The November 2017

with the 2017 Class of the Giovanni Image Hall of Fame!

From the Editor:

Most of the time, the Giovanni

News is three or four pages long.

This issue is quite a bit longer,

because it has a page for each of

the images selected for the 2017

Class of the Giovanni Image Hall

of Fame. We’ve been spending

summer and fall on new Giovanni

Releases (which we’ll describe in

the December issue), selecting the

Hall of Fame finalists; and going to

meetings, conducting Webinars,

publishing news articles, going to

movies (Only the Brave, notably),

and getting ready for the Fall AGU

Meeting. So we hope you’ll excuse

our absence for the past few

months, and have a great time

reading this issue and examining

the new members of the Giovanni

Image Hall of Fame.

Jim Acker

The Giovanni News

Editor

Featured Research Article:Li, W., El-Askary, H., ManiKandan, K.P.,

Qurban, M.A., Garay, M.J., and Kalashnikova,

O.V. (2017) Synergistic use of remote sensing

and modeling to assess an anomalously high

chlorophyll-a event during summer 2015 in the

south central Red Sea. Remote Sensing, 9(8), 778,

20 pages, doi:10.3390/rs9080778.

The authors described observations of

significantly higher than average chlorophyll a

concentrations (chl a) in the south central Red

Sea during June 2015. Chl a exceeded 2 mg/m3,

whereas they are normally less than 0.5 mg/m3.

Analysis indicated there is commonly a two-

month lag between dust outbreaks and higher chl

a, and dust aerosols were anomalously high in the

region in April 2015. The presence of an eddy

with a core exhibiting elevated sea surface height

but decreased sea surface temperature appeared

to be the most important factor providing

macronutrients for phytoplankton growth. The

April 2015 dust outbreak likely provided iron, a

vital trace nutrient.

Giovanni was used to access Moderate

Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)

chlorophyll a concentration data and Modern Era

Retrospective-analysis for Research and

Applications-2 (MERRA-2) aerosol optical depth

and dust aerosol optical depth data. Hovmöller

plots were utilized to evaluate spatial and

temporal variability.

For Figure 3 in the paper:

Gopal, K.R., Reddy, K.R.O., Balakrishnaiah, G., Arafath, S.MD., Reddy, N.S.K.,

Chakradhar Rao, T., Lokeswara Reddy, T., and Ramakrishna Reddy, R. (2016)

Regional trends of aerosol optical depth and their impact on cloud properties over

Southern India using MODIS data. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial

Physics, 146, 38-48, doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2016.05.005.

Selected for: This image of MODIS Aerosol Optical Depth data, seasonally

averaged for the years 2005-2014, demonstrates an important analysis capability of

Giovanni. The bright color palette depicts the differing seasonal patterns in a way

that is visually distinct and recognizable.

For the images posted online entitled

“Precipitation (top) and surface runoff (bottom) during the Lake Oroville

dam failure event,” by Jerome Alfred, support scientist at NASA GES DISC.

Selected for: The use of two different but related data variables (precipitation

and surface runoff), and the display of the data in Google Earth, show

important factors that led to this widely-publicized hydrological crisis, which

occurred in the boreal spring of 2017.

For Figure 6 in the paper:

Coxon, T.M., Odhiambo, B.K., and Giancarlo, L.C. (2016) The impact of urban expansion and agricultural legacies on trace metal accumulation in fluvial and lacustrine sediments of the lower Chesapeake Bay basin, USA. Science of the Total Environment, 568, 402–414, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.022.

Selected for: This striking four-panel figure concisely relates remotely-sensed aerosol optical thickness and precipitation to the distribution of mines and wastewater treatment facilities in northern Virginia. The figure shows how both atmospheric and hydrological factors contribute to the historical and current fate of trace metals in this part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

For the image posted online entitled

“MODIS cloud fraction on August 21, 2017, superimposed on an eclipse

totality track map,” by James Acker, senior support scientist, NASA GES

DISC.

Selected for: This figure provides a spatial illustration of why so many

people in the United States could view the total eclipse of August 21, 2017.

By combining a map of the eclipse track with cloud fraction data, the figure

is a unique and easy-to-understand depiction of what became a very lucky

and memorable day for millions of eclipse observers across the country.

For Figure 1 in the paper:

Jury, M.R. (2017) Spatial gradients in climatic trends across the southeastern

Antilles 1980–2014. International Journal of Climatology, 11 pages, doi:10.1002/joc.5156.

Selected for: This figure uses data from Giovanni, in combination with data from

other sources, in an innovative manner. The figure at top left shows sea surface

salinity contours combined with MODIS sea surface temperatures. At top right,

daytime mean land surface temperatures are combined with surface current

vectors. The bottom time-series is of vegetation anomaly averaged over all the

islands in the region.

For Figure 2 in the paper:

Jury, M.R. (2017) Spatial gradients in climatic trends across the southeastern

Antilles 1980–2014. International Journal of Climatology, 11 pages,

doi:10.1002/joc.5156.

Selected for: This remarkable figure actually depicts six different data

variables, while employing Giovanni’s data averaging capability to show

data over the period 2005-2015. The data variables are (a) MERRA-2 carbon

monoxide; (b) MERRA-2 PM2.5 (shaded) and OMI UV Aerosol Index

(contoured); (c) OMI NO2 concentration; and (d) OMI SO2 in Dobson

Units, along with wind vectors. Interesting features are the downwind

plumes of NO2 from several islands, and the plume of SO2 from the island

of Montserrat due to ongoing volcanic activity during the period.

[This is the first time two figures from the same paper have been selected to

the Giovanni Image Hall of Fame.]

For Figure 3 in the paper:

Cyr, F. and Larouche, P. (2015) Thermal fronts atlas of Canadian coastal

waters. Atmosphere-ocean, 53(2), 212-236, doi:10.1080/07055900.2014.986710.

Selected for: The beauty of this figure is combined with scientific value in

an image of averaged chlorophyll concentration in the straits and bays of

northeastern Canada. The image is cited for superb cartography, and the

use of Giovanni to create a chlorophyll climatology for this region,

covering the years 1998-2010.

For Figure 6 in the paper:

Ganguly, N.D. (2016) Atmospheric changes observed during April 2015

Nepal earthquake. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics,

140,16-22, doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2016.01.017.

Selected for: The figure addresses an important geological event, the

strong Nepal earthquake of 2015 (occurring on April 25). It shows the

striking change in column amount ozone (measured by OMI) on April 5,

prior to the earthquake, compared to the period April 28-August 15 after

the earthquake. Figures b and c were taken directly from Giovanni.

For Figure 6 in the paper:

Karami, S., Ranjbar, A., Mohebalhojeh, A.R., and Moradi, M. (2016) A rare

case of haboob in Tehran: Observational and numerical study, Atmospheric

Research, in press, doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2016.10.010.

Selected for: In this study of an unusual dust storm, images of relative

humidity data were created utilizing Giovanni to map AIRS profile data

for two different pressure levels (top and bottom) and two different times

(left and right) of the same day. These images show how useful Giovanni

can be for the study of relatively short duration geophysical events.

For the image posted online entitled

“Accumulated rainfall in Portugal, 2016-2017, related to the wildfire tragedy of June 18, 2017,” by Zhong Liu and James Acker, staff scientists at the NASA GES DISC.

Selected for: The factors contributing to the tragic wildfire event in Portugal on June 18, 2017, are dramatically illustrated in this three-panel figure. The top two plots contrast the accumulated (January-June) rainfall between 2016 and 2017. The bottom plot shows a comparative ratio between the two years to demonstrate why the region was prone to wildfires in 2017. The fire symbol in the bottom plot shows where the tragedy occurred and places it in the context of the important contributing factors.

For Figure 4 in the paper:

Sitnov, S.A. and Mokhov, I.I.

(2016) Satellite-derived

peculiarities of total ozone field

under atmospheric blocking

conditions over the European

part of Russia in summer 2010.

Russian Meteorology and

Hydrology, 41(1), 28–36,

doi:10.3103/S1068373916010040.

Selected for: This image,

created using data available in

Giovanni, displays another

important analysis capability

the system provides, the

visualization of anomalies.

From top to bottom, the

anomalies plotted are for the

variables tropopause height,

tropopause temperature, water

vapor mixing ratio at 15o hPa,

and methane mixing ratio at

106.5 hPa. The time period is

August 1-10, 2010, when this

region of Russia was besieged

by extensive wildfires related

to anomalously high summer

temperatures and other weather

extremes.

For Figure 3 in the paper:

Wulff, T., Bauerfeind, E., and von Appen, W.-J. (2016) Physical and ecological processes at a moving ice edge in the Fram Strait as observed with an AUV. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 115, 253-264, doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2016.07.001.

Selected for: This figure was selected for its unique use of data from Giovanni. The images at the top show where an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) was deployed in the Fram Strait. The bottom of the figure shows wind speed and direction data acquired from Giovanni, to relate local weather conditions to the observations made by the AUV.

For Figure 1 in the paper:

Broomandi, P., Dabir, B., Bonakdarpour, B., and Rashidi, Y. (2017) Identification

of the sources of dust storms in the City of Ahvaz by HYSPLIT. Pollution, 3(2),

341-348, doi:10.7508/pj.2017.02.015.

Selected for: This stunning figure has been designated for Special Recognition in

the 2017 Class. It displays data obtained from Giovanni for three different

variables – aerosol index, temperature, and top layer soil wetness (soil moisture) –

and shows the data distribution for every month in every year for the period 2005-

2015, visualized by a clever use of color. It thus provides excellent temporal context

for the study of dust storms described in the paper.

Designated for Special Recognition