High-Accuracy Measurements of Total Column Water Vapor From the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2

Accurate knowledge of the distribution of water vapor in Earth's atmosphere is of critical importance to both weather and climate studies. Here we report on measurements of total column water vapor (TCWV) from hyperspectral observations of near-infrared reflected sunlight over land and ocean surfaces from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2). These measurements are an ancillary product of the retrieval algorithm used to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, with information coming from three highly resolved spectral bands. Comparisons to high-accuracy validation data, including ground-based GPS and microwave radiometer data, demonstrate that OCO-2 TCWV measurements have maximum root-mean-square deviations of 0.9-1.3mm. Our results indicate that OCO-2 is the first space-based sensor to accurately and precisely measure the two most important greenhouse gases, water vapor and carbon dioxide, at high spatial resolution [1.3 x 2.3 km(exp. 2)] and that OCO-2 TCWV measurements may be useful in improving numerical weather predictions and reanalysis products

Views from the 6 Aircraft Campaigns: ACT-America, HIPPO, CONTRAIL, ATom, ORCAS, and ABoVE

This presentation describes the assimilation of airborne measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) general circulation model. The main goal is to construct observationally constrained fields of CO2 starting from the bottom of the atmosphere and extending through the entire vertical column. These fields can then be compared directly to retrievals of column CO2 (XCO2) from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) and the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) by using the averaging kernel and a priori profile. This approach does not equire a direct satellite overpass, but rather an overpass of the much broader region impacted by the assimilation, which alleviates some of the jeopardy of coordinating flights with satellite tracks. Furthermore, checking if the story stays the same or if it changes when the unassimilated fields are compared to the satellite soundings allows us to separate model errors from retrieval errors. This work attempts to answer a number of questions including: What are the possible causes of systematic differences between model and satellite XCO2 over the Pacific Ocean? What is the contribution of tratospheric uncertainty to XCO2 errors? What is the impact of errors in boundary layer physics on modeled XCO2

Regional Impacts of COVID-19 on Carbon Dioxide Detected Worldwide from Space

Activity reductions in early 2020 due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic led to unprecedented decreases in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Despite their record size, the resulting atmospheric signals are smaller than and obscured by climate variability in atmospheric transport and biospheric fluxes, notably that related to the 2019-2020 Indian Ocean Dipole. Monitoring CO2 anomalies and distinguishing human and climatic causes thus remains a new frontier in Earth system science. We show, for the first time, that the impact of short-term, regional changes in fossil fuel emissions on CO2 concentrations was observable from space. Starting in February and continuing through May, column CO2 over many of the World's largest emitting regions was 0.14 to 0.62 parts per million less than expected in a pandemic-free scenario, consistent with reductions of 3 to 13 percent in annual, global emissions. Current spaceborne technologies are therefore approaching levels of accuracy and precision needed to support climate mitigation strategies with future missions expected to meet those needs

NASA's Carbon Cycle OSSE Initiative - Informing Future Space-Based Observing Strategies Through Advanced Modeling and Data Assimilation

Land and ocean carbon sinks absorb half of human CO2 emissions. The fate of these sinks in a changing world is unknown, introducing large uncertainties in climate projections. Satellite measurements of atmospheric CO2 are required to better understand the processes governing carbon uptake. Careful planning of future missions using Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) can help ensure that they meet the needs of the scientific and policy communities. NASA's Carbon Cycle OSSE Initiative brings together researchers from multiple universities and NASA centers to create model-derived data products in support of informed mission planning

The emerging role of the specialist nurse in promoting the health of looked after children

In the light of recent guidelines from the Department of Health, Catherine Hill in collaboration with Vanessa Wright, Carolyn Sampeys, Kathy Dunnett, Sue Daniel, Lesley O'Dell and Janet Watkins, discusses the growing contribution that specialist nurses are making in promoting the health of looked after children. To illustrate this trend two projects, in Southampton and Cardiff, are examined, followed by a review of the current professional status of looked after children's nurses in England and Wales. All the evidence presented points to better outcomes and additional quality through nurse-led assessments

Variable-temperature O-17 NMR study of oxygen motion in the anionic conductor Bi26Mo10O69

Variable-temperature O-17 NMR spectroscopy, spanning a temperature range from -238 to 1000 degrees C, has been used to investigate mechanisms for ionic conduction in Bi26Mo10O69, a material that contains both MoO42- tetrahedra and [Bi12O14](infinity)(8-) columns. Two O-17 NMR resonances are observed that are assigned to oxygen atoms in the MoO42- tetrahedra and in the [Bi12O14](infinity)(8-) columns. On the basis of the nutation curves for the two groups of resonances, extremely rapid, but local, reorientational motion of the MoO42- units occurs at -70 degrees C and above (with a frequency of >50 kHz), whereas the Bi-O oxygen ions are rigid in this temperature regime. This is confirmed by both an analysis of the line broadening of the MoO42- satellite transitions (under MAS) and the spin-lattice relaxation (T-1) times of these sites, the T-1 times indicating that the MoO42- reorientation rates rapidly increase, reaching > 100 MHz at 400 degrees C. Line narrowing of the MoO42- central-transition resonance indicates that exchange between the tetrahedral units, a motion required for long-range anionic conduction, is much slower, involving only jump rates of approximately 1 kHz at 200 degrees C. Both the changes in line width of the MoO42- resonance, and the jump in the T-1 times of the oxygen atoms in the [Bi12O14](infinity)(8-) columns at around the triclinic-monoclinic phase transition temperature (310 degrees C) are consistent with a mechanism for motion involving all the oxygen atoms. The predicted conductivity based on the [Bi-O] T-1 times is now of the order of that extracted from ac impedance measurements reported by Vannier et al. (J. Solid State Chem. 1996, 122, 394). On the basis of this detailed NMR analysis, we propose that motion at ambient temperatures primarily involves the MoO42- tetrahedral rotation: exchange between these sites is very slow. At higher temperatures (above 310 degrees C) the conduction process now appears to involve the oxygen atoms coordinated to Bi3+, in the [Bi12O14](infinity)(8-) columns, and most likely in the partially vacant O[19] site. The involvement of these sites allows for long-range conduction processes that do not involve concerted, multiple Mo-O bond breakages