Task 1: Disk-Averaged Spectra

We will generate spatially-resolved high-resolution synthetic spectra with existing radiative transfer models the best available constraints on the terrestrial environment from the UV to the far-IR, for a range of surface and climate conditions. We will then create global averages which will be analyzed with the instrument simulators used as validation for models developed in subsequent tasks Results for Venus, Mars and Titan will serve as abiotic controls.

Provides a systematic exploration of the extent to which spatial integration over the disk reduces the detectability and/or sensitivity to physical, chemical and biological information the effect of observing geometry or season on the interpretation of spectral signatures the detectability of biosignatures in the disk-averaged spectrum of the Earth's atmosphere (atmosphere and surface) the effect of clouds on the detectability of biosignatures

Q:What does Earth look like beyond the range of current satellite data? What effect does viewing geometry have on our understanding of planetary characteristics? How detectable are disk-averaged biosignatures?

Task 1 Highlights to Date: Research highlights for this year include completion of the Mars and Earth models, and the production and analysis of disk-averaged 0.1 to 160 micron spectra, light-curves, spectral variability as a function of viewing angle and season, and simulations of an increasingly frozen Mars, and an increasingly cloudy/forested/oceanic Earth.

Task 1 Results