NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#21 SEPTEMBER 2011

ISSUE # 21
SEPTEMBER 2011

CONTENTSGOSAT PEOPLE
People­of­"IBUKI"­-­Takakiyo­Nakazawa­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­01
ACTIVITIES
Observation­for­GOSAT­Data­Product­Validation­Starts­in­Saga,­Japan­­02
AHA! OF THE MONTH
A­Series:­How­to­Use­GUIG­Tool­"SWIR­L2­Global­Distribution­Map"­-­2­-­­­03
DATA PRODUCT UPDATE

いぶき

Data­Processing­Status­Update­from­GOSAT­Project­Office­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­04

IBUKI

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTERCALENDAR

04

PUBLISHED PAPERS

04

IMAGE OF THE MONTH

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.

Arctic­Sea­Ice­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­05
ANNOUNCEMENT05

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

GOSAT PEOPLE

Seeing the Satellite Up Close For the First Time

Messages from People of "IBUKI"
Atmospheric Trace Gas Researchto­visit­"IBUKI"­(GOSAT)­still­being­assembled­at­

In­March­2008,­I­had­an­opportunity­© JAXAthe­Tsukuba­Space­Center­of­Japan­Aerospace­
Exploration­Agency,­with­my­fellow­GOSAT­
Science­Team­members.­"IBUKI"­is­a­mid-sized­
satellite­focusing­solely­on­one­mission,­but­
seeing­a­working­satellite­in­person­for­the­first­time,­I­was­overwhelmed­by­its­size­and­sophistication.­There­were­some­parts­that­looked­roughly­built,­but­I­was­explained­that­this­was­made­that­way­so­it­flies­in­the­zero­gravity­
condition,­and­I­remember­being­convinced­and­impressed.­When­the­Soviet­Union­shocked­the­world­by­launching­the­satellite­Sputnik­for­the­first­time­in­human­history,­I­was­in­the­fourth­
grade.­Back­then,­I­was­just­a­boy­living­in­the­countryside­of­Shimane­Prefecture­in­Japan.­I­never­imagined­that­satellites­would­evolve­
this­much­or­that­they­would­be­the­cuttingedge­technology­for­earth­observation,­or­not­to­"IBUKI"­being­assembled­at­the­Tsukuba­
Sp a ce­ Ce nte r­ o f­ Jap an­ Ae rosp a ce­
E xploration­ Agenc y­ photographed­in­ November­ 2008.­ Photo­ by­ Japan­
Aerospace­Exploration­AgencyIt­was­in­1977­when­I­actually­took­on­the­mention­that­I­would­be­involved­in­the­satellite­ research.­Since­then,­I­have­been­doing­a­wide­In­the­laboratory­at­Tohoku­University.
Photo­by­Hironobu­Iwabuchi­(Tohoku­University).

observation.­

range­of­research­targeting­carbon­dioxide­(CO2),­Getting Involved in GOSAT Project

methane­(CH4)­and­dinitrogen­monoxide­(N2O):­

I­studied­meteorology­as­my­graduate­study­ atmospheric­observation­using­ground-based­at­Tohoku­University,­and­stepped­into­the­world­ stations,­regional­observations­using­airplanes,­of­scientific­research.­I­was­doing­research­on­ vessels,­and­balloons,­observation­over­the­

PROFESSOR

TAKAKIYO NAKAZAWA

Atmospheric Trace Gas Laboratory,
Center for Atmospheric and Oceanic Studies,
Graduate School of Science,
Tohoku University
GOSAT Science Team member

how­the­gases­in­the­atmosphere­absorb­light.­ ocean­in­various­parts­of­the­world,­analysis­of­This­is­an­elementary­topic­in­meteorology,­so­ ice­core*1­acquired­in­Antarctica­and­Greenland,­when­I­got­a­researching­position­at­Tohoku­ and­also­data­analysis­of­all­the­acquired­data.­
University­after­finishing­my­graduate­studies,­ All­of­such­research­is­closely­related­to­what­is­I­wanted­to­work­on­something­new­and­contributing­to­meteorology.­After­careful­consideration,­I­decided­to­work­on­greenhouse­gas­research.­

1­­*1 analysis of ice core :­In­the­ice­in­Antarctica­and­Greenland,­the­air­from­the­ancient­time­can­be­found­locked­in.­It­is­possible­to­learn­about­the­greenhouse­gas­
concentrations­of­the­ancient­times­by­analyzing­the­air­taken­out­of­the­bubbles­in­such­ice.

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#21 SEPTEMBER 2011

expected­to­achieve­in­the­GOSAT­Project,­and­this­is­why­I­became­a­member­ closely­measured­concentrations­of­greenhouse­gases.­In­fact,­researchers­
when­the­GOSAT­Science­Team­was­organized.

in­and­out­of­Japan,­including­we,­have­found­a­lot­about­the­cycle­with­this­Understanding the Cycle

method.­However,­the­findings­are­not­enough­to­understand­the­complicated­When­the­greenhouse­gases­are­produced­some­place­on­the­earth,­ and­extensive­system­of­the­earth.­they­travel­in­the­atmosphere,­then­disappear­at­some­point­in­other­place.­"IBUKI"­is­an­unprecedented­approach­to­the­measurement­of­CO2­and­CH4­

This­series­of­processes­is­called­"cycle."­In­order­to­mitigate­the­controversial­ concentrations;­it­makes­observation­on­a­global­scale.­It­is­expected­to­lead­to­a­global­warming,­it­is­necessary­to­understand­this­cycle­of­greenhouse­gases­ great­advance­in­understanding­the­greenhouse­gas­cycle.­However,­the­cycle­and­to­learn­how­much­of­the­human-caused­greenhouse­gases­remain­in­ changes­every­moment­due­to­the­activities­of­the­nature­and­human­beings.­
the­atmosphere.­There­are­ways­to­understand­the­greenhouse­gas­cycle,­but­ In­order­to­fully­understand­the­whole­picture,­it­is­important­to­acquire­data­not­the­method­that­is­considered­very­effective­and­has­been­attracting­a­lot­of­ only­over­the­wide­range­of­space­but­also­over­a­long­period­of­time.­Hopefully,­attention­lately­is­to­use­the­atmospheric­transport­modeling*2­to­analyze­the­ in­the­near­future,­the­quality­of­data­retrieved­from­"IBUKI"­will­be­further­*2 atmospheric transport modeling­:­A­computation­model­to­calculate­the­process­of­how­the­greenhouse­gases­are­transported­in­the­atmosphere­from­emission­until­absorption.­By­
inputting­the­"IBUKI"­data­in­the­atmospheric­transport­modeling,­it­is­possible­to­estimate­the­improved,­and­the­data­will­be­analyzed­using­the­high-spec­atmospheric­transport­modeling,­and­then­a­long-term­observation­will­be­planned­with­a­possible­successor­in­consideration.

net­flux­of­emission­and­absorption­of­greenhouse­gases.

1

ACTIVITIES

2

Observation for GOSAT
Data Product Validation
Starts in Saga, Japan-­Osamu­Uchino
Validation­Manager
NIES­GOSAT­Project­Office
Photo­1.­LIDAR­(two­containers­on­the­left)­and­FTS­(container­on­the­right)­set­up­right­next­to­the­Building­7­(four­story­building­in­the­back)­at­Saga­University.­Photo­2.­
LIDAR­installed­inside­the­container.­Photo­3.­Two­observation­windows­built­in­the­roof­of­container­(the­one­in­the­back­is­for­tropospheric­ozone­LIDAR,­and­the­one­in­the­front­is­for­aerosol­observation).­Photo­4.­The­sky­radiometer­(left)­and­sky­camera­(right)­on­the­rooftop­of­the­Building­7.­Photo­5.­JAXA's­high­resolution­FTS­installed­
inside­the­container.­Photo­:­1­Shuji­Kawakami­(JAXA)­2-5­Osamu­Uchino34

T h e ­ N a t i o n a l ­ I n s t i t u t e ­ f o r­ packing­more­delicate­instruments­such­as­

5In­ late­ May,­ JAXA­ installed­ a­ high-Environmental­Studies­(NIES)­and­the­Japan­ optical­ parts.­ On­ March­ 12,­ 2011,­ one­ day­ resolution­Fourier­Transform­Spectrometer,­Aerospace­Exploration­Agency­(JAXA)­have­ after­the­earthquake,­the­instruments­were­ based­on­their­joint­research­agreement­with­chosen­ Saga­ University­ as­ a­ new­ key­ site­ loaded­on­two­air-suspension­trucks­which­ Saga­University­(Photo­1­and­5).­This­FTS­had­for­validation­of­GOSAT­data­products.­The­ arrived­late­due­to­the­post-disaster­traffic­ been­used­for­observation­on­vessels­over­the­university­ is­ located­ in­ the­ vast­ Chikushi­ and­ transported­ to­ Saga.­ From­ March­ 14,­ ocean­near­Japan­for­GOSAT­data­product­
Plains­ in­ Kyushu­ Island.­ NIES­ signed­ an­ we­ started­ installing­ the­ container­ at­ the­ validation,­as­mentioned­in­the­last­issue­of­the­agreement­with­Saga­University­for­a­joint­ assigned­location,­then­assembled­LIDAR­and­ newsletter.­research,­and­the­mobile­LIght­Detection­And­ made­ adjustments­ (Photo­ 2).­ At­ the­ same­

The­ concentrations­ of­ carbon­ dioxide­

Ranging­(LIDAR)­that­had­been­used­at­NIES­ time,­observation­windows­were­built­in­the­ (CO2)­and­methane­(CH4),­vertical­profiles­of­for­validation­of­GOSAT­data­products­was­ roof­ of­ the­ container­ (Photo­ 3).­ We­ tested­ thin­cirrus­clouds­and­aerosols,­and­optical­
moved­to­the­new­validation­point,­right­next­ emitting­laser­light­into­the­atmosphere­and­ thickness­ of­ aerosols­ have­ been­ observed­
to­the­Saga­University's­Faculty­of­Science­ receiving­the­backscattered­light­from­the­ using­ the­ FTS,­ LIDAR,­ and­ sky­ radiometer,­and­Engineering­Building­7­(33.24­N,­130.29­ atmosphere­through­the­observation­window,­ mainly­ on­ clear-sky­ days­ during­ "IBUKI"'s­
E)(Photo­1).­In­the­midst­of­preparation­for­ and­it­was­made­sure­that­the­earthquake­or­ overpass.­ By­ validation,­ we­ hope­ to­ find­transportation­ of­ instruments­ at­ NIES,­ the­ the­long­distance­travel­had­not­affected­the­ to­what­extent­the­aerosols­and­thin­cirrus­
Great­ Tohoku­ Earthquake­ struck­ Tsukuba­ instruments.­Simultaneously,­on­the­rooftop­ clouds­affect­"IBUKI"'s­CO2­/CH4­concentration­
with­ the­ tremors­ of­ seismic­ intensity­ level­ of­ the­ Building­ 7,­ a­ sky­ camera­ and­ a­ sky­ observation­in­order­to­further­improve­the­'6­ -.'­ Fortunately,­ it­ was­ after­ we­ finished­ radiometer­were­installed­as­well­(Photo­4).

2­­quality­of­GOSAT­data­products.

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#21 SEPTEMBER 2011

AHA! OF THE MONTH

A Series: How to Use GUIG Tool "SWIR L2 Global Distribution Map" - 2 -­Kenji­Hayashi,­NIES­GOSAT­Project­OfficeA­screenshot­of­the­Tool­after­searching­for­XCO2­for­the­term,­from­January­1,­2011­to­August­1,­
2011­and­for­the­specified­area­(Rectangle:­N40­-­S40,­W20­-­E60)­over­the­land.

In­this­series­of­articles,­I­will­take­you­step­by­step­through­ 1) Search/display concentration data (part 2)
the­process­of­using­the­"SWIR­L2­Global­Distribution­Map"­tool­In­the­last­issue­(August­2011­issue),­we­introduced­how­to­(hereafter­referred­to­as­the­Tool)­on­the­GOSAT­User­Interface­ search­and­display­the­concentration­data­products­for­a­specific­time­
Gateway­(GUIG).­The­main­functions­of­the­Tool­are­as­follows

period.­It­is­possible­to­search­under­even­narrower­search­conditions.

1) Search/display concentration data: you­can­search­and­display­the­First,­by­setting­the­minimum­and­maximum­values­in­the­"VMR­

latest­version­of­SWIR­Level­2­column-averaged­mixing­ratios­(XCO2,­ (volume­mixing­ratio)"­section­(e),­the­range­of­color­bar­(d)­on­the­
XCH4)­of­the­points­that­were­observed­by­"IBUKI"­

bottom­of­the­map­can­be­changed.­You­can­also­set­up­either­to­2) Save displayed data: you­can­download­the­displayed­data­as­text­ view­or­not­to­view­the­data­of­certain­ranges­by­checking­on­and­format­or­KML­file­format­(for­Google­Earth).

off­in­the­boxes­(f),­and­if­you­press­the­"List>"­button,­only­the­3) Display CAI data as background: you­can­display­CAI­Level­ corresponding­data­will­be­displayed­on­the­map­and­listed­in­the­3­satellite­images­(global­radiance­distribution­(3­day's­worth­ table­in­the­bottom­right­of­the­page.­If­you­check­on­the­"Disp.­Circle­data),­or­global­reflectance­distribution­(a­month's­worth­data))­ for­Not­Selected­Data,"­box­(h)­you­can­display­the­data­from­checkedas­a­background­of­the­map.­The­CAI­images­are­from­the­same­ off­range­as­empty­circles­instead­of­solid­circles.­Additionally,­you­can­observation­periods­as­the­displayed­SWIR­Level­2­data.

also­choose­to­hide­data­of­either­"Land"­or­"Sea"­by­checking­the­box­

This­month,­I­would­like­to­demonstrate­the­main­functions­of­the­ in­the­"Land/Sea"­section­(i)­and­pressing­"List>"­button.
Tool­regarding­the­part­2­of­1)­Search/display­concentration­data­(for­You­can­specify­the­area­of­data­to­view­using­the­"Rectangle"­or­requirements­and­how­to­start­the­Tool,­please­refer­to­the­last­issue­ "Polygon"­in­the­"Area"­section­(j).­With­"Rectangle,"­you­can­specify­(August­2011)).­2)­and­3)­will­be­demonstrated­in­the­coming­issues.­ an­area­by­click-and-dragging­on­the­map,­or­by­entering­values­in­For­more­detailed­instructions­on­how­to­use­the­Tool,­please­also­ latitude/longitude­(k).­If­you­click­on­the­"List>"­button­in­the­end,­refer­to­the­"Help"­in­the­right­bottom­of­the­Tool­page.­only­the­data­in­the­specified­area­will­be­searched­and­plotted­on­the­map,­and­listed­in­the­table­in­the­bottom­right­of­the­page.­

3­­

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#21 SEPTEMBER 2011

DATA PRODUCT UPDATE

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

As of September 9, 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
116400 scenes
123200 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
12800 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
12300 scans●01.10●01.20●01.30●01.31●01.40●01.508 months
3 months
7 months
1 month
5 months
2 months●01.10●01.20●01.30●01.31●01.40●01.50!%#"$8 months
3 months
7 months
1 month
5 months
2months%#($

FTS L2 CH4 column amount (SWIR)FTS L3 CO2 distribution (SWIR)FTS L3 CH4 distribution (SWIR)CAI L1B

CAI L1B+

CAI L2 cloud ﬂag●00.50●00.80●00.90●00.91●00.92117200 frames
16300 frames
114000 frames
66500 frames
64000 frames●00.50●00.80●00.90●00.91●00.9244800 frames
16300 frames
114000 frames
66000 frames
50100 frames●00.10●00.80●00.90●00.91●00.92117200 frames
16300 frames
114000 frames
66500 frames
63500frames●00.50●00.80●00.90●00.91●00.9299 recurrences
36 recurrences
253 recurrences
144 recurrences
79 recurrences●00.91●00.9249 recurrences
47 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

2011/10

2011/12Month and Year of Observation

Here­we­report­an­update­on­data­processing­CALENDAR
2011/10/04 - 05
Participation­ at­ CAE­ POWER­ 2011­held­at­the­Garden­City­Shinagawa­in­Tokyo,­Japan.
2011/10/18 - 20
Participation­at­the­17th­Atmospheric­
Chemistry­Symposium­held­at­Kyoto­
University­in­Uji,­Japan.
2011/11/10 - 11
Participation­ at­ the­ 51st­ Autumn­
Conference­of­the­Remote­Sensing­Society­ of­ Japan­ held­ at­ Hirosaki­
University­in­Hirosaki,­Japan.

status­for­late­August­and­early­September.
2011/11/16 - 18
Participation­ at­ the­ 2011­ Autumn­
Meeting­ of­ the­ Meteorological­
Society­ of­ Japan­ held­ at­ Nagoya­U n i v e r s i t y ­ i n ­ N a g o y a , ­ J a p a n .­Hosting­ the­ special­ topic­ session­"Development­of­atmospheric­carbon­
dioxide­measurement­techniques­and­ their­ data­ application"­ on­
November­18,­2011.­

Continued­from­last­month,­we­are­processing­and­releasing­the­V128.128­and­V130.130­for­FTS­L1B­data­
product,­ V00.92­ for­ CAI­ L1B,­ L1B+,­ L2­ cloud­ flag,­ L3­
global­radiance­distribution­and­L3­global­reflectance­
distribution­data­products,­and­V01.50­for­FTS­L2­CO2/
CH4­column­amounts­(SWIR).­We­have­newly­released­the­
FTS­L2­CO2/CH4­column­amounts­for­the­month­of­June,­and­FTS­L3­global­CO2/CH4­distribution­for­the­month­of­May­and­June.­The­FTS­L2­CO2/CH4­column­amounts­are­produced­from­the­V128.128­of­FTS­L1B­data­products.­
The­ number­ of­ registered­ users­ is­ 1108­ as­ of­
September­9,­2011.

PUBLISHED PAPERS
Field of Research : carbon­balance­estimation,­atmospheric­transport­models
Name of Journal : Journal­of­Climate­(­Volume­24,­Issue­15,­4109-4125)­
Title :­Evaluation­of­Biases­in­JRA-25/JCDAS­Precipitation­and­Their­Impact­on­the­Global­Terrestrial­Carbon­Balance
Author :­M.­Saito,­A.­Ito,­and­S.­Maksyutov
Field of Research : data­application
Name of Journal: Geophysical­Research­Letters­(­Volume­38,­No.14,­L17706,­6­PP.)­
Title: New­global­observations­of­the­terrestrial­carbon­cycle­from­GOSAT:­Patterns­of­plant­fluorescence­with­gross­primary­productivity
Authors: C.­Frankenberg,­J.­B.­Fisher,­J.­Worden,­G.­Badgley,­S.­S.­Saatchi,­J.-E.­Lee,­G.­C.­Toon,­A.­Butz,­M.­Jung,­A.­Kuze,­and­T.­Yokota

4­­

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTER ISSUE#21 SEPTEMBER 2011

IMAGES OF THE MONTH

arctic sea ice-­Nobuyuki­Kikuchi,­Specialist,­NIES­GOSAT­Project­Office©JAXA/NIES/MOE 2009.09©JAXA/NIES/MOE 2010.09

North American Continent
Eurasian Continent

Arctic Archipelago

Greenland
Scandinavian Peninsula
Three­summers­have­passed­in­the­northern­hemisphere­since­"IBUKI"­was­launched.­The­three­images­captured­by­"IBUKI"­show­what­the­sea­ice­looked­like­in­the­Arctic­Ocean­in­early­September­of­the­last­three­
years.­September­is­the­time­when­the­Arctic­Sea­Ice­becomes­the­smallest­of­an­entire­year.­After­the­autumnal­equinox,­the­sun­does­not­reach­the­Arctic­
Circle­anymore,­and­thus­"IBUKI"­cannot­capture­what­it­looks­like­in­the­Arctic.­
It's­been­reported­that­the­area­of­sea­ice­covering­the­Arctic­Ocean­has­declined­to­the­second­smallest­on­record*1.­It­might­not­be­clearly­visible­in­these­three­images­that­the­area­of­sea­ice­is­declining,­however,­it­is­obvious­that­the­distribution­of­ice­coverage­differs­depending­on­the­year.­In­the­Arctic­Archipelago,­the­strait­looks­closed­with­ice­in­2009,­but­it­looks­open­in­2010­and­2011.­
The­Arctic­Ocean­is­connected­to­the­Atlantic­Ocean­between­the­Scandinavian­Peninsula­and­Greenland.­Due­to­the­warm­ocean­current­that­flows­in­from­there,­the­ice­is­melted­away­in­the­bottom­right­part­of­the­image.­In­the­top­part­of­the­image,­the­Arctic­Ocean­is­connected­to­the­Pacific­Ocean­by­the­Bering­Strait­between­Eurasia­and­North­America.­Since­this­strait­is­narrower,­the­ice­has­not­been­melted­away­as­much.­There­is­no­ice­along­the­coast­of­Eurasian­continent,­and­the­only­area­where­the­Arctic­
sea­ice­touches­the­coast­is­Greenland­to­the­Arctic­Archipelago.

©JAXA/NIES/MOE 2011.09*1 2011 Sea Ice Minimum - NASA
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=53108

ANNOUNCEMENT

NIES­GOSAT­­PROJECT­NEWSLETTER­October­issue­will­not­be­published.­We­are­coming­back­in­November­2011.

NIES GOSAT PROJECT NEWSLETTERISSUE #21 SEPTEMBER 2011edited and published by : NIES GOSAT Project Oﬃce

Issued­on­:­2011.09.30
Revised­on­:­2011.11.28

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

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