The NRC Decadal Survey Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivitiy Observatory: NASA Implementation

Abstract

The Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) Mission has been recommended in the National Research Council Earth Science Decadal Survey as a key component of the future climate observing system. NASA and NOAA share responsibility for CLARREO. The NOAA component involves the continuity of measurements of incident solar irradiance and Earth energy budget by flying the Total Solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS) and Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) sensors that were removed from the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). The NASA portion involves the measurement of spectrally resolved thermal IR and reflected solar radiation at high absolute accuracy. Coupled with measurements from on-board Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation (RO) receivers, these measurements will provide a long- term benchmarking data record for the detection, projection, and attribution of changes in the climate system. In addition, the SI traceable radiances will provide a source of absolute calibration for a wide range of visible and infrared (IR) Earth observing sensors, greatly increasing their value for climate monitoring. CLARREO is identified as one of the four highest priority missions in the Decadal Survey. There is tremendous value in starting these key new climate measurements as soon as possible. NASA is implementing a systematic approach to resolving the remaining scientific and technological challenges for CLARREO. In particular, clear mission requirements that maximize the benefit for using these data to improve climate prediction are needed to ensure that NASA's performance objectives are met, future costs are contained, and delays are minimized This presentation will focus on on-going activities involved with the planning and implementation of the NASA portion of CLARREO. We will review the scientific objectives of CLARREO, possible mission configurations, and the potential impacts on climate science that the CLARREO data will provide.