CIMSS-NOAA Weekly Report [ Archive ]

IN THE PRESS:

ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, ORA:

GOES-9 Feature-Tracked Winds Operational: The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-9 satellite replaced the Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (GMS) on May 22nd as the operational geostationary satellite covering the western Pacific. The Forecast Products Development Team (FPDT) and the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) developed and helped implement new winds code that utilizes GOES-9 imagery for feature-tracked winds. The transition into operational winds production at both NESDIS and the Air Force Weather Agency went virtually without a hitch and routine datasets are now being produced and disseminated to users. (C. Velden, CIMSS, 608-262-9168, J. Daniels, E/RA2)

GOES Sounder Coverage from Japan to Maine:  With the replacement of Japan's Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (GMS)-5 by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-9, Sounder derived products, such as total precipitable water, are now being produced with broad coverage in the mid latitudes over the Pacific Ocean and U.S.  The display of real-time GOES-9, GOES-10 (-West), and GOES-12 (-East) imagery and products is available on the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) web page at: http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/realtime/grtmain.html#g3pw .  Sector scheduling amongst the three GOES satellites provides for optimal coverage over this wide area for only 12 out of 24 hours, although the subset US coverage remains hourly.  (G.S. Wade, E/RA2, 608-263-4743)

Meeting on Hyperspectral Infrared Data Compression: Approximately 40 people representing NOAA, NASA, federally funded research centers and several contractors attended a meeting on hyperspectral infrared data compression in Washington D.C. on May 22, 2003. The meeting was co-convened by T. Schmit (Office of Research and Applications) and R. Heymann (Office of Systems Development). The group is exploring data compression options for the Hyperspectral Environmental Suite (HES) data stream. Considerable progress has been made in this area, although much remains to be done.  (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291)

ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, ARAD:

THORPEX Planning Meeting: A meeting for The Hemispheric Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment (THORPEX) TOST (THORPEX Observing System Test) was held at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) on May 16th. Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) scientist Chris Velden, whom is also the THORPEX observation sub-program co-chair, attended the meeting. The primary goal was planning for the  upcoming TOST in the North Atlantic this fall. Resources from international agencies will be devoted to exploring the theory of numerical model-generated "targets of opportunities" (analysis deficiencies) and associated targeted observation missions. From the satellite perspective, we hope to activate special scanning schedules with the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) (imager and sounder) and Meteosat that will allow special datasets to be produced during this period. (C. Velden, CIMSS, 608-262-9168)

MODIS-VIIRS Working Group Meeting: John Qu (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), Keith Hutchison (University of Texas), Bruce Hauss (TRW), and Chunming Wang (TRW) visited the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) to discuss cloud products from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Visible/Infrared Imager and Radiometer Suite (VIIRS).  (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605)

Talks at Hyperspectral Workshop: T. Schmit gave a talk on using hyperspectral data to prepare for the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) at the hyperspectral workshop in Washington, D.C. on May 19- 23,  2003. Several high spectral data streams were used in these simulations, including data from aircraft data (both visible/near infrared and infrared), and polar-orbiting satellites. He also gave a demo on simulating broad-band longwave images from high spectral resolution data. Specialized software is available for computing these convolutions. (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291)

GOES SPOP Meeting: T. Schmit convened a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-side Sounding Product Oversight Panel (SPOP)  meeting. The status of work on GOES-12, 10, and 9 was reported, along with discussing data timing issues. Experimental retrievals are now being made from GOES-9 sounder data over the western Pacific. Work on unifying various GOES sounder processing algorithms (retrievals, Derived Product Images (DPI), clouds, etc) was also reported. (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291)

Remote Sensing Manuscripts Reviewed: A. Heidinger reviewed the manuscript "An Automated Cloud Detection Method for Daily NOAA-16 AVHRR data over Texas and Mexico" submitted to the Journal of Geophysical Research and the manuscript "Sensitivity Studies on the Remote Sensing of Cirrus Cloud Optical Thickness and Effective Particle Size for NPOESS/VIIRS Radiometer" submitted to Applied Optics. The manuscripts dealt with data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Visible and Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). (A. Heidinger, E/RA2, 608-263-6757).

Proposal Reviewed: J. Key reviewed a research proposal for the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences (CFCAS).  The investigators proposed to conduct a field experiment in the Canadian Arctic to learn more about polar clouds and sea ice.  (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605)

Archived Weeklies Page