CIMSS-NOAA Weekly Report [ Archive ]

ASPB AND CIMSS WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING MARCH 31, 2017

IN THE PRESS:

In the Press: T. Schmit was interviewed by the University of Wisconsin (UW) Mad Science group, which is the research communications blog at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (https://uwmadscience.news.wisc.edu/). The topic was the upcoming August 21, 2017 solar eclipse. The post, entitled “A new perspective”, references geostationary observations of the solar eclipse shadow is at: https://uwmadscience.news.wisc.edu/uncategorized/a-new-perspective. (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291)

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Figure caption: A portion of the University of Wisconsin Mad Science blog post on observing solar eclipses from geostationary satellites. The image is of a recent solar eclipse as seen by the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on GOES-16. 

ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, STAR:

EUMETSAT Visit: Mike Pavolonis (NOAA/NESDIS/STAR) visited the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) from March 27 – 31, 2017. The goal of the visit was to advance NOAA/EUMETSAT collaborations on cloud remote sensing with an emphasis on volcanic cloud and cloud thermodynamic phase products. One outcome of the visit is an improved understanding of how to best utilize next generation geostationary satellites, such as GOES-16 and Meteosat Third Generation, to extract the cloud thermodynamic phase information needed to improve severe weather warnings and reduce aviation hazards such as aircraft icing. In addition, the visit served to advance the effort to implement the NOAA/NESDIS/STAR VOLcanic Cloud Analysis Toolkit (VOLCAT) at EUMETSAT. VOLCAT is uniquely capable of identifying, characterizing, and tracking volcanic clouds, which are a major aviation hazard. The Japanese Meteorology Agency (JMA) and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) have already integrated VOLCAT into their operations. VOLCAT usage within NOAA, JMA, BoM, and EUMETSAT helps to ensure that the products issued by Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers (including the two operated by NOAA) are consistent, robust, and fully exploit satellite capabilities; thereby improving aviation safety and efficiency. (M. Pavolonis, E/RA2, 608-263-9597, Mike.Pavolonis@noaa.gov)

ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, CoRP:

U.S. CLIVAR Meeting Attended: Jim Kossin (NCEI/CWC) attended a meeting of the U.S. CLIVAR Working Group on the Expansion of the Tropical Belt. (J. Kossin, NCEI/CWC, 608-265-5356)

Washington Post Article Assessed: A recent article in the Washington Post was assessed for scientific accuracy by Jim Kossin (NCEI/CWC). Kossin is a Science Advisor for the group climatefeedback.org, which provides critiques and assessments of media stories. The latest article is about the link between Arctic warming and Boreal Summer extremes. It can be found (with annotations and assessment) here: http://climatefeedback.org/evaluation/one-of-the-most-troubling-ideas-about-climate-change-just-found-new-evidence-in-its-favor-chris-mooney-washington-post/. (J. Kossin, NCEI/CWC, 608-265-5356)

GOES-16 Rapid Scan Imagery: Examples of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-16) 1-minute and 30-seccond interval rapid scan images were added to the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) Satellite Blog (http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/archives/category/goes-16). (S. Bachmeier, CIMSS, 608-263-3958)

GOES Presentation to the UW Bascom Hill Society: On March 28th, Tim Schmit gave a presentation entitled “Wisconsin’s Role in Geostationary Weather Satellites” to the University of Wisconsin (UW) – Madison Bascom Hill Society. The talk covered the earlier (experimental) years of geostationary, the current constellation and the many improvements with the GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite)-R series. (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291)

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Figure caption: T. Schmit, giving a talk on geostationary “weather” satellites, complete with a GOES-16 “First Light” images tie.

VISITORS:

NEXT WEEK:

LOOKING AHEAD: