NASA's Earth System Observatory - The Atmosphere Observation System (AOS) Polar Project
Tyler Thorsen, Scott A Braun, Daniel Cecil, Gregory R Carmichael, Arlindo daSilva, Richard Anthony Ferrare, Meloe S Kacenelenbogen, Gerald G Mace, Walter Arthur Petersen, Jens Redemann, Graeme L Stephens, Susan C van den Heever, Duane Edward Waliser, David M Winker, and John E Yorks
[13-Dec-2022] Abstract: NASA's new Earth System Observatory (ESO) will provide key information related to understanding climate change processes, mitigating natural hazards, fighting forest fires, and improving real-time agricultural processes. The Atmosphere Observing System (AOS) constellation is designed to address these coupled processes by focusing on two of the five designated observables of the 2017 NASA Earth Science Decadal Survey: aerosols and clouds, convection, and precipitation (CCP). AOS is made up of two projects, one in an inclined orbit (AOS-I) and the other in a polar sun synchronous orbit (AOS-P), with both projects addressing synergistic aerosol and CCP science. This talk will focus on AOS-P, which builds on the heritage of the A-Train to provide globally distributed observations but with more advanced capabilities. This talk will summarize the science objectives of AOS-P that focus on aerosol-cloud-precipitation-radiation interactions and their role in climate, air-quality, and convection. The key measurement advancements needed to achieve those objectives will be highlighted as well as a summary of the major science activities during the concept investigation phase.