ASPB and CIMSS Weekly Report
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ASPB AND CIMSS WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING AUGUST 3, 2009

IN THE PRESS:

ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, STAR:

OAR-NESDIS Workshop on Joint Field Campaigns: Brad Pierce attended a joint NESDIS OAR-NESDIS workshop in Silver Spring, MD focusing on improving coordination related to joint field campaigns. The objective of the meeting was to share and collect perspectives from OAR and NESDIS line offices regarding impediments and opportunities for improving collaboration. He led a breakout group that focused on means of establishing greater involvement of NESDIS in planning and execution of field campaigns and enabling collaborative research. (R.B. Pierce, E/RA2, 608-890-1892, brad.pierce@noaa.gov)

First GOES-14 full-disk visible image: The first Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-14 full-disk visible image was received on 27 July 2009 starting at 1730 UTC. This image was ingested by the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) Data Center and displayed in realtime at http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/media/spotlight/goes14/. The Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) Satellite blog posted high spatial resolution images: http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/archives/3054. For more information, see http://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/star/GOES-14FirstImage.php or the NOAA Science Test page at http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/projects/goes-o/. (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291, tim.j.schmit@noaa.gov; S. Bachmeier, CIMSS, 608-263-3958)

  (Click image to enlarge)

Figure caption: GOES-14 visible image which showed von Karman vorticies streaming southward from Guadalupe Island off the west coast of Baja California.

CIMSS Summer Workshop for High School Students: From 26 through 30 July 2009, the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) held the 17th offering of its high school Workshop for Atmospheric, Earth, and Space Sciences on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. The workshop included field trips to a local television station and private weather company, the nearby NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) forecast office in Sullivan, WI, the nearby Baraboo Range (for a geological tour), and Lake Mendota (for - newly successful this year - a limnology dredging expedition). Fourteen students participated, with an even mix of girls and boys, and seven traveling from out of state. Numerous presentations were given on a variety of science topics, with emphasis on weather and satellite remote sensing. NOAA Advanced Satellite Products Branch (ASPB) members provided significant contributions (R. Aune, on numerical weather prediction; T. Schmit, on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) program; and G. S. Wade, on the Man computer Interactive Data Access System (McIDAS), with transition to the latest version: McIDAS-V). More information is available at http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/studentworkshop/index.html. (J. Gerth, CIMSS, 608-263-4942, jordang@ssec.wisc.edu; G.S. Wade, E/RA2, 608-263-4743, gary.s.wade@noaa.gov; M. Mooney, CIMSS, 608-265-2123, margaret.mooney@ssec.wisc.edu)

ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, CoRP:

GOES-R Aviation Requirement Overview Presented to NextGen Environmental Information Team: Wayne Feltz (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, CIMSS) presented a GOES-R aviation requirement overview to Joint Program Development Office (JPDO) NextGen Environmental Information team on July 24, 2009. An overview regarding satellite-based turbulence, convective initiation, overshooting-top, volcanic ash, icing, and visibility was provided to multi-agency team (NASA, NOAA, FAA, DOD, DOC). Feedback back included more connectivity between JPDO NextGen implementation (2012-2025) and availability of GOES-R aviation decision support products by 2016. (W. Feltz, CIMSS, 608-265-6283)

CIMSS' MODIS NDVI Helps NWS Surveys: On July 24, 2009, two severe thunderstorms producing large hail developed and moved across southwestern Wisconsin, heavily damaging the maturing corn and soybean crops in large swaths. In conducting surveys of the damage days later to assess aerial extent, the National Weather Service (NWS) local office in Sullivan, Wisconsin, turned to one-kilometer MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) imagery produced at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS). CIMSS has made useful MODIS imagery and products available in a non-operational capacity to NWS local offices nationwide since 2006, and these uses underscore the anticipated benefits from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R-Series (GOES-R). (J. Gerth, CIMSS, 608-263-4942; S. Bachmeier, CIMSS, 608-263-3958)

  (Click image to enlarge)

Figure caption: This figure, courtesy of the National Weather Service, shows decreased greenness fraction in swaths over southwestern Wisconsin following the passage of two severe hailstorms.

CloudSat/CALIPSO Science Team Meeting: The annual CloudSat/CALIPSO Science Team Meeting was held this year at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison, Wisconsin. CloudSat and CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder) are two missions flown by NASA in the A-train constellation. Andrew Heidinger presented work on the use of CALIPSO data to derive a global Bayesian cloud detection scheme. Michael Pavolonis showed results on his use of CALIPSO observations for validating GOES-R algorithms. A number of Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) scientists also participated in the meeting. (A. Heidinger, E/RA2, 608-263-6757, M. Pavolonis, E/RA2, 608263-9597)

CIMSS VISIT Activities: The Virtual Institute for Satellite Integration Training (VISIT) distance learning lesson "Water Vapor Imagery and Potential Vorticity Analysis" (http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/visit/wv_pv.html) was led by staff from the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) on July 30, 2009. National Weather Service (NWS) forecast offices in Milwaukee/Sullivan (Wisconsin) and Midland (Texas) participated in the VISIT lesson. (S. Bachmeier, CIMSS, 608-263-3958)

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