CIMSS-NOAA Weekly Report
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ASPB AND CIMSS WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 5, 2003

IN THE PRESS:

ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, ORA:

CIMSS Science Council Meeting: The Science Council of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) held its annual meeting on September 3, 2003.  Fran Holt and Arnie Gruber are members of the Science Council and were in attendance.  (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605)

Meeting on GOES-R Synergy: T. Schmit attended a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R Instrument Synergy sub-group meeting at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology /Linclon Lab (MIT/LL). The meeting covered many aspects of GOES-R synergy: Intra-Satellite (e.g., next generation imager and sounder), Intra-System (e.g., East and West geostationary), and Inter-System (e.g., GOES-R/National Polar Orbiter Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS)). The group focused on Intra-Satellite uses; for example, how might data/products from the Hyperspectral Environmental Suite-Infrared (HES) and -Coastal Waters (HES-IR and HES-CW) and the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) help each other and how might this be accomplished. (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291)

ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, ARAD:

GOES Wildfire ABBA Validation Study in Quebec:  As part of a multi-year collaboration with M. Moreau (Environment Canada/Meteorological Services/Quebec Region) the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Wildfire Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm (WF_ABBA) fire products for the 2002 fire season were compared with available ground truth information provided by SOPFEU (SOciété de Protection des forêts contre le FEU), Quebec’s forest fire detection and prevention agency.  When considering fires that burned more than 10 hectares, the ABBA detected 91 out of 111 reported fires and a number of additional fires that were not reported due their remote location where there is no systematic daily reporting.  In one case the WF_ABBA detected a fire 17 days in advance of the first fire agency report; this fire eventually burned more than 55,000 hectares.  This study shows the utility of diurnal remote sensing fire products in remote areas at northerly latitudes.  (J. Feltz, CIMSS, 608-263-3434, E. Prins, E/RA2, 530-271-2256, C. Schmidt, CIMSS, 608-262-7973)



Figure Caption:  This alpha-blended composite for 17:45 UTC on July 6, 2002 shows fires that were detected by the GOES-8 WF_ABBA in Quebec Canada prior to the initial fire agency report.  These fires are located in the restricted protective zone of Quebec, where there is no daily systematic detection capability.

Fire Product Assimilation Proposal Funded by NASA:  A proposal titled “Analysis of Real Time Biomass-Burning Transport Model Data with Remote Sensing Products” was funded by the NASA’s Earth Observing System InterDisciplinary Science (EOS/IDS) Earth Science Enterprise’s Modeling and Data Analysis Research program.  The Principal Investigator is J. Reid of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL-Monterey) with D. Westphal (NRL-Monterey) and E. Prins serving as Co-PI’s.  This effort is an extension of a 3-year study focused on assimilating real-time fire products into the Naval Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System (NAAPS) to diagnose and predict aerosol loading and transport in real time.  Part of this proposal includes future assimilation of global geostationary fire products and integration with current and future NASA EOS and international satellite-derived aerosol and trace gas products (e.g. ozone, carbon monoxide, methane, aerosols).  (E. Prins, E/RA2, 530-271-2256, C. Schmidt, CIMSS, 608-262-7973, J. Feltz, CIMSS, 608-263-3434)

Biomass Burning Extended Abstracts Submitted to AMS Conference: Members of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) Biomass Burning Monitoring Team submitted extended abstracts to the 2nd International Wildland Fire Ecology and Fire Management Congress, part of the American Meteorological Society's (AMS) 5th Symposium on Fire and Forest Meteorology to be held November 16-20, 2003 in Orlando, Florida. One extended abstract describes a validation study which is part of an international collaborative effort.  "Recent validation studies of the GOES Wildfire Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm (WF_ABBA) in North and South America" was submitted by Joleen Feltz, Michel Moreau (Environment Canada/Meteorological Services/Quebec region), Elaine M. Prins, Kirsten McClaid-Cook (State University of New York-SUNY, Albany), and Irving F. Brown (Woods Hole Research Center, Federal University of Acre, Brazil).  The second abstract, "GOES Wildfire ABBA Applications in the Western Hemisphere", submitted by Christopher C. Schmidt and Elaine M. Prins, discusses the WF_ABBA algorithm, its output, and the efforts to reduce the time it takes to produce the product.  (C. Schmidt, CIMSS, 608-262-7973, J. Feltz, CIMSS, 608-263-3434, E. Prins, E/RA2, 530-271-2256)

Manuscript Reviewed: J. Key reviewed a manuscript on surface temperature retrieval and atmospheric correction for the journal Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing.  (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605)

VISITORS:

CoRP Chief Visits ASPB: Fran Holt, head of the Cooperative Research Program (CoRP) in the Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR) visited the Advanced Satellite Products Branch (ASPB) in Madison, Wisconsin on September 4, 2003. ASPB personnel provided summaries of their recent work.  (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605)

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