We hope you will join us for our final talk of the year, a virtual seminar by Dr. Solomon Bililign, Professor, Department of Physics, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCA&T). His talk is titled "Characterizing the Optical and Chemical Properties of Aerosols Derived from Sub-Saharan African Biomass Fuels: Laboratory and Field Studies."

Date and Time: Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 11:00am EST

Join us via Teams.  

"Wildfires are increasingly frequent and intense. African fires account for over 50% of worldwide biomass burning (BB)-derived organic emissions and sub-Saharan Africa is a hotspot for BB-derived carbonaceous aerosols, including light-absorbing organic (brown) carbon (BrC). These aerosols play a significant, yet uncertain, role in modulating the Earth’s radiation balance. However, accurately representing their optical properties in climate models remains challenging due to factors such as particle size, mixing state, combustion type, chemical composition, aging processes, and relative humidity (RH). Furthermore, the chemically complex nature of BrC in BB aerosols from this region is not fully understood.

Over the last five years, in collaboration with the UNC-CH (Chapel Hill) team, we used the NCAT facility (tube furnace, smog chamber, etc.) to generate smoke through smoldering combustion of common sub-Saharan African biomass fuels (hardwoods, cow dung, savanna grass, and leaves), collected filter samples from the region, and used the UNC biomarker facility and labs for chemical characterization to investigate: (1) key optical parameters accounting for variations in wavelength, fuel type, RH, and photochemical aging conditions; (2) molecular tracers of BB-derived organic aerosols in fresh versus photochemically aged BB emissions representative of African fires; (3) molecular-level absorbance and chemical composition of filter-collected BB aerosols; (4) compositionally-resolved mass concentration and production of primary and secondary organic aerosols; and, (5) chemically characterized primary water-soluble organic gas emissions from laboratory burns using mist chamber samplers to mimic cloud water and characterized their decompositions in cloud water mimics upon aqueous-phase photochemical oxidation.

We present the main results of these studies and their atmospheric relevance and implications to global atmospheric composition."

For more information on the GESTAR II Seminar Series, click here.

Dr. Ahn's paper and the Eos Spotlight both focus on the data from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) mission onboard the ISS that convey carbon dioxide emissions over certain geographic locations. Whereas certain cities' leaders used a "bottom-up approach" to acquire data, the team used a "top-down approach" to study emissions from urban areas, in particular 54 C40 cities. Additionally, "the team also examined the link between emissions, economies, and populations." Read more in both articles to discover how the satellite data and these different approaches can inform policymakers.

("The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40 Cities) is a network of 97 cities representing 20% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and working collaboratively to influence global climate policy and reduce urban GHG emissions. Most C40 cities have pledged to reach net zero emissions by 2050." A timely note: the C40 World Mayors Summit 2025 will be held next week, November 3-5, 2025, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.)

On Tuesday, August 26, 2025, two of our 2025 Visiting Fellows gave virtual presentations on the research projects they conducted with their mentors; additionally, a UMBC student who recently defended his doctoral thesis presented his research. Then, on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, our third 2025 Visiting Fellow presented on her research, during the GESTAR II GRA Seminar Series – Fall 2025, held in the Physics Building at UMBC and hosted by Dr. Zhibo Zhang, Physics Professor and GESTAR II Senior Research Scientist. 

Congratulations to all on your hard work this year!

Title: “Flood Extent and Water Level Estimation from SAR with Data-Model Integration”

Joshua Mallay, Pennsylvania State University

Mentors:  Mr. Thomas Eck (618/UMBC) and Dr. Pawan Gupta (618/GSFC)

Title: “Impacts of Aerosol Types on Cloud and Precipitation Formation” 

Jennifer McGinnis, Colorado State University

Mentor: Dr. Rob Levy (GSFC/613) 

Title: “Evaluating the Frequency, Size, and Duration of Dust Storms in the United States Using Satellite and Surface Data”

Kamal Aryal, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Advisor: Dr. Pengwang Zhai (Physics/UMBC)

Title: “Development of an efficient and accurate atmospheric correction algorithm for hyperspectral radiometer based on co-located multiangle polarimeter measurements”.

Join us for a virtual seminar by Dr. Assaf Anyamba, GESTAR II Senior Research Scientist, UMBC/610. His talk is titled "Global ENSO Teleconnections and Vector-borne Disease Outbreak Patterns."

Date and Time: Tuesday, October 28, 2025 at 1:00pm EST

Join us via Teams.  

"Over the last ~40 years, the proliferation and availability of satellite derived time series measurements of the biosphere and atmosphere have made it possible to apply these data to the study of ecologically coupled vector-borne diseases. This has been possible because the seasonality and interannual variability of variables such as rainfall, temperature, vegetation index, etc., define the phenological cycles of disease vectors such as mosquitoes, rodents, and agricultural pests (e.g., locusts). The boom and bust of particular diseases will often occur in tandem with persistent departures of rainfall, temperature, and vegetation land surface conditions creating conditions for the increase or decrease in the populations of disease vectors. We are applying a variety of NASA Earth Observations, model products and to map and predict regions of likely outbreaks of various diseases such as Rift Valley fever, chikungunya, dengue, etc. Such information is of importance for early warning in order to prevent, control, and reduce the impact of such disease threats of public health significance. This presentation will provide a global view of how the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) - a natural climate pattern characterized by periodic fluctuations in sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean impacting global weather and climate patterns - has downstream consequences for various vector-borne disease outbreak patterns. In addition, I will provide a detailed case study of how ENSO teleconnection patterns influence outbreaks of Rift Valley fever and how we have exploited satellite derived climate data sets to design and build models to provide early warning in formation to various stakeholders."

Biography:
Dr. Assaf Anyamba is a Senior Research Scientist with Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research II (GESTAR II), University of Maryland, Baltimore County and with Applied Sciences, Earth Science Division, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. His research interests are represented across ~100 interdisciplinary publications focusing on the extraction of interannual climate variability signals associated with El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) from satellite land surface measurements, drought pattern analysis and early warning, and the applications of satellite data to global agricultural monitoring and ecologically coupled vector-borne diseases.

His research and applications have supported operational programs of various federal government agencies, including the Department of Defense – Defense Health Agency-Global Emerging Infections Surveillance, the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA Agricultural Research Service - Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Food and Drug Administration, and others. He has been involved in various cross-cutting forums, including National Academy of Sciences/National Academy of Medicine (NAM): Vector-borne Diseases, Human Health and Climate Change, The Brookings Institution and The Rockefeller Foundation 17 Rooms Initiative on Transforming National and Global Epidemic Intelligence Systems, World Organization for Animal Health/ Office International des Epizooties (WOAH), World Health Organization (WHO) - Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) on Rift Valley fever, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) - Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES), and others.

In addition, Dr. Anyamba's work has been featured in various media outlets, including National Public Radio's (NPR) Morning Edition and Science Friday, British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) Science in Action, and Voice of America (VoA), and in the Netflix documentary Connected: Clouds, The Hidden Science of Everything, as well as in print. He currently serves on the editorial board of the AGU GeoHealth Journal. He has a B.A. (Geography and Economics, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya), M.A. (Geography, Ohio University, Athens, OH), and Ph.D. (Geography, Clark University, Worcester, MA).

For more information on the GESTAR II Seminar Series, click here.

On Monday, September 29th, the 2025 Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Geophysics (HBG) Annual Peer Awards ceremony was held at NASA GSFC's Building 33, Room H114. The following GESTAR II researchers were among the many HBG awardees at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center:

Stacey Huang (61A/UMBC)

Ivona Cetinić (616/MSU)

Fadji Maina (617/UMBC)

Junhyeon Seo (618/MSU)

Landslides Team: Thomas Stanley (Team Lead), Pukar Amatya, Robert Emberson, Jessica Sutton (All 617/UMBC)

Kyle Gwirtz (61A/UMBC)

James Allen (616/MSU)

Inia Soto Ramos (616/MSU)

Dirk Aurin (616/MSU)

Sujan Neupane (618/UMBC)

Help Hub Team: Ian Carroll (616/UMBC), Sean Foley (616/MSU), James Allen (616/MSU)

Congratulations to all!

Join us for a virtual seminar by Dr. Stephanie Shaw, Senior Technical Executive, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). Her talk is titled "Air Quality Aspects of the Electric Power Industry: Emerging Research Directions in the Energy Transition."

Date and Time: Tuesday, September 23, 2025 at 1:00pm EST

Join us via Teams.  

"Dr. Stephanie Shaw will provide an overview of recent research and development activities ongoing at EPRI, with focus on emerging activities characterizing technologies and applications in the electric power industry as it undergoes the energy transition. The topical focus will be on air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions from point and fugitive sources, air quality modeling, and associated implications for public health and safety. The technologies highlighted will include carbon capture, methane, hydrogen, and battery energy storage systems."

Biography:
Dr. Stephanie Shaw develops strategic research directions and manages a portfolio covering the environmental impacts of fossil fuel technologies, energy storage and renewable generation, deep decarbonization strategies and emerging energy technologies. This covers air, water, and health impacts; life cycle assessment; and sustainability. Dr. Shaw created EPRI’s Methane Characterization program, Environmental Aspects of Energy Storage program, and the Circular Economy for Clean Energy Technology Interest Group. Previously, she led the Safety and Environmental Issues committee in the Low-Carbon Resources Initiative. Dr. Shaw was Senior Health Scientist at ChemRisk, Inc. and a NOAA Climate and Global Change post-doctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Shaw received a B.S. in chemical engineering and a Ph.D. in atmospheric chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

For more information on the GESTAR II Seminar Series, click here.

Knowland, K. E., P. A. Wales (610.1/MSU), K. Wargan, B. Weir (610.1/MSU), S. Pawson, R. Damadeo, and D. Flittner (2025), “Stratospheric water vapor beyond NASA’s Aura MLS: Assimilating SAGE III/ISS profiles for a continued climate record,” Geophys. Res. Lett., https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL112610. 

Kolassa, K., M. Ganeshan (613/MSU), E. L McGrath-Spangler (610.1/MSU), O. Reale, R. Reichle, and S. Q. Zhang (2025), “Impact of assimilating SMAP observations over land on tropical cyclone representation: A case study of Tropical Cyclone Idai,” Quart. Jnl. Royal Meteoro. Soc., https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.5018. 

Seo, J. (618/MSU), A. Sayeed, S. Park (618/MSU), J. Kerekes, S. M. Christel, M. T. Tran, and P. Gupta (2025), “PM2.5 forecasting at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide using NASA model powered by machine learning,” Earth Space Sci., 12, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EA004210.

Wang, Y., M. Schoeberl, and G. Taha (614/MSU) (2025), "Using OMPS-LP color ratio to extract stratospheric aerosol particle radius and estimate its uncertainty," Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, 345, 109560, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2025.109560. 

Yang, Y. (613), S. Bhatta (613/MSU), and A. Delgado-Bonal (613/UMBC) (2025), "Decadal

observations of global daytime cloud properties from DSCOVR–EPIC," Front. Remote Sens.,

https://doi.org/10.3389/frsen.2025.1632157.

The Earth Observatory Image of the Day for August 25, 2025, "A Sea Aswirl With Chlorophyll," provides a look at "PACE’s Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), which extends a decades-long record of chlorophyll-a measurements in ocean surface waters." In particular, "the images of the southern Norwegian Sea were created using observations made by PACE’s OCI on July 12, 2025." Ivona Cetinić (616/MSU) provides insight on the chlorophyll data and what the images are actually telling us about the marine environment. 

From the GESTAR II Open House event in mid-July, we present select photos from the day. Thanks for perusing! 

(Note, Event invitation designed by Dominique Footes, SURA.)

Dr. Dan Laughlin, Morgan; Dr. Karl Steiner, UMBC; 

Dr. Dalia Kirschbaum, NASA GSFC; Dr. Charles Ichoku, UMBC.

Dr. Kirschbaum addresses attendees at the Open House.

Carolyn Wilson, SURA; Margo Young, ESRA/UMBC; 

Dr. Laughlin, Dr. Steiner, and Dr. Ichoku.

Eun-Gyeong Yang (610.1/UMBC) discussing her poster with attendees.

Caterina Mogno (614/UMBC).

Dr. Nick Krotkov (NASA/GSFC) and Inia Soto Ramos (616/MSU) with a poster by Ocean Ecology Lab members.

Thomas Stanley (617/UMBC) discusses his poster with 

Dr. Policelli (NASA GSFC).

2025 Visiting Fellow Saameeriny Kalapala (ASU).

Allie Collow (610.1/UMBC), Pamela Wales (610.1/UMBC), and Emma Knowland (NASA HQ).

Amin Dezfuli (610.1/UMBC) and Ali Tokay (612/UMBC). 

Jasper Lewis (612/UMBC).

Jude Salinas (613/UMBC) presents his research to Dr. Steiner.

On Wednesday, July 16, 2025, GESTAR II held its annual Open House event at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, in Building 33, Room H114, to acknowledge several highlights of its fourth year. We were grateful that Dr. Dalia Kirschbaum, Director of the Earth Sciences Division at NASA GSFC, could attend and speak with the audience about the importance of Earth Sciences and support for the research being conducted. The event also included encouraging remarks from Dr. Karl Steiner, UMBC, Vice President for the Division of Research & Creative Achievement; Dr. Charles Ichoku, UMBC, Director of GESTAR II, expressed his appreciation for the hard work and dedication of all GESTAR II researchers and personnel.

GESTAR II members displayed their posters to share research discoveries along with results, some of which invite further exploration. We thank those who shared their posters with us at this event, which civil servants, visiting fellows, colleagues, and student interns also attended. Thank you also to our volunteers and staff for helping with setting up and providing refreshments and light fare, in particular, Domonique Footes (SURA) and Camilla Hyman-Waters (UMBC).

We'd like to recognize the following researchers for contributing to the Open House:

Doyeon Ahn (614/UMBC)

Virginia Buchard (610.1/UMBC)

Allison Collow (610.1/UMBC)

Amin Dezfuli (610.1/UMBC)

Ivona Cetinic (616/Morgan)

Fred Huemmrich (618/UMBC)

Magda Kuzmicz-Cieslak (61A/UMBC)

Jae Lee (613/UMBC)

Jasper Lewis (612/UMBC)

Siobhan Light (619/SURA)

Tesfa Meshesha (616/UMBC)

Caterina Mogno (614/UMBC)

Jude Salinas (613/UMBC)

Viral Shah (610.1/Morgan)

Inia Soto Ramos (616/Morgan)

Thomas Stanley (617/UMBC)

Sarah Strode (614/Morgan)

Pamela Wales (610.1/Morgan)

Eun-Gyeong Yang (610.1/UMBC)

Visit our Open House photo gallery!