ASPT

GOES Sounder Data Provided for CALJET: In response to a request from P. Nieman (NOAA Environmental Technology Laboratory (ETL)), total precipitable water and cloud top information from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Sounder have been provided for times coinciding with the California Land-falling Jets experiment (CALJET) from December 1997 through March 1998. Discussions on availability and suitable formats for the GOES Sounder data, to be used to compare with other measurements, have been fruitful. The sample data, profile listings, and animations of GOES Derived Product Imagery (DPI) were posted on the Web. Recovery of the remainder of the data at the requested times will continue. (G. Wade, E/RA2, 608-263-4743)

GOES Wildfire ABBA Used to Monitor Wildfires in Quebec: For the past 4 years Environment Canada - Quebec Region has worked with the Advanced Satellite Products Team (ASPT) and the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) to evaluate the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Wildfire Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm (WF_ABBA) for fire detection and monitoring at northerly latitudes. During the recent outbreak of wildfires in Quebec, M. Moreau (Environment Canada/Meteorological Services/Quebec Region) indicated that the GOES WF_ABBA was an excellent tool for monitoring fires in real-time especially in the restricted protection zone in Northern Quebec where conventional fire monitoring is limited. He indicated that the latest version of WF_ABBA has significantly fewer false alarms with good agreement with ground truth verification information. We plan to do a detailed comparison with ground truth information at the end of the fire season. (E. Prins, E/RA2, 608-263-6607, C. Schmidt, CIMSS, 608-262-7973)

Summary of Wildfires in the Western U.S. for June: Composites of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Wildfire Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm (WF_ABBA) half-hourly fire products were created for the month of June 2002 to map the extent of fire activity as observed by GOES. The composites clearly show the extent of the large wildfires that burned throughout the Western U.S. Many of the conflagrations were detected as saturated pixels in the GOES-8 3.9 micron data. (E. Prins, E/RA2, 608-263-6607, C. Schmidt, CIMSS, 608-262-7973, J. Feltz, CIMSS, 608-263-3434)

ASPT Receives Ethics Training: Jeffrey Harrington from the Department of Commerce General Counsel office came to Madison, Wisconsin to give the Advanced Satellite Products Team (ASPT) a short presentation on ethics. This included many hypothetical situations. The General Counsel office is focussing on the midwest U.S. for training this year. (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291)

MODIS Science Team Meeting: J. Key attended the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Science Team meeting in Greenbelt, Maryland. He gave a presentation on the MODIS polar winds project, including results from model impact studies by the Data Assimilation Office and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605)

Fire Abstract Submitted to AMS Conference: An abstract titled "A two-year analysis of fire activity in the Western Hemisphere as observed with the GOES wildfire automated biomass burning algorithm" was submitted to the American Meteorological Society (AMS) 12th Conference on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography. The paper will provide on overview of half-hourly Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Wildfire Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm (WF_ABBA) fire statistics for the Western Hemisphere for the time period September 1, 2000 through August 31, 2002. It will also highlight current applications of the WF_ABBA for real-time fire detection and monitoring, air quality and aerosol model data assimilation activities, and applications in land-use and land-cover change studies. (E. Prins, E/RA2, 608-263-6607, C. Schmidt, CIMSS, 608-262-7973, J. Feltz, CIMSS, 608-263-3434)

Arctic Regional Climate Model Meeting: J. Key will be at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute for a meeting of the Arctic Regional Climate Model Intercomparison Project (ARCMIP). He will give a presentation on satellite data sets that can be used in climate models. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605)

New NWS Training Chief Briefed: Dr. Percy Thomas, the new National Weather Service (NWS) Training Division Chief, was given a two hour briefing on Wednesday, July 24, by members of the Virtual Institute for Satellite Integration Training (VISIT) Team in Madison, Wisconsin, Boulder, and Ft. Collins, Colorado. Dr. Thomas received an overview of the VISIT training practices, as well as survey results and other information about the enthusiastic participation by NWS forecasters. The VISITview teletraining tool was used to allow remote, interactive participation by members of the team and NWS Training Division staff. At the end of the briefing, the group engaged Dr. Thomas in a satellite-based weather discussion, using the real-time collaborations available at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) web site (http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/visit/satcollab.html). (T. Whittaker, CIMSS, 608-262-2759)