The United States' Next Generation of Atmospheric Composition and Coastal Ecosystem Measurements: NASA's Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GEO-CAPE) Mission

J. Fishman, Saint Louis University
L.T. Iraci, NASA Ames Research Center
J. Al-Saadi, NASA, Washington, D.C., and NASA Langley Research Center
K. Chance, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
F. Chavez, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
M. Chin, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
P. Coble, University of South Florida
C. Davis, Oregon State University
P.M. DiGiacomo, NOAA/NESDIS/Center for Satellite Applications and Research
D. Edwards, National Center for Atmospheric Research
A. Eldering, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
J. Goes, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia UniversityFollow
J. Herman, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
C. Hu, University of South FloridaFollow
D.J. Jacob, Harvard University
C. Jordan, University of New Hampshire
S.R. Kawa, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
R. Key, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
X. Liu, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
S. Lohrenz, University of Southern MississippiFollow
A. Mannino, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
V. Natraj, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
D. Neil, NASA Langley Research Center
J. Neu, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
M. Newchurch, University of Alabama in Huntsville
K. Pickering, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
J. Salisbury, University of New HampshireFollow
H. Sosik, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
A. Subramaniam, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University
M. Tzortziou, University of Maryland
J. Wang, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
M. Wang, NOAA/NESDIS/Center for Satellite Applications and ResearchFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-1-2012

Department

Marine Science

School

Ocean Science and Engineering

Abstract

The Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GEO-CAPE) mission was recommended by the National Research Council's (NRC's) Earth Science Decadal Survey to measure tropospheric trace gases and aerosols and coastal ocean phytoplankton, water quality, and biogeochemistry from geostationary orbit, providing continuous observations within the field of view. To fulfill the mandate and address the challenge put forth by the NRC, two GEO-CAPE Science Working Groups (SWGs), representing the atmospheric composition and ocean color disciplines, have developed realistic science objectives using input drawn from several community workshops. The GEO-CAPE mission will take advantage of this revolutionary advance in temporal frequency for both of these disciplines. Multiple observations per day are required to explore the physical, chemical, and dynamical processes that determine tropospheric composition and air quality over spatial scales ranging from urban to continental, and over temporal scales ranging from diurnal to seasonal. Likewise, high-frequency satellite observations are critical to studying and quantifying biological, chemical, and physical processes within the coastal ocean. These observations are to be achieved from a vantage point near 95°–100°W, providing a complete view of North America as well as the adjacent oceans. The SWGs have also endorsed the concept of phased implementation using commercial satellites to reduce mission risk and cost. GEO-CAPE will join the global constellation of geostationary atmospheric chemistry and coastal ocean color sensors planned to be in orbit in the 2020 time frame.

Comments

AMS copyright

Publication Title

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

Volume

93

Issue

10

First Page

1547

Last Page

1566

This document is currently not available here.

Find in your library

Share

COinS