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