Category: Archive

Salawitch Quoted in AP News On Earth’s Healing Ozone Layer

November 9, 2018

A recent AP News press release featured ESSIC Professor Ross Salawitch for his recent United Nations report, “Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2018”. The report states that Earth’s ozone layer is finally healing from damage caused by aerosol sprays and coolants. AP News details the history of the infamous “ozone hole”, asking Salawitch how this healing will affect climate change. Salawitch reports that the ozone hole has actually shielded Antarctica from some of the …

Zamora Published on Arctic Ocean Combustion Aerosol Cloud Microphysical Effects

November 9, 2018

ESSIC Assistant Research Scientist Lauren Zamora recently published a paper titled “A satellite-based estimate of combustion aerosol cloud microphysical effects over the Arctic Ocean” in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. The paper discusses the effects of cloud fraction (CF) and cloud phase (CP), two poorly understood processes that drive cloud properties, on Arctic climate predictions. The authors use 10 million satellite observations to quantify large-scale microphysical effects of …

ESSIC / CICS-MD Scientists Present at Satellite Soil Moisture Workshop

November 8, 2018

On October 25th, four scientists presented at the 5th Satellite Soil Moisture Validation and Application Workshop at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Li Fang (STAR/SMCD/EMB) gave a talk on “Validation of Downscaled SMAP Soil Moisture Data Products” co-authored by CICS-MD Scientists Jifu Yin, Jicheng Liu, and Mitch Schull as well as CICS Consortium Scientist Tarendra Lakhankar (CREST).

Nai-Yu Wang (NESDIS/OSGS/SED/SEB) gave a presentation on “Evaluating Precipitation

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ESSIC / CICS-MD Scientists Published on the GOES-16 Advanced Baseline Imager

November 6, 2018

ESSIC / CICS-MD Visiting Associate Research Scientists Fangfang Yu and Zhipeng Wang were recently published on a new CICS Task entitled “Calibration Support for Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI)”. The Advanced Baseline Imager is an instrument onboard the GOES-R satellites that images Earth’s weather, oceans and environment. The GOES-R ABI has presented many new challenges in radiometric calibration, or calibrating image data to radiance, reflectance, or brightness temperatures. These are …

Gassó Participates in SABIA-MAR 1A Mission Review

November 6, 2018

ESSIC Associate Research Scientist Santiago Gassó recently participated in a two-day Peer Application Segment Review for the SABIA-MAR 1A mission. SABIA-MAR (The Brazilian Argentine Satellite for Information of the Sea) is a satellite manufactured and designed by CONAE, Argentina’s space agency. Gassó, along with other NASA scientists, provided advice and troubleshooting tips for the main sensor in SABIA-MAR, a 17-band spectrometer (VIS to IR) with 200m resolution for ocean monitoring. …

Sutton-Grier Quoted on Deal Island Flooding

November 5, 2018

A recent Bay Journal article that highlighted both state agency and researcher efforts to mitigate and better understand the flooding and erosion of Deal Island, included commentary by ESSIC associate research professor Ariana Sutton-Grier. Deal Island, a community of about 400 people located on the Chesapeake Bay’s western shore, is particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, storms, and flooding due to its exposure to the Bay’s wind and waves. Sutton-Grier is the director of science for …

Gassó Interviewed in Earth Observatory on Greenland Dust Storm

November 2, 2018

A recent article published in NASA’s Earth Observatory featured an interview with ESSIC Associate Research Scientist Santiago Gassó about his observation of a large dust storm that occurred in Greenland. The dust in Greenland is mostly made up of glacial flour, a fine-grained silt formed by glaciers grinding and pulverizing rock. These Arctic and high-latitude dust storms can be hard to spot with satellites because of cloud cover, but the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer …

Kaushal Published in Biogeochemistry

November 2, 2018

ESSIC / CICS-MD Associate Professor Sujay Kaushal recently co-authored an article titled “Episodic salinization and freshwater salinization syndrome mobilize base cations, carbon, and nutrients to streams across urban regions” published in Biogeochemistry. The article discusses the effects of episodic salinization and freshwater salinization syndrome on the water quality of 12 watersheds along the East Coast. The results suggest the two factors can affect nutrient mobilization, shifting …

Kaushal Published in Science of the Total Environment

October 26, 2018

ESSIC / CICS-MD Associate Professor Sujay Kaushal recently co-authored an article accepted in Science of the Total Environment titled “Regenerative stormwater conveyance (RSC) for reducing nutrients in urban stormwater runoff depends upon carbon quantity and quality”. Dr. Shuiwang Duan, Department of Geology Assistant Research Scientist and former ESSIC Research Scientist, was lead author on the publication. The study examined two local regenerative stormwater conveyances (RSCs), sites …

Murtugudde quoted in The New York Times

October 16, 2018

ESSIC / AOSC Professor Raghu Murtugudde was recently quoted in a New York Times article titled “Why the Wilder Storms? It’s a ‘Loaded Dice’ Problem”. The article discusses this year’s frequency of extreme global weather events, speculating, “Global warming is bringing the planet into an era of wilder, more dangerous rains with ruinous and long-lasting consequences”. Murtugudde noted the situation is a classic loaded-dice analogy in that greenhouse gases have both heated the …