Observational Science Branch

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The Observational Sciences Branch is located at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Observational Sciences Branch conducts observational and applied research in a wide variety of oceanic, terrestrial and atmospheric sciences, including physical oceanography, biological oceanography, coastal zone research, airborne lidar measurements of polar ice sheets and coastal zone topography, and radar precipitation measurements. Branch space mission support includes the dual-frequency altimeter (ALT) which is the prime instrument for the TOPEX/Poseidon mission, AOL validation of ICESat, and the Geosat Follow-On (GFO) Mission. The Branch maintains unique biological and physical oceanography laboratories, and provides a wide variety of instruments to the national research community including the N-Pol precipitation radar, Airborne Oceanographic Lidar (AOL), Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS), the Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL), the Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM), the Ocean Wave Spectrometer (ROWS), and the Scanning Radar Altimeter (SRA). In addition, two world class facilities, the NASA/GSFC Air-Sea Interaction Research Facility (NASIRF) and the NASA/GSFC Rain-Sea Interaction Laboratory are managed by branch personnel.

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Welcome to the Observational Science Branch

This branch, working within the Laboratory for Hydrospheric Processes of the Earth Sciences Directorate at GSFC, conducts theoretical, experimental and applied research in the oceanic, atmospheric, and terrestrial sciences. We design, fabricate and operate both remote and in-situ sensing instruments for aircraft, balloons, and rockets. We plan and conduct laboratory and field measurements to improve the fundamental knowledge of earth sensing and to evaluate sensor systems as well as quantify and demonstrate their performance.

-Dr. John Gerlach, Branch Head