78
February 2016
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING
& REMOTE SENSING
J
ournal
S
taff
Publisher Dr. Michael Hauck
Editor Russell G. Congalton
Technical Editor Michael S. Renslow
Assistant Editor Jie Shan
Assistant Director — Publications Rae Kelley
Electronic Publications Manager/Graphic Artist Matthew Austin
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
is the official journal
of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. It is
devoted to the exchange of ideas and information about the applications of
photogrammetry, remote sensing, and geographic information systems. The
technical activities of the Society are conducted through the following Technical
Divisions: Geographic Information Systems, Photogrammetric Applications,
Lidar, Primary Data Acquisition, Professional Practice, and Remote Sensing
Applications. Additional information on the functioning of the Technical
Divisions and the Society can be found in the Yearbook issue of
PE&RS
.
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20 years ago a NASA press release announced, “El Nino is Back and Strong. According
to NASA, the five years of global ocean topography observations made by TOPEX/Po-
seidon have been a boon for El Nino researchers, who have been able to track three El
Nino events since the satellite’s launch in August 1992.”
Fast forward to January 17, 2016, Jason-3, a U.S.-European satellite mission, lifted
off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California today at 10:42 a.m. PST aboard a
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, to become the latest spacecraft to track the rate of global
sea-level rise. Jason-3 will also help NOAA’s National Weather Service more accurately
forecast the strength of tropical cyclones that threaten America’s coasts.
Jason-3 continues the legacy of the Topex/Poseidon and earlier Jason satellites.
According to Stephen Volz, Ph.D., assistant administrator for NOAA’s Satellite and In-
formation Service, “Jason-3 will tell us about the heat of the ocean, vital data if a
tropical storm or hurricane is tracking into that location. Having up-to-date sea surface
temperatures will help NOAA forecasters better determine if a storm may intensify.”
“Jason-3 is a prime example of how our nation leverages NASA expertise in space
and scientific exploration to help address critical global challenges in collaboration with
NOAA and our international partners,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for
science at NASA Headquarters.
Coordinating orbits and combining measurements from Jason-2 and Jason-3 should
allow even more frequent coverage of the global oceans. Together, the two spacecraft
will double global data coverage. This tandem mission will improve our knowledge of
tides in coastal and shallow seas and internal tides in the open ocean, while improving
our understanding of ocean currents and eddies.
Measurements of sea-surface height, or ocean-surface topography, reveal the speed
and direction of ocean currents and tell scientists how much of the sun’s energy is
stored by the ocean. Combining ocean current and heat storage data is key to under-
standing global climate changes.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen at Vandenberg Air Force Base Space Launch Com-
plex 4 East with the Jason-3 spacecraft onboard, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, in Califor-
nia. Jason-3, an international mission led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), will help continue U.S.-European satellite measurements of
global ocean height changes. Jason-3 was successfully launched the next day. Credits:
NASA/Bill Ingalls
A side by side comparisons of Pacific Ocean sea surface height (SSH) anomalies of
what is presently happening in 2015 with the Pacific Ocean signal during the famous
1997 El Niño. Data are from the TOPEX/Poseidon (1997) and the successor OSTM/
Jason-2 (2015) satellites. Credits: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
