Satellite Missions AIM and CALIPSO Partner with GLOBE Providing Unique Opportunities for Students and Teachers to Study Noctilucent Clouds and Aerosols Dianne Robinson Email: (dianne.robinson@hamptonu.edu) Hampton University

AIM Launched - April 2007

AIM Mission Studies Noctilucent Clouds (NLCs) Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) NLCs were first reported in 1885! Highest altitude clouds in our atmosphere ( ~ 83 km) Form at coldest place on Earth (~130 K) near the mesopause in polar summers Usually seen poleward of 55 but have been sighted at ~ 40N in 3 recent summers NLCs have been increasing over the past 23 years. Exploring Clouds on the Edge of Space!

What do we know about NLC formation? NLC formation requires cold temperatures; thus global CO2 changes may be one cause of increasing NLCs - CO2 buildup in the lower atmosphere causes warming, but increases in the upper atmosphere should cause cooling H2O chemistry must be important since major NLCs consist of water ice Poor knowledge exists of how NLCs nucleate, the environment for nucleation and how the mesosphere responds to forcings

WHY? NLCs Are Changing More NLCs are being observed than ever before   More NLCs are being observed than ever before NLCs are moving toward the equator NLCs are becoming brighter WHY?

AIM will determine if the observed changes are caused by: human activities OR natural variations in the earth’s atmosphere

NLC Photograph - Tom Eklund, July 28, 2001, Valkeakoski, Finland PMC’s or NLC’s? PMC Photograph - Donald Pettit, Space Station Science Officer, from the International Space Station NLC Photograph - Tom Eklund, July 28, 2001, Valkeakoski, Finland Ground-Based Observers call them Noctilucent or “night shining” Clouds (NLCs) Satellite Observers call them Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs)

When can they be seen? Ground-based observers can only see NLC’s near dawn and dusk, when the sun is just below the horizon and the sky is dark or in twilight.

NLC’s display complicated structure driven by atmospheric dynamics Billows Bands Timo Leponiemi, 2001

PMCs are being observed at lower latitudes A spectacular but unexpected event: June 22, 1999 A PMC is observed and photographed at 40o latitude (Utah) for the first time! By Aim Co-Investigator Dr. Michael Taylor

AIM & GLOBE Partnership The partnership of AIM and GLOBE allows students worldwide to participate in the AIM mission. AIM and GLOBE have partnered on: teacher workshops, student projects, videoconferences, web chats http://www.globe.gov http://aim.hamptonu.edu

Classroom resources are provided at: http://aim.hamptonu.edu LESSONS - Developed by teachers attending our workshops NLC ONLINE EXPLORATIONS- Provides demonstrations on scientific concepts that incorporate flash animation GAMES – AIM provides interactive games for students IMAGE GALLERY - an image gallery of NLCs is provided by AIM NLC History - Text on the AIM mission and NLC history is also available at the Windows to the Universe website.

Sit back and enjoy a few images of NLCs T. Trzicky - Prague (Czech Republic) – July 2004

NLC Image Quite a rare image of bright Noctilucent clouds behind a close-up of an Airbus A-330 on its way between New York and Ireland. Time exposure shows some motion of jet. June 2004.

Dominic Cantin - Quebec, Canada - June 21, 2004 NLC Image Dominic Cantin - Quebec, Canada - June 21, 2004

B. Ward - Dalry (Scotland) – June 2004 NLC Image B. Ward - Dalry (Scotland) – June 2004

Image courtesy of Pekka Perviainen NLC Image Image courtesy of Pekka Perviainen

CALIPSO

CALIPSO uses LIDAR to Study Aerosols Cloud-Aerosol Lidar Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations a joint satellite mission between the United States and France it was launched in April 2006, on a Delta II launch vehicle, with the CloudSat mission it flies in a sun-synchronous 705 km circular polar orbit in formation with the Aqua satellite

The A-Train is a group of Earth Observing Satellites (EOS) CALIPSO is part of the Afternoon Constellation or A-Train The A-Train is a group of Earth Observing Satellites (EOS)

CALIPSO data will provide a vertical distribution of aerosols and clouds Vertically resolved measurements are necessary to understand the effects of aerosol on clouds. 15 Altitude, km 10 5 20.6°N, 40°W Clouds underneath Sahara dust (LITE, 8/94) 20 9.4°N, 32.9°W Aerosols affect cloud formation and properties

82o N 82o S CALIPSO Simulated 1 Day Orbit Coverage CALIPSO will provide global measurements of clouds and aerosols. 82o N 82o S The orange ground tracks show the locations where CALIPSO will measures clouds and aerosols over a one day period.

CALIPSO covers a fixed grid every 16 days 16-day repeat cycle produces a grid spaced by 172 km at the equator

CALIPSO CALIPSO will significantly improve our understanding of both direct and indirect forcing effects on climate. Both students and scientists are contributing to this important research

Students Collect Aerosol Data GLOBE and CALIPSO students use a sun photometer to collect aerosol optical thickness measurements from ground level. All sun photometer data collected by the students is reported at the GLOBE website. Sun photometer Students taking sun photometer & cloud measurements in the U.S. (left to right - Hawaii, Texas, and Virginia)

Classroom resources are provided at: http://calipsooutreach.hamptonu.edu