Bridging the Gap between Earth Science and Students: An Integrated Approach using NASA Earth Science Climate Data

Under the auspices of the Department of Education's No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, beginning in 2007 students will be tested in the science area. There are many techniques that educators can employ to teach students science. The use of authentic materials or in this case authentic data can be an engaging alternative to more traditional methods. An Earth science classroom is a great place for the integration of authentic data and science concepts. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has a wealth of high quality Earth science data available to the general public. For instance, the Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) at NASA s Langley Research Center houses over 800 Earth science data sets related to Earth's radiation budget, clouds, aerosols and tropospheric chemistry. These data sets were produced to increase academic understanding of the natural and anthropogenic factors that influence global climate; however, a major hurdle in using authentic data is the size of the data and data documentation. To facilitate the use of these data sets for educational purposes, the Mentoring and inquirY using NASA Data on Atmospheric and Earth science for Teachers and Amateurs (MY NASA DATA) project has been established to systematically support educational activities at all levels of formal and informal education. The MY NASA DATA project accomplishes this by reducing these large data holdings to microsets that are easily accessible and explored by K-12 educators and students though the project's Web page. MY NASA DATA seeks to ease the difficulty in understanding the jargon-heavy language of Earth science. This manuscript will show how MY NASA DATA provides resources for NCLB implementation in the science area through an overview of the Web site, the different microsets available, the lesson plans and computer tools, and an overview of educational support mechanisms

The MY NASA DATA Project

On the one hand, locating the right dataset, then figuring out how to use it, is a daunting task that is familiar to almost any scientist or graduate student in the fields of Earth system science. On the other hand, the ability to explore authentic Earth system science data, through inquiry-based education, is an important goal in US national education standards. Fortunately, in the digital age, tools are emerging that can make such data exploration commonplace at all educational levels. This paper describes the conception and development of one project that aims to bridge this gap: Mentoring and inquiry using NASA Data on Atmospheric and Earth science for Teachers and Amateurs (MY NASA DATA; mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov). With funding from NASA's Science Mission Directorate, this project was launched in early 2004 with the aim of developing microsets and identifying other enablers for making data accessible. A key feature of the project is a Live Access Server, the first educational implementation of this open source software, developed by NOAA, that makes it possible to explore multiple data formats through a single interface. This powerful tool is made more useful to the primary target audiences (K-12 and amateur scientists) through careful selection of the data offered, user-friendly explanations of the tool itself, and age-appropriate explanations of the parameters. However experience already shows that graduate students and even practicing scientists can also make use of this resource. The website also hosts teacher-contributed lesson plans, and seeks to feature reports of research projects that use the data

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Aerosol characterization in the Southeastern U. S. using satellite data for applications to air quality and climate

Tropospheric aerosol information from NASA satellites in space has reached the milestone of ten years of continuous measurements. These higher resolution satellite aerosol records allow for a broader regional perspective than can be gained using only sparsely located ground based monitoring sites. Decadal satellite aerosol data have the potential to advance knowledge of the climatic impacts of aerosols through better understanding of solar dimming/brightening and radiative forcings on regional scales, as well as aid in air quality applications. The goal of this thesis is to develop and implement methodologies for using satellite remotely sensed data in conjunction with ground based observations and modeling for characterization of regional aerosol variations with applications to air quality and climate studies in the Southeastern U. S. This region is of special interest because of distinct aerosol types, less warming climate trends compared to the rest of U.S., and growing population. To support this primary goal, a technique is developed that exploits the statistical relationship between PM2.5 (particulate matter that has an aerodynamic radius of 2.5 µm or less) and satellite AOD (Aerosol Optical Depth) from MODIS (Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) where a probabilistic approach is used for air quality assessments in the metropolitan Atlanta area. The metropolitan Atlanta area experiences the poorest air quality during the warmer seasons. We found that satellite AODs capture a significant portion of PM2.5 concentration variability during the warmer months of the year with correlation values above 0.5 for a majority of co-located (in time and space) ground based PM2.5 monitors, which is significant at the 95% confidence interval. The developed probabilistic approach uses five years of satellite AOD, PM2.5 and their related AQI (Air Quality Index) to predict future AQI based solely on AOD retrievals through the use of AOD thresholds, e.g., 80% of Code Green AQI days have AOD below 0.3. This approach has broad applicability for concerned stakeholders in that it allows for quick dissemination of pertinent air quality data in near-real time around a satellite overpass. Examination of the use of multiple satellite sensors to aid in investigating the impacts of biomass burning in the region is performed. The utility of data fusion is evaluated in understanding the effects of the large wildfire that burned in May 2007. This wildfire caused PM2.5 in the metropolitan Atlanta area to exceed healthy levels with some measurements surpassing 150 µg/m3 during the month. OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) AI (Aerosol Index), which qualitatively measures absorbing aerosols, have high values of more than 1.5 during May 26 - 31, 2007. CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) a space based lidar was used to determine the vertical structure of the atmosphere across the region during the active fire period. CALIPSO was able to identify wildfire aerosols both within the planetary boundary layer (likely affects local air quality) and aloft where aerosol transport occurs. This has important implications for climatic studies specifically aerosol radiative effects. In-depth analysis of the satellite and ground based aerosol data records over the past decade (2000 - 2009) are performed from a climatic perspective. The long temporal scale allowed for better characterization of seasonality, interannual variability, and trends. Spatial analysis of ten years of AOD from both MODIS and MISR (Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer) showed little variability of AOD during the winter with mean AOD below 0.1 for the entire region, while the summer had decidedly more variability with mean AOD around 0.33 for MODIS and 0.3 for MISR. Seasonal analysis of the PM2.5 revealed that summer means are twice as high as winter means for PM2.5. All of the datasets show interannual variability that suggests with time AOD and PM2.5 are decreasing, but seasonal variability obscured the detection of any appreciable trends in AOD; however, once the seasonal influence was removed through the creation of monthly anomalies there were decreasing trends in AOD, but only MODIS had a trend of -0.00434 (per month) that statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. Satellite and ground-based data are used to assess the radiative impacts of aerosols in the region. The regional TOA (Top Of the Atmosphere) direct radiative forcing is estimated by utilizing satellite AOD from MODIS and MISR both on Terra, along with satellite derived cloud fraction, surface albedo (both from MODIS), and single scattering albedo (SSA) from MISR data from 2000 - 2009. Estimated TOA forcing varied from between -6 to -3 W/m2 during the winter, and during the warmer months there is more variation with ΔF varying between -28 to -12.6 W/m2 for MODIS and -26 to -11 W/m2 for MISR. The results suggest that when AOD, cloud fraction and surface albedo are all consider they add an additional 6 W/m2 of TOA forcing compared to TOA forcing due to aerosol effects only. Varying SSA can create changes in TOA forcing of about 5 W/m2. With removal of the seasonal variability timeseries anomaly trend analysis revealed that estimated TOA forcing is decreasing (becoming less negative) with MODIS based estimates statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. Optical and radiative 1-D radiative transfer modeling is performed to assess the daily mean TOA forcing and forcing at the surface for representative urban and background aerosol mixtures for summer and winter. During the winter, modeled TOA forcing is -2.8 and -5 W/m2 for the WB and WU cases, and the modeled summer TOA forcings (SB = -13.3 W/m2) also generally agree with earlier estimates. While surface forcings varied from -3 to -210 W/m2. The radiative forcing efficiency at the TOA (amount of forcing per unit of AOD at 550 nm) varied from -9 to -72 W/m2 τ-1, and RFE at the surface varied from -50 to -410 W/m2 τ-1. It was found that the forcing efficiency for biomass burning aerosols are similar to the forcing efficiency of background aerosols during the summer that highlights the importance of possible increased biomass burning activity. Ultimately, the methodologies developed in this work can be implemented by the remote sensing community and have direct applicability for society as a whole.PhDCommittee Chair: Sokolik, Irina; Committee Member: Bergin, Michael; Committee Member: Curry, Judith; Committee Member: Doddridge, Bruce; Committee Member: Tatarskii, Viatchesla

Assessment of Aerosol Radiative Forcing with 1-D Radiative Transfer Modeling in the U. S. South-East

Aerosols and their radiative properties play an integral part in understanding Earth&rsquo;s climate. It is becoming increasingly common to examine aerosol&rsquo;s radiative impacts on a regional scale. The primary goal of this research is to explore the impacts of regional aerosol&rsquo;s forcing at the surface and top-of-atmosphere (TOA) in the south-eastern U.S. by using a 1-D radiative transfer model. By using test cases that are representative of conditions common to this region, an estimate of aerosol forcing can be compared to other results. Speciation data and aerosol layer analysis provide the basis for the modeling. Results indicate that the region experiences TOA cooling year-round, where the winter has TOA forcings between &minus;2.8 and &minus;5 W/m2, and the summer has forcings between &minus;5 and &minus;15 W/m2 for typical atmospheric conditions. Surface level forcing efficiencies are greater than those estimated for the TOA for all cases considered i.e., urban and non-urban background conditions. One potential implication of this research is that regional aerosol mixtures have effects that are not well captured in global climate model estimates, which has implications for a warming climate where all radiative inputs are not well characterized, thus increasing the ambiguity in determining regional climate impacts

A First-Order Assessment of Direct Aerosol Radiative Effect in the Southeastern U.S. Using over a Decade Long Multisatellite Data Record

Aerosols comprise a critical portion of the Earth's climate due to their radiative properties. More emphasis is now being placed upon understanding radiative effects of aerosols on a regional scale. The primary goal of this research is to estimate the aerosol direct radiative effect (DRE) and examine its dynamical nature in the Southeastern U.S. based on satellite data obtained from the moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) and multi-angle imaging spectroradiometer (MISR) instruments onboard the Terra satellite from 2000 to 2011. This 12-year analysis utilizes satellite measurements of aerosol optical depth (AOD), surface albedo, cloud fraction, and single-scattering albedo over the Southeastern U.S. as inputs to a first-order approximation of regional top of the atmosphere DRE. Results indicate that AOD is the primary driver of DRE estimates, with surface albedo and single-scattering albedo having some appreciable effects as well. During the cooler months, the minima (less negative) of DRE vary between -6 and -3 W/m 2 , and during the warmer months, there is more variation with DRE maxima varying between -24 and -12.6 W/m 2 for MODIS and -22.5 and -11 W/m 2 for MISR. Yet if we take an average of the monthly DRE over time (12 years), we estimate Δ F = -7.57 W/m 2 for MODIS and Δ F = -5.72 W/m 2 for MISR. Regional assessments of the DRE show that background levels of DRE are similar to the 12-year average of satellite-based DRE, with urbanized areas having increased levels of DRE compared to background conditions. Over the study period, DRE has a positive trend (becoming less negative), which implies that the region could lose this protective top of the atmosphere cooling with the advancement of climate change impacting the biogenic emissions of aerosols