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SARP 2009
NASA Opportunity - SARP 2009
NASA seeks highly motivated advanced undergraduate and early graduate students for participation in a Summer 2009 research program in Earth system science using its DC-8 flying laboratory. The 6-week program is managed by the National Suborbital Education and Research Center (www.nserc.und.edu). Faculty and staff will be drawn from several universities and NASA centers, as well as from flight operations and engineering personnel.
NASA seeks highly motivated advanced undergraduate and early graduate students for participation in a Summer 2009 research program in Earth system science using its DC-8 flying laboratory. The 6-week program is managed by the National Suborbital Education and Research Center (www.nserc.und.edu). Faculty and staff will be drawn from several universities and NASA centers, as well as from flight operations and engineering personnel.
SARP 2009 DETAILS
Overview - Student Airborne Research
Students will acquire hands-on research experience in all aspects of a scientific campaign using a major NASA resource for studying Earth system processes, calibration/validation of space-borne observations and prototyping instruments for possible satellite missions. Students will operate instruments onboard the DC-8 aircraft to sample atmospheric chemicals and to image land and water surfaces in multiple spectral bands. At the culmination of the program, students will present their scientific results to a select audience.Applicants should have a strong academic background in disciplines relevant to the Earth system including the physical, chemical or biological sciences or engineering. Eligibility requirements include full-time student status at an accredited U.S. college or university. Women and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply.
Successful applicants will be awarded a stipend for 6 weeks of participation in the program including 5 weeks in Southern California for classroom, laboratory and aircraft experience. NSERC will provide travel to and from California and living expenses while in California.
Selection criteria will include:
- Excellent academic performance
- Promise for contributing to nation's future workforce as judged by career plans
- Evidence of interest in Earth system science and hands-on research
- Geographic, gender and ethnic diversity
- Ability to perform in teams
Program Description - Student Airborne Research
Two instrument investigators have committed to integrate their instruments onboard the DC-8 to facilitate airborne science research by the students. Faculty will assist the students in collecting data with these instruments, but the students will be the main operators of them. The first of these instruments is MASTER, which is a multispectral remote sensing imager. Jeff Myers and his group from UC Santa Cruz will guide the installation, operation and data reduction for this instrument. The second instrument is the Whole Air Sampler (WAS), which will be used to collect samples of air outside the aircraft at various altitudes during the flight. Don Blake from UC Irvine will guide the installation, operation, sample analysis, and data reduction for this instrument. The sample analysis introduces students to other laboratory instruments.MODIS/ASTER Simulator (MASTER)
Jeff Myers has in the past collaborated with John Ryan at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute to study algal blooms in Monterey Bay. Again, the experiment is appealing for student participation, since its scientific importance is straightforward and detection essentially involves only a few spectral bands, an infrared one being the most important. The microbes which constitute the bloom make daily round trips from depth to nearer surface and back. The best time for detecting them near the surface is from noon to 2:00 PM, but valuable data can be obtained at nearly any time. An overflight by the DC-8 can be coordinated with ocean sampling from a boat directly underneath the aircraft, so the connection between remote sensing and direct measurement of what is actually causing the infrared signal can be made. Dr. Ryan will give lectures on remote sensing of ocean processes and guide students on analysis of the data acquired on the science flights.
Dr. Susan Ustin from the University of California Davis conducts research in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Her suggestions for research using multi-spectral imaging data are (1) crop classification in a major agricultural region, (2) transpiration from crops as assessed using the thermal and visible bands, to be compared with evapo-transpiration estimates provided daily from models, and (3) temperatures of water entering the Delta from different rivers. In addition to lectures on remote sensing of land use, Dr. Ustin will provide guidance on specific data reduction methods.
NASA research aircraft have been used extensively in verification of satellite measurements. A goal for flight planning will be to include an underflight of the A-Train so that comparisons with MODIS on Terra or Aqua might provide both educational and practical value.
Whole Air Sampler (WAS)
During a study sponsored by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in Spring 2008, Don Blake's research group detected surprisingly strong emissions from the large dairy operations in California's Central Valley. Large quantities of ethanol were detected. Ethanol reactions in the atmosphere can lead to chemically produced ozone. The result is significant, and students who are involved in this program in 2009 could possibly have publishable results. Additional significance is that the results may trigger CARB to institute new air-quality regulations.
One advantage of the experiment is that it is readily understandable. Students will take samples of ambient air at various locations and elevations, and then analyze them for chemical content. This allows students to learn airborne science techniques plus subsequent laboratory and data analysis. Furthermore, Dr. Blake's group plans to also collect samples at a few ground locations to expand the data reach.
Dr. Blake will train students on how to quantify methane and CO in a day. Other gases are trickier and could take longer; but advanced students could learn these sophisticated techniques as well.
Flights
With the proposed science flights, students will have made measurements of land, sea, and air. This will be accomplished in two 5- or 6-hour flights, all within California. The tentative flight plan will start in Palmdale, travel up the Central Valley, over the Sacramento Delta, and back over Monterey Bay. Since the airborne measurements will be combined with surface and satellite measurements, students will experience the full dimensions of sensor networks, important Earth system tools of the future.Proposed Schedule - Student Airborne Research
July 6-July 11, 2009During this time, students will participate in advanced preparation from their home base. Participating mission faculty and NSERC staff will provide reading assignments plus two teleconference discussions. Students will also be introduced to some of the software needed for analysis. Students will be responsible for completing the reading assignments and participating in the teleconferences. Reading assignments and participation during this week is mandatory for further involvement in the program.
July 12-25, 2009
Students will arrive in California and attend presentations at UC Irvine where mission faculty, NASA staff, and NSERC staff will present lectures on various aspects of Earth Science and airborne science in particular. Also during this time students will participate in the necessary planning activities for an airborne research mission such as instrument integration, flight planning, and payload testing at the Palmdale facility. The first week will be focused on classroom lectures and preparation. The second week will be in Palmdale at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility where students will board the DC-8 for two 5-6 hour science flights. During these flights science data will be collected from the on board instruments.
Lodging, meals, and transportation will be provided at both program sites. At UCI students will be housed on campus in dormitories and meals will be provided. While in Palmdale, the students will be lodged at hotels within short transportation time (10-15 minutes) to the Palmdale DFRC hangar.
July 26 - August 13, 2009
The final three weeks of the student mission will take place at UCI, where students will perform data analysis and interpretation, document results, and prepare presentations. Students will be assisted by graduate student assistants, mission faculty, and NSERC staff. The program will end with students presenting their final results to the group and delivering a written report useful for future students and for posting on the Internet. During this time, lodging, meals, and transportation will be provided by NSERC and the students will be lodged in the UCI student dormitories.
Please read this literature and explore these links to prepare for the Student Airborne Research Program.
Project Overview
Quantifying and Assessing the Impact of Dairy Farm Emissions from California's Central Valley on the Atmosphere
Dr. Don Blake of UC Irvine will lead this experiment using the Whole Air Sampler to collect airborne measurements.
Background Literature
Useful Links
Quantifying and Assessing the Impact of Dairy Farm Emissions from California's Central Valley on the Atmosphere
Dr. Don Blake of UC Irvine will lead this experiment using the Whole Air Sampler to collect airborne measurements.
Background Literature
Influence of biomass burning during recent fluctuations in the slow growth of global tropospheric methane- Hydroxyl concentration estimates in the sunlit snowpack at Summit, Greenland
- Measurements of non-methane hydrocarbons in 28 United States cities
Useful Links
Project Overview
Remote Sensing of Hazardous Algae Blooms, or "Red Tides", in the Monterey Bay
Dr. John Ryan of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute will lead this experiment using the MODIS/ASTER Simulator (MASTER) to collect airborne measurements. Jeff Myers of NASA Ames/UC Santa Cruz will lead the students in data acquisition using the MASTER.
Background Literature
Useful Links
Remote Sensing of Hazardous Algae Blooms, or "Red Tides", in the Monterey Bay
Dr. John Ryan of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute will lead this experiment using the MODIS/ASTER Simulator (MASTER) to collect airborne measurements. Jeff Myers of NASA Ames/UC Santa Cruz will lead the students in data acquisition using the MASTER.
Background Literature
- A coastal ocean extreme bloom incubator
- Influences of upwelling and downwelling winds on red tide bloom dynamics in Monterey Bay, California
Useful Links
Project Overview
Remote Sensing of Agricultural Processes in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Dr. Susan Ustin of UC Davis will lead this experiment using multi-spectral imaging data to assess how agricultural processes are impacting the hydrological and ecological environments of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River System. Airborne measurements will be collected using the MASTER under the guidance of Jeff Myers of NASA Ames/UC Santa Cruz.
Background Literature
Useful Links
Remote Sensing of Agricultural Processes in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Dr. Susan Ustin of UC Davis will lead this experiment using multi-spectral imaging data to assess how agricultural processes are impacting the hydrological and ecological environments of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River System. Airborne measurements will be collected using the MASTER under the guidance of Jeff Myers of NASA Ames/UC Santa Cruz.
Background Literature
- Using imaging spectroscopy to study ecosystem processes and properties
- Thermal infrared measurements as an indicator of plant ecosystem health: Chapter 8
Useful Links
Background Literature
Useful Links
- A Tutorial on Lateral Conditions as a Basic and Potentially Serious Limitation to Regional
Weather Prediction.
- Does Increasing Horizontal Resolution Produce More Skillful Forecasts?
- Atmospheric Predictability. Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan.
- A review of current issues in air pollution modeling and simulation. Journal of Computational Geosciences.
Useful Links
- Meteorology Education modules from UCAR's COMET® Program
(NOTE: You must register online to view these courses -- but it is *highly* recommended)
(Specifically recommended: West Coast Fog & Winds in the Marine Boundary Layer) - Modeling atmospheric dispersion of pollutants - The Encyclopedia of Earth
- Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry [a graduate-level textbook by Daniel J. Jacob]
(The chapters on "Simple Models" and "Atmospheric Transport" may be particularly helpful in providing greater detail on the physics involved.)
Participants - Student Airborne Research
Faculty Participants:
Dr. Donald Blake
University of California Irvine
Jeff Myers
University of California Santa Cruz
Dr. John Ryan
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Dr. Sherwood Rowland
University of California Irvine
1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Dr. Henry Fuelberg
Florida State University
Dr. Gregory Carmichael
University of Iowa
Dr. Susan Ustin
University of California Davis
Dr. Donald Blake
University of California Irvine
Jeff Myers
University of California Santa Cruz
Dr. John Ryan
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Dr. Sherwood Rowland
University of California Irvine
1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Dr. Henry Fuelberg
Florida State University
Dr. Gregory Carmichael
University of Iowa
Dr. Susan Ustin
University of California Davis
Possible NASA Participants:
Dr. Jack Kaye
NASA Headquarters Earth Science Research and Applications
Mr. Andrew Roberts
NASA Airborne Science Program
Dr. Hal Maring
NASA Radiation Sciences Program
Dr. Kenneth Jucks
NASA Upper Atmospheric Research Program
Dr. James Crawford
NASA Tropospheric Chemistry Program
Ms. Marilyn Vasques
NASA ESPO Field Program Logistics
Ms. Brenda Mulac
NASA UAS representative to the FAA
Dr. Jack Kaye
NASA Headquarters Earth Science Research and Applications
Mr. Andrew Roberts
NASA Airborne Science Program
Dr. Hal Maring
NASA Radiation Sciences Program
Dr. Kenneth Jucks
NASA Upper Atmospheric Research Program
Dr. James Crawford
NASA Tropospheric Chemistry Program
Ms. Marilyn Vasques
NASA ESPO Field Program Logistics
Ms. Brenda Mulac
NASA UAS representative to the FAA
NSERC Participants:
Dr. George Seielstad - University of North Dakota Professor
Dr. Alexandra Novak - Education and Public Outreach Coordinator
Mr. Richard Shetter - Director
Mr. Adam Webster - Payload Integration Engineer and Mission Manager
Mr. David Van Gilst - Data System and Network Administrator
Ms. Jane Peterson - Media Specialist
Dr. George Seielstad - University of North Dakota Professor
Dr. Alexandra Novak - Education and Public Outreach Coordinator
Mr. Richard Shetter - Director
Mr. Adam Webster - Payload Integration Engineer and Mission Manager
Mr. David Van Gilst - Data System and Network Administrator
Ms. Jane Peterson - Media Specialist