1. Satellite Missions AIM and CALIPSO Partner with GLOBE
Providing Unique Opportunities for Students and Teachers to Study
Noctilucent Clouds and Aerosols
Dianne Robinson
Hampton University

2. AIM Launched - April 2007

3. 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!

4. 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

5. 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?

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

7. 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)

8. 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.

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

10. 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

11. 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

12. Classroom resources are provided at:
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.

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

14. 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.

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

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

17. Image courtesy of Pekka Perviainen
NLC Image
Image courtesy of Pekka Perviainen

19. CALIPSO

20. 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

21. 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)

22. 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

23. 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.

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

25. 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

26. 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)

27. Classroom resources are provided at: