Overview of Boundary Layer including Surface Science
(BLiSS) Activities in Canadian Universities &
Some Emerging Remote Sensing Capabilities
Randall Martin (Dalhousie)
with Contributions from Alan Manson (Saskatchewan)
2 Dec 2009
Canadian Space Agency
BLiSS is Central to Canadian Interests in Global Change
… but Canadian BLiSS-science often not (yet) engaged with CSA
BLiSS broadly interpreted to include the lower troposphere, the
Earth's surface, and exchange between the two domains
Prominent Issues
• Climate change
• Air quality
Lower troposphere
•Nearly half of atmospheric mass
•Fully encompasses atmospheric
boundary layer
•Connects the surface with the
atmosphere above
Depiction of Various Surface
and PBL processes
Top of Planetary
Boundary Layer (PBL)
Some BLiSS Processes
cloud formation
vertical
transport of
heat and mass
scattering by
aerosols and
molecules
atmospheric
instability
atmospheric
electricity
pollution sources
precipitation
More BLiSS Processes
BLiSS Fully within Earth System Science (ESS)
BLiSS in Canadian Universities
Initial survey reveals ~80 professors, ~300 university staff engaged
U British Columbia, Depts of Earth & Ocean Sciences, Geography, Forestry
cloud properties; remote sensing; micrometeorology; aerosol transport
U Alberta, Dept of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
land use/cover change, sea ice, clouds & storms, micrometeorology
U Saskatchewan, Inst Space & Atmospheric Studies, Depts. Geography, Biology
atmospheric dynamics/chemistry, remote sensing, hydrology, ecology
U Manitoba, Dept of Soil Science
micrometeorology, surface fluxes, forest fires
Ultrasonic anemometer to
measure in-canopy flow
Andreas Christen
BLiSS in Canadian Universities…continued
U Waterloo, Depts Earth & Environ Sciences; Geog. & Environ Management
atmospheric modelling, aerosols, satellite retrievals, pollution transport
York University, Depts of Earth & Space Science & Engineering, Chemistry,
Geography, Biology, Faculty of Environmental Studies
boundary layer, climate modelling, air quality, remote sensing
U Toronto, Depts of Physics, Chemistry, Forestry, Chemical Engineering
aerosols, atmos. chemistry, transport, general circulation, modeling, forests
U Ottawa, Dept of Civil Environmental Engineering
air quality modelling, data assimilation
Jennifer Murphy onboard a
research aircraft to
measure volatile organic
compounds
BLiSS in Canadian Universities… continued
McGill, Dept of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
atmospheric boundary layer, clouds, precipitation, ice-albedo, climate
U Québec à Montréal, Department of Earth and Atmosphere Science
precipitation, aerosols, snow, remote sensing
U Sherbrooke, CARTEL (Centre d’application et de recherche en télédétection)
aerosol remote sensing, surface temperature retrieval, soil moisture
Dalhousie University, Depts of Physics & Atmospheric Science, Oceanography
remote sensing, atmospheric composition, cloud-aerosol, convection, oceans
Likely even more …
Nitrogen Dioxide from
OMI as a Tracer of
Combustion
Tropospheric NO2 Column (1015 molec cm-2)
BLiSS in Government
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Environment Canada (MSC, S&T)
Natural Resources Canada
Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Agriculture and Agri-foods Canada
Indicator of the state and productivity of
vegetation used for information about the
strength and location of carbon sinks
Shusen Wang
Simulated Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation
Some Emerging BLiSS/ESS Observations
CALIPSO Observations of Biomass Burning Aerosol and Marine Stratus
532 nm backscatter
Chand et al., Nature Geoscience, 2008
Climatology of Fire Injection Heights Into the Atmosphere
Inferred from MISR Satellite Instrument
Val Martin et al., ACP, submitted
Global Phenology Inferred from MODIS
Insight into Timing of Biosphere-Atmosphere Fluxes
Zhang et al., JGR, 2006
Satellite Observations of Precipitation-Dynamical Interaction
How sensitive to aerosol are cloud cover and radiative forcing?
Rob Wood
Satellite-based Estimate of Ground-Level Air Quality
Aerosol Optical Depth
from MODIS & MISR
Model Used to Relate
Atmospheric Column
to Surface PM2.5
Satellite-Derived [μg/m3]
Satellite
Derived
Annual Mean PM2.5 [μg/m3] (2001-2006)
Improvement Requires Better Modeling of BLiSS/ESS Processes
In-situ
In-situ PM2.5 [μg/m3]
van Donkelaar et al., EHP, submitted
BLiSS Exciting and Active Research Area
Initial survey reveals ~80 professors, ~300 university staff engaged
Strong need for remote sensing innovation to advance emerging applications
in combination with modelling and in-situ measurements
Some emerging BLiSS/ESS applications of satellite data
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insight into the carbon, water, and nitrogen cycles
estimate ground-level air quality
improve radiative forcing estimates
provide top-down constraints on emission sources
observe cloud properties and their interactions with aerosol
monitor long-range transport of pollution
provide information about forest fires and environmental disasters
quantify fluxes to/from the biosphere
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