Qatar - QEERI hosts Nasa's JPL team to discuss progress of climate focused joint initiative
Date
12/12/2021 2:17:39 AM
(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Doha: Qatar Environment and energy Research Institute (QEERI), part of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), hosted a high-level delegation from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (Nasa's) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California, USA.
The JPL delegation, led by James Graf, Director for the Earth Science and technology Directorate, attended the third Advisory Board meeting aimed at the governance of a climate-focused Earth Mission Concept Study — a joint initiative between Nasa and Qatar Foundation (QF). Under the Space Act Agreement signed in April 2020, Nasa and QF, represented by QEERI, are jointly formulating the Orbiting Arid Subsurface and Ice Sheet Sounder (OASIS) project, which would explore the impacts of climate change on Earth's hot deserts and ice sheets for the benefit of science and humanity.
The Advisory Board reviewed the study's progress and the necessary level of technical maturity that would allow for consideration by Nasa and QF to move from the current feasibility phase to the mission development phase next year. The OASIS mission seeks to advance the understanding of how ice sheets and deserts respond to climate change. Using a low frequency radar constellation of five satellites — the first of its kind — OASIS aims to achieve two primary science objectives. The first relates to the Antarctic, where OASIS will map the topography under the ice sheets which have a critical impact on the extent of global sea level rise. The findings will provide better projections of the range of sea-level rise and its effect on coastal regions, notably on low-lying arid areas such as Qatar and the entire Mena region. The second relates to the hyper-arid regions of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, where OASIS will measure deep soil moisture that is an indication of shallow water aquifers. Scientists at QEERI's Earth Science Programme are working with JPL and international universities to formulate the mission's concept using technical capabilities from other space missions, such as Nasa's Europa Clipper mission.
Dr. Essam Heggy, the OASIS Mission Concept Study's Principal Investigator, explains:“OASIS will help us prepare for a rapidly changing world. There is no time left to speculate on the gravities of the projections of sea-level rise and groundwater depletion, whether globally or regionally. Studies show that arid areas are at the forefront of these severe changes, and we desperately need observations to constrain these projections. OASIS is the tool we need, but we have several technical challenges ahead of us to make it work. This is a new endeavor that we have not tried before.”
MENAFN12122021000063011010ID1103345020
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.