ASPT

SPSRB Approves Transition of Wildfire ABBA to Operational Phase: On July 17 the Satellite Products and Services Review Board (SPSRB) approved the transition of the Wildfire Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm (WF_ABBA) product from the Pre-Operational Phase to the Operational Phase in the Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution (OSDPD) Satellite Services Division (SSD). B. Ramsey presented the request at the SPSRB meeting following a 3-month review of the product by SSD and the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS). The WF_ABBA will become officially operational in September 2002. This effort represents a wonderful example of effective collaboration between ORA, CIMSS, and OSDPD in the transition of experimental products into operations. (E. Prins, E/RA2, 608-263-6607, C. Schmidt, CIMSS, 608-262-7973, J. Feltz, CIMSS, 608-263-3434)

GRIB and BUFR Decoders Ported to Linux: Several GRIded Binary (GRIB) and Binary Uniform Format for the Representation of Meterological data (BUFR) decoders were ported from the Unix operating system to Linux. The difficulty of the conversion lies in the different internal representations of four byte and two byte words. There was a request to convert a BUFR decoder to Linux so the GRIB decoder was included in the conversion. (G. Callan, E/RA2, 608-263-3951)

Participation in GOFC/GOLD and IGBP/IGAC BIBEX Workshop: E. Prins participated in the Global Observation of Forest Cover / Global Observation of Landcover Dynamics (GOFC/GOLD) and International Geosphere Biosphere Program (IGBP) International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Biomass Burning Experiment (BIBEX) workshop held at the University of Maryland in College Park on July 17-19. She chaired a session on satellite derived fire area estimates and presented an invited poster on applications of the Geostationary Wildfire Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm (WF_ABBA) in the Western Hemisphere. The workshop focused on getting a better handle on biomass burning aerosol and trace gas emissions from satellite, emissions modeling, assimilation into global and regional transport models, and validation of satellite products and models. The GOFC Fire Implementation Team met during the workshop to discuss main objectives; we agreed that multi-satellite product inter-calibration and validation should be a primary focus over the next year. (E. Prins, E/RA2, 608-263-6607)

Validation of Ice Surface Temperature from Satellite: Mohammed Shokr of Environment Canada, in collaboration with J. Key, compared estimates of the sea ice surface temperature (IST) from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and the Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR-2) to in situ measurements made at Mould Bay, Canada. The wintertime satellite retrievals were found to have biases of approximately 0.3 degrees Celsius, with root-mean-square errors of 1.3 - 1.5 degrees. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605)

Meeting on a GOES-R Electric Power Case Study: In the continuing effort to support Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) -R cost-benefit studies, T. Schmit participated in a teleconference on the potential benefits of GOES-R to the energy industries. This meeting included both government and industry. The goal is to understand how GOES-R era instruments will help improve weather forecasts that lead to more accurate energy load forecasts. The process is complicated by the fact that most users of GOES data acquire the information indirectly, e.g., after data assimilation and forecasts. (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291)

Abstracts Submitted to the AMS Annual Meeting: Three abstracts on Arctic meteorology and climatology were submitted to the American Meteorological Society's (AMS) Conference on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography, to be held in conjunction with the AMS Annual Meeting in February 2003. The papers are titled "Simulation of the Antarctic climate using the Arctic Region Climate System Model (ARCSyM) and the AVHRR Polar Pathfinder (APP) data set", by M. Pavolonis (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS)) and J. Key, "Impact of Polar Cloud Track Winds from MODIS on ECMWF Analyses and Forecasts", by D. Santek (CIMSS), J. Key, and C. Velden (CIMSS), and "Recent Arctic Climate Trends Observed from Space, 1982-1999", by X. Wang (CIMSS) and J. Key. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605)

Journal Paper Reviewed: J. Key reviewed a paper for the Journal of Geophysical Research on cloud forcing. The authors investigated the relationship between cloud type and cloud radiative effect at two locations in the Arctic with in situ radiation data. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605)

GOES Abstract Submitted for AMS Satellite Conference: An abstract was submitted to the 12th annual American Meteorological Society (AMS) satellite conference for a poster to be presented on satellite intercalibration. The poster will have a special focus on Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Imager comparisons with the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) now flying on the Aqua satellite. Authors are M. Gunshor (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS)), D. Tobin (CIMSS), T. Schmit, and W. P. Menzel. The title is: "First satellite intercalibration comparing high spectral resolution AIRS with operational geostationary imagers." (M. Gunshor , CIMSS, 608-263-1146)