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5. Environmental Parameters
Pages 34-49

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From page 34...
... and (2~; EOS data will also be used in the development, validation, and ultimate applications in (3~. The relative emphasis EOS places on process studies and monitoring global change is one that will evolve.
From page 35...
... The need for this combination of space- and Earth-based measurements is well-documented in reports from the NRC and from NASA The most recent NRC reports come from the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (Report of the Research Beefing Panel on Remote Sensing of the Earth, 1985~; from the Committee on Earth Sciences and the Ask Group on Earth Sciences of the Space Studies Board (A Strategy for Earth Science from Space in the 1980s and 1990s, Parts I and II, 1982, 1985; Mission to Planet Earth, 1988~. The most recent NASA report addressing the full set of science issues, with recommendations for both NASA and NOAA, comes from the Earth System Science Committee Earth System Science: A Closer Mew, 1988~.
From page 36...
... The full set of space-based observations that will contribute to improved understanding of global change are expected lo be made by EOS together with numerous other spacecraft. These include NASA research programs such as UARS and TOPEX/Poseidon, the Earth Probes series, and instruments on Shuttle flights, as well as NOAA and DOD operational satellites, and operational and research satellites launched by other nations.
From page 37...
... EOS has a dual character, combining typical research missions with others that have more of the characteristics of operational monitoring missions, such as those flown by NOAA and DOD. Research missions are typically strongly dependent on a few individuals who devote portions of their careers to them, whereas operational missions are designed to deliver data to other users on a reliable and routine basis.
From page 38...
... observations for a pilot study to be followed by an extensive ground-based measurement program complemented by EOS data. The observational strategy should indicate how each observing system and measurement contributes to the overall scientific objectives of the USGCRP.
From page 39...
... As indicated earlier, the set of instruments under consideration for flight appears to be capable of providing a comprehensive set of measurements of high priority environmental parameters. The complete set of measurements eventually to be made from EOS spacecraft will depend on the successful development of the respective instruments, as well as on other factors.
From page 40...
... Unless another Earth radiation budget measurement mission is flown, however, there will be a several year gap in such data between the end of the SCARAB mission and the beginning of EOS. EOS Plans The EOS instrumentation makes a major contribution to answering the question about the role of clouds in climate.
From page 41...
... Moreover, uncertainties in the time of the Space Station launch may reduce coverage unacceptably. EOS includes plans to monitor solar output with the Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE)
From page 42...
... EOS Plans The primary EOS measurements are intended to provide a variety of data on ocean currents, surface winds, ocean and atmospheric temperatures, and near-surface humidity for air-sea flux studies. They include seasurface temperature from the Moderate Imaging Spectrometer in its nadir mode, and from the High Resolution Microwave Spectrometer Sounder.
From page 43...
... , the High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (HIRIS) , and the Intermediate Thermal Infrared Radiometer (ITIR)
From page 44...
... Flight of the Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-C) is important for studies of land vegetation, and will be complemented by field studies of the World Climate Research Program (e.g., the International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Program and the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment)
From page 45...
... . SOLSTICE should provide precise daily measurements of the full disk solar ultraviolet irradiance; ACRIM is designed to monitor the variability of total solar irradiance with state-ofthe-art accuracy and precision.
From page 46...
... Near-term Plans The satellite data required to address the above questions comes in the near term from research and operational missions. The ongoing NOAAlAVHRR, Landsat, and SPOT programs provide detailed information on ecological systems primarily on land.
From page 47...
... The answers to these questions are expected to come primarily from in situ studies of cores from continental, ice, and ocean drilling. Current spacebased observations cannot directly reveal global changes in the Earth's history, but they can provide data useful for improving understanding of solid Earth processes, which would help to illuminate that history.
From page 48...
... Near-term Plans The near-term activities in this area include the precise positioning provided by the Global Positioning System, the Very Long Baseline Interferometry, and Laser [lacking of the LAGEOS I and II satellites. These missions support the use of global tide gages and satellite altimeter measurements of sea level change, as well as altimeter measurements of changes in global ice mass.
From page 49...
... SAGE III is also planned for flight on the Space Station to provide full coverage and back-up measurements. EOS proposes to measure solar irradiance with a radiometer (the Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor)


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