4.
Title: Evaluation and assimilation of NASA’s remote
sensing products in support of science activities in the La Plata Basin
Continental Scale Experiment
PI: E. H. Berbery
Period: 1-Mar-2008 to 28-Feb-2011
Total budget: USD 412,433
Funding Agency: NASA
Summary:
This proposal is a joint effort of the University of
Maryland, NASA, and CPTEC (Brazil), whose goals are, first, to produce
a dataset which integrates unique in-situ observations with satellite
data for the La Plata Basin (LPB), and then to apply the dataset in
modeling and forecasting experiments in order to assess the resulting
enhancement of prediction skill. La Plata Basin has recently been
designated a Continental Scale Experiment (CSE) jointly by the GEWEX
and CLIVAR Panels. Due to the unique nature of the region among
CSEs, the La Plata Basin CSE has great potential for the calibration
and validation of NASA remote sensing products, and in turn the region
has much to gain from the use of these products.
Many recent studies have identified land surface
states as a key element in regional predictability studies.
Accurate depictions of land surface conditions and improved
understanding of their interactions with weather and climate processes
will be crucial for improving predictability in the region.
Our overall hypothesis, to be investigated in this
project, is that incorporating high quality observations of surface
conditions from NASA satellites and other observing systems into
numerical models of La Plata basin will improve predictability of the
region's hydrology, weather and climate. The specific objectives
and tasks are:
• Develop a multivariable dataset of in-situ observations that can be employed for satellite evaluation over the La Plata Basin. • Validate remotely sensed satellite products with the in-situ observations. • Assimilate and generate a dataset of land surface products that can be employed for predictability studies. • Perform studies of the influence of land surface conditions on the predictability of the La Plata Basin.
The relevance of this research is not only due to
the yet unanswered scientific questions it will address, but also
because it will result in a comprehensive dataset of validated
satellite products to be employed in hydrologic and land surface
models. Moreover, it will provide an assessment of the gains in
predictability due to the new sensors and technologies that NASA has
employed aboard its more recent missions.