NASA Earth Observing System Simulator Suite (NEOS3): A Forward Simulation Framework for Observing System Simulation Experiments

Abstract:

Future Earth observation missions will produce a large volume of interrelated data sets that will help us to cross-calibrate and validate spaceborne sensor measurements. A forward simulator is a crucial tool for examining the quality of individual products as well as resolving discrepancy among related data sets. NASA Earth Observing System Simulator Suite (NEOS³) is a highly customizable forward simulation tool for Earth remote sensing instruments. Its three-stage simulation process converts the 3D geophysical description of the scene being observed to corresponding electromagnetic emission and scattering signatures, and finally to observable parameters as reported by a (passive or active) remote sensing instrument. User-configurable options include selection of models for describing geophysical properties of atmospheric particles and their effects on the signal of interest, selection of wave scattering and propagation models, and activation of simplifying assumptions (trading between computation time and solution accuracy).

The next generation of NEOS³, to be released in 2015, will feature additional state-of-the-art electromagnetic scattering models for various types of the Earth’s surfaces and ground covers (e.g. layered snowpack, forest, vegetated soil, and sea ice) tailored specifically for missions like GPM and SMAP. To be included in 2015 is dedicated functionalities and interface that facilitate integrating NEOS³ into Observing System Simulation Experiment (OSSE) environments. This new generation of NEOS³ can also utilize high performance computing resources (parallel processing and cloud computing) and can be scaled to handle large or computation intensive problems.

This presentation will highlight some notable features of NEOS³. Demonstration of its applications for evaluating new mission concepts, especially in the context of OSSE frameworks will also be presented.