Energy, Climate Change Entry Tops 2013 Earth Science Technology Showcase

EarthzineESTO Showcase 2013, Original

esto-pyramid

The ESTO Pyramid award for the Showcase. Image Credit: Phil Larkin.

Earthzine and the NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) are pleased to announce the Best Article Award for the inaugural 2013 Earth Science Technology Showcase.

The showcase, launched Dec. 2, features 10 articles on current Earth-observing technology development projects, authored by ESTO principal investigators.åÊEach paper was reviewed by subject matter experts before publishing, and judged by a panel of graduate students afterward.

By the thinnest of margins, the judges chose the entry by Martin Mlynczak, of the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, for the Award.

Mlynczak’s article, titled, “The Far-Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere (FIRST) Instrument: New Technology for Measuring Earth’s Energy Balance and Climate Change” was co-authored by Langley colleagues R.P. Cageao, D. Kratz and D. Johnson. Other co-authors included H. Latvakoski of Space Dynamics Laboratory in Logan, Utah; åÊand J. Mast of Science Systems and Applications Inc. in Hampton, Virginia.

The winning team will take home the ESTO trophy, pictured at the top right of this page. Other entries in the Showcase can be found below.

ESTO funds and manages advanced technology projects ‰ÛÒ through regular peer-reviewed solicitations ‰ÛÒ including instruments, components, and information systems technology that could be used to reach new levels of measurement accuracy, take new measurements of the Earth, help to model and visualize data, and increase access to NASA’s data products.

The inaugural Showcase features examples of projects currently under development.

Best Article Award

The Far-Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere (FIRST) Instrument: New Technology for Measuring Earth’s Energy Balance and Climate change

The Far-Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere (FIRST) instrument has been developed to observe a portion of the infrared spectrum relevant to climate.

Others Entries

fig 1 resizeUsing Sensor web Technology to Monitor Flooding in Thailand

In a collaborationåÊ of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute of Thailand, sensorweb technologies are being used to enhance monitoring of flooding in Thailand. This Thailand Flood Sensorweb utilizes automation techniques to detect flooded areas, alert interested parties, and deliver imagery.

2 thumbWideband Sensor Technologies for Measuring Surface Snow

The authors have developed a novel broadband antenna technology that enables remote sensing measurements over the X- to Ka-band microwave spectrum from a single aperture. The antenna technology is integrated with an airborne X- and Ku-band synthetic aperture radar and K-and Ka-band radiometer for measuring the spatial distribution of surface snow.

thumb3A Compact Trace Gas Lidar for Atmospheric Methane Measurements

The authors describe an atmospheric methane lidar in development, which is capable of making continuous measurements from orbit in sunlight and darkness at all latitudes.

sateliite imageAirborne Lidar Surface Technology Simulator Instrument for High-Resolution Topographic Mapping of Earth

This paper describes a new, highly efficient laser altimeter capable of mapping the Earth’s vegetation cover and the soil surface through foliage.

thum5Analyzing Tropical Waves Using the Parallel Ensemble Empirical Model Decomposition Method: Preliminary Results from Hurricane Sandy

To reveal multiscale processes from high-resolution, multidimensional Earth science data, we have developed the parallel version of the ensemble empirical model decomposition (PEEMD) method with a three-level parallelism. In this study, we illustrate the performance of the PEEMD in extracting tropical wave components from idealized tropical wave solutions and large-scale environmental flows associated with Hurricane Sandy.

The Far-Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere (FIRST) Instrument: New Technology for Measuring Earth’s Energy Balance and Climate change

The Far-Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere (FIRST) instrument has been developed to observe a portion of the infrared spectrum relevant to climate.

åÊthum 7High-Power Distributed Feedback Semiconductor Lasers near2.0 um

This paper describes the first fiber-coupled, distributed-feedback semiconductor lasers operating near 2.051 um wavelength with record high output power. Among the novel applications and instruments they enable are carbon dioxide concentration measurements in air.

thumb8Model Evaluation Using the NASA Regional Climate Model Evaluation System (RCMES)

Climate models and observations are generated from a variety of sources and by a variety of institutions. The Regional Climate Model Evaluation System provides the necessary software and architecture to easily and rapidly perform model evaluation activities.

åÊthumb9Simulations and Visualizations of Hurricane Sandy (2012) as Revealed by the NASA CAMVis

This study presents 10 track predictions of Hurricane Sandy. Using 4-D visualizations, they capture Sandy’s northwestward turn prior to landfall.

10.1

Measuring Earth’s Radiation Imbalance with RAVAN: A CubeSat Mission to Measure the Driver of Global Climate Change

RAVAN will demonstrate two key technologies that enable accurate, absolute Earth radiation measurements using a remarkably small instrument: a vertically aligned carbon nanotube forest absorber and a gallium fixed-point blackbody as a calibration transfer standard.