Earth  Science      

Presenta)on  to  American  Astronau)cal  Society  

Conference  on  Astronauts  and  Robots:  Partners  in  Space  Science  and  Explora9on  

     

May  13,  2015    

Randall  R.  Friedl    

Jet  Propulsion  Laboratory  California  Ins)tute  of  Technology  

"The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. … Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light.“

-- Carl Sagan From "Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space," Random House, 1994

View from Voyager

View from Mars

Space  observa1ons  provide  a  new  perspec1ve  on  Earth  

Jet  Propulsion  Laboratory  California  Ins)tute  of  Technology  

Space  observa1ons  reveal  an  inter-­‐connected  Earth  system  

MISR - aerosols

MLS – ozone layer

TES – trace gas

AIRS – atmospheric temperature

CLOUDSAT – water content

JASON – sea surface height

QUIKSCAT – wind

GRACE – gravity

Aquarius - sea surface salinity

Jet  Propulsion  Laboratory  California  Ins)tute  of  Technology  Space  observa1ons  track  Earth  

transforma1ons  

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS)

Jet  Propulsion  Laboratory  California  Ins)tute  of  Technology  

At  many  spa1al  scales  

1988  

Pearl River Delta, China: Landsat false color image

Chandler Arizona: Landsat True color image

From  NASA/USGS  

Jet  Propulsion  Laboratory  California  Ins)tute  of  Technology  

Sea  Surface  Temperature  (leO)  and  Rainfall  (Right)  anomalies  in  the  Eastern  Pacific      From  NASA’s  Earth  Observatory  based  on  AVHRR  and  blended  rainfall  data  from  mul)ple  satellites  

1997  

2007  

Example  1:  Understanding  El  Nino,  La  Nina,  and  Rainfall  PaEerns  

Jet  Propulsion  Laboratory  California  Ins)tute  of  Technology  Example  2:  Projec1ng  sea  level  rise  

Satellite  Record  

From  TOPEX/Poseidon  And  Jason  series  

3.0  m  0.3  m   Average  Global  Sea  Level  Rise  Over  the  Next  10  Years  

100  

50  

0  

%  Probability  

Greenland  ice  mass  loss,  from  NOAA  Arc)c  Report  Card  

Jet  Propulsion  Laboratory  California  Ins)tute  of  Technology  

Example  3:  Understanding  Arc1c  sea  ice  inter-­‐annual  processes  and  longer-­‐term  trends    

2002  

2008   2015  

From  NASA  Earth  Observatory  Based  on  SSMI/DMSP  data  

Jet  Propulsion  Laboratory  California  Ins)tute  of  Technology  

1979   1990  

2001   2013  From  NASA  Earth  Observatory,  based  on  TOMS/OMI  data  

Example  4:  Understanding  Antarc1c  ozone  inter-­‐annual  processes  and  longer-­‐term  trends    

Example  5:  Understanding  ground  water  storage  changes    

Landerer,  JPL  

Jet  Propulsion  Laboratory  California  Ins)tute  of  Technology  

GW  SW  

Groundwater  deple)on  during  drought  threatens  future  water  security  of  the  Colorado  River  Basin,    (from  Castle  et  al.,  2014)  

Surface  and  ground  water  storage  anomalies  from  GRACE  data  

Jet  Propulsion  Laboratory  California  Ins)tute  of  Technology  

Example  6:  Characterizing  Fault  Slip  and  Crustal  Mo1on  

•  Central  creeping  segment  (AA’  to  DD’):  nonuniform  creeping  at  shallow  depth  (~0-­‐6km)  and  par)ally  locked  at  upper  crustal  level  (~6-­‐10km)  

•  Parkfield  segment  (EE’  to  GG’):  creeping  at  0-­‐4  km  and  locked  at  variable  depth  range  •  Increased  coupling  towards  Parkfield  and  fully  locked  in  1857  EQ  rupture  area  (HH’  and  beyond)      

                               (Liu,  et  al,  2011)