G
Acronyms and Abbreviations
2D | two-dimensional |
3D | three-dimensional |
3D Winds | Three-Dimensional Tropospheric Winds from Space-based Lidar |
3MI | Multi-Viewing Multi-Channel Multi-Polarization |
3U | 3 Unit |
20CR | 20th Century Reanalysis |
AAAR | American Association for Aerosol Research |
AAAS | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
ABI | Advanced Baseline Imager |
ABS | Advanced Baseline Sounder |
ACS | American Chemical Society |
ACT-America | Atmospheric Carbon and Transport-America |
ADM | Atmospheric Dynamics Mission |
AERI | Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer |
AGU | American Geophysical Union |
AHI | Advanced Himawari Imagers |
AIAA | American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics |
AIM | Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere |
AirMOSS | Airborne Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (EVS-1 Mission) |
AIRS | Atmospheric Infrared Sounder |
ALOS | Advanced Land Observing Satellite |
AMDAR | Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay |
AMOC | Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation |
AMS | American Meteorological Society |
AMSR | Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer |
AMSU | Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit |
AMV | atmospheric motion vector |
ANN | artificial neural network |
AOD | aerosol optical depth |
ASAC | Applied Sciences Advisory Committee |
ASCAT | advanced scatterometer |
ASCENDS | Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons |
ASME | American Society of Mechanical Engineers |
ASO | Airborne Snow Observatory |
ASTER | Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer |
ATLAS | Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System |
ATMS | Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder |
A-Train | Afternoon Constellation |
AUV | autonomous underwater vehicle |
AVHRR | Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer |
AVIRIS | Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer |
BUV | Backscatter Ultraviolet (instrument on Nimbus-4) |
CALIOP | Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization |
CALIPSO | Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations |
CATE | Cost Assessment and Technical Evaluation |
CATS | Cloud-Aerosol Transport System |
CCSP | Climate Change Science Program |
CDC | Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention |
CDIP | Coastal Data Information Program |
CDOM | colored dissolved organic matter |
CDWP | California Department of Water Resources |
CeNCOOS | Central and Northern California Coastal Ocean Observing System |
CEOS | Committee on Earth Observing Satellites |
CERES | Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System |
CESAS | Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space |
CGMS | Committee for Meteorological Satellites |
CHAMP | Challenging Mini-satellite Payload |
CIPS | Cloud Imaging and Particle Size |
CIRA | Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere |
CIRAS | CubeSat Infrared Atmospheric Sounder |
CIRES | Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences |
CIRiS | Compact Infrared Radiometer in Space |
CLARREO | Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory |
CLIVAR | Climate Variability and Predictability |
CloudSat | satellite-based cloud experiment |
CMA | Chinese Meteorological Administration |
CNES | Centre National d’Études Spaciales |
CoCoRaHS | Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network |
CORAL | Coral Reef Airborne Laboratory |
COSMIC | Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate |
COSPAR | Committee on Space Research |
COSSEs | Climate Observing System Simulation Experiments |
CoSSIR | Conical Scanning Submillimeter-wave Imaging Radiometer |
COTS | commercial off-the-shelf |
COWVR | Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer |
CRADA | Cooperative Research and Development Agreement |
CrIS | Cross-track Infrared Sounder |
CRM | Cloud Resolving Model |
CSA | Canadian Space Agency |
CSUMB | California State University, Monterey Bay |
CubeRRT | CubeSat Radiometer Radio Frequency Interference Technology Validation |
CYGNSS | Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System-Earth Venture Mission |
DAAC | Distributed Active Archive Center |
DAS | Data Assimilation Systems |
DEMs | digital elevation models |
DESDynl | Deformation, Ecosystem Structure, and Dynamics of Ice |
DFO | Dartmouth Flood Observatory |
DIAL | differential absorption lidar |
DLR | German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt) |
DMSP | Defense Meteorological Satellite Program |
DOC | Department of Commerce; also dissolved organic carbon |
DOD | Department of Defense |
DOE | Department of Energy |
DPR | Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar |
DSM | digital surface model |
DU | Dobson Units |
EarthCARE | Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer |
EBV | essential biodiversity variable |
ECMWF | European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts |
ECOSTRESS | Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on the Space Station |
ECS | equilibrium climate sensitivity |
EEA | European Environmental Agency |
EEI | Earth’s Energy Imbalance |
EGSIEM | European Gravity Service for Improved Emergency Management |
EISWG | Environmental Information Services Working Group |
EMSA | European Maritime Safety Agency |
EnMAP | Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program |
ENSO | El Niño Southern Oscillation |
EO-1 | Earth Observing Mission-1 |
EOS | Earth Observing System |
EOSDIS | Earth Observing System Data and Information System |
EPA | Environmental Protection Agency |
EPS-SG | EUMETSAT Polar System-Second Generation |
ERC | European Research Council |
EROS | Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science |
ESA | European Space Agency |
ESAS | Earth Science and Applications from Space |
ESD | Earth Science Division |
ESM | Earth system models |
ESO | Earth Science Objective |
ESSA | Environmental Science Services Administration |
ESSP | Earth System Science Pathfinder |
ESTO | Earth Science Technology Office |
ET | evapotranspiration |
EUMETSAT | European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites |
EU SatCen | EU Satellite Center |
EUV | extreme ultraviolet |
EV | Earth Venture |
EV-I | Earth Venture-Instrument |
EV-M | Earth Venture Mission |
EV-S | Earth Venture Suborbital |
EXPORTS | Export Processes in the Ocean from Remote Sensing |
FAT | Fixed Anvil Temperature |
FCI | Flexible Combined Imager |
FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency |
FLEX | Fluorescence Explorer |
FY | fiscal year |
GACM | generalized additive model |
GCM | global climate model |
GCOM-W1, -W2 | Global Change Observation Mission-Water |
GCOS | Global Climate Observing System |
GDACS | Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System |
GEDI | Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation |
GEO | Group on Earth Observations; also geostationary Earth orbit |
GEO-CAPE | Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events (mission) |
GeoCARB | Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory |
GEOS-5 | Goddard Earth Observation System Version Five |
GEOSCCM | Goddard chemistry climate model |
GEWEX | Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment |
GFDL | Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory |
GFMS | Global Flood Monitoring System |
GFS | Global Forecast System |
GGOS | Global Geodetic Observing System |
GHG | greenhouse gas |
GHIS | Geostationary High-resolution Interferometer Sounder |
GIC | glaciers and ice caps |
GIFTS | Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transfer System |
GIIRS | Geosynchronous Interferometric Infrared Sounder |
GIS | Geographic Information Systems |
GLAS | Geoscience Laser Altimeter System |
GLDAS | Global Land Data Assimilation System |
GLISTIN | Glacier and Land Ice Surface Topography Interferometer |
GLONASS | Global Navigation Satellite System |
GMAO | Global Modeling and Assimilation Office |
GMES | Global Monitoring for Environmental Security |
GMSL | global mean sea level |
GNSS | Global Navigation Satellite System |
GNSS RO | Global Navigation Satellite System Radio Occultation |
GOCE | European Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer |
GOES | Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite |
GOES-R | Geostationary Orbit Environmental Satellite-R Series |
GOSAT | Greenhouse Gas Observing Satellite |
GPM | Global Precipitation Measurement |
GPP | gross primary productivity |
GPS | Global Positioning System |
GPSRO | Global Positioning System Radio Occultation |
GRACE | Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment |
GRACE-FO | Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment-Follow On |
GSD | ground sample distance |
GSFC | Goddard Space Flight Center |
GSICS | Global Space-Based Intercalibration System |
GTS | Global Telecommunications System |
G-WADI | Water and Development Information for Arid Lands—A Global Network |
GWP | global warming potential |
HAB | harmful algal blooms |
HAQAST | Health and Air Quality Applied Sciences Team |
HECC | High-end Computing Capability |
HES | Hyperspectral Environmental Suite |
HHWP | Hetchy Hetchy Water and Power |
HICO | Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean |
HIRDLS | High-resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder |
HISUI | Hyperspectral Imager Suite |
HMA | High Mountain Asia |
HSRL | High Spectral Resolution LiDAR |
HyspIRI | Hyperspectral Infrared Imager |
IAA | International Academy of Astronauts |
IAGOS | In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System |
IASI | Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer |
ICESat | Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite |
ICESat-1 | Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-1 |
ICESat-2 | Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 |
ICI | Ice Cloud Imager |
IESA | Integrated Earth System Analysis |
IMERG | Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for GPM |
InSAR | Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar |
InVEST | In-Space Validation of Earth Science Technologies |
IOCCG | International Ocean Colour Coordinating Group |
IOOS | Integrated Ocean Observing System |
IPCC | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |
IR | infrared |
IRS | infrared sounder |
ISRO | Indian Space Research Organization |
ISS | International Space Station |
ITRF | International Terrestrial Reference Frame |
IWG | International Working Group |
IWG-SEM | International Working Group on Satellite-based Emergency Mapping |
IWP | ice water path |
Jason-1 | Joint Altimetry Satellite Oceanography Network |
JAXA | Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency |
JCSDA | Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation |
JMA | Japanese Meteorological Agency |
JPL | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
JPSS | Joint Polar Satellite System |
JRC | Joint Research Center |
LAD | leaf area density |
LAI | leaf area index |
LEO | low Earth orbit |
LHASA | Landslide Hazard Assessment Model for Situational Awareness |
lidar | light detection and ranging |
LIO | Low-Inclination Orbiter |
LIS | Land Information System |
LIST | Lidar Surface Topography |
LMR | living marine resource |
LST | land-surface temperature |
MAGI | Mineral and Gas Identifier |
MAIA | Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (Earth Venture Instrument) |
MAPP | Modeling, Analysis, Predictions and Projections |
MBARI | Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute |
MDSC | mineral dust source composition |
MEA | Millennium Ecosystem Assessment |
MERIS | medium-spectral resolution imaging spectrometer |
MERLIN | Methane Remote Sensing Lidar Mission |
MERRA | Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications |
MetOp | Meteorological Operational Satellite Program |
MHS | Microwave Humidity Sounder |
MIDEX | Medium Class Explorer |
MIPAS | Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding |
MISR | Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer |
MJO | Madden-Julian Oscillation |
MLS | Microwave Limb Sounder |
MODIS | Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer |
MOPITT | Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere |
MPAS | Model for Prediction Across Scales |
MRI | Magnetic Resonance Imaging |
MRLI | Moderate-Resolution Land Imagery |
MRV | measurement, reporting, and verification |
MTG-3 | Meteosat Third Generation |
MTPE | Mission to Planet Earth |
NAO | North Atlantic Oscillation |
NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
NCA | National Climate Assessment |
NCEI | National Centers for Environmental Information |
NDFD | National Forecast Database |
NDVI | Normalized Difference Vegetation Index |
NED | National Elevation Dataset |
NEP | Net Ecosystem Productivity |
NESDIS | National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service |
NEWS | NASA Energy and Water System |
NFMS | national forest monitoring and measurement system |
NGA | National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency |
NGGPS | Next-Generation Global Prediction System |
NICAM | Nonhydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model |
NIDIS | National Integrated Drought Information System |
NIH | National Institutes of Health |
NIR | near infrared |
NISAR | NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar |
NLDAS | North American Land Data Assimilation System |
NMME | North America Multi-Model Ensemble |
NOAA | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
NOPP | National Ocean Partnership Program |
NPOESS | National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System |
NPP | Net Primary Production |
NRC | National Research Council |
NSF | National Science Foundation |
NWP | numerical weather prediction |
NWPS | Nearshore Wave Prediction System |
NWS | National Weather Service |
OCO | Orbiting Carbon Observatory |
OCO-2 | Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 |
OCO-3 | Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 |
OCR | Ocean Color Radiometry |
ODS | ozone-depleting substance |
OIB | Operation IceBridge |
OLI | Operational Land Imager |
OMB | Office of Management and Budget |
OMI | Ozone Monitoring Instrument |
OMPS | Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite |
ONR | Office of Naval Research |
OSAAP | Office of Systems Architecture and Advanced Planning |
OSB | Ocean Studies Board |
OSE | Observing System Experiment |
OSIP | Operational Satellite Improvement Program |
OSSE | Observing System Simulation Experiment |
PACE | Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem |
PBL (height) | planetary boundary layer |
PDO | Pacific Decadal Oscillation |
PGC | Polar Geospatial Center |
PI | principle investigator |
PIA | Path Integrated Attentuation |
PM | particulate matter |
PNNL | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory |
POES | Polar Operational Environmental Satellites |
POR | Program of Record |
PRISMA | Precursore Iperspettrale della Missione Applicativa |
QFF | Quantitative Flood Forecasts |
QPE | quantitative precipitation estimates |
QPF | Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts |
QuickSCAT | Quick Scatterometer |
R&A | research and analysis |
RapidScat | International Space Station Rapid Scatterometer, or ISS-RapidScat |
RBI | Radiation Budget Instrument |
RCP | Representative Concentration Pathway |
RF | radiative forcing |
RFI | request for information |
RMS | root mean square |
RO | radio occultation |
ROSES | Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences |
RY | real year |
S2D | season-to-decadal |
S2S | subseasonal-to-seasonal |
SABOR | Ship-Aircraft Bio-optical Research |
SAC | Scientific Application Satellite-C |
SAR | Synthetic Aperture Radar |
SATM | Science and Applications Traceability Matrix |
SCA | snow-covered area |
SCAR | Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research |
Scattsat-1 | Scatterometer Satellite-1 |
SCCOOS | Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System |
SCIAMACHY | Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography |
SCLP | Snow and Cold Land Processes |
SeaWiFS | Sea-viewing Wide Field of View Sensor |
SI | seasonal-interannual variability |
SIF | solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence |
SIPN | Sea Ice Prediction Network |
SLI | Sustainable Land Imaging |
SLR | Satellite Laser Ranging |
SMAP | Soil Moisture Active-Passive |
SMMR | Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer |
SMOS | Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity |
SNODAS | Snow Data Assimilation System |
S-NPP | Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership |
SNR | signal-to-noise ratio |
SNWG | Satellite Needs Working Group |
SORCE | Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment |
SOT | statement of task |
SPRWG | Space Platform Requirements Working Group |
SRTM | Shuttle Radar Topography Mission |
SSEC | Space Science Engineering Center |
SSG | Science Steering Group |
SSH | sea-surface height |
SSMI | Special Sensor Microwave Imager |
SSO | semisynchronous orbit |
SSS | sea-surface salinity |
SST | sea-surface temperature |
STAR | Center for Satellite Applications and Research |
STC | Science and Technology Centers |
SURFRAD | Surface Radiation Budget Network |
SWAT | Soil Water Assessment Tool |
SWCRE | shortwave cloud radiative effect |
SW CRF | shortwave cloud radiative forcing |
SWE | snow water equivalent |
SWH | significant wave height |
SWIR | shortwave infrared |
SWOT | Surface Water and Ocean Topography |
TanDEM-X | TerraSAR-X Add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement |
TC | tropical cyclone |
TCAT | Technical Capability Assessment Team |
TCCON | Total Carbon Column Observing Network |
TCR | transient climate response |
TDS | total dissolved solids |
TEMPEST | Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems |
TEMPO | Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution |
TES | Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer |
THEMIS | Thermal Emission Imaging System |
THORPEX | The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment |
TIR | thermal infrared |
TIR | Thermal Infrared Radiometer |
TIROS | Television Infrared Observation Satellite Program |
TIRS | Thermal Infrared Sensor |
TMI | TRMM Microwave Imager |
TOA | top of atmosphere |
TOMS | Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer |
TOPEX | Ocean Topography Experiment |
TRL | Technology Readiness Level |
TRMM | Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission |
TROPICS | Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats |
TSI | Total Solar Irradiance |
UAVSAR | Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar |
UCAR | University Corporation for Atmospheric Research |
USAID | U.S. Agency for International Development |
USCRN | U.S. Climate Reference Network |
USDA | U.S. Department of Agriculture |
USDM | U.S. Drought Monitor |
USGCRP | U.S. Global Change Research Program |
USGEO | U.S. Group on Earth Observations |
USGS | U.S. Geological Survey |
UT/LS | upper troposphere and lower stratosphere |
UTS | upper troposphere and stratosophere |
UV | ultraviolet |
VAS | VISSR Atmospheric Sounder |
VCL | Vegetation Canopy Lidar |
VHF | very high frequency |
VIC | Variable Infiltration Capacity |
VIIRS | Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite |
VIS | visible |
VIS/IR | visible/infrared measurements |
VISSR | Visible and Infrared Spin-Scan Radiometer |
VLBI | Very Long Baseline Interferometry |
VLM | vertical land motion |
VNIR | visible/near infrared |
VOC | volatile organic chemical |
VOI | value of information |
VPD | vapor pressure deficit |
VSWIR | visible to shortwave infrared |
WCRP | World Climate Research Programme |
WE2ST | Center for a Sustainable Water-Energy Education Science and Technology |
WHOI | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |
WMO | World Meteorological Organization |
WSF | Weather System Follow-on |
WWRP | World Weather Research Program |
XOVWM | Extended Ocean Vector Winds Mission |
YOTC | Year of Tropical Convection |