GLIMS Update (URGENT): GLIMS acquisition augmentation plan

Tue May 26 12:35:01 MDT 2009

Dear all,
The message below is encouraging.  The time, however, is short.  It's not so much the next ASTER Science Team meeting in Japan (to start in less than 2 weeks) that creates a short time fuse, but it's the start of June's northern hemisphere imaging season that makes this a fairly urgent request.
We have asked Slawek and Gordon to coordinate (1) a Greenland imaging augmentation plan.  There are two other GLIMS Science Team Acquisition Requests which must be developed quite urgently: (2) a "glacier gap fill plan," and (3) a high-priority glacier target plan.  The gap-fill plan should be designed to fill in areas that have not had good image coverage to date, for example, no images at all, or one useful image only, over the lifetime of ASTER.  The high-priority glacier target plan should specify sites that are of special interest, due to unique geographical or human significance, due to it being a field study site, or due to special and rapid dynamics, or any other reason you would think it is especially important to monitor, even if there has already been intensive coverage.  Each regional center should identify gap-fill and high-priority targets, and send the center points (lat/lons) or polygons.   For each set of points or polygons, I need a single start and stop date.  If it is a gap-fill STAR request, generally we will try four times (once per 16 days), so you might wish to specify a 64-day imaging season.  
We should not be shy about soliciting the coverage we need; we don't know how much longer ASTER will live, and you should assume that this is the last season (even though we hope it could last for several more years).  However, if we end up replicating the entire GLIMS STAR, I do not see that this would be given a special high priority, and it would probably not function as we wish.  A good target number might be to figure out how many 60x60 km scenes are needed to cover your entire region, and then specify total gap-fill that is around one-quarter of that; but if you have more gaps than that, let's get them covered.  If you have few or no gaps, you may wish to focus more on special targets.  If you are fully content with your ASTER imagery and things have been working out well, just save the quota for other people.
If you have special requirements, such as setting gains for rock targets, or you need a special season or illumination condition, or any other non-standard GLIMS imaging, let me know what it is that you're after.  But standard is easy, and easy is good.
I want to have something to submit in 2 weeks, if this is possible.  If it's not possible to respond, let me know when you can respond, and we'll try to make allowances.
Cheers,
Jeff Kargel    
Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 11:08:36 -0700
From: Michael.J.Abrams at jpl.nasa.gov
To: jeffreyskargel at hotmail.com
CC: dave.pieri at jpl.nasa.gov; leon.maldonado at jpl.nasa.gov; glims at flagmail.wr.usgs.gov
Subject: Re: STAR Committee and Geology WG presentations

Jeff,

How about sending Dave your Geology presentation to deliver, and send
me the STAR committee talk. I am in full support of your 3 suggested
increases to GLIMS outlined in your email. I am confident we can work
out a new STAR to accommodate them (or 2 or 3, as required). There is
no reason we shouldn't get important glacier data. The STAR committee
is a good place to go over this; please ask any GLIMS members to attend.

mike

Michael Abrams
ASTER Science Team Leader
Group Supervisor, Land Surface Processes
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Mail Stop 183-501
4800 Oak Grove Dr.
Pasadena, CA 91109
818-354-0937  FAX: 818-354-5148
michael.j.abrams at jpl.nasa.gov

Jeffrey Kargel wrote:

  Michael (and others),

  Gordon and Slawek have (thankfully) touched off a vigorous
discussion of GLIMS STARs, which was their intent.  My hope is that we
can get an increased quota of GLIMS imaging, possibly through a robust
DAR supplement for key glaciers: NOT to replace the GLIMS STARs but to
fill in (1) small gaps of no-ASTER-coverage-at-all (in lifetime of
ASTER), (2) some large gaps of high-quality (right gains, low snow,
good illumination) coverage, and (3) some further small areas of
special interest where we have had good coverage but still need more
due to special dynamics or ongoing field research projects; in total,
the gaps are substantial, and I hope filling them can be accommodated.
 We'll try to get a detailed plan organized before the ASTER meeting.
 I would like these to be implemented this summer, so we'll be ready to
rock n roll at the time of the ASTER meeting.

  I would send  you GLIMS presentations to present in my absence
about 2 days before the meeting, if that works, so we have about a week
to make some fast work.  

  So I'd like 15 minutes for a Geology talk and 15 minutes for a
STAR committee talk.  I'll make sure all slides are very
self-explanatory.  Slawek and Gordon and all GLIMS people involved in
the energetic discussion should know that they'll have a chance to see
the STAR presentation before it happens (if it is scheduled), and offer
edits, and they should also know that I am an advocate for polar as
well as nonpolar glacier/ice sheet imaging.  I want to get this right
for the whole glacier/ice sheet community.  Alpine glaciers are
important, and so are the ice sheets, for different but important
reasons.

  So far as Greenland specifically is concerned, if a separate
STAR is designed and implemented and doesn't take away from GLIMS, then
that's a good thing.  If it's channeled through the GLIMS STAR, then
that's a good thing, so long as it achieves what's needed and what's
also reasonable. The ASTER Mission Ops group knows that I have been
very sensitive and responsive to the overall ASTER needs, but this is
definitely a crucial time when we need a good ASTER senior-years set of
images, because we have NOTHING closely comparable coming up with other
satellites.  HySpIRI will be great, SPOT and IRS systems are great,
Landsat systems are great, radar systems are great, other systems will
be wonderful, but they do not offer the combined attributes of ASTER
VNIR/stereo/TIR.  And even where capabilities overlap, we need the
image archive (and that archive is being used).

  I will post comments on this discussion thread on a publicly
accessible site, and give a pointer to it once it's up, so respondents
can feel free to send only to me, with knowledge that their comments
will be posted.  (Or tell me if you want them to be confidential.) 

  --Jeff

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