SISTER: SBG Space-based Imaging Spectroscopy and Thermal PathfindER
Abstract
The 2017 National Academies' Decadal Survey, "Thriving on Our Changing Planet: A Decadal Strategy for Earth Observation from Space", identified Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) as one of five high value NASA Designated Observables. The NASA SBG mission (expected to launch no earlier than 2026) includes a VSWIR imaging spectrometer (400-2500 nm) and multiband thermal infrared imager, and will provide unprecedented global observations of Earth's surface that provide valuable information on a wide range of Earth System processes. SBG observing priorities include: terrestrial vegetation physiology, functional traits, and health; inland and coastal aquatic ecosystems physiology, functional traits, and health; snow and ice accumulation, melting, and albedo; active surface changes (eruptions, landslides, evolving landscapes, hazard risks); effects of changing land use on surface energy, water, momentum, and C fluxes; and managing agriculture, natural habitats, water use/quality, and urban development.
To prepare the science community for SBG, NASA has initiated a pathfinder activity (SISTER), which will enable evaluations that significantly increase the prospects for major scientific discovery in SBG's early post-launch period. The objective of SISTER is to mature many of the workflows and algorithms envisioned for SBG, lay the groundwork to develop a robust cal/val network, and build a vigorous and expansive user community ahead of launch. In so doing, we will identify mission risks, e.g., algorithm and data system challenges for at-scale global production, that the SBG mission can mitigate ahead of launch. Specific efforts include evaluation and testing of existing atmospheric correction algorithms for standardized use in a global context for SBG target objectives; examination of L2B and L3 algorithm robustness for standardized use in a global context; and production of precursor SBG datasets for the user community. Here we present the status of different components of the pathfinder activity as of AGU, with an overview of expected efforts over the next two years, including ways that the community can engage with SISTER.- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AGUFMIN041..03T
- Keywords:
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- 0430 Computational methods and data processing;
- BIOGEOSCIENCES;
- 0439 Ecosystems;
- structure and dynamics;
- BIOGEOSCIENCES;
- 1910 Data assimilation;
- integration and fusion;
- INFORMATICS;
- 1976 Software tools and services;
- INFORMATICS