Satellite Analysis of Gulf Coast Atmospheric Moisture and Tropospheric Aerosols

The identification of moisture and aerosol distributions, sources and sinks, and variations as characterized through the use of data available from various remote sensing platforms will be performed for the Gulf of Mexico region. These will provide information as to the character and distribution of atmospheric moisture and tropospheric aerosols according to seasonal and daily variations and as a function of prevailing synoptic weather conditions. Upon quantification of these an assessment of radiant and moisture fluxes critical to coastal zone processes, such as vegetative response and operational forecasting, can be considered with regard to atmospheric correction. The nature of land/sea/atmosphere interactions, and the role of aerosol and moisture distributions, will also be considered through application of a mesoscale model (MM5) while select ground measurements will be compared with remotely sensed data for specific atmospheric and weather conditions. Each of these is expected to provide for operational products development and real-time forecasting applications.