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Thomas Kurosu

Photo of Thomas Kurosu

Address:

4800 Oak Grove Drive
M/S 233-300

Pasadena, CA 91109

Phone:

626.807.8603

Fax:

818.354.3223

Curriculum Vitae:

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Member of:

Tropospheric Composition

Biography

Dr. Kurosu has an established international reputation as an expert in remote sensing in the UV/Visible and near-IR regions, primarily from satellite instruments. His current work focuses on the near-simultaneous observations of XCO2 from the OCO3&2 instruments and NO2 from geostationary platforms (GEMS), the retrieval of Solar-Induced Fluorescence (SIF) from OCO-2&3, investigations of radiometric cross-correlations of OCO-3 and OCO-2, and spectral and radiometric calibration studies for UV/Vis sensors in the framework of ozone profile retrievals. Dr. Kurosu maintains the operational OCO-2&3 IMAP-DOAS, LiteSIF, and the ECOSTRESS/OCO-3 co-located ECOCO3 products at JPL. His activities also include the development and maintenance of OCO-3’s SAM and Target mapping code, an OCO-3 SAM/Target Data Sequencer, code packages for advanced spatial resampling of observations with irregular polygon footprints to arbitrary resolution without loss of information, and visualization software for a wide and diverse range of satellite observations. In the past, Dr. Kurosu developed retrieval approaches for CO2, CH4 and SIF from JPL’s near-IR airborne CARVE-FTS, as well as trace gas retrievals for the aircraft-based GEO-TASO sensor in preparation for the TEMPO Earth Venture mission. He has developed numerous trace gas products from the Aura-OMI instrument, including formaldehyde, glyoxal, bromine monoxide, and chlorine dioxide. At present, Dr. Kurosu is a member of the OCO-2 and the ISS/OCO-3 teams, the MUSES/TROPESS project for satellite-based ozone and air quality retrievals, the Global SIF MEaSUREs project, and the GEMS International Science Team.

Education

  • Dr. rer nat (Ph.D.) Physics, magna cum laude, University of Bremen, Germany (1997)
  • Diplom Physicist, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany (1991)

Professional Experience

  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Research Scientist (2011 - Present)
  • Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Physicist (1998-2011)
  • Japanese Ministry for the Environment at the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Tsukuba, Japan, Eco Frontier Fellow (1999-2001)
  • Institute of Remote Sensing, University of Bremen, Germany, Research Associate(1997)
  • Institute of Theoretical Elementary Particle Physics, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany, Research Associate (1992)

Community Service

  • Mentoring for Space Generation Advisory Council and American Astronautical Society
  • Reviewer for Journal Articles (J. Geophys. Res., Atmos. Meas. Tech., Atmos. Chem. Phys, Phys. Rev.)
  • Reviewer for California's South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD)
  • Reviewer for grant proposals (NASA)

Research Interests

  • Space-based greenhouse gas monitoring
  • Satellite and aircraft UV/visible retrievals of air-quality trace gases and halogens
  • Aircraft FTS near-IR retrievals of greenhouse gases
  • Tropospheric composition
  • Geostationary air-quality observations

Selected Awards

  • NASA Group Achievement Award OCO-2 CFIS Team (2016)
  • NASA Group Achievement Award CARVE Implementation Team (2016)
  • NASA Group Achievement Award ARCTAS Team (2008)
  • American Geophysical Union Editor's Citation for Excellence in Refereeing, Journal of Geophysical Research (2008)
  • NASA Group Achievement Award, Aura Project (2005)
  • NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Group Achievement Award, Aura Team (2005)
  • Smithsonian Institution Award in Official Recognition of Special Achievement (2003)

Selected Publications

  1. Joint spectral retrievals of ozone with Suomi NPP CrIS augmented by S5P/TROPOMI; Malina, E. et al., AMT 17(17), 2024
  2. Evaluating the consistency between OCO-2 and OCO-3 XCO2 estimates derived from the NASA ACOS version 10 retrieval algorithm; Taylor, T. E. et al., AMT 16(12), 2023
  3. Global GOSAT, OCO-2, and OCO-3 solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence datasets; Doughty, R., et.al., Earth System Science Data 14(4), 2022
  4. Next-Generation Isoprene Measurements From Space: Detecting Daily Variability at High Resolution; Wells, K. C. et al., JGR-Atmospheres, 2022
  5. Evaluation of the Stratospheric and Tropospheric Bromine Burden Over Fairbanks, Alaska Based on Column Retrievals of Bromine Monoxide, P. Wales et al, JGR-Atm. 126(2), 2021
  6. OCO-3 early mission operations and initial (vEarly) XCO2 and SIF retrievals, T. Taylor et al., Rem. Sens. Env. 251, 2020
  7. New Era of Air Quality Monitoring from Space: Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS), J. Kim et al., Bull. Amer. Met. Soc. 101(1), 2020
  8. Description of a formaldehyde retrieval algorithm for the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS), H.-A. Kwon et al., Atm. Meas. Tech., 12(7), 2019
  9. OMI total bromine monoxide (OMBRO) data product: Algorithm, retrieval and measurement comparisons, R. M. Suleiman et al., Atm. Meas. Tech., 12(4), 2019
  10. Link between Arctic tropospheric bromine explosion and sea salt aerosols from blowing snow investigated using NASA's Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) BrO data and GEOS-5 model, S. Choi et al., J. Geophys. Res., 123(13), 2018
  11. Spatial variability in tropospheric peroxyacetyl nitrate in the tropics from infrared satellite observations in 2005 and 2006, V.H. Payne et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 2017
  12. OMI air-quality monitoring of the Middle East, M. Barkley et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 2017
  13. Sensitivity of formaldehyde (HCHO) column measurements from a geostationary satellite to aerosol temporal variation in East Asia, H.-A. Kwon et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 2017
  14. Development and characterisation of a state-of-the-art GOME-2 formaldehyde air-mass factor algorithm, W. Hewson et al., Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8(10), 2015
  15. Remote-sensing constraints on South America fire traits by Bayesian fusion of atmospheric and surface data. A. A. Bloom et al., Geophys. Res. Lett., 42(4), 2015
  16. Updated Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Ozone Monitoring Instrument (SAO OMI) formaldehyde retrieval. G. González Abad et al., Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2015
  17. Glyoxal retrieval from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument C. Chan Miller et al., Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 2014
  18. Improved model of isoprene emissions in Africa using Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite observations of formaldehyde: implications for oxidants and particulate matter, E.A. Marais et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 2014
  19. Top-down isoprene emissions over tropical South America inferred from SCIAMACHY and OMI formaldehyde columns, M.P. Barkley et al., J. Geophys. Res., 118 (12), 2013
  20. Characteristics of tropospheric ozone depletion events in the Arctic spring: analysis of the ARCTAS, ARCPAC, and ARCIONS measurements and satellite BrO observations, J. -H. Koo et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12(20), 2012
  21. The formaldehyde budget as seen by a global-scale multi-constraint and multi-species inversion system, A. Fortems-Cheiney et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12(15), 2012
  22. Assessing sources of uncertainty in formaldehyde air mass factors over tropical South America: Implications for top-down isoprene emission estimates, M.P. Barkley et al., J. Geophys. Res.: Atmos., 117(D13), 2012
  23. Isoprene emissions in Africa inferred from OMI observations of formaldehyde columns, E.A. Marais et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12(14), 2012
  24. Characterization of soluble bromide measurements and a case study of BrO observations during ARCTAS, J. Liao et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12(3), 2012
  25. Analysis of satellite-derived Arctic tropospheric BrO columns in conjunction with aircraft measurements during ARCTAS and ARCPAC, S. Choi et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12(3) 2012
  26. Multi-spectral sensitivity studies for the retrieval of tropospheric and lowermost tropospheric ozone from simulated clear-sky GEO-CAPE measurements, V. Natraj et al., Atmos. Environ., 45(39), 2011
  27. Retrievals of sulfur dioxide from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment 2 (GOME-2) using an optimal estimation approach: Algorithm and initial validation, C. R. Nowlan et al., J. Geophys. Res.: Atmos., 116(D18), 2011
  28. Can a "state of the art" chemistry transport model simulate Amazonian tropospheric chemistry?, M.P. Barkley et al., J. Geophys. Res.: Atmos., 116(D16), 2011
  29. The unique OMI HCHO/NO2 feature during the 2008 Beijing Olympics: Implications for ozone production sensitivity, J.C. Witte et al., Atmos. Environ., 45(18), 2011
  30. Formaldehyde columns from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument: Urban versus background levels and evaluation using aircraft data and a global model, N.L. Boeke et al., J. Geophys. Res.: Atmos., 116(D5), 2011
  31. Application of satellite observations for timely updates to global anthropogenic NOx emission inventories, L.N. Lamsal et al., Geophys. Res. Let., 38(5), 2011
  32. Global satellite analysis of the relation between aerosols and short-lived trace gases, J.P. Veefkind et al, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11(3), 2011
  33. A New Interpretation of Total Column BrO during Arctic Spring, R.J. Salawitch et al., Frontier Article, Geophys. Res. Let., 37, 2010

Projects

Aura
CARVE (Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment)
Geo-Cape
OCO-3 - Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3