Earth & Space Research

INCREASE SOCIETAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE EARTH SYSTEM THROUGH SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION.

NASAPRIMARY RESEARCH STUDIES INCLUDE:OCEAN SURFACE CURRENT ANALYSES REAL-TIME (OSCAR) OSCAR IS A GLOBAL SURFACE DATABASE. ESR SCIENTISTS CALCULATE GLOBAL OCEAN SURFACE MIXED LAYER VELOCITIES FROM SATELLITE-SENSED SEA SURFACE HEIGHT GRADIENTS, WINDS, AND SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE FIELDS USING OCEAN DYNAMICAL EQUATIONS. OUR RESEARCH PROVIDES THESE DATASETS TO THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY, AND WE ARE CONTINUALLY IMPROVING MODELS OF HOW WIND ENERGY IS TRANSFERRED FROM THE ATMOSPHERE TO THE OCEAN THROUGH THE PLANETARY BOUNDARY LAYER.SALINITY AND DENSITY SCIENCE CONTINUITY RESEARCH FROM AQUARIUS TO SMAPESR SCIENTISTS EXTENDING AND IMPROVED THE RECORD OF NEAR-GLOBAL SEA SURFACE SALINITY MAPPED USING SATELLITE DATA FROM NASA'S AQUARIUS MISSION TO NASA'S SOIL MOISTURE ACTIVE PASSIVE (SMAP) MISSION, AND PROVIDED THESE DATASETS TO THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY, THUS SUPPORTING NASA'S PROGRAM TO CONTINUE OCEAN SALINITY SCIENCE. DATA VALIDATION CONTINUITY SUPPORT TO NASA OCEAN SALINITY SCIENCETHE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY IS TO ASSURE THE CONTINUITY OF NASA-SUPPORTED SALINITY VALIDATION AND THE CONSISTENCY OF THE SEA SURFACE SALINITY DATA PRODUCTS. THE FOCUS OF ESR'S WORK IS TO MAINTAIN AND ENHANCE THE IN-SITU VALIDATION DATA SYSTEM DEVELOPED AND USED FOR AQUARIUS, AND CONTINUITY WITH SMAP DATA VALIDATION.QUANTIFYING SOUTHERN OCEAN EDDY INTERACTIONS WITH SEA ICE USING SATELLITE DATA AND MODELSTHIS STUDY INVESTIGATES HOW OCEAN EDDIES AFFECT THE GROWTH OR LOSS OF ANTARCTIC SEA ICE. ESR SCIENTISTS COMBINE MULTIPLE SOURCES OF SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRET THE DATA THROUGH HIGH-RESOLUTION OCEAN MODELS. OUR GOAL IS TO BE ABLE TO REPRESENT HOW SEA ICE AND OCEAN EDDIES INTERACT IN GLOBAL CLIMATE MODELS THAT EXPLICITLY MODEL EDDY/ICE INTERACTIONS.ICESAT-2 SCIENCE TEAM: STUDYING THREE DECADES OF MASS BALANCE PROCESSES OF ANTARCTIC ICE SHELVES WITH ICESAT-2, ICEBRIDGE, CRYOSAT-2 AND EARLIER ALTIMETRY MISSIONS ESR SCIENTISTS USE MEASUREMENTS OF ICE SHELF SURFACE HEIGHT FROM SEVERAL SATELLITES TO DETERMINE THE HISTORY CHANGES IN MASS OF ANTARCTICA'S FLOATING ICE SHELVES. THIS ALLOWS US TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THE ATMOSPHERE AND OCEAN AFFECT THE ICE SHELVES. WE HAVE FOUND, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT EL NINO INCREASES SNOWFALL BUT ALSO INCREASES OCEAN-DRIVEN MELTING FOR PACIFIC SECTOR ICE SHELVES, WHILE MULTIDECADAL CHANGES MEAN THAT MEASUREMENTS OF OVERALL MASS LOSS DURING ONE DECADE CAN BE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE LONG-TERM MEAN.

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION PRIMARY RESEARCH STUDIES INCLUDE:COSMOGENIC SURFACE EXPOSURE DATING OF ARCTIC NORTHWEST LAURENTIDE ICE-SHEET DEGLACIATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR ABRUPT CLIMATE CHANGE THIS PROJECT IS PROVIDING NEW UNDERSTANDING OF THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG ARCTIC ICE-SHEET RETREAT, ATLANTIC OCEAN CIRCULATION, AND CLIMATE CHANGE. RETREAT OF THE ARCTIC NORTHWEST LAURENTIDE ICE SHEET WILL BE DATED USING BERYLLIUM-10 SURFACE EXPOSURE AGES FOR MORE THAN 80 BOULDERS AT 11 SITES ALONG A 1000 KM LONG TRANSECT PERPENDICULAR TO RETREAT AT 65 DEGREES NORTH. COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ASSESSING DRIVERS OF CLIMATE MODEL BIASES ON THE PACIFIC CONTINENTAL SHELF OF ANTARCTICATHIS PROJECT EXPLORED THE RELIABILITY OF GLOBAL CLIMATE MODEL PROJECTIONS FOR THE RAPIDLY CHANGING PACIFIC SECTOR OF ANTARCTICA. THIS IS A REGION WHERE WE EXPECT CHANGES IN THE SOUTHERN OCEAN TO AFFECT HOW MUCH ICE IS LOST FROM THE ANTARCTIC ICE SHEET TO CONTRIBUTE TO FUTURE GLOBAL SEA LEVEL RISE. ESR SCIENTISTS STUDIED HOW WELL ABOUT 40 DIFFERENT CLIMATE MODELS REPRESENT THE CURRENT STATE OF THE SOUTHERN OCEAN, ESPECIALLY CLOSE TO THE ICE SHEET. THIS ALLOWS US TO CHOOSE WHICH MODELS TO TRUST FOR PROJECTING FUTURE CHANGES.COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THREE-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE OF ARCTIC TIDES AND NEAR-INERTIAL OSCILLATIONS, AND THEIR ROLE IN CHANGING THE ARCTIC OCEAN AND ICE PACKTHIS PROJECT DEVELOPED NEW NUMERICAL MODELS OF TIDE HEIGHTS AND CURRENTS IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN, DEVELOPED NEW DATABASES OF TIDAL HEIGHTS AND CURRENTS, AND EXPLORED HOW TIDES AND OTHER HIGH FREQUENCY CURRENTS AFFECT ARCTIC SEA ICE AND OCEAN CONDITIONS. WE FOUND THAT TIDAL CURRENTS ARE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT, AND THAT THEY DEPEND ON THE MEAN OCEAN CONDITIONS (MEAN FLOWS AND VARIATIONS IN OCEAN DENSITY) SO THAT THEY WILL CHANGE AS THE ARCTIC OCEAN CHANGES THROUGH GLOBAL WARMING.