NASA Aeronomy of Ice In the Mesosphere (AIM) Mission Data

Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Metadata:

• Identification_Information
• Data_Quality_Information
• Spatial_Reference_Information
• Distribution_Information
• Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: James M. Russell III, Principal Investigator

Publication_Date: Unknown

Title: NASA Aeronomy of Ice In the Mesosphere (AIM) Mission Data

Edition:

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form:

Series_Information:

Series_Name:

Issue_Identification:

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Hampton, Virginia, USA

Publisher:

Other_Citation_Details:

Online_Linkage: http://aim.hamptonu.edu/

Description:

Abstract:

[Source: AIM Mission Home Page, Hampton University, http://aim.hamptonu.edu/ ] AIM is the first satellite mission dedicated to the study of noctilucent or “night-shining” clouds (NLCs) also called Polar Mesospheric clouds (PMCs). It has provided the first global-scale view of the clouds over the entire 2007 Northern Hemisphere season with an unprecedented resolution of 5 km by 5 km and is nearing completion of observations in the Southern Hemisphere season. Despite a significant increase in PMC research in recent years, relatively little is known about the basic physics of these clouds at ”the edge of space” and why they are changing. They have increased in brightness over time, are being seen more often and appear to be occurring at lower latitudes than ever before. The overall goal of the baseline mission is to determine why PMCs form and vary. Since the launch of AIM on April 25, 2007, significant progress has been made in achieving this goal and that progress continues at a rapid rate. The AIM data is of very high quality and has changed our view of PMCs and their environment after only one northern hemisphere (NH) season of observations. The startling similarity between the PMC structure observed by CIPS and that seen in tropospheric clouds suggests that the mesosphere may share some of the same dynamical processes responsible for weather near Earth’s surface. If this similarity holds up in further analysis, it introduces an entirely different view of potential mechanisms responsible for PMC formation and variability. AIM has provided the most detailed picture of NH clouds ever collected: - The clouds appear every day, are widespread and are highly variable on hourly to daily time scales. - PMC brightness varies over horizontal scales of a few kilometers, and because of the AIM high horizontal resolution, we now know that over small regions the clouds are ten times brighter than measured by previous space-based instruments. - A previously suspected, but never before seen, population of very small ice particles was measured that is believed to be responsible for strong radar echoes from the summertime mesosphere. - Mesospheric ice occurs in one continuous layer extending from below the main peak at 83 km up to around 90 km. -Mesospheric cloud structures, resolved for the first time by the CIPS imager, exhibit complex features present in normal tropospheric clouds.

Purpose:

Not Available

Supplemental_Information:

REFERENCE: Hampton University 2008-2011 View All AIM publications http://aim.hamptonu.edu/library/index.html Source: AIM Mission Home Page, Hampton University

Supplemental_Information:

REFERENCE: Baumgarten, G., J. Fiedler, K. H. Fricke, M. Gerding, M. Hervig, P. Hoffmann, N. Muller, P.-D. Pautet, M. Rapp, C. Robert, D. Rusch, C. von Savigny5 , and W. Singer 2008 The noctilucent cloud (NLC) display during the ECOMA/MASS sounding rocket flights on August 3, 2007: Morphology on global to local scales Ann Geophys

Supplemental_Information:

REFERENCE: Benze, S., Cora E. Randall, Matthew T. DeLand, Gary E. Thomas, David W. Rusch, Scott M. Bailey, James M. Russell, III, William McClintock, Aimee W. Merkel, Chris Jeppesen 2009 Comparison of Polar Mesospheric Cloud Measurements from the Cloud Imaging and Particle Size Experiment and the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Instrument in 2007 J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys. 10.1016/j.jastp.2008.07.014

Supplemental_Information:

REFERENCE: Chandran, Amal, David Rusch, S. E. Palo, G. E. Thomas, M. Taylor 2009 Gravity wave observation from the Cloud Imaging and Particle Size (CIPS) Experiment on the AIM Spacecraft J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys. 10.1016/j.jastp.2008.09.041

Supplemental_Information:

REFERENCE: Bailey, M. Scott, Gary E. Thomas, David W. Rusch, Aimee W. Merkel, Chris Jeppesen, Justin N. Carstens, Cora E. Randall, William E. McClintock, and James M. Russell, III 2009 Phase Functions of Polar Mesospheric Cloud Ice as Observed by the CIPS Instrument on the AIM Satellite J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys. 10.1016/j.jastp.2008.09.039

Supplemental_Information:

REFERENCE: Stephen D. Eckermann, Karl W. Hoppel, Lawrence Coy, John P. McCormack, David E. Siskind, Kim Nielsen, Andrew Kochenash, Michael H. Stevens, Christoph R. Englert, Mark Hervig 2009 High-Altitude Data Assimilation System Experiments for the Northern Summer Mesosphere Season of 2007 J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys. 10.1016/j.jastp.2008.09.036

Supplemental_Information:

REFERENCE: Gordley, L.L., Mark Hervig, Chad Fish, James Russell III, James Cook, Scott Hanson, Andrew Shumway, Scott Bailey, Greg Paxton,Lance Deaver, Tom Marshall, John Burton, Brian Magill, Chris Brown, Earl Thompson, and John Kemp 2008 The Solar Occultation For Ice Experiment (SOFIE) J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys. 10.1016/j.jastp.2008.07.012

Supplemental_Information:

REFERENCE: Hervig, M.E., L.L. Gordley, M. Stevens, J.M. Russell, and S. Bailey 2009 Interpretation of SOFIE PMC measurements: Cloud identification and derivation of mass density, particle shape, and particle size J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys. 10.1016/j.jastp.2008.07.009

Supplemental_Information:

REFERENCE: Hervig, M.E., L.L. Gordley, M. Stevens, J.M. Russell, and S. Bailey 2009 SOFIE PMC measurements during the northern summer of 2007 J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys. 10.1016/j.jastp.2008.08.010

Supplemental_Information:

REFERENCE: McClintock, William, David W. Rusch, Gary E. Thomas, Aimee W. Merkel, Mark R. Lankton, Virginia A. Drake, Scott M. Bailey, and James M. Russell III 2009 The Cloud Imaging and Particle Size Experiment On The Aeronomy Of Ice In The Mesosphere Mission: Instrument Concept, Design, Calibration, And On-Orbit Performance J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys. 10.1016/j.jastp.2008.10.011

Supplemental_Information:

REFERENCE: Merkel, W. Aimee, David W. Rusch, Scott E. Palo, James M. Russell III, and Scott M. Bailey 2009 Mesospheric planetary wave activity inferred from AIM-CIPS and TIMED-SABER for the northern summer 2007 PMC season J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys. 10.1016/j.jasp.2006.05.01

Supplemental_Information:

REFERENCE: Rusch, D. W., G. E. Thomas, W. McClintock, A. W. Merkel, S. M. Bailey, J. M. Russell III, C. E. Randall, C. Jeppesen, and M. Callan 2009 The Cloud Imaging and Particle Size Experiment on the aeronomy of ice in the Mesosphere mission: Cloud morphology for the northern 2007 season J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys. 10.1016/j.jastp.2008.11.005

Supplemental_Information:

REFERENCE: Russell III, James M., Scott M. Bailey, Mihaly Horanyi, Larry L. Gordley, David W. Rusch, Mark E. Hervig, Gary E. Thomas, Cora E. Randall, David E. Siskind, Michael H. Stevens, Michael E. Summers, Michael I. Taylor, Christoph R. Englert, Patrick J. Espy, William E. McClintock and Aimee W. Merkel 2009 Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM):Overview and early science results J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys 10.1016/j.jastp.2008.08.011

Supplemental_Information:

REFERENCE: Robertson, S., M. Horanyi, S. Knappmiller, Z. Sternovsky, R. Holzworth, M. Shimogawa M. Friedrich, K. Torkar, J. Gumbel, L. Megner, G. Baumgarten, R. Latteck, M. Rapp, U.-P. Hoppe, and M. E. Hervig 2008 Mass analysis of charged aerosol particles in NLC and PMSE during the ECOMA/MASS campaign Ann Geophys

Supplemental_Information:

REFERENCE: Stevens, M. H., C. R. Englert, M. Hervig, S. V. Petelina, W. Singer, and K. Nielsen 2009 The diurnal variation of noctilucent cloud frequency near 55°N observed by SHIMMER J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys 10.1016/j.jastp.2008.10.009

Status:

Progress: In Work

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: As needed

Spatial_Domain:

Description_of_Geographic_Extent:

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: Not Available

East_Bounding_Coordinate: Not Available

North_Bounding_Coordinate: Not Available

South_Bounding_Coordinate: Not Available

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD SCIENCE PARAMETERS

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD PLATFORM

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD INSTRUMENT

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: PROJECT

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ANCILLARY KEYWORDS

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO TOPIC CATEGORY

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: DATA SET LANGUAGE

Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > AEROSOLS > CLOUD CONDENSATION NUCLEI

Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE > GRAVITY WAVE

Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > CLOUDS > CLOUD PROPERTIES > CLOUD FREQUENCY

Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > CLOUDS > CLOUD MICROPHYSICS > CLOUD DROPLET CONCENTRATION/SIZE

Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION > ALBEDO

Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY > OXYGEN COMPOUNDS > OZONE

Theme_Keyword: AIM > AERONOMY OF ICE IN THE MESOSPHERE

Theme_Keyword: CIPS > CLOUD IMAGING AND PARTICLE SIZE

Theme_Keyword: SOFIE > SOLAR OCCULTATION FOR ICE EXPERIMENT

Theme_Keyword: CDE > AIM COSMIC DUST EXPERIMENT

Theme_Keyword: ESIP > EARTH SCIENCE INFORMATION PARTNERS PROGRAM

Theme_Keyword: AIM > AERONOMY OF ICE IN THE MESOSPHERE

Theme_Keyword: Polar Mesospheric Clouds

Theme_Keyword: Pmc

Theme_Keyword: CLIMATOLOGY/METEOROLOGY/ATMOSPHERE

Theme_Keyword: ENVIRONMENT

Theme_Keyword: ENGLISH

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD

Place_Keyword: VERTICAL LOCATION > MESOSPHERE

Access_Constraints: Not Available

Use_Constraints:

Not Available

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: JAMES, DR. M. RUSSELL III

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: SCOTT BAILEY

Contact_Position: INVESTIGATOR

Contact_Position: INVESTIGATOR

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: AIM Mission Principal Investigator

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: baileys@vt.edu

Data_Quality_Information:

Attribute_Accuracy:

Attribute_Accuracy_Report:

Not Available

Logical_Consistency_Report:

Not Available

Completeness_Report:

Not Available

Lineage:

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Not Available

Process_Date: Unknown

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Distribution_Information:

Distributor:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: UCO/LASP/AIM > AIM Mission, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado

Contact_Person: LASP/AIM MISSION

Contact_Position: DATA CENTER CONTACT

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics

Address: AIM Mission

Address: 1234 Innovation Drive

City: Boulder

State_or_Province: CO

Postal_Code: 80303-7814

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 303-492-6412

Distributor:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: HU/CAS/AIM > AIM Mission, Center for Atmospheric Sciences, Hampton University

Contact_Person: BARBARA MAGGI

Contact_Position: DATA CENTER CONTACT

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: AIM Education & Public Outreach Manager

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 757-727-5869

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: barbara.maggi@hamptonu.edu

Resource_Description: NASA_AIM_CIPS_DATA

Distribution_Liability:

Not Available

Standard_Order_Process:

Digital_Form:

Digital_Transfer_Information:

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://lasp.colorado.edu/aim/

Access_Instructions:

DATA CENTER URL

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http://aim.hamptonu.edu/

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DATA CENTER URL

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http://aim.hamptonu.edu/sds/index.html

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SOFIE, CIPS, CDE, and CVO data from Hampton University.

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http://lasp.colorado.edu/aim/download-data.html

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CIPS browse images, data, and tools from LASP Colorado State University.

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http://aim.hamptonu.edu/

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AIM Mission Home Page at Hampton University.

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http://lasp.colorado.edu/aim/

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AIM Project Home Page at LASP Colorado State University.

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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/aim/index.html

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NASA's AIM Mission Home Page.

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Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

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http://lasp.colorado.edu/aim/data-overview.html

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CIPS data product guide.

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://lasp.colorado.edu/aim/download-data.html

Access_Instructions:

Information about AIM data products.

Fees: No Fee

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 20080116

Metadata_Review_Date: 20120201

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: GCMD User Support Office

Contact_Organization: NASA Global Change Master Directory

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: Not Available

City: Lanham

State_or_Province: MD

Postal_Code: 20706

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: Not Available

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: gcmduso@gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov

Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998

Metadata_Time_Convention: local time