NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#12 DEC. 2010NIES

GOSJ ATPRO ECT
NEWSL ETTER

Independent Administrative Institution
National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES)
A newsletter on the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite(GOSAT, “IBUKI” ) project from the NIES GOSAT Project Oﬃce.

ISSUE # 12
DEC.2010

CONTENTS

Center for Global Environmental Researchcelebrates the 20th Anniversary.

NEWS
Level 3 FTS Global Greenhouse Gases Distribution
Released to General Users
Report: the 54th Symposium on Space Science and Technology in Japan
SPECIAL FEATURE
2010 through the Eyes of "IBUKI"
INTERVIEW
A Series: "IBUKI"'s PI Interviews - Dr. Richard Engelen
DATA PRODUCTS UPDATE
Data Processing Status Update from GOSAT Project Office
CALENDARPUBLISHED PAPERS

http://www.gosat.nies.go.jp/

NEWS

Level 3 FTS Global
Greenhouse Gases
Distribution Released
to General Users- Kenji Hayashi, NIES GOSAT Project Office

On November 30, 2010, the GOSAT
Project started the distribution of two of new
FTS SWIR Level 3 data products to the generalusers. These products are based on the data

Image 1. FTS SWIR Level 3 global CO2 distribution for January 2010.

obtained in the SWIR1 bands of the Fourier
Transform Spec trometer ( TANSO -F TS) of“IBUKI.” The following Level 3 data products areon release this time.
FTS SWIR Level 3 global CO2 distribution (SWIR)FTS SWIR Level 3 global CH4 distribution (SWIR)
These aforementioned Level 3 products
store the monthly global distribution of

1 SWIR stands for Short-Wavelength InfraRed. SWIR
radiations are detected in the bands 1,2, and 3 of FTS.

Image 2. FTS SWIR Level 3 global CO2 distribution for July 2010.

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01
03
03
05
07
07
07

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#12 DEC. 2010carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4)
calculated from the FTS SWIR Level 2

Image 3. FTS SWIR Level 3 global CH4 distribution for January 2010.

column-averaged mixing ratios of CO2

and CH4. In this calculation process, thewhole globe is divided into a grid 2.5
degrees of latitude and longitude, andthe value for each grid is estimated using
the Kriging2 method so that the varianceof concentrations with the neighboring
grids is relatively smooth. If the nearest
observation point is more than 500 km
away from a grid, the grid contains blankvalue (white in the images). The products
also contain statistics, for example,
the number of observation points andaverage in the grids.

Image 4. FTS SWIR Level 3 global CH4 distribution for July 2010.

FTS Level 3 data products’ version
numbers correspond with those of the FTS Level 2 data global distribution (SWIR) for the months of January and July
products. The relationships between the version numbers and 2010.
observation periods are noted below.

For the future, the Level 3 data products will be released
in a few days after every time the Level 2 data products are・Ver. 01.10：April 2009, June 2009, July 2009, October 2009, released.
November 2009, December 2009, and January
2010, February 2010

You can search, order, and download these two FTS Level
3 data products at the GOSAT User Interface Gateway (GUIG)

・Ver. 01.20：August 2009, September 2009, and March 2010

once registered as a general user. Before using the products,

・Ver. 01.30：April ~ October 2010

please read the product description on “FTS L3” carefully. The
product description on “FTS L3” can be found when you log

Image 1~4 are the rendered images of Level 3 CO2 and CH4 into GUIG, and click on “ATBD, Product Format Descriptions,
2 Kriging is a statistical method to estimate a fair possible value at an unobserved
location from the values at nearby observed locations.

Produc t Description, Results of Validation” under theDocuments section of the Selection Menu (Top menu).

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NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#12 DEC. 2010

NEWS

Report: the 54th Symposium on Space Science and Technology in Japan- Hiroshi Watanabe, NIES GOSAT Project Office Manager

The 54th Symposium on Space Science and Technology washeld from November 17 to 19, 2010 at the Shizuoka Convention & Arts

Center “GRANSHIP,” and I participated in the GOSAT related session

held in the afternoon of 18th. Eight lectures and a panel discussion

on GOSAT were held during this session entitled “GOSAT 'IBUKI's
Contribution for the Global Environmental Issues.”

The lectures covered a wide range of subjects, including abstract

topics such as the relationship between the global warming and the

GOSAT Project, and the future prospect for the GOSAT Project, as well
as specific topics such as the details on the GOSAT data products.

There were eight lecturers at the session; Senior Fellow Taroh

Matsuno and Group Leader Michio Kawamiya of the Japan Agency for
Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Professor Teruyuki

The Shizuoka Convention & Arts Center, “GRANSHIP.”

Nakajima of The University of Tokyo, Fellow Takashi Moriyama, GOSAT
Mission Manager Masakatsu Nakajima, and Researcher Kei Shiomi of
the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Professor Gen Inoueof the Research Institute of Humanity and Nature (RIHN) and I from
NIES. For my lecture entitled “Current Status of GOSAT Higher-level

Products,” using examples of the products, I explained the GOSAT

higher-level products that NIES has been processing, producing, anddistributing.

A broad range of issues was talked about during the panel

discussion. The topics included the issues on the accuracy of the GOSAT
data products, on the number of retrieved data being small and only
limited areas being covered, on the progress in the application of data
to climate models, on promoting the domestic data usage as well as
contribution and cooperation in the international community, and on
a prospective successor for GOSAT. Not only the lecturers but also NIESGOSAT Project Leader Tatsuya Yokota in the audience joined the active
debate during the panel discussion.

©JAXA/NIES/MOE

SPECIAL FEATURE

2010

T hrough theEyes of "IBUKI"- Nobuyuki Kikuchi,
Specialist,
NIES GOSAT Project OfficeVolcano Eruption in Iceland

In this issue and in
February 2011 issue, NIES GOSATPROJECT NEWSLETTER is goingto bring you what “IBUKI” saw
happening to our planet Earthduring the year 2010. This issue
is on the natural phenomena
observed by “IBUKI”’s Cloud andAerosol Imager ( TANSO-CAI). In
the February issue, we are going totalk about the global greenhousegases concentrations observed by
the Fourier Transform Spectrometer(TANSO-FTS).

The red arrow indicates the location of
the volcano.

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The volcanic eruption on April 14, 2010 in the glacierregion of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland had a great impact
on people’s activities such as causing the entire
shutdown of airports in Europe. Responding to therequest, the GOSAT Project provided “IBUKI”’s dataon the volcano eruption to the government of United
Kingdom. The volcano remained active until May,but owing to the wind direction, the volcanic plume
went to the Atlantic ocean, and it caused airport
shutdowns only in limited areas such as in Spain. (Leftimage) A long arch shaped stream of volcanic plume(brown colored) can be seen in the image acquired
on May 8, 2010. (Right image) A stream of the plume
sucked in by a swirl of low-pressure is visible in theimage acquired on May 13, 2010.

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#12 DEC. 2010

Drifting Iceberg
Greenland
In the summer of 2010, there were

July 27©JAXA/NIES/MOE

August 13

news repor ts on a giant iceberg
starting to drift away from Greenland.
It was possible to see how it was
happening in the images acquiredby “IBUKI.” (Left top) No iceberg isformed yet on July 27. (Right top)
An iceberg can be seen separated
from the Petermann Glacier andstarting to drift away on August 13.
(Right bottom) The iceberg moved
onto the Nares Strait on August 29.
(Left bottom) The iceberg broken
into pieces, and is half the size on
September 16.

2010

September 16

August 29

Smog in China

T hrough theEyes of "IBUKI"

Volcanic Activities
of SakurajimaJapan

On October 9, a smog covers the entire
North China Plain, from Beijing in the northalong the Hwang Ho (the Yellow River) into
the inland China. It is not always this hazy,
but it was after a week of stable atmosphereand the smog remained still in the area.

The Sakurajima volcano in

Japan has been active thisyear. A volcanic eruption on
March 17 was spotted by“IBUKI.” (Sakurajima area isenlarged in the image on theright.)©JAXA/NIES/MOE

The red arrow indicates thelocation of the volcano.

©JAXA/NIES/MOE

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NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#12 DEC. 2010

GOSAT INTERVIEWA Series: "IBUKI"'s PI Interviews
No.5

DR.
RICHARD ENGELEN
Researcher
European Centre for Medium Weather Forecasts
GOSAT Project solicits research proposals from scientists worldwide
through the research announcements (RA) with a purpose to promote
the use of GOSAT data as well as to integrate some of the important
outcomes brought about by these selected researchers into the routine
processing of the GOSAT observational data. This year, the Third GOSAT
RA was released and the application was just closed on November 8,
2010. The project is currently reviewing the research proposals. For
this issue, we are going to introduce one of such researchers who
were selected after the First GOSAT RA, Dr. Richard Engelen of theEuropean Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Dr. Engelen is
working on research entitled “Application of GOSAT data in a 4D-Var
data assimilation system in combination with other greenhouse gas

observations to better estimate CO2 and CH4 fluxes.” (Interviewer: NIESGOSAT Project Tatsuya Yokota. Interviewed on September 7, 2010 inOxford, UK.)

Yokota (Y): You are now with the European Centre for

Then, I moved to the United States, to Colorado State

Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), and working on University (CSU) in 1996. I moved to CSU initially as a postthe 4D-Var data assimilation1 of satellite data. You are trying doc and then stayed as a research associate. There I worked
to assimilate not only GOSAT data, but also AIRS2 and IASI3. At with Professor Graeme Stephens5, and did various things with
first, I would like to know how you got interested in the data remote sensing; looking at humidity, at clouds etc. At someassimilation.

point, I started working on observing CO2 with satellites. This
was around 2000 or 2001.
In 2002, I moved to ECMWF. There, I was working on a small

Engelen (E): Well, I went to Utrecht University in the Netherlands

where I studied meteorology and physical oceanography, and project, COCO6. We were looking at CO2 and how we could use
a little bit on atmospheric chemistry. I received my master’s satellite data to estimate surface fluxes. Then, after COCO, we
degree in Atmospheric Science, and then I started my PhD there started the Global and regional Earth-system (Atmosphere)
in the same department. My PhD was on using satellite data to Monitoring using Satellite and in-situ data (GEMS)7 project,measure ozone (O3) using the thermal infrared. I was using the which was led by Dr. Tony Hollingsworth. He passed away three
TOVS4 at the time. I developed a new algorithm for that.
1 4D-Var Data Assimilation is a method that uses observations to constrain amodel simulation. 4D-Var uses all the observations within a certain assimilation
time window to adjust the initial conditions such that the model simulation fits
the observations within the assumed error statistics.
2 Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) is a high spectral resolution
spectrometer that measures atmospheric temperature and humidity, and landand sea surface temperature. It is installed on Aqua satellite, and launched in
May 2002. The instrument is designed to support climate research and improve
weather forecasting.

years ago, but he is remembered as the driving force behind
GEMS and later MACC8.
(NOAA). TOVS consists of three instruments: High Resolution Infrared Radiation
Sounder (HIRS), the Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) and the StratosphericSounding Unit (SSU). (MSU and SSU have been replaced with improved instrumentson newer satellites.) Each instrument measures radiation emitted by the Earth toestimate the total amount of O3 in the earth's atmosphere.
5 Professor Graeme Stephens is currently the University Distinguished Professor
at the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University.

3 Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) is an instrument
unit of MetOp, a series of European meteorological satellites. IASI measuresinfrared radiation emitted from the surface of the Earth to derive data on
humidity and temperature profiles in the troposphere and lower stratosphere,
as well as some of the chemical components playing a key role for climate
monitoring and atmospheric chemistry. The first model was launched on
METOP-A satellite in October 2006.

6 COCO was a project funded by EU. Its aim is to use measurements from thesatellite missions to monitor carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

4 TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) is equipped on TIROS series of the
U.S. polar orbiting satellites of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

8 Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate (MACC) is the projectthat continues the operation and improvement of the system developed during

7 Global and regional Earth-system (Atmosphere) Monitoring using Satellite
and in-situ data (GEMS) is a EU-funded project developing comprehensive
monitoring and forecasting systems for trace atmospheric constituents importantfor climate, air quality, an UV radiation with a focus on Europe. The project
concluded in May 2009.

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NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#12 DEC. 2010

E: GEMS was a large European project. It was not only looking few European stations that we get from the Infrastructure forat greenhouse gases but also aerosols and reactive gases, using Measurements of the European Carbon Cycle (IMECC)10 project.
data assimilation together with modeling experts. Then GEMS We would like to assimilate as many different data products as
moved into the MACC project. Both projects are very large possible.
European projects. MACC currently has 45 partners. We acquire
a wide range of observational data, and use it in the ECMWF Y: Will you be at the European Geosciences Union General
global data assimilation system. I look after the greenhouse Assembly next year? I am expecting by that time you can accessgases data assimilation.

the GOSAT thermal infrared data.

Y: Do you look at them on a global scale or for special regions?

E: That will be nice if we can get that to work. We can look at it

E: Global with an extra focus on Europe.

and compare it to IASI and AIRS.

Y: What is your major interest in the data assimilation?

Y: Another issue is to assimilate GOSAT data or to identify the

E: I have been interested in seeing how we can use satellite bias info. Is it one of the MACC project topics?

data to improve our assimilation of O3, clouds, and greenhouse E: Yes, when we think the retrieval products for CO2 and CH4gases. What we get from satellites is a wealth of information, are at a stage where they will improve our assimilation, thenbut it is not easy to use.

we will assimilate them together with AIRS and IASI. But at the
moment we just monitor them, we compare with our model, to

Y: You are a GOSAT Research Announcement Principal assess the quality and possible biases. Then, we will assimilate
Investigator. What do you think about the present GOSAT data? them. We are looking forward to get the satellite data in our
E: I think it is progressing well. I think everyone was a little bit system.
too optimistic at the beginning about how quickly you would
get good results, but I know it takes time and effort for new Y: Are you going to use other satellite data such as OCO-211 andmeasurement techniques to keep moving forward. I think that CarbonSat12 in the future?
is still the case. We are not there yet, but it is going in the right E: Yes. We will look at the retrieval products in the same way
direction. I think that is very important.

as for GOSAT. We will compare with what we already have,and then if we think it is adding information, we will start

Y: I hear you are using the thermal infrared spectra from GOSAT assimilating them.
data. How are the CO2 and CH4 concentrations?

E: We haven't been using the thermal infrared yet because Y: Finally, I would like to ask about your expectation for GOSAT.
of some calibration problems. So we will wait for that, but E: I just hope that in the next year or so, we will get to the point
we have experience with AIRS and IASI so it shouldn't be too where we can start assimilating the data together with thedifficult to use the GOSAT data as well.

other instruments we have. That should improve the qualityof our own products. In MACC we have the atmospheric data

Y: Do you now mainly use the IASI data?

assimilation as a first step, and as the second step we look at the

E: AIRS and IASI are the main satellite instruments for carbon fluxes. Hopefully, we will get to see improved flux estimates as
dioxide (CO2) and for methane (CH4) we use SCIAMACHY9. One well.
thing we also started looking into is how we can use in-situ
data in our system together with the satellite data.

Y: I see. Thank you for your time today.

Y: What kind of in-situ data?

E: At the moment, we look at the continuous CO2 data from a 10 Infrastructure for Measurements of the European Carbon Cycle (IMECC)
GEMS. MACC provides data records on atmospheric composition for recent years,
data for monitoring present conditions and forecasts of the distribution of key
constituents for a few days ahead. MACC combines the atmospheric modelingwith Earth observation data to provide information services covering European air
quality, global atmospheric composition, climate, and UV and solar energy.
9 SCIAMACHY is a passive remote sensing spectrometer obser vingbackscattered, reflected, transmitted or emitted radiation from the atmosphereand Earth's surface. The instrument flies on board European Space Agency's
ENVISAT satellite, which was launched on March 1, 2002.

is a project that aims to build the infrastructure for a coordinated, calibrated andaccessible dataset for characterizing the carbon balance of Europe.

11 Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) is a satellite dedicated to studying
atmospheric CO2, a replacement model for the OCO. It is being developed by NASAand is scheduled to be launched in February 2013.
12 CabonSat is a satellite prepared under the scientific lead of the Institute ofEnvironmental Physics of the University of Bremen. It is selected as one of missions
for the Earth Explorer Opportunity Missions of ESA, and the launch is scheduled in
2018. Carbonsat’s scientific objectives are to globally measure the concentration of
CO2 and CH4, and expected to assume the tasks of SCIAMACHY and GOSAT.

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NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#12 DEC. 2010DATA PRODUCTS UPDATE

Data Processing Status Update from GOSAT Project Office— Fumie Kawazoe, Specialist, NIES GOSAT Project Office-./*+0'1"#&2*+3"(&'#(&4*+/3"#/&",&25.63768&9*6*'/*(&:'$'&

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210500 scenes●1101105900 scenes!

● 00.50"#)%● 00.80● 00.9032500 scans
16700 scans
38600 scans● 01.10● 01.20● 01.30

26000 scans
14800 scans
34300 scans●00.50●00.80●00.9035200 scans
23700 scans
43300 scans●01.10●01.20"#&%●01.3024300 scans
13400 scans
31900 scans●01.10●01.20●01.308 months
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●01.10●01.20●01.308 months
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16300 frames
114000 frames●00.913200 frames●00.50●00.80!"#(%●00.9044800 frames
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16300 frames
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●00.50●00.80!"#&%●00.9099 regressions
36 regressions
227 regressions!"#$%

April-09

June-09

August-09

October-09 December-09 February-10

April-10June-10

August-10

October-10 December-10 February-11!"#$%&'#(&)*'+&",&-./*+0'1"#

Here we report an update on data processing status for lateNovember and early December 2010. We have released the upgraded

names, and there is no actual change of the content. For the newversion numbers of products, please refer to “Observation Period andversion of the FTS L1B observed after November 24. The changes in Versions of Publicly Released Data” above. On November 30, we havethe new version of the FTS L1B are 1) the accuracy of TIR processing is also released the FTS L3 of CO2 and CH4 global distribution (SWIR).

improved, 2) the influence of delay mismatch is corrected, and 3) the You can view the rendered images of global distribution, "FTS SWIR
method of saturation judgment is improved. With this upgrade, other L3 (XCO2)" and "FTS SWIR L3 (XCO2)" at the “Gallery” section in the
products have been upgraded as well. With the FTS SWIR L2, a minor GOSAT User Interface Gateway (http://data.gosat.nies.go.jp/).
bug of the High Speed Computation of Radiative Transfer program iscorrected. With the CAI data products, the only change is the version

The number of registered general users reached 930 as ofDecember 6, 2010.

PUBLISHED PAPERSCALENDAR

Field of Research : Data Processing Algorithm

2011/01/31

Name of Journal : Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer

Sending out the notices(Volume 112, Issue 3, February 2011, pages 531-539)

Title : Measurements of self-broadening and self-induced pressure-shift parameters of the methane spectral lines in the5556-6166 cm-1 rangeof results for the Third
Research Announcement.

Authors : O.M. Lyulin, V.I. Perevalov, I. Morino, T. Yokota, R. Kumazawa, T. Watanabe

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTERISSUE #12 DEC. 2010

Issued On : 2010.12.28

edited and published by : NIES GOSAT Project Oﬃce

NIES

GOSJ ATPRO ECT
NEWSL ETTER

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Center for Global Environmental Research
National Institute for Environmental Studies

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