Dr.
Thomas A. Kovacs will lead the CALIPSO quid pro quo validation effort
with support from Dr. M. Patrick McCormick (CALIPSO Co-Principal Investigator).
The CALIPSO quid pro quo validation implementation team will work
closely with the CALIPSO mission validation team led by Dr. Charles R. Trepte
of NASA LaRC to make sure that the quid pro quo activities are
consistent and collaborative with the overall mission validation. Dr. Kovacs
will serve as the point of contact for coordination of the quid pro quo validation
sites. He will also obtain, transfer, and catalog all data from these sites for
validation studies, and provide data storage for validation sites without
accessible storage and for data requested by the CALIPSO PI.
A
schedule of the milestones for implementing the quid pro quo validation
plan is given below. A protocol for the free exchange of data will be included
in a follow-up letter to responders to the quid pro quo validation
announcement letters and is included in the appendix in Section 7.3.
5.1 The quid pro quo validation
milestones
2001
Submitted quid pro quo
validation plan draft - Oct.
2002
Submitted final draft of the quid
pro quo validation plan - June
Sent quid pro quo
validation announcement letter – June
Set up initial quid pro quo
validation website at http://calipsovalidation.hamptonu.edu/ – October
2003
Complete coincident statistics
for main sites - July
Data exchange protocols developed
for approval - November
2004
Order server and quid pro quo
validation storage media >=
March
Send follow up letters to
announcement responders >= L
- 12 months
Set up ftp server web site, data
storage, and catalog in coordination with LaRC >= L - 4
months
Obtain signed data exchange
protocols >= L - 4 months
2005
Store selected data, update data
catalog, and continue validation studies - Post launch
Continue communication of
coincidence and orbital path with quid pro quovalidation sites and
campaigns - Post launch
Obtain level IIa validation data
for preliminary data validation <= L + 135 days
Complete preliminary validation
studies on level IIa data within the first 135 days of launch <= L + 135 days
2006
Validation workshop approximately
L + 12-15 months
In
2003, coincident statistics will be completed for all interested sites and
networks. NASA LaRC will propagate the latest CALIPSO orbital predicts for 16
days using STK and supply HU with the coincident statistics for the quid pro
quo validation sites that HU will provide. These statistics will be uploaded to
the quid pro quo validation website and distributed with a follow-up letter to
announcement responders. The data exchange protocol (Section 7.3) will be
completed and uploaded and distributed in the same manner. The follow-up letter
will also serve to provide the interested sites with important information
related to the quid pro quo validation plan and to verify and gather
further information including: type of instruments, calibration protocol,
archival protocol, observational protocol (times, altitudes, etc.), and aerosol
types typically observed at each site that the point of contact manages. In
order to keep the communication to a manageable level only top-level network
administrators will be contacted for networked sites.
5.3 Data Exchange, Storage, and
Handling
The
data storage system will be procured and set up at Hampton University. This
storage system will involve and require a server/workstation, archival tapes,
and a data manager specialist. The workstation/server will be set up as an ftp
server to obtain and disseminate data and will need software for validation
data analysis. The ftp server will be accessible to the CALIPSO science team,
the quid pro quo validation implementation team, and the PIs of the
validation sites for as long as the PI requests. Sites that utilize a network
data archive will be expected to update the validation implementation team on
the availability of data of interest to the CALIPSO science and validation
mplementation teams. These network websites must provide adequate data access
for the CALIPSO science and validation implementation teams. A listing of these
specific sources and resources needed to utilize the data will be prepared as
part of a data catalog and will include URLs, point of contact, email
addresses, access instructions, data format, etc. The data catalog will update
data available at these sites and from the HU server so that any interested
investigator knows what data are available for validation. The data providers
will supply this information each time they upload CALIPSO validation data to a
data archive. Any network that does not have an existing archive must upload their
data to HU's data storage to insure that all interested parties have access to
validation data when needed.
The
data manager specialist is responsible for making sure that data provided by a
validation site is readable and conforms to any prearranged data format. This
person will then put the data onto an ftp site where the science and validation
implementation teams and the individual data PIs will have read-only access via
a password. If data do not conform to the prearranged data format, decided by
the validation implementation team, it will be stored in a separate folder. It
is up to the data providers to periodically check that their data are being
placed in the correct folder. For security purposes anybody who wants to upload
or download data must supply an IP address for the machine that they will use
to transfer the data. The data manager will move data to an archive tape when
the ftp site becomes full and replace data on the ftp site for a short period
of time when requests for archived data are received. This person will also
backup the data and insure the data are secure from outside manipulation.
In
2004, the ftp server web site, data storage, and catalog in coordination with
LaRC will be set-up and fully tested before launch. All data exchange protocols
will be agreed upon and signed by the quid pro quo validation sites and
the CALIPSO PI. At this time, for security purposes, the validation sites that
sign the exchange protocol must also provide the IP address of the machine that
their data will be uploaded from and a contact for the person responsible for
the upload.
Orbital
predicts and coincident statistics will be updated on the website on a regular
basis, a month or so before launch, then routinely after launch at reasonable
intervals. These statistics will provide sites with times of satellite
overpasses. Also, we will attempt to involve new sites as they become
available/discovered, tempered with needs and our judgment of quality.
Storing
of validation data will begin at the request of the CALIPSO PI. During the
first 135 days after launch, studies will be performed to preliminarily
validate level 2a data before the data are released to the public. Quid pro
quo validation is critical at this time as it may be the only source of validation
data. Sites identified by the science and validation implementation teams will
be contacted to arrange for a timely data exchange within a short time after
observations are made.
If at
any time during the validation period, an event deemed significant by the
CALIPSO science team, such as a volcanic eruption, should take place, the quid
pro quo validation program will be critical in validating the calibration
and algorithms for the CALIPSO mission. For example, during a major volcanic
eruption, sites that monitor the stratosphere will become especially important
and validation studies with these sites will take priority. For an eruption
that causes the atmosphere to become optically thick, special care will be
given to increased errors in the tropospheric aerosol measurements due to
transmission losses. Calibration, which is done by normalization with a clear
region of the stratosphere could be affected if aerosols reach altitudes used
for normalization by CALIPSO. Ground based measurements will be used to monitor
the aerosol l oading in these assumed clear regions.
After launch the HU validation implementationteam will begin conducting validation studies consistent with the approach described in Section 2.1 and the data exchange protocol. In the first 135 days after launch, HU will assist in conducting preliminary validation studies. Because of HU's involvement and expertise in stratospheric aerosol and cloud studies, validation studies in this area will be a focus and will involve a graduate student. HU will also be involved in validation studies during significant events as describe above because of their involvement in coordinating validation sites during these events. Other studies will be initiated as the quid pro quo validation program matures.