Calendar Event Details

AEROCENTER: Cynthia Randles

Affiliation: GESTAR Morgan State University/GMAO
Event Date: Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Location: G133
Time: 11:00 AM

The Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2: The Goddard Aerosol Assimilation System Aerosol Reanalysis 1979 — Onward

The Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) was undertaken by NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) with two primary objectives: to place observations from NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites into a climate context and to update the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) system to include the most recent satellite data. Many advancements have been incorporated into MERRA-2, notably for this presentation we now include. In a significant step towards an Integrated Earth System Analysis (IESA), MERRA-2 now includes fully modeled and analyzed aerosol fields, with radiative effects that feed back to the atmospheric fields. Focusing on the satellite era, from 1979 to the present, MERRA-2 now also includes an online implementation of the Goddard Chemistry, Aerosol, Radiation, and Transport model (GOCART) integrated into the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Version 5 (GEOS-5) modeling system. GOCART simulates organic carbon, black carbon, sea salt, dust, sulfate and sulfate aerosol precursors (dimethyl sulfide, sulfur dioxide), carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. While the original MERRA assimilated only meteorological parameters (winds, temperature, humidity, etc.), with the Goddard Aerosol Assimilation System (GAAS), we now extend MERRA-2 to include assimilation of AOD from AVHRR, bias-corrected MODIS retrievals, MISR (over bright surfaces), and AERONET. Here we present an overview of the MERRA-2 aerosol assimilation product, including an assessment of its overall performance relative to independent aerosol observations, the climatology and time series of AOD from 1997 - present, and the impact of major volcanic eruptions (e.g. Pinatubo) on the analyzed aerosol fields.
 

Posted or updated: Monday, February 22, 2016

Print-friendly page (new window)   •   Back to the Calendar