ALBERT

Description: The glaciers of the Three Sisters volcanoes in Cascadia have retreated dramatically over the past century. In order to understand ongoing chemical weathering and solute transport in the proglacial valleys, waters were sampled from glacier outwash streams, local snowmelt, and proglacial springs and lakes at Collier and Diller Glaciers. To understand weathering and transport processes in the proglacial plains, infrared orbital remote sensing data was used to map compositional variability and highlight weathering products, which were then ground-truthed with laboratory mineralogical and chemical analyses of sediments. The hydrochemistry is significantly affected by a sub- and proglacial mafic weathering system lacking carbonate minerals. Here we report major ion concentrations in meltwaters for the summer 2016 and 2017 melt seasons. Total cation concentrations range from 3 to 250 eq/l and dissolved bicarbonate concentrations range from 2 to 200 eq/l. Other dissolved anions are negligible compared to bicarbonate. Dissolved silica concentrations range from 2 to 260 mol/l, comparable to total dissolved cation concentrations. The highest cation and silica concentrations were measured in moraine-sourced springs. Compositional remote sensing analysis identified alteration zones in the proglacial plains at both Collier and Diller indicating potential hydrated silica. This analysis is consistent with laboratory analysis of sediment samples, which indicate the presence of poorly crystalline phases weathering products, including hydrated silica. Weathered materials are preferentially deposited on moraines due to aeolian and glacial transport, as well as intra-moraine alteration, and at abandoned stream terraces due to fluvial transport. Geochemical measurements indicate that the predominant form of chemical weathering in these periglacial mafic systems is the carbonation of feldspar as well as reactive volcanic glass. The presence of poorly crystalline silicates, as indicated by remote sensing datasets and laboratory analysis, is consistent with rapid weathering of feldspars and glass and formation of Fe-Al-Si-bearing mineraloids in these proglacial valleys. This weathering regime has wide-ranging implications for atmospheric CO2 drawdown due to cold-climate volcanic rock weathering.

Description: This paper will summarize the development of infrared sounders since the 1970s, describe the technological hurdles that were overcome to provide ever-increasing performance capabilities, and highlight the radiometric performance of the CrIS instrument on JPSS-1 (CrIS-JPSS1). This includes details of the CrIS-JPSS1 measured noise-equivalent spectral radiance (NEdN) performance, radiometric uncertainty performance utilizing a new and improved internal calibration target, short-term and long-term repeatability, spectral uncertainty, and spectral stability. In addition, the full-resolution operating modes for CrIS-JPSS1 will be reviewed, including a discussion of how these modes will be used during on-orbit characterization tests. We will provide a brief update of CrIS-SNPP on-obit performance and the production status of the CrIS instruments for JPSS-2 through JPSS-4. Current technological challenges will also be reviewed, including how ongoing research and development is enabling improvements to future sounders. The expanding usage of infrared sounding data will also be discussed, including demonstration of value via data assimilation, the roles of the public/private sector in communicating the importance of sounding data for long-term observations, and the long road to success from research to operational data products.

Description: Degradation of freshwater ecosystems and the services they provide is a primary cause of increasing water insecurity, raising the need for integrated solutions to freshwater management. While methods for characterizing the multi-faceted challenges of managing freshwater ecosystems abound, they tend to emphasize either social or ecological dimensions and fall short of being truly integrative. This paper suggests that management for sustainability of freshwater systems needs to consider the linkages between human water uses, freshwater ecosystems and governance. We present a conceptualization of freshwater resources as part of an integrated social-ecological system and propose a set of corresponding indicators to monitor freshwater ecosystem health and to highlight priorities for management. We demonstrate an application of this new framework -the Freshwater Health Index (FHI) - in the Dongjiang River Basin in southern China, where stakeholders are addressing multiple and conicting freshwater demands. By combining empirical and modeled datasets with surveys to gauge stakeholders' preferences and elicit expert information about governance mechanisms, the FHI helps stakeholders understand the status of freshwater ecosystems in their basin, how ecosystems are being manipulated to enhance or decrease water-related services, and how well the existing water re-source management regime is equipped to govern these dynamics over time. This framework helps to operationalize a truly integrated approach to water resource management by recognizing the interplay between governance, stakeholders, freshwater ecosystems and the services they provide

Description: No abstract available

Description: Using GEOS-5, we are developing a 1D ENS approach for assimilating CATS near real time observations of total attenuated backscatter at 1064 nm: a) After performing a 1-ENS assimilation of a cloud-free profile, the GEOS-5 analysis closely followed observed total attenuated backscatter. b) Vertical localization length scales were varied for the well-mixed PBL and the free troposphere After assimilating a cloud free segment of a CATS granule, the fine detail of a dust event was obtained in the GEOS-5 analysis for both total attenuated backscatter and extinction. Future Work: a) Explore horizontal localization and test within a cloudy aerosol layer. b) Address noisy analysis increments in the free troposphere where both CATS and GEOS-5 aerosol loadings are low. c) Develop a technique to screen CATS ground return from profiles. d) "Dynamic" lidar ratio that will evolve in conjunction with simulated aerosol mixtures.

Description: SPORT is a science mission using a 6U CubeSat and integrated ground network that will (1) advance understanding and (2) enable improved predictions of scintillation occurrence that impact GPS signals and radio communications. This is the science of Space Weather. SPORT is an international partnership with NASA, U.S. institutions, the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE), and the Technical Aeronautics Institute under the Brazilian Air Force Command Department (DCTA/ITA).

Description: No abstract available