Climate Theme Introduction and Overview

1. Climate ThemeIntroduction and Overview Presented by Mitch Goldberg

2. Climate Research Areasfrom 5-Year Research Plan • Develop an integrated global observation and data management system for routine delivery of information, including attribution of the state of the climate • Document and understand changes in climate forcings and feedbacks, thereby reducing uncertainty in climate projections • Improve skill of climate predictions and projections and increase range of applicability for management and policy decision • Understand impacts of climate variability and change on marine ecosystems to improve management of marine ecosystems • Enhance NOAA’s operational decision support tools to provide climate services for national socio-economic benefits

3. NOAA 5-year Plan Climate GoalPriority Research Activities • Producing reference data sets that provide improved climate information; using these data sets to develop integrated historical analyses of the global climate system • Monitoring the global abundances and trends of the greenhouse gases and aerosols • Understand and assess stratospheric ozone depletion • Monitor changes in the Arctic and impacts on ecosystems • Conducting research in data assimilation—using data from both current and future advanced satellite systems and in situ observations—to provide new products and measurements that will expand understanding of the climate system

4. STAR engaged in NOAA’s new priorities • Producing climate data records that transform raw satellite data into unified and coherent long-term products for advanced climate understanding, prediction, mitigation, and adaptation • Expanding Arctic climate observing networks and initiate development of sea ice forecasting and climate change studies in the Arctic region • Improving estimates of global and regional climate sensitivities essential for more confident projections of changes in high-impact phenomena, such as droughts and hurricanes

5. STAR engaged in NOAA’s new priorities Implementing the National Integrated Drought Information System Implementing GHG emission products to inform policies, treaties, and trading markets (Evaluating Greenhouse Gas Management Strategies) Improving NOAA global sea level rise predictive system (Understanding Global Sea Level Change) Implementing ocean acidification early warning system (Ocean Acidification Early Warning System) 5

6. STAR Examples VH Vegetation Health Winter wheat yield (q/ha) Ocean Acidification Biomass Burning from GOES Greenhouse Gases

7. Oral Presentations • Closing the Global Sea Level Rise Budget with GRACE, Argo, and Altimetry Observations (Eric Leuliette) • Arctic Sea Ice Freeboard Measurements from Satellite Altimetry (Dave McAdoo) • Climatology of Hurricane Force Extratropical Cyclones (Paul Chang) • Long-Term Upper-Air Temperature Dataset from Satellite Microwave Sounders (Cheng-Zhi Zou) • Ozone Climate Data Records from Satellite Measurements (Larry Flynn) • Long-term Aerosol Data Records (Istvan Laszlo) • The Influence of Changes in Sea Ice Concentration and Cloud Cover on Arctic Surface Temperature Trends (Jeff Key) • Reconstructing Global Precipitation Patterns for the 20th century (Tom Smith)

8. Posters • Study of Extratropical Cyclone Wind and SST Fields by Combining Model and QuikSCAT Data (Khalil Ahmad) • Characterization of Global Ocean Turbidity from MODIS Ocean Color Observations (Wei Shi, Menghua Wang) • The rare case of a single sine wave dominating the westward propagation of altimetric sea level (CK Tai) • The SST Quality Monitor (SQUAM) (Prasanjit Dash, Sasha Ignatov) • Monitoring of IR Clear-sky Radiances over Oceans for SST (MICROS) (Xingming Liang, Sasha Ignatov) • Deriving Greenhouse Gases from Operational Satellite Sounders (Chris Barnet) • Vegetation Health System and Droughts from Space (Felix Kogan) • DMSP SSMI/S and Future Microwave Imagers Climate Data Records (Fuzhong Weng) • Climate Quality Calibration for Generating Long-term Fundamental Climate Data Records from Optical Instruments (AVHRR/HIRS/IASI/GOES-R/CLARREO) (Changyong Cao, Fred Wu) • Long-term Solar Irradiance at the Surface Derived from Satellite Data (Istvan Laszlo) • Correction of vegetation time series for long-term monitoring (Marco Vargas, Felix Kogan) • Gazing at cirrus clouds for 25 years through a split window (Andy Heidinger) • Applications of AMSU-Based Hydrological Products for Climate Studies (Ralph Ferraro) • Airborne and In-situ Validation of Satellite Altimetry Measurements Over Sea Ice (Connor, Farrell, McAdoo)

9. Future Direction • Directorate level • STAR continues to invest in the sustained calibration and intercalibration of the sensors within NOAA’s portfolio • Work with NCDC and contribute to the development of CDRs • Encourage research of process studies from CDRs. • Through CEOS and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) help coordinate international actions and resource requirements for sustained generation of climate data records.