Seminar

Abstract

Advanced hyperspectral infrared and microwave sounding instruments have been onboard Earth orbiting satellites since 2002 and measure the total integrated outgoing radiance emitted by Earth’s surface and atmosphere. These instruments are designed to measure the day-to-day variation in thermodynamic state of the atmosphere and surface with the primary purpose of improving weather forecasting. In addition to temperature , moisture, and clouds these instruments are also sensitive to a number of trace gases, including ozone, carbon dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, nitric acid, nitrous oxide and others. With an archive spanning more than 15 years and an international commitment to continue these measurements beyond 2040, we have the opportunity to characterize seasonal and annual atmospheric composition as it varies with the thermodynamic state on a global scale. These sounding instruments thus allow us not only to improve weather forecasting but also address important questions regarding the presence and long-range transport of critical trace gas species. This presentation will give an overview of modern sounding capability and highlight the latest in scientific research on the observation of atmospheric composition from space.

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Christopher Barnet received an undergraduate degrees in Electronics Technology and a master's degree in Solid State Physics, before completing his Ph.D. studies in remote sensing of planetary atmospheres at New Mexico State University. His postdoctoral research focused on ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared observations of the outer planets using a wide variety of instruments on-board the Voyager spacecraft and the Hubble Space Telescope. Since 1995 he has worked on advanced algorithms for terrestrial hyper-spectral infrared and microwave remote sounding for both NASA and NOAA. In 2013 he joined Science and Technology Corporation to support new applications for these advanced algorithms and now serves as the Joint Polar Satellite System ( JPSS) Program Science subject matter expert for hyperspectral IR soundings. In 2014 he was also selected at the NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership science team discipline lead for development of long-term datasets from the Suomi-NPP sounding instruments.