NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#20 AUGUST 2011

ISSUE # 20
AUGUST 2011

CONTENTSACTIVITIES

Report­:­Data­Acquisition­over­the­Ocean­Using­High­Resolution­FTS­­aboard­Research­Vessels­for­Validation­of­"IBUKI"­­­­­­01
NEWS
Optical­Adjustment­for­Ground-based­High­Resolution­FTS­at­NIES

03

Report­:­NIES­Summer­Open­House­

03

AHA! OF THE MONTH
A­Series:­How­to­Use­GUIG­Tool­"SWIR­L2­Global­Distribution­Map"­-­1­-­­­­04

いぶき
IBUKI

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER
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/

NEWS"GOSAT/IBUKI­Data­Users­Handbook"­is­Available­Online­­­­05

DATA PRODUCT UPDATE
Data­Proessing­Status­Update­From­GOSAT­Project­Office­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­05
IMAGE OF THE MONTH
Ship­Tracks­Emerge­in­Clouds­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­06
PUBLISHED PAPERS

06

ANNOUNCEMENT

06

CALENDAR

06

ACTIVITIES

Report : Data Acquisition over the Ocean
Using High Resolution FTS aboard Research Vessels
for Validation of "IBUKI"
Shuji­Kawakami­and­Hirofumi­Ohyama,­
Earth­Observation­Research­Center­(EORC),­Japan­Aerospace­Exploration­Agency­(JAXA)The atmospheric column averaged mixing ratiosof greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane) were
measured for validation purpose over the ocean in a seriesof experiments using a high resolution Fourier Transform
Spectrometer (FTS) installed on ships as "IBUKI" passed over thevicinity.
It is an indispensable task to validate "IBUKI"'s retrieved

Photo­1.­The­FTS­stored­inside­a­container.­The­ocean­is­right­outside­the­window!­On­"KAIREI."

data with a set of highly accurate data acquired by an independent observation method.
Currently, the data available for "IBUKI"'s validation are those of observation sites
with ground-based high resolution FTSs (ground-based FTSs) and those from limited
locations such as some airports and surrounding areas observed using the Continuous
CO2 Measurement Equipment installed on commercial airliners, and it is necessary tosupplement the missing validation data over the ocean.
For this reason, as one of "cooperative activities between the ocean and space,"
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA) conducted a joint study on the technology of over-theocean observation using a FTS installed on research vessels. The High Resolution Fourier
Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTS, Bruker 125 HR) owned by JAXA was installed on
research vessels owned by JAMSTEC.
We conducted the experiments in the three cruises set by JAMSTEC: the Research
Vessel "KAIYO" cruise (KY10-11, August 4 - 13, 2010), the Deep Sea Research Vessel "KAIREI"
cruise (KR10-E02, September 10 - October 5, 2010), and the Oceanographic Research Vessel"MIRAI" cruise (MR 11-03, April 14 - May 5, 2011). The image 1 shows the tracks of thethree cruises. The first experiment was in Sagami Bay, an inland bay where the waves are

1­­

Image­1.­The­tracks­of­cruises­for­the­high­resolution­FTS­
observation.­The­Research­Vessel­"KAIYO"­cruise­(KY10-11,­
August­4­-­13,­2010),­the­Deep­Sea­Research­Vessel­"KAIREI"­
cruise­(KR10--E02,­September­10­-­October­5,­2010),­and­the­Oceanographic­Research­Vessel­"MIRAI"­cruise­(MR­1103,­April­14­-­May­5,­2011).

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#20 AUGUST 2011not large, on "KAIYO," a catamaran whose
stability is less affected by waves. Then it was

KAIYO

followed by the experiment using "KAIREI" offof Hachijo Island and Izena Island, and thenthe experiment using "MIRAI" in the westernpart of North Pacific Ocean. We conducted
experiments in such a way that the conditions
such as weather and wave height graduallybecame more difficult.
The FTS was stored in a recycled 12 footcargo container (previous page photo 1)
installed on the deck of vessels (photo 2). The
Solar Tracker (Bruker, A547N) positioned on
top of the container took in solar radiation as
the light source. The Solar Tracker features
the fourth quadrant photoelectric detector
that enables the motors to move at theazimuth and elevation angles to take in thesolar radiation at maximum. It adjusts tothe pitching and rolling at as fast as 2 deg/sec (Bruker Spec) to track the sun. For this
instrument, we built a case made of a hightransmission glass as a protection from theseawater splash (photo 3).
Both or one of us, Shuji Kawakami (SK)and Hirofumi Ohyama of JAXA, participatedin each cruise to make measurements. On"KAIYO," we were able to make measurements
under the low wave condition of Sagami
Bay, which helped us confirm the operation
systems of the Solar Tracker and FTS (Photo4). On "KAIREI," the good weather helped us
collect data not only on the days of "IBUKI"'s
overpass, but on total of 22 days out of 26days of the cruise. Since "KAIYO" sailed in the
open sea, there were occasions when the shiprocked wildly (photo 5). It was learned thatthe accuracy of measurement was decreased
when the rocking was especially wild, since
the solar tracking was incomplete. Duringthe "MIRAI" cruise, the weather stayed bad,and the waves were more than 6 m high onsome days. I (SK) could do nothing because
of seasickness. There was also a trouble withthe observational instrument and the chanceof observation was mostly limited. The funpart of life at sea was the meals with plenty ofmeat and fish (photo 6). I thought we would
gain weight if we ate the whole food served
at every meal, but in fact, a few people toldme I looked I lost weight (worn-out) when
we came back from the sea. To think about it
now, each day was a difficult experience.
Based on the outcome of this experiment,
we hope to continue making more validation
opportunities for the ocean data for "IBUKI."

KAIREI

Photo­ 4.­ Hirofumi­ Ohyama­ confirming­ the­operation­system­of­the­Solar­Tracker­on­top­of­the­container­on­"KAIYO."MIRAI

Photo­ 2.­ The­ yellow­ circles­ indicate­ where­ the­container­was­mounted­on­"KAIYO,"­"KAIREI,"­and­"MIRAI."

Photo­5.­The­ship­is­rocking­wildly.­The­window­
blind­looks­tilted,­but­it­is­actually­the­container,­or­the­ship­that­is­tilted­from­rocking.­

Photo­3.­The­Solar­Tracker­and­a­protective­case.­

Photo­6.­One­dinner­on­"KAIREI."­I­ate­it­all!­Yum-Yum.

On­"KAIREI."<Acknowledgement> The KR10-E02 was a cruise by Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National
Corporation. The experiment was made possible with the support from the vessel staff foreach cruise, and the system was built with the support from Bruker Optics, Astro Optical, andHouwa Container Shop.

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NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#20 AUGUST 2011

NEWS

Optical Adjustment for Ground-based High Resolution FTS at NIES-­Isamu­Morino,­Senior­Researcher,­Center­for­Global­Environemtal­Research,­National­Institute­for­Environmental­Studies

The Great East Japan Earthquake an expedient adjustment by the local
of March 11, 2011 forced observational engineers from the Bruker Optics in Japan
instruments at the National Institute for and it managed to start running. However,Environmental Studies (NIES) to stop the perfomance could not be brought totheir nominal operation. We are currently the level that complies with the TCCON Data
working on their restoration.
Protocol, and the observation is being done
One of such instruments is the ground- only as a test run of the instrument.
based high resolution Fourier Transform
In order for the instrument to achieve
Spectrometer (FTS, Bruker IFS 125 HR) the level of performance that meets thethat observes the solar radiation that has TCCON Data Protocol, more advanced
been affected by the absorption of the adjustment was necessary. For this reason,
greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere, Mr. Gregor Surawicz from the headquarters
installed at the Climate Change Research of Bruker Optics in Germany visited NIES
Hall at NIES. This is the Tsukuba observation from June 20 to 22, 2011, to make ansite for the global network of observation adjustment to FTS in exact detail. In theusing the FTSs, the Total Column Carbon top photograph is Mr. Surawicz working
Observing Network (TCCON, https://tccon- on FTS. The instrument now performs
wiki.caltech.edu/). The column-averaged at the level required by the TCCON Data
mixing ratios of greenhouse gases collected Protocol. Furthermore, other technicalin TCCON are used for validation of satellite issues that were pointed out in TCCON
data including "IBUKI" and for other carbon were also worked over, and these issues
cycle studies.
were successfully minimized so as not to
Tsukuba city experienced tremors of interfere with the accuracy of measurement.
seismic intensity level '6 Lower (difficult to Next, we will need to fix issues with our sun
remain standing)' during the earthquake. tracker and the dome that is covering it. It is
The optical system of the FTS at NIES went expected that the nominal observation asout of order because of this powerful shake the TCCON Tsukuba site will restart as soonand the FTS stopped functioning. One as such restoration works are finished.
month later, the instrument was given

NEWS

Mr. Gregor Surawicz working on the ground-based
high resolution Fourier Transform Spectrometer.
Smiling for the camera as he gets fine results after
making an adjustment.
Due to the powerful shakeof the Great East Japan
Earthquake on March 11,
2011, the ground-based
high resolution FTS andthe optical bench that
holds FTS hit each otherand paint was scratched
off. It is structured that the
spring between the FTS
and rack should absorb
shocks, but the shock
seems to have been more
powerful than expected.

Report: NIES Summer Open House-­Yuki­Tanaka,­Specialist,­NIES­GOSAT­Project­Office

The "NIES Summer Open House" was held on July 23, 2011 at the National
Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES). At this annual event, NIES opens some of
the main research facilities to the public and researchers share outcomes of their workwith the visitors. This year the temperature was relatively low for this time of the season, and it helped attract as many as 3,811 visitors, which outnumbered the visitors
last year.
The NIES GOSAT Project belongs to the Center for Global Environmental Research(CGER). Some of the research promoted by CGER includes carbon balance monitoring,greenhouse gas measurement using vessels and commercial airliners.
The NIES GOSAT Project ran a booth alongside these research projects tointroduce the workings and outcomes of greenhouse gas measurements from thespace with "IBUKI" satellite. The monthly global CO2 and CH4 distributions (FTS Level 3
data products) were displayed on the spherical display to show how the distribution
varied as the season changed. This year we had a few tablet PCs ready so that thevisitors can view "IBUKI" data at hand. "IBUKI"'s Fourier Transform Spectrometerand Cloud and Aerosol Imager have accumulated data on various aspects of earth's
environment for over two years. On the tablet PCs, we mounted not only the global
distribution maps of greenhouses gases, but also the maps of soon-to-be-released
vegetation index (CAI Level 3 data products) that shows the distribution and activityof vegetation, and also the images composed from the "IBUKI" data. I believe thatpeople could look at how "IBUKI" sees the earth at their own pace.
NIES normally hosts another open house event in spring, but this year it wascanceled due to the earthquake. The "NIES Summer Open House" was a great
opportunity to introduce "IBUKI" to more people and show the progress of project
after such a long time.

3­­

The­visitors­look­at­the­images­of­"IBUKI"­data­on­tablet­PCs.

NIES­GOSAT­Project­Office­Specialist­Nobuyuki­
Kikuchi­(left)­attends­to­a­visitor­at­the­booth.

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#20 AUGUST 2011

AHA! OF THE MONTH

A Series: How to Use GUIG Tool "SWIR L2 Global Distribution Map" - 1 -­Kenji­Hayashi,­NIES­GOSAT­Project­Office

A screenshot of the Tool after searching for XCO2 for the term, January 1, 2011 to August 1, 2011.
(Displayed data are the latest version that is available up to May 31, 2011.)

In this series of articles, I will take you step by step
through the process of using the "SWIR L2 Global Distribution
Map" tool on the GOSAT User Interface Gateway (GUIG). Withthe "SWIR L2 Global Distribution Map" tool (hereafter referred
to as the Tool), one can display the values of carbon dioxideand methane concentration (SWIR Level 2 column-averaged
mixing ratios; XCO2, XCH4) on a map, and visually understandtheir distribution. The displayed data can be downloaded andeach user can utilize them for their own purposes. The user
registration is required, and a guest user cannot use the Tool.
Please follow "For Registration: here" on the User authentication
page, and then on to "General registration."
After logging in, click on "SWIR L2 Global Distribution Map"
and the Tool will open in a new window. The main functions of
the Tool are as follows.
1) Search/display concentration data: you can search anddisplay the latest version of SWIR Level 2 column-averaged
mixing ratios of the points that were observed by "IBUKI."
2) Save displayed data: you can download the displayed data astext format or KML file format (for Google Earth).
3) Display CAI data as background: you can display CAI Level
3 satellite images (global radiance distribution (3days' worthdata), or global reflectance distribution (a month's worth data))
as a background of the map. The CAI images are from the sameobservation periods as the displayed SWIR Level 2 data.

This month, I would like to demonstrate the functions of theTool regarding the first half of 1) search/display concentration
data. The latter part of 1) and 2), 3) will be demonstrated in the
coming months. For more detailed instructions on how to use
the Tool, please also refer to the "Help" in the right bottom of theTool page.
1) Search/display concentration data
As the Tool is opened in a new window, first go to "Obs:"
section (a) in the left middle and select either XCO2 or XCH4, andset the start and end date, then click on "Load" button. It will
display colored dots that indicate the values of column-averaged
mixing ratios of the selected gas during the selected time period.
By setting the minimum and maximum values of "VMR" section(b), you can change the range of concentration values to view.
(Image: A screenshot of the Tool after searching for XCO2 forthe term, January 1, 2011 to August 1, 2011) The search result is
displayed on the list in the right bottom, and the displayed term,
number of points, average value and standard deviation of thecolumn-averaged mixing ratios are also noted on top of the list.
This displayed term is shorter than the searched time period,
because the latest publicly available data are up to May 31, 2011(as of August 19, 2011). As the SWIR Level 2 data products are
released, it will be reflected in the Tool.
For the next issue, I am going to demonstrate how to searchand display the data for specific areas.
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NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#20 AUGUST 2011

NEWS

"GOSAT/IBUKI Data Users Handbook" is
Available Online-­Hiroshi­Watanabe,­NIES­GOSAT­Project­Office­Manager

The GOSAT Project is a joint effort of the Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), National Institute forEnvironmental Studies (NIES) and Ministry of the Environment,
Japan (MOE). Now it has been almost two and a half years
since the launch of "IBUKI," and many of the scheduled data
products have been released to the public. In order to improve
convenience of the data for users, we published "GOSAT/IBUKI
Data Users Handbook" online.
The handbook includes the summary of data products,
their retrieval algorithms, workings of the satellite, andinformation on the on-board sensors and ground system.
This handbook can be downloaded from the "Data Users
The handbook integrates the information provided Handbook" link on the left bottom of the GOSAT User Interface
in fragments on the GOSAT website. It consists of eight Gateway (GUIG) top page. <http://data.gosat.nies.go.jp/> The
chapters and appendixes, and also features some of the basic English version is also available on the English page of GUIG.
information that is released for the first time.

DATA PRODUCTS UPDATE

Data Processing status uPDate from gosat Project office-­Fumie­Kawazoe,­Specialist,­NIES­GOSAT­Project­Office

As of August 11, 2011

Observation Period and Versions of Publicly Released Data

Versions and Approx. Numbersof Released Data

FTS L1BFTS L2 CO2 column amount (SWIR)●050050●080080●100100●110110●128128●130130

143700 scenes
80200 scenes
210500 scenes
125700 scenes
91100 scenes
97900 scenes● 00.50● 00.80● 00.90● 01.10● 01.20● 01.30● 01.40● 01.5032500 scans
16700 scans
38600 scans
26000 scans
14800 scans
46900 scans
28300 scans
7000 scans●00.50●00.80●00.90●01.10●01.20●01.30%#'$●01.40●01.5035200 scans
23700 scans
43300 scans
24300 scans
13400 scans
44200 scans
27700 scans
6800 scans%#($

FTS L2 CH4 column amount (SWIR)FTS L3 CO2 distribution (SWIR)FTS L3 CH4 distribution (SWIR)CAI L1B!%#"$

CAI L1B+

CAI L2 cloud ﬂag●01.10●01.20●01.30●01.31●01.408 months
3 months
7 months
1 month
5 months●01.10●01.20●01.30●01.31●01.408 months
3 months
7 months
1 month
5 months●00.50●00.80●00.90●00.91●00.92117200 frames
16300 frames
114000 frames
66500 frames
50800 frames●00.50●00.80●00.90●00.91●00.9244800 frames
16300 frames
114000 frames
66000 frames
29600 frames●00.10●00.80●00.90●00.91●00.92117200 frames
16300 frames
114000 frames
66500 frames
50700frames●00.50●00.80●00.90●00.91●00.9299 recurrences
36 recurrences
253 recurrences
144 recurrences
49 recurrences●00.91●00.9249 recurrences
38 recurrences!%#&$

CAI L3 global radiance

CAI L3 global reﬂectance!"#"$2009/4

2009/6

2009/8

2009/10

2009/122010/2

2010/4

2010/6

2010/8

2010/102010/122011/2

2011/4

2011/6

2011/8

2011/10Month and Year of Observation

Here­we­report­an­update­on­data­processing­status­for­late­July­ CH4­column­amounts­(SWIR).­We­released­the­FTS­L2­CO2/CH4­column­
and­early­August.

amounts­for­the­month­of­May­and­FTS­L3­global­CO2/CH4­distribution­

Continued­from­last­month,­we­are­processing­and­releasing­the­ for­ the­ month­ of­ April.­ The­ FTS­ L2­ CO2/CH4­ column­ amounts­ are­V128.128­and­V130.130­of­the­FTS­L1B­data­product,­V00.92­of­the­ produced­from­the­V128.128­of­FTS­L1B­data­products.
The­number­of­registered­users­is­1093­as­of­August­11,­2011.

CAI­L1B,­L1B+,­L2­cloud­flag,­L3­global­radiance­distribution­and­L3­
global­reflectance­distribution­data­products,­V01.50­for­FTS­L2­CO2/

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NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#20 AUGUST 2011

IMAGES OF THE MONTH

Ship Tracks Emerge in Clouds

over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Kurile Islands.

-­Nobuyuki­Kikuchi,­Specialist,­NIES­GOSAT­Project­Office

The imaging sensor installed on "IBUKI," the Cloud and

A number of streaks are visible in the clouds

Aerosol Imager (CAI) captured this image on July 20,
2011. These streaks that stand out bright in the clouds
are the tracks of ships. The aerosols including theexhausts from ships change the character of clouds,
and the reflectance rate of these clouds become higher
than that of surrounding clouds.
A seed for cloud develops as a particle of aerosol
serving as a cloud nucleus attracts water vapor. A large
amount of aerosols included in the ships' exhausts
become cloud nucleus, and thus creates a large
number of cloud droplets. However, when this occurs,
the size of cloud droplets become small because
the amount of water vapor that is available remains
the same. Small cloud droplets have a contradictive
nature; they are less likely to reflect the solar radiation.
However, the number of them outweighs the size andthe reflectance becomes high.
This phenomenon of aerosols causing higher
reflectance of clouds is occurred in metropolitan areas
with air pollution. Since the sunlight is reflected andless light (heat) reaches the ground, it is considered tohave a mitigation effect against global warming.

PUBLISHED PAPERS
Field of Research: data processing algorithm

Name of Journal: Journal of Geophysical Research ( Volume 116, D14304, 9PP)

Title: Detection of optical path in spectroscopic space-based observations of greenhouse gases: Application to GOSAT data processing
Authors: S. Oshchepkov, A. Bril, S. Maksyutov, and T. Yokota

ANNOUNCEMENTCALENDAR
2011/09/08-09
Partipation­at­the­29th­Laser­Sensing­Symposium­(LSS­29)­held­in­Nanao,­Japan.
2011/09/19-22
Partipation at the SPIE Remote Sensing 2011 held in
Prague, Czech Republic.
2011/10/04 - 05
Participation­at­CAE­POWER­2011­held­in­Tokyo,­Japan.

NIES­GOSAT­PROJECT­NEWSLETTER­welcomes­letters­from­our­readers.
We­appreciate­your­opinions,"I­want­to­read­articles­on­...,"­"...­was­really­interesting."­etc.
We­also­appreciate­opinions­or­contributions­from­people­involved­in­the­GOSAT­Project.
Please­feel­free­to­contact­:­gosat_newsletter@nies.go.jp.­
Thank­you­for­supporting­the­newsletter.

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTERISSUE #20 AUGUST 2011edited and published by : NIES GOSAT Project Oﬃce

Issued­On­:­2011.09.05
Revised­On­:­2011.11.29

You can download this newsletter here:
URL : http://www.gosat.nies.go.jp/eng/newsletter/top.htm

email : gosat̲newsletter@nies.go.jp

いぶき
IBUKI

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER

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

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6­­

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