CSU researchers: scientists poised to take satellite images from space to 'next level'

Scientists are poised to take weather observations to the next level, say Colorado State University researchers in the Feb. 26 issue of Science magazine.

"We've finished the first 50 years of observing Earth, and now we're ready for the second Mission to Planet Earth — the next 50 years," says Thomas Vonder Haar, Colorado State University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Atmospheric Science.

Scientists first observed cloud cover from an infrared satellite launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in April 1960. At that time, meteorologists learned to identify low-and high-pressure systems, fronts, jet streams, and severe thunderstorms, notes Stanley Kidder, senior research scientist with CSU's Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, or CIRA.

"The first 50 years of space-based Earth observation progressed from crude observation to scientific understanding to stewardship of the atmosphere and of Earth," write Kidder and Vonder Haar in Science. "The new observations will result in many scientific insights and should help humanity to weather what could be the worst of global warming and other environmental problems."

Today, satellites readily record precipitation, cloud and snow cover, soil moisture, smoke, dust, volcanic ash, and gases such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and ozone.

In the next phase of space observation, however, improved computer forecasts will help scientists determine how weather and climate interact, say the researchers. Scientists will fine-tune their observations, providing more detail for forecasting and establishing interconnections between climate and such scientific disciplines from aviation to medicine. When a volcano erupts, for example, the dust not only affects human health and weather but becomes a threat to aircraft. Changes in atmospheric composition, for instance, influence both climate and air quality.

"You serve so many needs, not just [those of] weather forecasters but [of] hydrologists and water researchers," says Vonder Haar, who helped design the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite NASA sent into space aboard the Challenger in 1984.

Discovery has just begun, adds Kidder, about conducting new observations from space. "The future really is very bright."

Kidder was one of only a dozen scientists selected to conduct a National Research Council study, commissioned by NASA. The resulting report, "Earth Observations from Space: The First 50 Years of Scientific Achievements," was published in 2008. Vonder Haar, who recently served as the chairman of the interdisciplinary section of the National Academy of Engineering, also contributed to the study as a member of the NRC's Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate. He is one of only four active Colorado State scientists in the National Academies.

Scientists at CSU regularly lead NASA projects — projects that measure greenhouse gas emissions and precipitation worldwide. The results of such research are shared with scientists around the globe.