[school-discuss] More on Global Warming, from http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/CALIPSO/

[mike eschman <meschman@engima.com>]

CALIPSO is scheduled to fly in formation with four other satellites 
that will collect a wide variety of coincident measurements. Each 
satellite in the formation offers unique information on clouds and 
aerosols. Combining their data will provide greater insight than could 
be gained from a single satellite. 

The Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua satellite, which is focused on 
understanding the Earth's water or hydrological cycle, will collect 
data on the geographical distribution of clouds and aerosols, atmospheric 
temperature, moisture content and the radiation balance at the top of the 
atmosphere. 

CloudSat, a sister ESSP satellite experiment, will use a radar to provide 
vertical profiles of thick clouds that lidar cannot penetrate. 

The EOS Aura satellite will monitor atmospheric chemistry and dynamics 
and will provide information on the geographic distribution of absorbing 
aerosols. 

Finally, the PARASOL (Polarization and Anisotropy of Reflectances for 
Atmospheric Science coupled with Observations from a Lidar) satellite, 
being developed by CNES, will provide unique information on aerosols 
and clouds using a multi-channel, wide field-of-view, polarization-
sensitive camera.

mike eschman, etc...
"Not just an Afterthought ...
http://www.etc-edu.com