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ASPB and CIMSS Weekly Report
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IN THE PRESS:
ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:
ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:
Meeting with Iceland's President: Jeff Key (NESDIS/STAR) and Barry Goodison (World Meteorological Organization, WMO) had a one-hour meeting with the President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, at his residence outside of Reykjavik, Iceland, on November 17, 2010. Also present at the meeting were Árni Snorrason, Director of the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), and the president’s Chief of Staff. President Grímsson is interested in Iceland’s contributions to international efforts involving the Arctic, so Key and Goodison were asked to brief him on the development of the WMO Global Cryosphere Watch initiative and the Arctic Council’s Snow, Water, Ice, and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA) project. The open discussion (over tea and cake) produced a number of useful comments and suggestions. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605, jkey@ssec.wisc.edu)
Significance: Given Iceland's location at the southern extent of the Arctic, and the unique conditions that result from the island's geothermal activity, data on its glaciers, ice caps, snow cover, and solid precipitation will be an important contribution to the Global Cryosphere Watch. A few of Iceland's scientists are contributors to the SWIPA science report.
NOAA Mission Goal: Understand Climate Variability and Change to Enhance
Society's Ability to Plan and Respond Serve Society's Needs for Weather
and Water Information
NOAA Cross-Cutting Priorities: Sound, Reliable State-of-the-Art Research; Integrating Global Environmental Observations and Data Management
ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, STAR:
Visit to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Headquarters: M.
Pavolonis (NOAA/NESDIS/STAR) visited the Centre for Australian Weather
and Climate Research (CAWCR) at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology
(BoM) Headquarters in Melbourne during the week of November 14, 2010.
During the visit, M. Pavolonis gave seminars on the NOAA/NESDIS/STAR
volcanic ash and cloud products. In addition, the GEOstationary Cloud
Algorithm Testbed (GEOCAT) was installed and tested on BoM operational
hardware. GEOCAT is being used by the BoM to generate the
NOAA/NESDIS/STAR volcanic ash products in near real-time from MODerate
Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) direct broadcast data
received in Darwin Australia. The volcanic ash products will be made
available to operational forecasters at the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory
Center (VAAC). The GEOCAT installation at BoM will also eventually be
used to generate NOAA/NESDIS/STAR developed cloud products and volcanic
ash products for the Multi-Functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT)
geostationary series. (M. Pavolonis, E/RA2, 608-263-9597,
Mike.Pavolonis@noaa.gov)
Arctic Council SWIPA Integration Team Meeting: A
meeting of the Arctic Council's "Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the
Arctic (SWIPA)" project Integration Team (IT) was held in Reykjavik,
Iceland, 15-17 November 2010. The goal of SWIPA is to provide the
Arctic Council with up-to-date and synthesized scientific knowledge
about the status and trends in the Arctic cryosphere, and to determine
consequences of changes in the cryosphere for Arctic biological systems
and human societies. SWIPA will produce a science report, and layman's
report, and two films; all will be available in May 2011. Jeff Key
(STAR) attended the SWIPA IT meeting as one of two US co-leads on the
sea ice component of SWIPA, the lead author on the observations and
knowledge gaps chapter, and a co-lead author on the feedbacks synthesis
chapter. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605, jkey@ssec.wisc.edu)
IPCC Meeting Attendance and UNEP Consultation: Jim Kossin (NCDC) attended the 25-28 October Lead Author's Meeting for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Extremes in Geneva, Switzerland, and consulted on Early Warning Systems with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) scientists in Geneva during the following week. Kossin attended the First Lead Author's Meeting of the IPCC AR5 in Kunming, China, 8-11 November. (J. Kossin, NOAA/NCDC, 608-265-5356)
ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, CoRP:
Annual property inventory completed for ASPB: The annual NESDIS “wall-to-wall” FY2011 inventory for NOAA personal property at the Advanced Satellite Products Branch (ASPB) was completed this week. The inventory was requested to be completed noticeably earlier than in years past (being first, versus second, quarter for this year). A dozen ASPB assets had been retired in the late summer and had been correctly moved through Sunflower (the property software used by NOAA) as the assets went into “excess” (surplus) at the NOAA property warehouse in Maryland. Verifying paperwork and forms accounting for the remaining 80 active assets at ASPB were provided to the appropriate NESDIS personal property management representative (B. Foreman) on 16 November 2010. (G. S. Wade, E/RA2, 608-263-4743, gary.s.wade@noaa.gov)
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