[ Archive ]
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CIMSS-NOAA Weekly Report
[ Archive ] |
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IN THE PRESS:
ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:
ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:
ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, ORA:
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, ARAD:
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
GRIB Encoder Enhancement: A project to break apart a GRIdded Binary (GRIB) file into individual grids, operate on those grids, and write them back to a GRIB file has been completed. The main accomplishment of this task is to have the general capability to use a National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) GRIB encoder for a variety of projects at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorolgical Satellite Studies (CIMSS). (G. Callan, E/RA2, 608-263-3951)
PoDAG Meeting: J. Key attended a meeting of the Polar Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) Advisory Group (PoDAG) in Greenbelt, Maryland on February 4-5. PoDAG provides guidance to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC, Boulder, Colorado) on issues regarding data set selection, distribution, and applications. Data set documentation, snow and ice products, satellite data volume, and the NSIDC budget were discussed. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605)
VISITORS:
NEXT WEEK:
Hyperspectral Workshop: T. Schmit and W. P. Menzel will attend the second National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hyperspectral Workshop on February 12-13, 2002 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory. Schmit will give a presentation on the Advanced Baseline Sounder/Imager (ABS/ABI). W. P. Menzel will give a presentation on the National Polar Orbiter Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291)
LOOKING AHEAD:
IN THE PRESS:
ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:
ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:
ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, ORA:
Satellite Winds Show Value to NWP: The Naval Research Lab (NRL) in Monterey is creating real time observation sensitivity plots that show estimates of the potential of each element of the current global observing network to change the Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS) cost function (global 72 hour forecast error). Of interest is the finding that frequently the total Observation Sensitivity Potential (OSP) for the operational satellite winds nearly equals that of the radiosonde network, and is more important than aircraft winds or surface data. This is mainly because of large analysis/forecast sensitivities over the oceans where there are few radiosonde observations, so the satellite winds provide a relatively large fraction of the total value. The analysis can be found at: http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/adap/sens_hemispheric_obs1/tser4_cost3.gif. (C. Velden , CIMSS, 608-262-9168, R. Langland, NRL-MRY, 831-656-4786)
ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, ARAD:
Cloud Paper Accepted: The paper entitled "Maritime inversions and the GOES sounder cloud product" by A.J. Schreiner, T.J. Schmit, and R.M. Aune has been accepted for publication in the National Weather Digest, a publication of the National Weather Association. The paper documents a problem where cloud heights from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) sounder are too high over the eastern Pacific, and presents a technique developed by L.J. Hinson and F.R. Mosher to determine more realistic cloud tops in this region. Prior to the implementation of the Maritime Inversion Technique (MIT) cloud tops were typically 150-250 hPa too high. With the MIT the cloud top bias is reduced to 25-75 hPa. (T. Schreiner , CIMSS, 608-263-675, T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291, R. Aune, E/RA2, 608-262-1071)
GOES Imager Input for ICAPOP Meeting: In support of the Image, Cloud, Aerosol Product Oversight Panel (ICAPOP) meeting held in Washington, D.C. on February 7, 2002 a series of slides was submitted detailing a change to the Clear Sky Brightness Temperature (CSBT) algorithm. The CSBT data from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) -8 and -10 Imagers are to be used by scientists in the U.S. and Europe as input to numerical weather prediction models. Previously, cloud contaminated radiances were not being flagged due to Sea Surface Temperature (SST) data not being properly recognized as missing data. The slides detailed the problem and the correction of the problem. The change was recently implemented at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS). (T. Schreiner , CIMSS, 608-263-675, T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291)
MODIS Imagery Used to Discriminate Ice Cover Versus Snow Cover: MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery acquired and processed at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) showed an unusually wide swath of heavy snow which resulted from a series of storms across the central U.S. during the January 29-31, 2002 period. The southeastern edge of this heavy snow band received significant freezing rain, which left a coating of ice up to 1-3 inches thick in some areas. The translucent nature of this thick ice cover is evident on MODIS true color composite imagery, and the 1.6 micrometer near-InfraRed channel clearly delineates the regions having significant ice cover (even ice-covered ground that later received some snowfall). Image examples are available on the Web at: http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/misc/modis/ice_storm/020201.html. (S. Bachmeier , CIMSS, 608-263-3958, L. Gumley, CIMSS, 608-265-5358)
NEXT WEEK:
LOOKING AHEAD:
