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The Climate and Radiation Branch at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center supports a key NASA mission, namely, to understand and protect our home planet. We seek a better understanding of Earth's climate on all time scales, from daily, seasonal and interannual variability through changes on geologic time scales. Our research focuses on atmospheric measurement, numerical modeling, and climate analysis. We investigate atmospheric radiation, both as a driver for climate change and as a tool for the remote sensing of Earth's atmosphere and surface. The Branch research program seeks to better understand how our planet reached its present state, and how it may respond to future drivers, both natural and anthropogenic.
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Cloud Microphysics Retrievals from SEVIRI
April 5, 2009 — The SEVIRI (Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager) instrument on board the Meteosat Second Generation satellite provides spatial and spectral resolution unique for a geostationary imager. Spectral channels are available to perform MODIS-like cloud optical and microphysical property retrievals using the imager's 0.65µm, 0.86µm and 1.6µm channels. This image shows an example SEVIRI retrieval of cloud optical thickness, taken on 10.22.2007 at 11:15UTC. The red box on the image shows the location of an exactly coincident Terra MODIS data granule. We have directly compared the retrieved cloud optical thickness and cloud effective radius for liquid and ice thermodynamic phases with the MODIS operational collection 5 MOD06 product. Probability distribution plots of results are shown. SEVIRI provides us with a unique opportunity to observe the temporal evolution of cloud properties. Cloud retrieval animations are available upon request (contact Galina.Wind-1@nasa.gov). More on this Image
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Nature Geoscience Article Entitled Smoke Above Clouds
March 5, 2009 — The article entitled "Smoke Above Clouds" by Lorraine A. Remer comments on work by Chand et. al. Both articles appear in the March 2009 issue of Nature Geoscience Atmospheric Science News and Views. Aerosols in the atmosphere alter the radiative balance of the Earth by reflecting or absorbing solar radiation. Spaceborne measurements of clouds and aerosols advected over the southeastern Atlantic Ocean indicate that the greater the cloud cover below the aerosols, the more likely the aerosols are to heat the planet. Please click here to read the article.
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Participation in National Academy of Sciences Workshop
December 1, 2008 — Three branch members are participating in a "Workshop on Uncertainty Management in Remote Sensing of Climate Data" on Dec. 4, 2008 being conducted by the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC. Steve Platnick is a co-organizer and is also serving as Discussion Moderator for the session on remote sensing of aerosols. Lorraine Remer will speak on uncertainty issues associated with remotely sensed data sets for aerosols. Thomas Bell will speak there on statistical problems associated with remote sensing of precipitation.
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Amy Kaleita “TBD”
May 20, 2009 at 11:00 AM — May 20, 2009 to 12:00 PM
Alex Ruane “The Effects of Precipitation Assimilation on the North American Regional Reanalysis Water Cycle”
May 20, 2009 at 3:30 PM — May 20, 2009 to 4:30 PM
View the Calendar
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