Collaborations Focused on Enhancing Undergraduate Involvement in Remote Sensing Applications to Atmospheric and Earth Science Research

Abstract

This paper discusses the mentoring strategies used with groups of undergraduate physics, mathematics and atmospheric science majors to develop their ability to contribute to remote sensing investigations. The projects have been a joint effort of scientists and educators at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton University in Virginia, Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina, Stennis Space Center, and The Office of Naval Research. Atmospheric Science investigations have included verification of Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER). The SABER instrument is one of the four instruments housed on the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite. SABER explores the MLTI (Mesosphere Lithosphere Thermosphere Ionosphere) region of the Earth's atmosphere using infrared limb emission to sound the atmosphere. Other atmospheric science investigations have included use of a single scatter lidar equation to investigate tropospheric and stratospheric aerosol and temperature measurements derived from the 355 and 532 nm channels and comparison of the SAGE III limb scattering data to other instruments measuring similar aerosol and gas profiles. Earth science investigations include investigating incidents of coastal upwelling during the summer of 2000 along the northeastern coast of North Carolina (from Cape Hatteras to the Virginia Commonwealth border) by comparing archived <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">in</i> <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">situ</i> near and offshore wind and temperature measurements with sea surface temperatures deduced from observations by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on board several of NOAA's Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES); remote sensing investigation of turbidity and water clarity in the Atlantic Ocean with the use of SeaWiFS data during which the frequency and extent of turbidity events in the Atlantic coast was studied and SeaWiFS ocean color data was utilized to generate Secchi disk depth estimates and; determining the spatial and temporal variability of chlorophyll concentrations in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico during 2002. Techniques for developing the required collaborations, student selection and organization of research training activities are described in this paper.