Dr. Abshire presently serves as an Emeritus Senior Scientist in the Solar System Exploration Division. He previously served in a series of technical and scientific management positions at Goddard, including as Head of the Laser Remote Sensing Branch and Associate Chief for Laser Sensing in the Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics. He joined NASA Goddard in 1974.
During his career, he has played a key role in the development lasers and lidar (radar using lasers) for space. As part of this he was Instrument Scientist on the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor Mission and the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System on NASA’s ICESat Mission. He has served as Principal Investigator on a number of research projects that apply laser measurements and laser technology to scientific questions about the Earth and planets.
Currently Dr. Abshire is leading Goddard’s work in applying lasers to measure the Earth’s greenhouse gases from space. As part of this, he is serving on the formulation teams for the NASA’s planned ASCENDS mission and the French/German MERLIN mission. He collaborates frequently with other scientists and researchers at Goddard, in technology companies, the aerospace industry, universities, and other NASA centers.
James B. Abshire
(EMERITUS)
Org Code: 690
NASA/GSFCMail Code: 690
Greenbelt, MD 20771
Employer: UNIV OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK
Brief Bio
Current Projects
Current and Previous Projects
Current Activities & Roles:
Mission Formulation Team Member – NASA ASCENDS Mission Science Definition Activity, 2008- present.
Principal Investigator - “MARLI - Mars Lidar for Global Climate Measurements from Orbit” NASA Picasso Program, 2013- present.
Principal Investigator - “CO2 Laser Sounder for ASCENDS Mission" NASA ESTO IIP Program, 2010-16.
Co-Investigator - " A Cubesat Flight Demonstration of a Photon Counting Infrared Dectector (LMPC CubeSat)" NASA InVEST program 2013-2017.
Science Advisory Group Member, Ext. Observer, French-German MERLIN (CH4 Lidar) Mission.
Standing Review Board Member - NASA's GEDI Project
Science Advisory Group Member - GSFC Solar System Exploration Division
Previous Selected Experience:
Co- Investigator– “A Compact Lidar for High Resolution Measurements of Trace Gases,” NASA Astrobiology Science and Technology Instrument Development (ASTID) program, 2008-2011.
Co-I – “Efficient Swath Mapping Laser Altimeter Demonstration”, NASA ESTO IIP 2008 - 2011.
Mission study team member - NASA Goddard’s LIVEx Earth Science lidar mission study, 2009.
Instrument Scientist - GLAS lidar instrument on NASA ICESat Mission
Team Leader – GARB (laser assessment) team for GLAS Instrument on NASA ICESat mission
Lidar technique review leader - MLA lidar on Messenger Mission; LOLA lidar on LGS mission
Instrument Scientist – MOLA lidar on the Mars Global Surveyor Mission
Education
1977 - M.S. University of Maryland, Electrical Engineering
1974 - B.S. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Electrical Engineering
Professional Societies
AGU
Co-organizer of Fall AGU sessions on Lidar Sensing of Greenhouse Gases
2008 - Present
IEEE
1974 - Present
Optical Society of America
2016 - Present
Awards
Selected Awards:
NASA Award of Merit (Goddard’s Highest Award) – 2007
NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal – 2003
Goddard Moe I. Schneebaum Award - 1993
Goddard Space Flight Center Inventor of the Year – 1986
Other Professional Information
Web of Science Citation Report (as of November 2018):
Total Publications: 130, Sum of Times Cited: 3737
A complete list of publications is on ResearchGate:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James_Abshire/publications
Research Items recorded by ResearchGate (as of November 2018): 280
Citations recorded by ResearchGate (as of November 2018): 5021
Many recent presentations and publications are also available from:
https://ssed.gsfc.nasa.gov/co2sounder/
Patents (7):
J.B. Abshire and Xiaoli Sun, "Time and Delay Distance Measurement" U.S. Patent 7982861; 2011.
J.B. Abshire, "Psec Resolution Sampling Time Interval Unit," U.S. Patent 5,566,139; 1996.
J.B. Abshire, "Method and System for Determining Surface Profile Information," U.S. Patent 4,850,712; 1989.
J.B. Abshire and P.L. Fuhr, "Multipower Laser Seam Tracking System," U.S. Patent 4,806,732; 1989.
J.B. Abshire and P.L. Fuhr, "Multipower Laser Seam Tracking System," European Patent 88304139.4-; 1988.
J.B. Abshire, "Optical Distance Measuring Instrument," U.S. Patent 4,600,299; 1986.
M.W. Fitzmaurice and J.B. Abshire, "Polarization Compensator for Optical Communications," U.S. Patent 3,971,930; 1974.
Publications
Refereed
Mao, J., J. B. Abshire, S. R. Kawa, et al. H. Riris, X. Sun, N. Andela, and P. T. Kolbeck. 2021. Measuring Atmospheric CO 2 Enhancements From the 2017 British Columbia Wildfires Using a Lidar Geophysical Research Letters 48 (16): [10.1029/2021gl093805]
Cremons, D., X. Sun, J. B. Abshire, and E. Mazarico. 2021. Small PN-Code Lidar for Asteroid and Comet Missions – Receiver Processing and Performance Simulations Remote Sensing 13 (12): 2282 [10.3390/rs13122282]
Sun, X., J. B. Abshire, A. Ramanathan, S. R. Kawa, and J. Mao. 2021. Retrieval algorithm for the column CO2 mixing ratio from pulsed multi-wavelength lidar measurements Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 14 (5): 3909-3922 [10.5194/amt-14-3909-2021]
Sun, X., D. Cremons, E. Mazarico, et al. G. Yang, J. B. Abshire, D. E. Smith, M. T. Zuber, M. Storm, N. Martin, J. Hwang, J. D. Beck, N. R. Huntoon, and D. M. Rawlings. 2021. Small All-range Lidar for Asteroid and Comet Core Missions Sensors 21 (9): 3081 [10.3390/s21093081]
Duncan, B. N., L. E. Ott, J. B. Abshire, et al. L. Brucker, M. L. Carroll, J. Carton, J. C. Comiso, E. P. Dinnat, B. C. Forbes, A. Gonsamo, W. W. Gregg, D. K. Hall, I. Ialongo, R. Jandt, R. A. Kahn, A. Karpechko, S. R. Kawa, S. Kato, T. Kumpula, E. Kyrölä, T. V. Loboda, K. C. McDonald, P. M. Montesano, R. Nassar, C. S. Neigh, C. L. Parkinson, B. Poulter, J. Pulliainen, K. Rautiainen, B. M. Rogers, C. S. Rousseaux, A. J. Soja, N. Steiner, J. Tamminen, P. C. Taylor, M. A. Tzortziou, H. Virta, J. S. Wang, J. D. Watts, D. M. Winker, and D. L. Wu. 2020. Space‐Based Observations for Understanding Changes in the Arctic‐Boreal Zone Reviews of Geophysics 58 (1): 2019RG000652 [10.1029/2019rg000652]
Cremons, D. R., J. B. Abshire, X. Sun, et al. G. Allan, H. Riris, M. D. Smith, S. Guzewich, A. Yu, and F. Hovis. 2020. Design of a direct-detection wind and aerosol lidar for mars orbit CEAS Space Journal 12 (2): 149-162 [10.1007/s12567-020-00301-z]
Abshire, J. B., A. K. Ramanathan, H. Riris, et al. G. R. Allan, X. Sun, W. E. Hasselbrack, J. Mao, S. Wu, J. Chen, K. Numata, S. R. Kawa, M. Y. Yang, and J. DiGangi. 2018. Airborne measurements of CO<sub>2</sub> column concentrations made with a pulsed IPDA lidar using a multiple-wavelength-locked laser and HgCdTe APD detector Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 11 (4): 2001-2025 [10.5194/amt-11-2001-2018]
Mao, J., A. Ramanathan, J. B. Abshire, et al. S. R. Kawa, H. Riris, G. R. Allan, M. Rodriguez, W. E. Hasselbrack, X. Sun, K. Numata, J. Chen, Y. Choi, and M. Y. Yang. 2018. Measurement of atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> column concentrations to cloud tops with a pulsed multi-wavelength airborne lidar Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 11 (1): 127-140 [10.5194/amt-11-127-2018]
Ramanathan, A. K., H. M. Nguyen, X. Sun, et al. J. Mao, J. B. Abshire, J. M. Hobbs, and A. J. Braverman. 2018. A singular value decomposition framework for retrievals with vertical distribution information from greenhouse gas column absorption spectroscopy measurements Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 11 (8): 4909--4928 [10.5194/amt-11-4909-2018]
Sun, X., J. B. Abshire, A. A. Borsa, et al. H. A. Fricker, D. Yi, J. P. Dimarzio, F. S. Paolo, K. M. Brunt, D. J. Harding, and G. A. Neumann. 2017. ICESAT/GLAS Altimetry Measurements: Received Signal Dynamic Range and Saturation Correction IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 1-15 [10.1109/tgrs.2017.2702126]
Ramanathan, A. K., J. Mao, J. B. Abshire, and G. R. Allan. 2015. Remote sensing measurements of the CO 2 mixing ratio in the planetary boundary layer using cloud slicing with airborne lidar Geophysical Research Letters 42 (6): 2055-2062 [10.1002/2014gl062749]
Abshire, J. B., A. Ramanathan, H. Riris, et al. J. Mao, G. R. Allan, W. E. Hasselbrack, C. J. Weaver, and E. V. Browell. 2013. Airborne Measurements of CO2 Column Concentration and Range Using a Pulsed Direct-Detection IPDA Lidar Remote Sensing 6 (1): 443-469 [10.3390/rs6010443]
Ramanathan, A. K., J. Mao, G. R. Allan, et al. H. Riris, C. J. Weaver, W. E. Hasselbrack, E. V. Browell, and J. B. Abshire. 2013. Spectroscopic measurements of a CO₂ absorption line in an open vertical path using an airborne lidar Applied Physics Letters 103 (21): 214102 [10.1063/1.4832616]
Sun, X., J. B. Abshire, J. F. McGarry, et al. G. A. Neumann, D. Smith, J. F. Cavanaugh, D. J. Harding, H. J. Zwally, and D. E. Smith. 2013. Space lidar developed at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center - the first 20 years IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing 6 (3): 1660-1675 [doi:10.1109/jstars.2013.2259578]
Numata, K., H. Riris, S. Li, et al. S. Wu, S. R. Kawa, M. Krainak, and J. Abshire. 2012. Ground demonstration of trace gas lidar based on optical parametric amplifier Journal of Applied Remote Sensing 6 (1): 063561 [10.1117/1.JRS.6.063561]
Riris, H., K. Numata, S. X. Li, et al. S. T. Wu, A. K. Ramanathan, M. W. Dawsey, J. Mao, S. R. Kawa, and J. B. Abshire. 2012. Airborne measurements of atmospheric methane column abundance made using a pulsed IPDA lidar Applied Optics 51 (34): 8296-8305 [10.1364/AO.51.008296]
Abshire, J. B., H. Riris, G. R. Allan, et al. C. J. Weaver, J. Mao, X. Sun, W. E. Hasselbrack, S. R. Kawa, and S. Biraud. 2010. Pulsed airborne lidar measurements of atmospheric CO2 column absorption Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology 62 (5): 770-783 [10.1111/j.1600-0889.2010.00502.x]
Kawa, S., J. Mao, J. Abshire, et al. G. Collatz, X. Sun, and C. Weaver. 2010. Simulation studies for a space-based CO2 lidar mission Tellus B 62 (5): 759-769 [10.1111/j.1600-0889.2010.00486.X]
Sun, X., G. A. Neumann, J. B. Abshire, and M. T. Zuber. 2006. Mars 1064 nm spectral radiance measurements determined from the receiver noise response of the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter Applied Optics IP, vol 45, Issue 17, pp3960-3971 45 3960 [10.1364/AO.45.003960]
Abshire, J. B., X. Sun, H. Riris, et al. J. M. Sirota, J. F. McGarry, S. Palm, D. Yi, and P. Liiva. 2005. Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) on the ICESat Mission: On-orbit measurement performance Geophysical Research Letters 32 (21): L21S02 [10.1029/2005GL024028]
Neumann, G. A., J. B. Abshire, O. Aharonson, et al. J. B. Garvin, X. Sun, and M. T. Zuber. 2003. Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter pulse width measurements and footprint-scale roughness Geophysical Research Letters 30 (11): 1561 [10.1029/2003GL017048]
Zwally, J., R. Schutz, W. Abdalati, et al. J. B. Abshire, C. Bentley, J. L. Bufton, D. J. Harding, T. Herring, B. Minster, J. D. Spinhirne, and R. J. Thomas. 2002. ICESat's laser measurements of polar ice, atmosphere, ocean, and land Journal of Geodynamics 34 405-445 [10.1016/S0264-3707(02)00042-X]
Smith, D. E., M. T. Zuber, H. V. Frey, et al. J. B. Garvin, J. W. Head, D. O. Muhleman, G. H. Pettengill, R. J. Phillips, S. C. Solomon, H. J. Zwally, W. B. Banerdt, T. C. Duxbury, M. P. Golombek, F. G. Lemoine, G. A. Neumann, D. D. Rowlands, O. Aharonson, P. G. Ford, A. B. Ivanov, C. L. Johnson, P. J. McGovern, J. B. Abshire, R. S. Afzal, and X. Sun. 2001. Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter: Experiment summary after the first year of global mapping of Mars J. Geophysical Research-Planets 106 (E10): 23689-23722 [10.1029/2000JE001364]
Gold, R. E., S. C. Solomon, R. L. McNutt, et al. A. G. Santo, J. B. Abshire, M. H. Acun~a, R. S. Afzal, B. J. Anderson, G. B. Andrews, P. D. Bedini, J. Cain, A. F. Cheng, L. G. Evans, W. C. Feldman, R. B. Follas, G. Gloeckler, J. O. Goldsten, S. E. Hawkins, N. R. Izenberg, S. E. Jaskulek, E. A. Ketchum, M. R. Lankton, D. A. Lohr, B. H. Mauk, W. E. McClintock, S. L. Murchie, C. E. Schlemm, D. E. Smith, R. D. Starr, and T. H. Zurbuchen. 2001. The MESSENGER mission to Mercury: scientific payload Planetary and Space Science 49 1467 [10.1016/S0032-0633(01)00086-1]
Abshire, J. B., X. Sun, and R. S. Afzal. 2000. Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter: Receiver Model and Performance Analysis Applied Optics LP, vol 39, Issue 15, pp2449-2460 39 2449 [10.1364/AO.39.002449]
Smith, D. E., M. T. Zuber, S. C. Solomon, et al. R. J. Phillips, J. W. Head, J. B. Garvin, W. B. Banerdt, H. V. Frey, D. O. Muhleman, G. H. Pettengill, G. A. Neumann, F. G. Lemoine, J. B. Abshire, O. Aharonson, C. D. Brown, S. A. Hauck, A. B. Ivanov, P. J. McGovern, H. J. Zwally, and T. C. Duxbury. 1999. The Global Topography of Mars and Implications for Surface Evolution Science 284 (5419): 1495-1503 [10.1126/science.284.5419.1495]
Abshire, J. B., and J. F. McGarry. 1987. Estimating the arrival times of photon-limited laser pulses in the presence of shot and speckle noise Journal of the Optical Society of America A 4 (6): 1080 [10.1364/josaa.4.001080]
Im, K. E., J. B. Abshire, J. F. McGarry, and C. S. Gardner. 1987. Experimental evaluation of the performance of pulsed two-color laser-ranging systems Journal of the Optical Society of America A 4 (5): 820 [10.1364/josaa.4.000820]
Abshire, J. B., and J. F. McGarry. 1987. Two-color short-pulse laser altimeter measurements of ocean surface backscatter Applied Optics 26 (7): 1304 [10.1364/ao.26.001304]
Non-Refereed
Kawa, R., G. R. Allan, J. B. Abshire, et al. H. Riris, J. Mao, W. E. Hasselbrack, K. Numata, J. Chen, M. R. Rodriguez, and M. A. Stephen. 2018. Lidar measurements of CO2 column concentrations in the Arctic region of North America from the ASCENDS 2017 airborne campaign Lidar Remote Sensing for Environmental Monitoring XVI [10.1117/12.2325908]
Cremons, D. R., J. B. Abshire, M. D. Smith, et al. S. D. Guzewich, H. Riris, X. Sun, A. W. Yu, G. Allan, and F. Hovis. 2018. Development of a Mars lidar (MARLI) for measuring wind and aerosol profiles from orbit Lidar Technologies, Techniques, and Measurements for Atmospheric Remote Sensing XIV [10.1117/12.2325408]
Sun, X., J. B. Abshire, J.-M. Lauenstein, et al. W. Sullivan, J. Beck, and J. E. Hubbs. 2018. Evaluation of space radiation effects on HgCdTe avalanche photodiode arrays for Lidar applications Infrared Technology and Applications XLIV [10.1117/12.2304601]
Sun, X., J. B. Abshire, M. A. Krainak, et al. J. Beck, W. W. Sullivan, P. Mitra, D. Rawlings, W. Lu, R. A. Fields, D. A. Hinkley, and B. Hirasuna. 2018. Single photon HgCdTe avalanche photodiode and integrated detector cooler assemblies for space lidar applications Advanced Photon Counting Techniques XII [10.1117/12.2305017]
Graham, A., X. Sun, J. Mao, et al. R. Kawa, H. Riris, J. B. Abshire, W. Hasselbrack, M. Rodriguez, C. Weaver, S. Li, K. Numata, and S. Wu. 2017. LIDAR technology for measuring trace gases on Mars and Earth International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2010 [10.1117/12.2309207]
Stephen, M., A. Yu, J. Chen, et al. J. Nicholson, D. Engin, B. Mathason, S. Wu, G. Allan, W. Hasselbrack, B. Gonzales, L. Han, K. Numata, M. Storm, and J. Abshire. 2015. Fiber-based, trace-gas, laser transmitter technology development for space Lidar Remote Sensing for Environmental Monitoring XV [10.1117/12.2191395]
Sullivan, W., J. Beck, R. Scritchfield, et al. M. Skokan, P. Mitra, X. Sun, J. Abshire, D. Carpenter, and B. Lane. 2015. Linear mode photon counting from visible to MWIR with HgCdTe avalanche photodiode focal plane arrays Advanced Photon Counting Techniques IX [10.1117/12.2180394]
Sun, X., J. F. Cavanaugh, J. C. SMith, et al. J. B. Abshire, J. L. Mcgarry, G. A. Neumann, D. J. Harding, H. J. Zwally, D. E. Smith, and M. T. Zuber. 2013. SPACE LIDARS DEVELOPED AT NASA GSFC IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN APPLIED EARTH OBSERVATIONS AND REMOTE SENSING (JSTARS) 6 (3): 1660 - 1675 [10.1109/JSTARS.2013.2259578]
Yu, A. W., M. A. Krainak, D. J. Harding, et al. J. B. Abshire, X. Sun, L. Ramos-Izquierdo, J. Cavanaugh, S. Valett, T. Winkert, M. Plants, C. Kirchner, B. Kamamia, R. Faulkner, P. Dogoda, W. Hasselbrack, and T. Filemyr. 2013. A 16-beam non-scanning swath mapping laser altimeter instrument Solid State Lasers XXII: Technology and Devices, Proceedings of SPIE 8599 [10.1117/12.2005651]
Riris, H., M. Rodriguez, G. Allan, et al. W. E. Hasselbrack, M. A. Stephen, and J. B. Abshire. 2012. Airborne LIDAR Measurements of Atmospheric Pressure Made Using the Oxygen A-band Lasers, Sources, and Related Photonic Devices LT2B.5 [10.1364/LACSEA.2012.LT2B.5]
Yu, A. W., M. A. Krainak, D. J. Harding, et al. J. B. Abshire, X. Sun, J. Cavanaugh, S. Valett, and L. Ramos-Izquierdo. 2012. Multi-beam Laser Altimeter System Simulator for the Lidar Surface Topography (LIST) Mission 2012 CONFERENCE ON LASERS AND ELECTRO-OPTICS (CLEO) [10.1364/CLEO_AT.2012.ATu2G.6]
Yu, A. W., M. A. Krainak, M. A. Stephen, et al. J. B. Abshire, D. J. Harding, H. Riris, S. X. Li, J. R. Chen, G. R. Allan, K. Numata, S. T. Wu, and J. B. Camp. 2011. Spaceflight laser development for future remote sensing applications Lidar Technologies, Techniques, and Measurements for Atmospheric Remote Sensing VII, Proceedings of SPIE 8182 [10.1117/12.898547]
Yu, A. W., M. A. Krainak, D. J. Harding, et al. J. B. Abshire, X. Sun, J. Cavanaugh, S. Valett, L. Ramos-Izquierdo, T. Winkert, C. Kirchner, M. Plants, T. Filemyr, B. Kamamia, W. Hasselbrack, and P. Dogoda. 2011. Development effort of the airborne lidar simulator for the lidar surface topography (LIST) mission Lidar Technologies, Techniques, and Measurements for Atmospheric Remote Sensing VII, Proceedings of SPIE 8182 [10.1117/12.898545]
Stephen, M. A., A. W. Yu, M. A. Krainak, et al. J. B. Abshire, D. J. Harding, H. Riris, S. X. Li, J. Chen, K. Numata, S. Wu, and J. Camp. 2011. Spaceborne laser development for future remote sensing applications Infrared Remote Sensing and Instrumentation XIX, Proceedings of SPIE 8154 [10.1117/12.896693]
Yu, A. W., M. A. Krainak, D. J. Harding, et al. J. B. Abshire, X. Sun, S. Valett, J. Cavanaugh, and L. Ramos-Izquierdo. 2010. Spaceborne laser instruments for high-resolution mapping Solid State Lasers XIX: Technology and Devices, Proceedings of SPIE 7578 [10.1117/12.843191]
Yu, A. W., M. A. Krainak, D. J. Harding, J. B. Abshire, and X. Sun. 2010. A Spaceborne lidar for high resolution topographic mapping of the Earths surface SPIE Newsroom [10.1117/2.1201002.002655]
Dabney, P. W., D. J. Harding, J. B. Abshire, et al. T. E. Huss, G. F. Jodor, R. L. Machan, J. Marzouk, K. Rush, A. Seas, C. A. Shuman, X. Sun, S. Valett, A. Vasilyev, A. Yu, and Y. Zheng. 2010. The Slope Imaging Multi-polarization Photon-counting Lidar: Development and performance results Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 2010 IEEE International 653-656 [10.1109/IGARSS.2010.5650862]
Abshire, J. B., D. J. Harding, X. Sun, et al. M. A. Krainak, T. Seas, and P. Dabney. 2007. Pushbroom Laser Altimetry using Fiber Lasers and Photon Counting Detectors 2007 Conference on Lasers & Electro-Optics/Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference (CLEO/QELS 1-5 1467-1468
Abshire, J. B., J. L. Mcgarry, L. K. Pacini, J. B. Blair, and G. C. Elman. 1994. Laser altimetry simulator. Version 3.0: User's guide NASA-TM-104588 71