10th International Conference on Atmospheric Sciences and Applications to Air Quality
May 24, 2007
The 10th International Conference on Atmospheric Sciences and Applications to Air Quality (ASAAQ 2007) was held in Hongkong, China from May 14-16, 2007. The conference covers broad atmospheric sciences and air quality issues. Topics include: measurements and modeling of air pollutants and greenhouse gases, tropospheric chemistry, air-pollution meteorology and long-range transport, acid deposition, atmospheric aerosols, air toxics, meteorological modeling and emergency responses, remote sensing of air pollutants, emission inventories, impact of air pollution on health, climate and the ecosystems, and air-pollutant control technologies and strategies. There was also a special session dedicated to air-quality research and management in the fast developing Pearl River Delta of China. Full Story

NASA Precipitation Measurement Missions (PMM) Science Team Meeting
May 15, 2007
Tom Bell and Jenny Wu attended the NASA Precipitation Measurement Missions (PMM) Science Team Meeting May 7-10, 2007, in Atlanta, Georgia. The meeting brought together scientists from the U.S., Japan, and other participating countries to discuss a number of issues related to the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and to preparing for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. (The GPM "core" satellite is currently expected to be launched in 2013.) Plans were discussed for the next generation of algorithms for generating precipitation-related data from TRMM measurements; these algorithms will likely serve as the "version 0" algorithms for GPM. Also discussed were issues related to 1) use of TRMM and GPM for weather and climate studies, 2) validation of PMM products, 3) producing precipitation data products incorporating other satellite data, 4) using PMM data in weather and hydrological forecasting, and 5) intensifying efforts needed for quantitative estimation of snowfall and snow cover. Full Story

NASA Honor Awards Recipients
May 15, 2007
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2007 NASA Honors Awards. Recipients in Earth Sciences at Goddard include Scott Braun (613.1) - Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal, Climate & Radiation Branch member Winston Chao (613.2) - Exceptional Achievement Medal, Franco Einaudi (610) - Outstanding Leadership Medal, K. Jon Ranson (614.4) - Outstanding Leadership Medal, and the MODIS Science Data Support Team Group Achievement Award, accepted by Ed Masuoka (614.5).
Full Story