Newchurch M. J.

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Newchurch
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M. J.
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  • Article
    The United States' next generation of atmospheric composition and coastal ecosystem measurements : NASA's Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GEO-CAPE) Mission
    (American Meteorological Society, 2012-10) Fishman, J. ; Iraci, L. T. ; Al-Saadi, J. ; Chance, K. ; Chavez, Francisco P. ; Chin, M. ; Coble, Paula G. ; Davis, Curtiss O. ; DiGiacomo, P. M. ; Edwards, D. ; Eldering, A. ; Goes, Joachim I. ; Herman, J. ; Hu, Chuanmin ; Jacob, Daniel J. ; Jordan, C. ; Kawa, S. Randolph ; Key, R. ; Liu, X. ; Lohrenz, Steven E. ; Mannino, Antonio ; Natraj, V. ; Neil, D. ; Neu, J. ; Newchurch, M. J. ; Pickering, K. ; Salisbury, Joseph E. ; Sosik, Heidi M. ; Subramaniam, A. ; Tzortziou, Maria ; Wang, Jian ; Wang, M.
    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.
  • Article
    Detection of a tropospheric ozone anomaly using a newly developed ozone retrieval algorithm for an up-looking infrared interferometer
    (American Geophysical Union, 2009-03-25) Lightner, K. J. ; McMillan, W. W. ; McCann, K. J. ; Hoff, R. M. ; Newchurch, M. J. ; Hintsa, Eric J. ; Barnet, C. D.
    On 2 June 2003, the Baltimore Bomem Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (BBAERI) recorded an infrared spectral time series indicating the presence of a tropospheric ozone anomaly. The measurements were collected during an Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) validation campaign called the 2003 AIRS BBAERI Ocean Validation Experiment (ABOVE03) conducted at the United States Coast Guard Chesapeake Light station located 14 miles due east of Virginia Beach, Virginia (36.91°N, 75.71°W). Ozone retrievals were performed with the Kurt Lightner Ozone BBAERI Retrieval (KLOBBER) algorithm, which retrieves tropospheric column ozone, surface to 300 mbar, from zenith-viewing atmospheric thermal emission spectra. KLOBBER is modeled after the AIRS retrieval algorithm consisting of a synthetic statistical regression followed by a physical retrieval. The physical retrieval is implemented using the k-Compressed Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Algorithm (kCARTA) to compute spectra. The time series of retrieved integrated ozone column on 2 June 2003 displays spikes of about 10 Dobson units, well above the error of the KLOBBER algorithm. Using instrumentation at Chesapeake Light, satellite imaging, trace gas retrievals from satellites, and Potential Vorticity (PV) computations, it was determined that these sudden increases in column ozone likely were caused by a combination of midtropospheric biomass burning products from forest fires in Siberia, Russia, and stratospheric intrusion by a tropopause fold occurring over central Canada and the midwestern United States.