EOS Validation Program

Dear Instrument Science Team member:

This letter concerns EOS Science Data Validation. The purpose of this letter is to:

a) advise you of the EOS Project Science Office game plan with respect to EOS instrument team Science Data Validation Plans (see Enclosure 1: Validation Plan Event Schedule), including our intention to hold an EOS Validation Workshop next May,

b) provide some guidance to the EOS instrument teams as to the contents and format expected in the required Science Data Validation Plans (see Enclosure 2: Guidance for Science Data Validation Plan, and Enclosure 3: Outline for Science Data Validation Plan), and

c) clarify some programmatic issues related to EOS validation, including plans to develop a solicitation for selected, high priority validation activities.

Science Data Validation Plans are due this winter / spring from the EOS Instrument Teams with instruments on the AM-1 and TRMM platforms. The EOS Project Science Office will conduct a peer review of these plans next fall (see the Event Schedule). As you know, EOS instrument teams are expected to fund their required validation activities primarily through their approved budgets. It is anticipated that some limited supplemental funding will be available for flight hours on NASA aircraft and for development of selected airborne "simulator" versions of EOS instruments. A solicitation (NRA) for these and other selected key elements in support of EOS validation activities is anticipated late next summer.

The Project Science Office is challenged to derive the greatest scientific benefit using its available resources. Coordination of activities within EOS, including active partnerships between instrument teams, interdisciplinary science (IDS) investigations, and other non-EOS programs (MTPE or non-NASA) will definitely enhance the likelihood that additional resources can be brought to bear. Close integration of validation activities with the science application of the data is highly desired. Identified elements that have significant benefit for multiple instruments, data products and investigations are most attractive as they offer the potential of significantly enhanced scientific output at reduced overall cost. Availability of supplemental funding will be limited and will be allocated based on an assessment of criticality and project-wide benefit.

To facilitate the formation of appropriate partnerships and coordination of planned validation activities among the various instrument teams and, very importantly, to fully engage the IDS teams in planned validation activities, a Science Data Validation Workshop will be held in the May timeframe. Your team is strongly encouraged to participate in this workshop. The intent is to enable meaningful revision of the individual Science Data Validation Plans by the instrument teams prior to the peer review so that a substantially more integrated, cost effective, and scientifically beneficial EOS-wide validation program emerges.

In addition to the AM-1 and EOS/TRMM instrument teams, the SAGE-III team, the Ocean Color community (SIMBIOS Project) and the EOS Data Assimilation Project are expected to actively participate in the EOS Validation Workshop. The EOS IDS teams will also fully participate in this meeting. The various panels of the EOS IWG (Land, Atmosphere, Ocean, Physical Climate and Hydrology, Modeling, Biogeochemical Cycles and, especially, the Panel on Data Quality) will play a substantial role in developing an integrated EOS-wide Validation Plan. The Validation Workshop will be an important step in this process.

You should especially note our request for a summary of your Science Data Validation Plan, described in the last paragraph the Validation Plan Guidance, with special attention to defining requirements, needs, and possible collaborations. This will be very important for developing appropriate collaborations and joint efforts, and for the efficient integration of your plan into an EOS-wide Science Data Validation Plan. As such, this summary information is essential to maximize what can be accomplished at the Validation Workshop.

We encourage each of you to invest a significant effort in the development of the best possible validation plans for EOS. The ultimate success of EOS is highly dependent upon the quality of our data products, both real and perceived. Validation is a critical step in establishing the factual basis for demonstrating the data quality. We must convince first ourselves and then the world that EOS data products are of the highest quality and appropriate for understanding and monitoring the Earth system.

Sincerely,

David O'C. Starr
EOS Validation Scientist
Laboratory for Atmospheric Sciences

Michael D. King
EOS Senior Project Scientist
Earth Sciences Directorate

Jon Ranson
Terra Project Scientist
Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics