Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Using LIDAR and SNOTEL data for evaluating the performance of snow water equivalent retrieval using Sentinel-1 repeat-pass interferometry

Abstract. Accurate estimation of snow water equivalent (SWE) at high spatial and temporal resolution remains a critical challenge for hydrologic prediction and climate monitoring. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) provides a promising approach for retrieving SWE by...

Resolving circumarctic zero-curtain phenomena with AI-integrated earth observations

<title>Abstract</title> Across the circumarctic, permafrost landscapes store approximately 1700 billion metric tons of organic carbon - nearly twice atmospheric levels - yet reservoir stability depends on the zero-curtain, a subsurface thermal plateau that emerges when latent hea...

Wavelength Requirements for Life Detection via Reflected Light Spectroscopy of Rocky Exoplanets

Searching for signs of life is a primary goal of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). However, merely detecting oxygen, methane, or other widely discussed biosignatures is insufficient evidence for a biosphere. In parallel with biosignature detection, exoplanet life detection...

Emergence of biosignatures on Earth and implications for life detection

Earth’s organic chemical evolution (OCE) from abiotic to prebiotic to biotic provides critical insights that may have implications for how we interpret observations made by life-detection planetary missions. To search for life on other worlds, astrobiologists seek biosignatures:...

Europe’s extreme temperatures and rainfall in finer detail: strengths and limits of climate model downscaling

<title>Abstract</title> Climate extremes in Europe are becoming increasingly frequent and severe, heightening the need for reliable regional climate information to support preparedness and adaptation. Downscaled climate model (DCM) products are widely used for this purpose. Yet,...