Book chapter
An Overview of the NASA Atmosphere Observing System Inclined Mission (AOS-I) and the Role of Backscatter Lidar - Chapter 81
Proceedings of the 30th International Laser Radar Conference, pp.631-638
Springer Atmospheric Sciences, Springer International Publishing
2023
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-37818-8_81
Abstract
NASA has established the Earth System Observatory (ESO) to fulfill the science needs presented in the 2017 Earth Science Decadal Survey, and the Atmosphere Observing System (AOS) is a key component of ESO. The AOS mission will make measurements of aerosols, clouds, convection, and precipitation, which represents two of the designated observables in the decadal survey, to advance our understanding of the processes that drive cloud and precipitation properties (for low, high, convective, and frozen/mixed-phase clouds), convective vertical motion, air quality, aerosol redistribution, radiative transfer, and the relationships between these processes. AOS employs a two-orbit architecture (a polar orbit and an inclined orbit), thereby allowing AOS to cover a wide range of temporal and spatial scales and transforming our understanding of this critical part of the Earth’s system. The inclined-orbit sensor suite (AOS-I, 55-degree inclination, 407 km altitude, notional launch in July 2028) includes a backscatter lidar called the Atmospheric Lidar Instrument for Clouds and Aerosol Transport (ALICAT), a Ku-band Doppler radar, and two microwave radiometers that provide short-time-differenced measurements. The goal of AOS-I is to determine the varying-time-of-day processes that control aerosol-convection-precipitation interactions, as well as the diurnal variability of convection, precipitation, high clouds, aerosol emissions, and air quality. This extended abstract provides (1) an overview of the AOS-I mission, (2) a description of the AOS-I science objectives, and (3) a preview of the critical role ALICAT plays in AOS-I science, applications, and synergy.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- An Overview of the NASA Atmosphere Observing System Inclined Mission (AOS-I) and the Role of Backscatter Lidar - Chapter 81
- Creators
- John E Yorks - Goddard Space Flight CenterScott Braun - Goddard Space Flight CenterEd Nowottnick - Goddard Space Flight CenterMatt McGill - Goddard Space Flight CenterCourtney Schumacher - Texas A&M UniversityJun Wang - University of IowaMelanie Follette-Cook - Goddard Space Flight CenterJames Campbell - United States Naval Research LaboratoryMichael Pavolonis - NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Publication Details
- Proceedings of the 30th International Laser Radar Conference, pp.631-638
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing; Cham
- Series
- Springer Atmospheric Sciences
- DOI
- 10.1007/978-3-031-37818-8_81
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2023
- Academic Unit
- Physics and Astronomy; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Chemical and Biochemical Engineering; Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Record Identifier
- 9984539760002771
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