Western Region Space
Grant Conference-Reno
September 19, 2009
Program Objectives
Satellite Calibration and Validation
Provide platforms to enable essential calibration measurements
for the Earth observing satellites, and the validation of
data retrieval algorithms.
New Sensor Development
Provide sub-orbital flight opportunities to test and refine new
instrument technologies/algorithms, and reduce risk prior to
committing sensors for launch into space.
Process Studies
Obtain high-resolution temporal and spatial measurements
of complex local processes, which can be coupled to global
satellite observations for a better understanding of the
complete Earth system.
Development of Next-Generation Scientists and Engineers
Foster the development of our future workforce with the hands-on
involvement of graduate students, and young scientists/engineers in
all aspects of ongoing Earth science investigations.
Airborne Science Program
Airborne Science
Program
Andrew Roberts
Dep: Randy Albertson
Functions:
Portfolio Mgmt,
Grants Studies and Report rqmnts,
Education and Outreach,
Facilities, Testbeds and Operations
LaRC – Catalog Aircraft
B-200
ARC ASP Program
Matt Fladeland
DFRC ASP Program
Functions:
Studies and Reports, Earth
Science Project Office, Airborne
Sensor Development Lab, Science
Mission Mgmt, Sierra
Functions:
DC-8/NSERC, ER-2, Ikhana,
Global Hawk, G-III, DAOF
Bob Curry
Dep Jaques Vaschon
GRC – Catalog Aircraft
S-3, Lear, Twin Otter, T-34
WFF ASP Program
JSC ASP Program
George Postell
Dep Anthony Guillory
Ken Cockrell
Dep Kevin Lesenski
Functions:
P-3, Catalog mgmt, small UAV,
Reports, Budget Mgmt support
Functions:
WB-57,
Mission Support Programs
NASA-NSERC Student
Airborne Research Program
(SARP)
July-August 2009
George Seielstad
Rick Shetter
Alexandra Novak
SARP’s Objectives
• Inspire students to pursue STEM disciplines.
• Develop next generation of Earth System Scientists—with
fresh research ideas.
• Demonstrate integration of science, engineering, and
operations in major missions.
• Expose students to NASA programs.
Students’ Institutions
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U Puerto Rico
Montclair State U
Rutgers U
U Michigan
Howard U
Coastal Carolina U
U Florida
Loyola Marymount
Slippery Rock U
Carleton College
U of Alaska Anchorage
Randolph College
• U Iowa
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Montana State U
UC Irvine
Wellesley College
Georgia Tech
Michigan Tech U
South Dakota School of Mines
and Technology
U North Dakota
Brown U
Texas A&M U
Arizona State U
U Maryland
UC Santa Cruz
Students’ Concentrations
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Physics
Chemistry
Geoscience
Environmental Science
Engineering: Mechanical, Chemical, Aerospace,
Agriculture, Civil
Atmospheric Sciences
Marine Biology
Meteorology
Telecommunications
SARP’s Strength: Students
29 Students, diverse in many respects
Faculty
• UC Irvine: Don Blake, Sherwood Rowland (chemistry)
• Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute: John Ryan
(oceanography)
• UC Davis: Susan Ustin (agriculture)
• Florida State U: Henry Fuelberg (meteorology)
• U Iowa: Greg Carmichael (modeling)
• NASA: Jeff Myers, Andy Roberts, Jack Kaye, Brenda
Mulac, Marilyn Vasques, Ken Jucks, Jim Crawford, Barbara
Schoeberl
Faculty Commitment
Learning from each other
(Nobel Prize notwithstanding)
Mentors
Melissa Yang
Shawn
Kefauver
Nick Clinton
Crucial Strengths of SARP
Fully committed to students
Extremely knowledgeable
Constantly accessible
Guidance, not spoon-feeding
Personable
End-to-End Mission
• Classroom—lectures for context
(See http://www.nserc.und.edu/learning/SARPmm.html)
• Hangar—flight planning
• Aircraft—data acquisition
• Field—surface validation
• Laboratory—data analysis & interpretation
• Classroom—Student presentations
Projects
• Evapotranspiration in Almond Orchard and Cotton
Field, CA Central Valley
• Air Quality, CA Central Valley
• Algal Bloom, Monterey Bay, CA
Evapotranspiration
• Continuing drought and additional competing
uses make water California’s most precious
resource.
• Allocation for irrigation—in US’s most
productive ag region—sharply reduced.
• Irrigation demand driven by water crops
transpire.
Almond Orchard
Satellite
Air
Ground
System Integration
Objective
MASTER Monitors
Analysis & Interpretation
COMPARISON
Satellite
Drip irrigation
Fanjet irrigation
ET from
MASTER
& Model
ET from ground
data
1.110 mm/hr
1.078
mm/hr
1.074 mm/hr
1.064 mm/hr
1.081 mm/hr
1.056 mm/hr
1.053 mm/hr
Presentation of Results
Students’ Conclusions, ET
• Fanjet irrigation more effective
than drip irrigation, leading to
higher ET.
• METRIC model underestimates ET
compared to the CIMIS PM
equation.
Monterey Bay Features
MASTER Enhanced image (Square root: linear 2%)
Conclusions, Monterey Bay
• Hypothesis rejected: inconsistency in scaling between
model and observed features.
• Unlikely cause: inconsistency in orientation of observed
features.
• No significant difference in between features.
• No definitive cause of features. Apparently wind-driven,
possibly linked to supercritical atmospheric waves.
• Features not exclusively an atmospheric phenomenon.
Central Valley, CA Dairies
• First in U.S. milk
production (2006)
• 2.5 million cows in San
Joaquin Valley
• A main source of VOCs
and fine particulates.
(SJV Air Pollution Control District, Aug.
2005)
Data Acquisition
Air (WAS)
Ground
Lab
Chromatograph Results
Propanol
Ethanol
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Conclusions: Air Quality
• Silage piles contributing oxygenates to Central
Valley Air Basin
• Methanol and ethanol concentrations from
dairy perimeter consistent with concentrations
in boundary layer.
• Grid study shows existence of even higher
emissions than our case study’s.
Future 6-Week Program
• 1 week for lectures, limits per topic
• 1 week at DAOF for instrument integration,
flight planning.
• 1 week of data acquisition from DAOF.
– 2 flights if DC-8; 3 flights if fewer seats on
aircraft.
– 3 days per project for surface measurements
• 2.5 weeks for data analysis
• 0.5 weeks for presentations
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Education Flight Projects
Airborne Research Experiences for Educators (AREE) - An airborne research and
curriculum development experience for 10 (ten) middle and high school educators using
the NASA DC-8 aircraft
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Outcome: To develop curriculum-based activities relating to NASA airborne research and
Earth system science
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Educational goals mapped to NASA Education Strategic Coordination Framework, 2006 to
inspire, engage, educate, and employ the future aerospace workforce
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Target Group: Ten (10) secondary educators (grades 6-12)
who specialize in Science, Technology, Engineering, or
Math (STEM) disciplines
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Committed partnerships between Dryden FRC, Cal State
Fullerton, NSERC, Johnson Space Center, UC Irvine and
AEROI
AREE educator home locations by state
AREE Project Outcomes
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Educators participated in an airborne and ground research campaign to learn
how NASA uses airborne research to study Earth system science.
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10 new curriculum units that engage students in the question “How does data
gathered through NASA airborne research campaigns help us understand
interactions between Earth systems?”
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10 highly inspired AREE Master Teachers prepared and motivated to engage and
educate high school students to pursue STEM
and NASA-related careers through AREE curriculum
units.
1500 middle and high school students motivated
to achieve in math and science through inquirybased investigations of NASA airborne research
data.
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Students and educators participated in
airborne research aboard the NASA DC-8
aircraft
AREE Future Projects
Using NASA Airborne Science Program (ASP) Flight platforms to provide K-12
educators with the skills and knowledge to attract and retain students in STEM
disciplines.
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Other AREE education flight projects will look to engage participants in airborne
research aboard other ASP flight platforms including the DC-8, P-3B, and Global
Hawk
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Developed AREE-extension programs will include pre- and in-service educators in
summer workshops relating to NASA AREE-related outcomes
– To include a global climate change research and professional development experience
– A web-based Virtual Control Room Network highlighting ASP research campaigns
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Development of a professional online learning community and web-based
platform to disseminate AREE-related curriculum
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Subsequent programs for K-12 students and higher education
Airborne Research Experiences for Educators (AREE)
An airborne research and curriculum development experience for 10 (ten)
middle and high school educators using the NASA DC-8 aircraft
Thermal Infrared image
DC -8 Flight Path
The MASTER instrument
was used to collect remote
sensing data of algal
blooms at Monterey Bay ,
CA from ~37,000 ft. AGL
NASA AREE-related
curriculum will engage
~1500 middle and high
Flight Path
school students across
the country in Earth
system sciences in its
inaugural year
Images collected
from the MASTER
instrument during
the DC-8 SARP-AREE
flight Wednesday
July 22, 2009
MASTER (MODIS/ASTER) instrument
Visible Near Infrared image
NASA DC-8 aircraft flying above Dryden
Aircraft Operations Facility in California
Images will engage K-12
students in the differences
between visible and infrared
spectral bands in the
electromagnetic spectrum.
Investigations
invites students
to engage in
inquiry-based
activities.
Find Out More
invites
students to
review related
NASA
resources.
Airborne Research Experiences for Educators (AREE)
Educators participated in an airborne and ground research campaign to learn how NASA uses
airborne research to study Earth system science. Educators incorporated these concepts into their
middle and high school curriculum
Atmospheric science team
Educators collected in situ
dairy farm gas emissions
over the Central Valley via
the Whole Air Sampler
from ~1000 ft. AGL
Air samples were analyzed in the
laboratory and the results were
incorporated into middle and high
school curriculum modules
Algal Bloom team
Crop Classification team
Rachael Fein (far left)
will simulate airborne
and ground data
collection to her 9th
and 10th grade
mathematics and
robotics students using
LEGO robots
Crop Classification team
The MASTER instrument
was used to measure
evapotranspiration of
crops (i.e. cotton fields
and almond orchards)
from ~13,000 ft AGL
Educators participated in collecting in situ data from a boat
in Monterey Bay, CA for algal bloom research.
Based on his airborne and ground
research experience, educator Terry
Nickerson incorporated the concepts of
remote sensing and color to study
vegetation into his Earth Science and
Biology high school curriculum
Wetland Education
using
Maps, Aerial Photography, and Satellite Imagery
Catherine M. Lockwood
Chadron State College
Chadron, Nebraska
Lawrence R. Handley
USGS National Wetlands
Research Center
Lafayette, Louisiana
Nathan Handley
IT Consultant
Lafayette, Louisiana
WETMAAP
Primary Goal
To teach basic map skills and
imagery interpretation using
Wetlands as the focal point.
Secondary Goal
To introduce multiple maps and
images to educators.
Teacher Workshops
Program Facts 1996-2008
Sites in 16 states, the District of Columbia, Costa Rica and Panama
Total Training Sessions:
Total Participants:
Average per session:
157
3,828
24.50
Workshops and Participants 1996-2008
Number of
Participants
Number of
Workshops
Workshops (2 to 4 days)
26
519
Workshops ( 3 to 8 hours)
72
1135
Workshops (50 min to < 3 hours)
42
1234
Presentations (20 min – 30 min)
27
950
157
3828
Total
Summary
• Education is a substantial part of ASP
• There are positive results
• There is senior management support
• This will continue