The ESR Aquarius Team |
 Aquarius/SAC-D Satellite artist conception from orbit over southern Patagonia. The background image is based on SeaWiFS data. |
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| Principal Investigator (PI) | ||||
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| John Gunn | ||||
| Validation Data System Manager | ||||
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| Jonathan Lilly | ||||
| Research Analysis | ||||
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| Camisa Carlson | ||||
| PI Administrator | ||||
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The Aquarius mission is one of two new Earth System Science Pathfinder small-satellite program missions confirmed by NASA in 2005. Each mission performs a first-of-a-kind exploratory measurement that will help answer fundamental questions about how our planet works and how it may change in the future.
The innovative Aquarius satellite is targeted for launch in May 2010 on a Delta
II rocket for a three-year mission. It is the first satellite mission specifically
designed to provide monthly global measurements of how sea water salinity varies
at the ocean surface, which is a key to studying the links between ocean circulation
and global water cycles. Variations in ocean surface salinity are a key area
of scientific uncertainty. Salinity variations modify the interaction between
ocean circulation and the global water cycle, which in turn affects the ocean’s
capacity to store and transport heat and regulate Earth's climate. The Aquarius
Mission seeks to determine how the ocean responds to the combined effects of
evaporation, precipitation, ice melt and river runoff on seasonal and inter-annual
time scales, and their impact on the global distribution and availability of
fresh water. Sea surface salinity, along with sea surface temperature, determines
the sea surface density. This controls the formation of water masses in the
ocean and regulates the 3-dimensional ocean circulation. Recent technological
advances have provided the ability to examine these processes using remote sensing
tools via satellite, and will further understanding of how climate variations
induce changes in the global ocean circulation and how our oceans respond to
climate change and the water cycle.
More information about the Aquarius Mission can be found on the Aquarius Mission Home Page: http://aquarius.gsfc.nasa.gov
Aquarius/SAC-D
Science Workshop Announcement, 3-5 December 2008, Puerto Madryn, Argentina
http://www.conae.gov.ar/AQ_SAC-D_4thScienceWS/indexe.html
The Aquarius mission is being developed in an international partnership with Argentina’s space agency, Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE), which has successfully developed three consecutive science application satellites in cooperation with NASA. More than 17 university, corporate, government and international institutions are also involved in the Aquarius mission.
PI Gary Lagerloef next to the full scale SAC-D structural model, 27 Feb 08. |
For the joint mission, Argentina is providing the SAC-D spacecraft and additional
science instruments, while NASA provides the Aquarius salinity sensor and the
rocket launch. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages
the Aquarius Mission development for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise based in
Washington, D.C., and NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland,
will manage the mission after launch. |
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Aquarius Instruments (NASA)
CONAE Instruments:
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Instrument Mode: Active/Passive L-band, Push-broom measurement approach using 3-beam, offset antenna.
Orbit: 657 km, sun synchronous @ 6 pm, ascending node
Observatory: CONAE contributes SAC-D (Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas) Service Platform and Ground Station.
Attitude & Orbit Control: Three axis stabilized, nadir pointing; maneuvering thrusters.
Observatory Dimensions (launch config): 2,7m (diameter) and 4,5 m
Communications: S Band Up and Downlink, X Band Data Downlink
Operational Life: 3 years (Aquarius); 5 years (S/P and SAC-D Instruments)
Launch Date: Targeted Launch – 22 May 2010
Launch Vehicle: Boeing Delta II 7320-10 Launch Vehicle
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California, USA
Science Products: 7-day, Monthly and Yearly Global Maps
Data Availability: Through PO.DAAC (NASA / JPL)
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| The Aquarius/SAC-D mission concept. The satellite will be in a polar sun-synchronous orbit crossing the equator at 6pm (ascending) and 6am (descending) local time. The Aquarius sensor views continually away from the sun to avoid signal contamination from solar L-band energy flux. The three beams vary in width and incidence angle to form a 390 km wide ground swath. The orbit has an exact repeat ground track every seven days, with 390 km track spacing at the equator, ensuring complete global coverage of the swath. Salinity data calibration and validation will be based on available in situ surface measurements by ships, buoys and Argo floats. |
The Aquarius Validation Data Segment (AVDS) will collect and process surface
measurements as a means of delivering surface calibration data to the Aquarius
data processing center. Liaisons will be maintained with various observation
programs in order to acquire near surface data on a daily basis. The data will
be quality controlled and edited if necessary and provided in a uniform data
format.
The following are the presently available data sources:
TAO/TRITON Internet GUI
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/data_deliv/
GOSUD ftp
ftp://ftp.ifremer.fr/ifremer/gosud
GOSUD Internet GUI
http://www.coriolis.eu.org/cdc/GosudSelection/cdcGosudSelections.asp
US GODAE - ARGO Float data
http://www.usgodae.org/argo/argo.html
Coriolis Global Ocean Profiles (including ARGO)
http://www.coriolis.eu.org/cdc/DataSelection/cdcDataSelections.asp
US GTSPP - Global Ocean Profiles
http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/GTSPP/gtspp-home.html
The Aquarius / SAC-D Satellite Mission has a dedicated educational and public outreach (EPO) effort which is led by Annette deCharon, Senior Science Educator and Aquarius EPO Manager. Please visit the Aquarius outreach website, http://aquarius.gsfc.nasa.gov/education.html, to learn more.
Interviews: Bainbridge
Island Review interviews Dr. Gary Lagerloef about the AQUARIUS satellite
mission and ESR. Read related
editorial as well.