NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#2 FEB. 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.

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

ISSUE #2
Feb. 2010
CONTENTSDATA PRODUCTS UPDATEIBUKI's Level 2 Data Products Now Released to the General Users
GOSAT IN THE MEDIAGOSAT NEWSIWGGMS-6 Report
The 2nd GOSAT RA PI Meeting Report
INTERVIEW
Dr. David Crisp"IBUKI"'s PI Interview —Dr. Liping Lei
GOSAT PEOPLE
People of "IBUKI"—Tatsuya Yokota
IMAGES OF THE MONTH
Diffusion of River Water —Coastal Region of Pacific Ocean, Japan
AHA! OF THE MONTH
Keeling Curve
CALENDARANNOUNCEMENT

01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
09
09

DATA PRODUCTS UPDATEIBUKI's Level 2 Data Products Now Released to the General Users
Text : Hiroshi Watanabe, NIES GOSAT Project Office Manager, Center for Global Environmental Research (CGER), NIESOn February 18, 2010, we started to provide
the following three IBUKI standard data products to
the general users.
・FTS-SWIR Level2 CO2 column amount (SWIR)
・FTS-SWIR Level2 CH4 column amount (SWIR)
・CAI Level2 cloud flag

FTS-SWIR Level2 CO2 column amount (SWIR)
and FTS-SWIR Level2 CH 4 column amount (SWIR)
are the column abandunces of CO2 and CH4 in theatmosphere, each retrieved from the Short Wave
Infrared band data acquired by Fourier Transform
Spectrometer (TANSO-FTS) onboard IBUKI. Out of all
FTS Level1B data - the spectral radiance data of thesun light reflected by the Earth surface (10.5 km indiameter) obtained by TANSO-FTS – only the datathat meet certain conditions are used for this retrieval
process. One of such conditions is not containing any
clouds in their field-of-view, which can be confirmed
using the CAI Level2 cloud flag (to be explained later).
Simultaneously, each column amount is divided by the
total amount of dry air in the column to calculate thecolumn-averaged volume mixing ratios (XCO2 , XCH4).
IBUKI’s observation succeeded in obtaining the datain the regions where there are no ground observation
facilities as long as it is conducted under the ckear sky.
IBUKI has revealed the variation and distribution ofgreenhouse gases concentration in those regions.
The global distribution and seasonal variation of
the CO2 and CH4 concentration observed by IBUKI’s
data are consistent with the existing knowledge fromground and air-borne observations. IBUKI’s data show

Global map of the CO2 column-averaged volume mixing ratios in 1.5 deg by 1.5 deg mesh forthe month of July, 2009, which was created from the FTS-SWIR Level2 CO2 column-amount data.

Global map of the CO2 column-averaged volume mixing ratios in 1.5 deg by 1.5 deg mesh for themonth of January, 2010, which was created from the FTS-SWIR Level2 CO2 column-amount data.

1­­

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#2 FEB. 2010that the seasonal variation of CO2 is less prominent in
the Southern Hemisphere compared to the Northern
Hemisphere. It has also shown that in the Northern
Hemisphere the concentration of CO2 is high during
the winter and spring while it is low in the summer due
to the vegetation activities. Such tendencies can beseen in the monthly global maps of the CO2 columnaveraged volume mixing ratios.

Global map of the CH4 column-averaged volume mixing ratios in 1.5 deg by 1.5 deg mesh for themonth of July, 2009, which was created from the FTS-SWIR Level2 CH4 column-amount data.

Example of CAI Level 2Cloud Flag

T

H

E

ME

RO
JE
AT
P

C

T

IN

TH

EM

EDIA

2010/2/16 NHK WORLD「NEWSLINE」featured IBUKI's Level 2
data product release.

(Image：Courtesy of NHK World Website)

D IA

T

EC

GOSAT PROJ

In the "Gallery" of the GUIG
top page, the global maps ofmonthly average of CO2 and CH 4
concentration and monthly
global map of the Minimum
Reflectance calculated from CAI
data are available with larger scale
to help your understanding on the
products.

IN

GOSAT User Interface Gateway (GUIG) :http://data.gosat.nies.go.jp

Global map of the CH4 column-averaged volume mixing ratios in 1.5 deg by 1.5 deg mesh for themonth of January, 2010, which was created from the FTS-SWIR Level2 CH4 column-amount data.

G OS

CAI Level 2 cloud flag product contains the clearsky confidence level information produced from CAI
Level 1B’s radiance. The cloud flag is the informationthat shows if an each pixel in CAI image contains any
cloud. The clear-sky confidence level demonstrates theconfidence level of “clear sky” in each CAI pixel withreal number from “0.0” to “1.0.” “0.0” indicates cloudy,and “1.0” indicates clear sky.
As it is mentioned earlier, FTS-SWIR Level2 CO2column amount (SWIR), FTS-SWIR Level2 CH4 column
amount (SWIR), and CAI Level2 cloud flag are released
to the public on February 18, 2010. Once you areregistered as a general user at the GOSAT User
Interface Gateway (GUIG) online, you can search anddownload these data products of the specific locations
and times as the other products in public domain suchas FTS L1B (spectral radiance data), CAI L1B and L1B+.
Detailed information on the file format and otherproducts can be also found in the same website.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Feb. 16 (Online)

Mainichi Shimbun

Feb. 17 (Online)

Kyodo NewsFeb. 16 (Online)

Jiji Press

Feb. 16 (Online)

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun

Feb. 17

The Tokyo Shimbun

Feb. 17etc .

2­­News on IBUKI's Level 2 data product release

was featured in various media outlets.

GOSAT NEWSNIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#2 FEB. 2010

The 6thInternational Workshop on Greenhouse Gas Measurements from Space Report
Text：Tatsuya Yokota, NIES GOSAT Project Leader, CGER, NIES
IWGGMS-6 Organizer

The researchers around the world working on the converted into physical amount, how the data are processed, thesatellite observation of the greenhouse gases gathered in characteristics of the data, or what they excel and in what they fall
Rakuhoku area in Kyoto, Japan, marking one year since the short at the moment.
launch of the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (“IBUKI”,
On the second day of the workshop, the reports on validation
GOSAT). It was for the above-mentioned workshop, the Sixth of the satellite observation data were made in the morning.
International Workshop on Greenhouse Gas Measurements from Then, after the poster session in the afternoon we moved on toSpace (IWGGMS-6). The workshop was held on 26th and 27th the sessions regarding the current status and future prospects ofof January 2010, and successfully hosted 128 people from 17 carbon flux (amount of emission/absorption) using the satellite
countries.
observation data. Above all, Dr. Peter Rayner of the Laboratory for
the Science of Climate and the Environment (LSCE) (France) gave apresentation, worthy of note, which compared the error reduction
rates of each satellite’s sensor in estimating the global carbon
flux. SCIAMACHY, AIRS, GOSAT, OCO, A-SCOPE were compared. It
was concluded that the existing satellite sensors are contributing
to reduce the errors, but a simulation demonstrated that there
need to be satellite sensors that are of better performance in the
future. This was followed by the reports on the general matterson satellite observation and on the future satellite missions
128 researchers attended the IWGGMS-6
using lidar, and ended with the general discussion. Dr. Gen
Inoue, the chief scientist of GOSAT Science Team chaired the
The location was Kyoto International Conference Center, by general discussion, and the researchers participated in the active
coincidence, in a conference room next to the hall where the discussion. There was an opinion demanding that the workshops
Kyoto Protocol was adopted. “IBUKI” is the first satellite in the on the satellite-borne carbon cycle research should be heldworld whose main purpose is to measure the global distribution regularly, as well as opinions stating the importance of informationof the major greenhouse gases, CO2 and CH4. The researchers such as, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and its
and their research groups from around the world selected for time variation obtained from GOSAT’s Cloud and Aerosol Imager,
the GOSAT research announcement had been using the “IBUKI” the aerosol itself, and the comparison among the satellites withobservation data as well as processed results for their preliminary different observation frequency and accuracy which clarifies
research. This workshop was held at the timing when they characteristics and enhances the importance of each mission etc.
gradually started to obtain results.
The live summary notes of the discussion typed by Dr. Charles
At IWGGMS-6, there were 27 oral presentations and 38 poster Miller of Jet Propulsion
presentations. On the first day during the morning, the principal Laboratory (USA) were
investigators (PI)s of the satellite missions around the world made projected on the screen
reports on the outline and current status of their missions. The at the conference room.
satellites/sensors that were presented are: GOSAT (Japan), Envisat
The host organization/
carrying SCIAMACHY (Europe), Aqua carrying AIRS (USA), MetOP university of the next
carrying IASI (Europe), Aura carrying TES (USA) (in the order of workshop, IWGGMS-7 ispresentation). Then in the afternoon, after the poster sessions, the still undecided, but there
presentations on “IBUKI”’s sensors as well as its calibration and were some people whodata processing status were given by Japanese and European were suggesting that it
During the workshop.
groups.
shall be held somewhere
When using the satellite observation data, the information in Europe. It was bitterly cold in Kyoto, but we were blessed withon the data such as following is critical. The current status of fine weather both days. I could say that the experience at thecalibration, or in other words, how the observation signals are workshop was meaningful for many participants.
3­­

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#2 FEB. 2010

GOSAT NEWSThe GOSAT RA PI Meeting offers an opportunity to exchange information and opinions from the Principal Investigators (PI) of GOSAT Project’s
Research Announcement (RA). In addition to the standard research activities in the GOSAT project, Ministry of the Environment, JAXA, and NIES call for
research proposals from the researchers around the world to achieve greater success. Proposals are accepted in the five following fields: calibration,
data processing algorithms, and validation fields, and another for the modeling and data application. GOSAT RA Committee Chairperson Dr. Haruhisa
Shimoda reports on the 2nd GOSAT RA PI Meeting held late January in Kyoto.

（From Left）Dr. Frederic Chevallier (the Laboratory for the Science of Climate and the Environment) gives a presentation. Attendants at the modelinggroup session. Professor Sachiko Hayashida (Nara Women’s University) participates in a discussion.

The 2nd GOSAT RA PI Meeting Report

Text：Professor Haruhisa Shimoda
Chairperson, GOSAT RA Selection and Evaluation Committee (RA Committee)
Director, Tokai University Space Information Center
Deputy Director, Tokai University Research & Information Center
On January 28th and 29th of this year, the GOSAT following three issues were formed: aerosol retrieval, Short Wave
team hosted the 2nd GOSAT RA PI Meeting. The number of PIs Infrared Radiometer (SWIR) data product retrieval, and Thermal
who were selected at the first RA is 51(52 research topics), and Infrared Radiometer (TIR) data product retrieval. The first meetings
35(36 research topics) at the second RA, and out of these 86 of these WGs were held during the lunch break on the second day.
PI members (88 research topics), only six PIs from the first RA
Professor Teruyuki Nakajima of Center for Climate Systemand eight from the second RA were absent. Overall, 133 people Research, University of Tokyo (CCSR) chaired the aerosol WG, Dr.
including collaborating researchers and GOSAT project team Hartmut Boesch of Leicester University chaired the SWIR WG, andmembers attended this meeting.
Professor Ryoichi Imasu of CCSR chaired the TIR WG. These WGs
will be continued from now on, and good outcome is expectedfrom each WG.

133 reseachers from 18 countries attended the 2nd GOSAT RA PI Meeting.

（From Left）Dr. Teruyuki Nakajima (CCSR) , Dr. Hartmut Boesch (Leicester

University), Dr. Ryoichi Imasu (CCSR) chaired the newly established working

The meeting started and ended with plenary sessions. Ingroups. Photo : Nobuyuki Kikuchi
between the plenary sessions, the participants separated into
two rooms, one for the sessions on calibration, data processing
As for the action items, four out of six items that were left open
algorithms, and validation, and another for the modeling and data at the first RA PI meeting had been completed before the second
application.
meeting, and two items are to be completed in the near future.
At the opening plenary session, after the opening remarks andWe newly proposed ten action items at this meeting. Two havewelcome speeches were made, the current status and future already been accomplished, and four are to be completed shortly.
prospects of the GOSAT and TANSO were reported. In the closing We will continue on the efforts to accomplish the rest as well.
plenary session, the sessions and working groups mentioned
To summarize the entire meeting, each PI is engaged in the
below were summarized, and the action items were reviewed.
active research even though the quality of L2 and L1B data
There are two noticeable points of this meeting. The first is that products of TANSO-FTS and TANSO-CAI is still under the process
the presentations were of high quality in general. The second is of improvement. The greater success is expected when the datathat working groups (WG) were established. In the end of data products of higher quality are released in the near future.
processing algorithm session, a proposal was made that the WGsshould be established to encourage more active discussions on
the several issues that currently exist. As a result, WGs on the
4­­

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#2 FEB. 2010

GOSAT INTERVIEW

DR. DAVID CRISP

Principal Investigator, Orbiting Carbon Observatory
Senior Research Scientist, Earth and Space Sciences Division,
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Dr. David Crisp, the principal investigator (PI) of National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA)'s Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) mission,
sat down for an interview for NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER to talk about his
past, his impression on current GOSAT data, and a possibility for the OCO-2 launch.
(Interviewer : NIES GOSAT Project Leader Tatsuya Yokota. Kyoto, Japan. Jan. 26,
2010.)
Yokota: Thank you for coming to Kyoto. You are the
PI of NASA's OCO mission1 at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Firstly,
I would like to hear about your birthplace and university days,
and how you became involved with the OCO project.
Crisp: I was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. My father was in the
U.S. Air Force there. Maybe you know what was happening in
Nevada during the 1950s. 2 We moved many times after myfather retired from the Air Force, and settled in South Texas. I
received my Bachelor's of Science at Texas A&M University. I
received my Ph.D. in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics from Princeton
University in 1984. There, I was involved in atmospheric physics
and studied the thermal balance of the middle atmosphere ofVenus. I developed a radiative transfer model that has since
been used for studying the atmospheres of Venus, Earth, Mars,
Jupiter, and Neptune. At the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), I
started as a member of the technical staff for the Hubble Space
Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera-2 (WFPC-2) project. I
contributed to the design of the spectral filters used to makecolor images, and the development of a computer code thatwas used to estimate its radiometric performance. Then I led
the Science Team's Mars and Neptune observing programs. I
was also Principle Investigator of the JPL Micro-Hygrometer.
As a member of the Mars Pathfinder Science Advisory Group,
I contributed to the design and testing of the meteorologicalinstruments on the Mars Pathfinder Lander.
Yokota: I am surprised that your major was radiative transfer. My
major was also atmospheric radiative transfer and information
processing. Could you tell us how you became involved with thecarbon cycle science and become the OCO PI?

The most critical challenges for the proposal was to address
an important Earth Science problem within a very restrictive
budget. However, the OCO was selected as one of the best
three candidates in the ESSP competition in July of 2002, andthen was finally approved for implementation in May of 2005.
As you all know, the disaster of OCO launch happened. The
fairing of the launch vehicle did not open, and the satellite did
not reach orbit. After that the OCO scientists started to use the
GOSAT data, and are now working on the proposal for the OCO2 launch with NASA Headquarters.
Yokota: What is your impression of the present GOSAT data andfuture expectation?
Crisp: The GOSAT data are very promising. However, this is stilla pioneering measurement, and we still need to do some work
to fully exploit the information that the data contain. We, at
the Atmospheric CO2 Observations from Space (ACOS) 3, havemade a lot of progress over the past year, and believe that wewill soon be able to meet the GOSAT measurement accuracy
requirements of 1% (4 ppm) on regional scales. After that,
we are still hopeful that by working closely with the GOSAT
calibration team at JAXA and the retrieval algorithm teamat NIES, we will eventually be able to even meet the moredemanding OCO requirements of 0.3% accuracy at least overcontinents.
Yokota: Thank you for your time today. We hope to continue
good collaboration between GOSAT members and ACOS
members as ever.

Crisp: As you know, I proposed the OCO project to the NASA's
Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) program with mycolleagues at JPL, Geoffry Toon, Charles Miller and others.
1 The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) was a NASA Earth System Science
Pathfinder Project (ESSP) mission designed to make precise, time-dependent global
measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) from an Earth orbiting satellite. On
February 24, 2009, OCO failed to reach orbit.
2

In 1950, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission conducted a series of continental

3 ACOS is a group formed around the OCO Science Team, including the research

nuclear weapons tests, code named Ranger, in the land owned by the U.S. Air Force inmembers from NASA’s JPL, Caltech, and Colorado State University. Using “IBUKI”’s data,

proving ground for nuclear weapons.

retrieval algorithm for both GOSAT and OCO-2 projects.

Nevada State. In 1951, the site was established as the Nevada Test Site, a permanent

ACOS team works closely with the GOSAT project to develop and enhance the CO2

5­­

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#2 FEB. 2010

GOSAT INTERVIEWA Series: "IBUKI"'s PI Interviews

GOSAT Project hosted the Second Annual Research Announcement
Principal Investigator Meeting (RA PI Meeting) in Kyoto. At this meeting, the PIs of
selected RAs, 133 of them from 18 countries around the world, gathered and had
intensive discussions.
No.1

Dr. Liping Lei
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Center for Earth Observation& Digital Earth Sciences

For this issue we are going to introduce
one of the PIs from the first RA, Dr.
Liping Lei. The interview with Dr.
Lei who lived in Japan from 1994 to2007 was conducted in Japanese.
(Interviewer: Yuki Tanaka. Kyoto, Japan.
January 26, 2010.)- I would like to know about your history
until you were involved in the current
research. Where are you originally from?
I was born in Yunnan Province in
China. I went to Beijing attending college.
I received my bachelor’s degree in geography
from Peking University, and majored inremote sensing for my master’s degree. After
graduating, I worked at Chinese Academyof Sciences for eight years. At the time,
Professor Ryuzo Yokoyama of Iwate
University (Current honorary professor at
Iwate University) in Japan was researchingvegetation in China and seeking a
Chinese student to work with him. So, I
came to Japan as a Japanese government
scholarship student in 1994 and got thedoctor's degree in 1999.
It is all thanks to my respected Professor
Yokoyama why I can write and speak
Japanese so much. He was strict. At first,
I was thinking of writing my doctoral
dissertation in English, but Professor
Yokoyama said to me “You came to Japan,
so you should write in Japanese.” After that,
I gradually tried to watch a lot of television1
drama series and NHK documentaries
except my studying. Naturally, I became
to like the Japanese culture, and smoothly
finished my doctorate paper.
-W h at w a s yo u r r e s e a r c h at I w ate
University?
Originally, I was doing a research on
the vegetation monitoring using remote
1 NHK is a public broadcaster in Japan.

sensing data. I developed a data processing
system for the sensor called Advanced
Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)
and a software of atmospheric correction.
I also did a research on the vegetation in
Inner Mongolia grassland.
After receiving my PhD. degree fromI w ate Un i ve r s i t y a n d w o r k i n g a s a
researcher in the same university, I worked
at a Japanese company where I worked onpractical application of remote sensing forfive years.
In 2007, when my child left home forcollege, I decided to go back to China.
The change of circumstances was achance for me to restart my research tofind “what the remote sensing can do tosolve the problems regarding the Chinese
environment.”- Could you explain your current research?
I am studying the spatial and temporalvariability of CO2 and CH4 concentrations in
China and their relationships with the land
surfaces, for example the land use.
In China, the global warming is amatter of great concern as well. Remotesensing technology is very useful to help
us understand the mechanism of global
warming. Since GOSAT is a Japanesesatellite, I thought it would easy for me toexchange information using my language
skill. That is why I applied for the 1st RA.
Currently, I am still working on various
projects in China other than GOSAT. For
example, I am doing the research how the
global warming has affected the variation
6­­of snow and glacier in Qinghai-Tibet
Plateau in a government-funded project.
I am happy that the Chinese economy
has been growing in recent years, so
research funding has been increasing
as well. This has enabled more groundobservations and field works for us.
- What is your impression on “IBUKI”’s
data?
I used Level 2 data produc ts thatwere released last October and checkedwhich areas in China have high or low
concentration, and investigated therationality of data. The spatial distributionof CO2 derived from IBUKI's data seems
reasonable. The concentration is high inareas where anthropogenic emission ishigh – such as where many people live or
where there are many factories.
Now although there are not many
GOSAT obser vation points available
still, the investigated result of CH4 is also
shown reasonable to some extent.
The satellite obser vation and dataprocessing algorithms are very complex,
so there is always some level of error. The
task for us researchers is how to find andreduce these errors. One solution is tofind where the uncertain data is firstly,
and then to investigate the reason for theerrors at those points. When the values
derived from the satellite were comparedto the ground observation, it is inevitablethat there is an absolute gap. However,I think you can find a relative variation
when comparing the data acquired on thesame point at the different time.
Since the satellite obser vation canacquire the mass of data for the large
re gio n co ntinu o usl y, I b elieve thatGOSAT will present us many meaningful
investigating results with the increase of
GOSAT observating data.
- What is your plan for the future?
China is putting an importance on
coping with global warming including
reduction and other environmental issues.
I’ll make the further analysis for GOSAT
data combined with the field works. As ascientist, through the GOSAT RA research,
I wish that my studying results should
contribute to the government’s policy
making towards energy saving and CO2
reduction.

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#2 FEB. 2010

GOSAT PEOPLE

NIES GOSAT Project Leader

TATSUYA YOKOTA

Text：

Chief, Satellite Remote Sensing Research Section,
Climate Change Research Program Core Research Project 2 Leader
Center for Global Environmental Research (CGER), NIES
People of "IBUKI"
Algorithm Research

GOSAT is the third satellite I have been concerned with. Successor ILAS-II on the Satellite MIDORI-II
I was involved in two other satellite projects at National Institute
The next project was the Improved Limb Atmosphericof Environmental Studies (NIES) before the GOSAT project.
Spectrometer-II (ILAS-II). In this project, I upgraded the dataprocessing algorithm and developed the ILAS-II Data HandlingFirst: ILAS Project – Polar Ozone Layer Monitoring Sensor
Facility (DHF) as a Research Program Manager of CGER. On the
My first satellite project was on the Improved Limb year of launch, I was promoted to the Chief of the Information
Atmospheric Spectrometer (ILAS), the first ozone layer monitoring Processing and Analysis Section in the Social and Environmental
sensor of Japan. Since “ozone depletion in the stratosphere” was System Division at NIES, and became in charge of managing
the biggest global environmental issue in the world twenty years the ILAS-II DHF and of the data processing algorithm research.
ago, the Environment Agency of Japan (former Ministry of the The ILAS-II was successfully launched on the Advanced EarthEnvironment (MOE)) and NIES developed a satellite sensor to Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II, "MIDORI-II") in December, 2002,
observe the minor gas constituents in polar ozone layer where but the satellite operation once again stopped due to a electricalthe ozone hole was appearing. I was involved in this project from trouble in the satellite's solar paddle in October, 2003.
the preliminary investigating stage in 1989. I was dispatched as avisitor researcher at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) in the
United States from November 1990 for one year. I stayed in the “MIDORI II” carried the successor ILAS-II, but
HALOE group and studied the basics of data retrieval methods to had to end its operation due to the solarestimate the vertical profile of concentrations of ozone and other paddle failure. Photo : From the ILAS-II
related gases for the ILAS project. I remember many flying fighters homepage.
took off for the Gulf War from the U.S. Air Force base adjacent http://db.cger.nies.go.jp/ilas2/en/index.html
to the NASA LaRC at that time. After coming back to Japan, I
developed a data processing algorithm for the ILAS by modifying GOSAT Data Processing Algorithm Development andthe methods that I learned there. ILAS was successfully launched Becoming the Project Leader
aboard Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS, “MIDORI”) in
GOSAT project is a joint project among MOE, Japan Aerospace
August 1996, but ADEOS ceased its operation due to a mechanical Exploration Agency (JAXA), and NIES. These three parties initiatedtrouble in the satellite's solar paddle in the end of June, 1997.
the project in 2002, and a virtual team was organized in CGER,NIES in April, 2004. The team leader was Dr. Gen Inoue, thenDirector of CGER, and six staff members including me, and several
contract researchers joined this virtual team. At first, I was incharge of developing the data retrieval algorithm along with thelate Dr. Tadao Aoki, Yukio Yoshida, Nawo Eguchi, and Yoshifumi
Ota. I will leave the details on the algorithm development andits contribution to the project for the other researchers forother articles of this newsletter. After two years, in April 2006,
as the Second Five-year Plan started at NIES, GOSAT team wasestablished as an official organization both as a research group
and a project at CGER. Since then I am assigned the project leader.
“IBUKI” is a satellite that aims to obtain scientifically effective
The exterior view of ILAS sensor. Photo：From the ILAS pamphlet (initialobservation data of greenhouse gases. It was not proved if it
results).
is possible to obtain analyses usable enough from the satellite
http://db.cger.nies.go.jp/ilas/DHF/Pamphlet/p.1_2.pdf

7­­

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#2 FEB. 2010

observation data. For this reason, we made computer simulation Third Time is a Charmfor developing the data retrieval method and conducted field
Both ILAS and ILAS-II, whose projects I was involved in, operated
experiments before the satellite launch to make sure if the only for eight months even though they were planned to operate
developed method was reasonable and effective.
for three years. “IBUKI” has just turned one year last month. We“IBUKI” Keeps on in Its Operation
were able to start releasing the data products to the general
Shortly before the launch, GOSAT was nicknamed “IBUKI”. public, as we should keep our efforts to improve the products“IBUKI” was launched from the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center to be more precise and satisfactory. I am very glad that “IBUKI”
in January 2009. Since then, it has been keeping in operation for has become my third time charm. “IBUKI” is aimed to operate
more than one year until now. In the three parties’ GOSAT project, for more than five years. I hope “IBUKI” will obtain observational
NIES has taken several roles on various researches and tasks for data continuously for long period of time, and I am determinedseveral years before the launch until now: development and to make the best effort to produce good results and useful data
improvement of the data processing algorithms, development and for research works with other members in the project. I hope with
operation of the DHF system, evaluation and validation of “IBUKI” all my heart that researchers around the world would yield many
data products, development of transport and inverse models to scientific results by using the “IBUKI” data in near future.
estimate carbon flux by using “IBUKI” data and ground monitoring
station data, issuing research announcements, releasing the data
products to researchers and the general public, and distributing
information. These tasks were achieved and maintained by theefforts of more than 20 researchers, engineers, and assistant staffs
involved in the NIES GOSAT project, as well as the contractors who
support the project.

IMAGE OF THE MONTH

Diffusion of River Water Seen in CAI Image
Coastal Regions of Pacific Ocean, Japan

Text：Tsuneo Matsunaga

Chief, Office for Global Environmental Database, CGER, NIES

This month, “The Image of the Month” features a CAI L1B+ image (August 3, 2009) of the coastal region of Pacific Ocean from
Kanto and Chubu area in Japan. The image was introduced by Dr. Yuji Sakuno of Graduate School of Engineering at Hiroshima University,
the PI of GOSAT RA study, “Aerosol distribution estimation using GOSAT CAI data in coastal environments for red tide bloom detection.”In the land area you can see some small clouds scattered, but the urban area of Kofu, Suwa Lake, and Northern Nobi Plain are
shown clearly. You can see there are some red parts on the sea surface around the mouths of Kiso River in Ise Gulf, of Tenryu
River coming from Suwa Lake, of Oi, Abe, and Fuji rivers in Suruga Gulf. They can be considered as the signs of river water thatis more turbid than seawater diffused into the ocean. Two days before “IBUKI”'s observation there was 83 mm rainfall in Kanie
town in Aichi Prefecture, 55mm in Iwata city and 62mm in Shizuoka city in Shizuoka Prefecture. The soil and sand carried into
the rivers due to this rain seem to be the reason why those parts in the ocean appear red in this CAI image.
Additionally, there is a thin white line from the Central Japan International Airport to Toyokawa City, and this seems to be acontrail of airplane flying over the area.

©MOE/JAXA/NIES

CAI Level 1B+ data product of the coastal region of Pacific Ocean, Japan (August 3, 2009 ) *Blue=Band 1 Green = Band 3, Red=Band 2

8­­

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#2 FEB. 2010

AHA! OF THE MONTH

Keeling Curve
Text, figure：— Hiroshi Takagi
Specialist, CGER, NIES

The result of the pioneering CO2 observation
work that laid the foundations for later researches in
man-made greenhouse gases, including the GOSAT
Project, is referred to as the “Keeling Curve” (shown in
the figure). This long-term effort began in late 1950s
near the summit of Mt. Mauna Loa, Hawaii, where
the present-day Mauna Loa Observatory is located.
The observatory, now operated by the U.S. National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, rises
3,397 meters (11,135 feet) above the sea level. Thisis a prime location for monitoring long-term trend
Figure: The Keeling Curve-the concentration of carbon dioxideof CO2 levels since the location does not see direct
measured at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii (19.5°N, 155.6°W)
influences of large-scale human activities and plantover the period between 1958 and 2009. The figure was produced
respirations.
with the data provided by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
In 1958, Dr. Charles Keeling, a postdoctoral researchUSA.
fellow at that time, began taking measurements of CO2
at that location. Until early 1960s, the trend in atmospheric CO2 levels was not clearly understood. His findings shedlight on the unknown by showing that the atmospheric CO2 concentrations were rapidly increasing. The CO2 level at
the start of his observation work was around 315 ppm, but it has risen, over the course of fifty years, to the level of 390
ppm (see figure).
We hope that our effort in monitoring CO2 with GOSAT would lead to more accurate understanding of the current
CO2 trend and preventing further progression of global warming.

CALENDARANNOUNCEMENTGOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER is accepting
submissions from our readers.
We appreciate your opinion pieces;"I want to read articles on ..."
"I'd like to know what ... means.""... was really interesting. ...could have been better if ..."
etc.
We also appreciate contributions from people involved in
GOSAT Project;"I'd love people to know about ...""My research (work) is on ...,and I am passionate about it!" etc.
Please feel free to contact : gosat_newsletter@nies.go.jp.
Thank you for supporting our newsletter.

2010/03/01
Presenting a research at the 17th Remote Sensing Forum heldby the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers at Tokyo
Metropolitan University, Akihabara Satellite Campus (Akihabara
Dai Bldg., 12F).
2010/04/17
Lecturing and exhibiting a booth at NIES Open House held as apart of Science and Technology Week in Tsukuba city.

-Yuki Tanaka, editor

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTERISSUE #2 FEB. 2010

Issued On : 2010.2.28

edited and published by : NIES GOSAT Project Oﬃce

NIES

GOSJ ATPRO ECT
NEWSL ETTER

Revised On : 2010.3.4

email : gosat̲newsletter@nies.go.jp
website : http://www.gosat.nies.go.jp/eng/newsletter/top.htm

You can download this newsletter here:

URL:http://www.gosat.nies.go.jp/eng/newsletter/top.htm

address：16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba-City, Ibaraki,
If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter,

305-8506 Japan

please email : gosat̲newsletter@nies.go.jp

GOSAT Project Oﬃce
Center for Global Environmental Research
National Institute for Environmental Studies

9­­

Reproduction in any form without publisherʼs permission is prohibited.