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 AIRS Atmospheric Science: People
Brian  Kahn's Picture
Address:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
M/S 169-237
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109
Phone:
818.393.0676
Fax:
818.393.4619
Email:
Curriculum Vitae:

Brian Kahn

Dr. Brian Kahn is a Staff Scientist working most closely with the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) group. His research interests focus on the remote sensing of clouds, temperature, and water vapor, and their synthesis with multiple satellite instrument platforms to understand cloud-related processes. These data are then applied to scientific problems regarding the observation and modeling of present and future climate at a range of spatial and temporal scales.


Education
  • Ph.D, Atmospheric Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (DAOS) (2004)
  • M.S., Atmospheric Sciences, UCLA DAOS (2001)
  • B.S. (with honors), Meteorology, San Jose State University (SJSU) (1995)

Projects

AIRS Icon AIRS
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, AIRS, is an instrument whose goal is to support climate research and improved weather forecasting.

JIFRESSE Icon JIFRESSE
JIFRESSE is a scientific collaboration between UCLA and JPL to improve understanding and to develop future projections about global climate change for the Southwest US, particularly California.

CloudSat Icon CloudSat
CloudSat is an experimental satellite that will use radar to study clouds and precipitation from space. CloudSat will fly in orbital formation as part of the A-Train constellation of satellites (Aqua, CloudSat, CALIPSO, PARASOL, and Aura).


Professional Experience
  • Staff Scientist, JPL (2009-Present)
  • Assistant Researcher IV (2008) and Visiting Researcher, JIFRESSE/UCLA (2007; 2009-)
  • NASA Post-doctoral Program (NPP) Fellow (2005-2008)
  • Academic Part-Time Researcher, AIRS Science Integration Team (2003-2005)
  • Graduate Research Assistant to Dr. Annmarie Eldering (2000-2004)
  • Teaching Fellow, Air Pollution and the Atmospheric Environment, UCLA (1999-2002)
  • On-Air Personality for Pulse of This Planet, KKUP, 91.5 FM, Cupertino, CA (1998-2004)
  • Lab Instructor, Introduction to Physics, SJSU (1997-1999)
  • Lecturer, Introduction to Weather and Climate, SJSU (1997-1999)
  • Exchange Student, Urals State University, Ekaterinburg, Russia (1996-1997)
  • Internship (Programmer), NWSFO Anchorage, Alaska (Summers of 1994 and 1995)

Selected Awards
  • NPP Fellowship Award (2005-2008)
  • NASA Earth Systems Science (ESS) Fellowship (2001-2004)
  • Neiburger Teaching Award (2000) and Brian Bosart Award, UCLA DAOS (2001)
  • Scholarship to attend Urals State University, Ekaterinburg, Russia (1996-1997)

Selected Publications
  1. Kahn, B. H., S. L. Nasiri, M. M. Schreier, and B. A. Baum (2011), Impacts of sub-pixel cloud heterogeneity on infrared thermodynamic phase assessment, J. Geophys. Res., 116, D20201, doi:10.1029/2011JD015774.
  2. Yue, Q., B. H. Kahn, E. J. Fetzer, and J. Teixeira (2011), Relationship between oceanic boundary layer clouds and lower tropospheric stability observed by AIRS, CloudSat, and CALIOP, J. Geophys. Res., 116, D18212, doi:10.1029/2011JD016136.
  3. Kahn, B. H., J. Teixeira, E. J. Fetzer, A. Gettelman, S. M. Hristova-Veleva, X. Huang, A. K. Kochanski, M. Köhler, S. K. Krueger, R. Wood, and M. Zhao (2011), Temperature and water vapor variance scaling in global models: Comparisons to satellite and aircraft data, J. Atmos. Sci., 68, 2156-2168, doi:10.1175/2011JAS3737.1.
  4. Nasiri, S. L., V. T. Dang, B. H. Kahn, E. J. Fetzer, E. M. Manning, M. M. Schreier, and R. A. Frey (2011), Comparing MODIS and AIRS infrared-based cloud retrievals, J. Appl. Meteor. Clim., 50, 1057-1072, doi:10.1175/2010JAMC2603.1.
  5. Lee, S., B. H. Kahn, and J. Teixeira (2010), Characterization of liquid water content distributions from CloudSat, J. Geophys. Res., 115, D20203, doi:10.1029/2009JD013272.
  6. Schreier, M. M., B. H. Kahn, A. Eldering, D. A. Elliott, E. Fishbein, F. W. Irion, and T. S. Pagano (2010), Radiance comparisons of MODIS and AIRS using spatial response information, J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 27, 1331-1342, doi: 10.1175/2010JTECHA1424.1.
  7. Kahn, B. H., and J. Teixeira (2009), A global climatology of temperature and water vapor variance scaling from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, J. Climate, 22, 5558-5576, doi: 10.1175/2009JCLI2934.1.
  8. Kahn, B. H., A. Gettelman, A. Eldering, E. J. Fetzer, and C. K. Liang (2009), Cloudy and clear sky relative humidity distributions in the upper troposphere observed by the A-train, doi:10.1029/2009JD011738, J. Geophys. Res., 114, D00H02, doi:10.1029/2009JD011738.
  9. Fetzer, E. J., W. G. Read, D. Waliser,B. H. Kahn, B. Tian, H. Vömel, F. W. Irion, H. Su, A. Eldering, M. de la Torre-Juarez, J. Jiang, and V. Dang (2008), Comparison of upper tropospheric water vapor observations from the Microwave Limb Sounder and Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D22110, doi:10.1029/2008JD010000.
  10. Nasiri, S. L., and B. H. Kahn (2008), Limitations of bispectral infrared cloud phase determination and potential for improvement, J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 47, 2895-2910.
  11. Kahn, B. H., and D. M. Sinton (2008), A preferred scale for warm core instability in a non-convective moist basic state, J. Atmos. Sci., 65, 2907-2921.
  12. Kahn, B. H., C. K. Liang, A. Eldering, A. Gettelman, Q. Yue, and K. N. Liou (2008), Tropical thin cirrus and relative humidity observed by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 1501-1518.
  13. Kahn, B. H., M. T. Chahine, G. L. Stephens, G. G. Mace, R. Marchand, Z. Wang, C. D. Barnet, A. Eldering, R. E. Holz, R. E. Kuehn, and D. G. Vane (2008), Cloud-type comparisons of AIRS, CloudSat, and CALIPSO cloud height and amount, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 1231-1248.
  14. Kahn, B. H., E. Fishbein, S. L. Nasiri, A. Eldering, E. J. Fetzer, M. J. Garay, and S.-Y. Lee (2007), The radiative consistency of Atmospheric Infrared Sounder and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer cloud retrievals, J. Geophys. Res., 112, D09201, doi:10.1029/2006JD007486.
  15. Kahn, B. H., A. Eldering, A. J. Braverman, E. J. Fetzer, J. H. Jiang, E. Fishbein, and D. L. Wu (2007), Toward the characterization of upper tropospheric clouds using Atmospheric Infrared Sounder and Microwave Limb Sounder observations, J. Geophys. Res., 112, D05202, doi:10.1029/2006JD007336.
  16. Tinetti, G., V. S. Meadows, D. Crisp, N. Kiang, B. H. Kahn, E. Bosc, E. Fishbein, T. Velusamy, and M. Turnbull (2006), Detectability of planetary characteristics in disk-averaged spectra II: Synthetic spectra and light-curves of Earth, Astrobiology, 6, 881-900.
  17. Kahn, B. H., K. N. Liou, S. -Y. Lee, E. F. Fishbein, S. DeSouza-Machado, A. Eldering, E. J. Fetzer, S. E. Hannon, and L. L. Strow (2005), Nighttime cirrus detection using Atmospheric Infrared Sounder channels and total column water vapor, J. Geophys. Res., 110, doi:10.1029/2004JD005430.
  18. Kahn, B. H., A. Eldering, M. Ghil, S. Bordoni, and S. A. Clough (2004), Sensitivity analysis of cirrus cloud properties from high-resolution infrared spectra. Part I: Methodology and synthetic cirrus, J. Climate, 17, 4856-4870.
  19. Kahn, B. H., A. Eldering, S. A. Clough, E. J. Fetzer, E. F. Fishbein, M. R. Gunson, S. -Y. Lee, P. F. Lester, and V. J. Realmuto (2003), Near micron-sized cirrus cloud particles in high-resolution infrared spectra: An orographic case study, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(8), 1441, doi:10.1029/2003GL016909.
  20. Kahn, B. H., A. Eldering, F. W. Irion, F. P. Mills, B. Sen, and M. R. Gunson (2002), Cloud identification in Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy infrared occultation measurements, Appl. Opt., 41, 2368-2380.

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