Aura Validation Experiment (AVE) June 2005

The Aura Validation Experiment (AVE) is a NASA-led science mission to acquire high quality measurements of the urban atmosphere to validate data from NASAs Aura satellite (launched July 15, 2004). Through a series of experiments, AVE helps scientists understand the transport of gases and aerosols in the lower atmosphere (or troposphere) and their exchange with the lower stratosphere.

Utilizing research balloons and the NASA WB-57F high-altitude aircraft, AVE collects considerable information, especially on ozone and ozone-destroying radicals. The June 2005 mission, based near Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, will include several science flights in which the WB-57F will be loaded with a suite of in situ and remote sensing instruments to collect information on aerosols, cloud physical properties, and on atmospheric gases, such as ozone, methane, and water vapor.

Flight data will be compared with that from Aura's instruments (OMI, MLS, TES, HIRDLS) for validation and to enable improved global-scale air quality and climate change predictions. Atmospheric constituents, including ozone and water vapor in the upper troposphere are important "greenhouse gases that impact global temperature. Aerosols tiny airborne particles like dust and smoke, work to absorb or reflect radiation, and also play a significant role in both global air quality and the regulation of the Earths climate.

Contacts:

Michael Kurylo
Program Manager
Headquarters, Washington DC
michael.j.kurylo@nasa.gov

Paul Newman
Project Scientist
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt MD
Paul.A.Newman@nasa.gov

Science Goals:

• Validate Aura's Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument through WB-57F underflights of the Aura satellite over open water and clear sky conditions, as well as underflights during satellite overpass of radiation ground sites.
• Validate Aura's Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) through aircraft underflights as Aura passes over the urban area.
• Validate Aura's Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instrument through spiral flight profiles of the aircraft between 20,000-60,000 feet for atmospheric column measurements under a variety of cloud conditions.
• Integrate new atmospheric measurement instruments and capabilities onto the WB-57F to support Aura validation flights.
• Gather atmospheric condition data from the Gulf of Mexico to U.S. Midwest during the summer.
• Characterize the influx of material from the stratosphere into the troposphere.
• Investigate the relationship between ozone precursors and ozone production in polluted regions.
• Assess pollutant inflow and outflow over an urban area.
• Improve the understanding of convective detrainment of pollutants.

Partners:

NASA scientists will work in close collaboration with several researchers from other government and private institutions, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Aeronomy Lab and Aerospace Corporation.

When:

June 5 - June 24, 2005

Where:

The mission will be conducted from Ellington Field, Houston, Texas.

Links:

Mission Site:

http://cloud1.arc.nasa.gov/ave-houston2/

For information about Aura:

http://aura.gsfc.nasa.gov/

For more information about NASAs WB-57F High Altitude research:

http://jsc-aircraft-ops.jsc.nasa.gov/wb57/

For more information about the Aura Validation Data Center:

http://avdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/Overview/index.html