, we need to continuously improve on understanding how and why the Earth’s climate is changing so as to build greater certainty into policy efforts. Directory: file -> view view -> Western Europe after wwii view -> Author study: paul fleischman view -> Qpa1 7ela study Guide view -> Arctic Oil/Gas Neg view -> November 1970 Approximately 150,000-500,000 deaths Bhola Cyclone Bangladesh view -> Grade Level: 6 Unit of Study: Caribbean glce view -> Citation: Duffield, Katy view -> Table of Contents Lesson # view -> Chinese Wind Energy Disad Download 0.93 Mb. Share with your friends:
|