Hard-To-Reach Measurement Now Within Grasp Of Scientists

EARTH OBSERVATION

The Hydros satellite will rotate to focus its beam for scanning a wide area of Earth's surface as it circles the planet every 90 minutes at an altitude of 670 kilometers.

Editor's Note: The EO program launched by NASA in the early 90s came out of the post Challenger era, when Sally Ride headed a commission to develop what became known as Mission to Planet Earth. The net result of this earth science program is that we have learned more about our homeworld in the past decade than in the past million years. The program has been an out standing success and should it be cut back in the wake of new lunar dreams then it will be a traversity to science and our own future.

Boston - Jan 19, 2004
NASA has approved an MIT-led project that will measure soil moisture from space, providing data needed to assess the impacts of global change and improve accuracy in weather forecasting.

That measurement has been missing from the array of clues--rainfall, atmospheric chemistry, humidity and temperature--that are used by scientists to predict change in the local and global climate. Using soil moisture, they can calculate evaporation (the process that links the water, energy and carbon cycles), giving them a better understanding of global change.

"Soil moisture has been one of the Holy Grails. The community of Earth-system scientists has been trying to measure it for a long, long time, but couldn't because it's so expensive," said Dara Entekhabi, a hydrologist and professor of civil and environmental engineering at MIT who is principal investigator of the Hydros project. "We have a measurement for rainfall, atmospheric chemistry, humidity and temperature, but surface soil moisture has been missing.

"In the same way that temperature tells the state of the surface oceans, soil moisture controls the rate of the water cycle, which affects weather and climate and how much evaporation takes place," said Entekhabi.

Hydros (the Hydrosphere State mission) will make unprecedented measurements of Earth's changing soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state that together define the state of Earth's hydrosphere, which links the water, energy and carbon cycles over land.

Numerical models used for day-to-day weather prediction need soil moisture estimates as initial conditions for forecasts. Incorporating real observations into these models will improve forecast accuracy. Soil moisture is among the top unmet environment measurement requirements of the Department of Defense because of its impact on mobility over land as well as aviation weather.

In addition, Hydros will tell whether the surface soil moisture is frozen, which can help scientists determine the length of the growing season in forests, telling them whether a forest is a net source or net sink of carbon. The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 called for each participating country to have a quota for carbon emission, a system that presumes all atmospheric carbon has been accounted for. If industry is a carbon source, a forest could be a carbon sink, offsetting the carbon released by industry. Without proper measurements, the Kyoto agreement wouldn't be able to balance the books.

"It would be like having a bank account and not knowing whether someone is depositing into it or withdrawing from it. You can't balance your bank statement," said Entekhabi. "We need this if we're going to stabilize the amount of carbon in the atmosphere."

Hydros was one of three projects selected by NASA from among 18 competitors in its Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) program, characterized by medium-sized missions capable of being built, tested and launched in short time intervals.

Hydros will be launched into near-Earth orbit in December 2009 on a satellite that will be equipped with a reflector antenna (the same type used to send cell phone signals) weighing less than 40 pounds and measuring six meters in diameter. The instrument package includes a radar and a radiometer that both work in the low frequency microwave range of about 1.4 Ghz. The antenna will rotate at 15rpm to scan the Earth, measuring how much water is contained in the soil.

The $250 million project will be designed, built and launched by a team of scientists from MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Center for Space Research, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center, and the Canadian Space Agency. The Department of Defense is a funding partner as well.

The other two ESSP missions approved are Aquarius, which will measure the salinity of the ocean, and the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, which will create an atmospheric carbon dioxide profile.

EARTH OBSERVATION

MDA Signs 4 RADARSAT-1 Data Agreement Renewals

Richmond - Jan 12, 2004
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. Reports that the Company's Geographic Information Products Group has secured $1.8 million (CDN) in downlink agreement renewals with 4 international RADARSAT-1 clients.

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.