CIMSS-NOAA Weekly Report [ Archive ]

ASPB AND CIMSS WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 21, 2018

IN THE PRESS:

SSEC and CMSS Scientists in the News: Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) and the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) provide expert commentary, interviews, and imagery to news media and participate in events to promote science. In the news this week: 1) UW News and SSEC News published a follow-up story to the November 26 visit of NOAA Deputy Administrator Neil Jacobs who visited Madison to gather input and lay out a vision to improve U.S. weather forecasts. Jacobs also emphasized the role of the NOAA cooperative institutes, like CIMSS, in mitigating weather-related losses by increasing innovation and research opportunities. More at https://www.ssec.wisc.edu/news/articles/11477, https://go.wisc.edu/21f705. 2) CIMSS Satellite blog contributor Scott Bachmeier published posts on the "Rare December tornado in Washington" (Dec. 18), "Contrails along the Florida coast" (Dec. 18), "Orographic standing wave cloud over the Mid-Atlantic states" (Dec. 17), and "Southern US storm, and a Tehuano wind event" (Dec. 15). Read more at the CIMSS Satellite Blog: http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/. (J. Phillips, SSEC, 608-262-8164, S. Bachmeier, CIMSS)

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Figure: GOES-16 (GOES-East) low level water vapor (7.3 µm) images showed the evolution of a large midlatitude cyclone as it moved from the Southern High Plains to the Lower Mississippi Valley, 13-15 Dec. 2018. View the animation: https://go.wisc.edu/5cp924. 

ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, STAR:

EUMETSAT Visit Explored Satellite Profile Validation: Tim Wagner, associate researcher atthe Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS), spend two weeks at the EUMETSAT headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany, as a visiting scientist working with the profile retrieval group as a guest of Dr. Thomas August. The visit explored the use of airborne Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) observations from routine commercial flights and how these data can be used to validate thermodynamic profile retrievals from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) mounted aboard three of EUMETSAT's polar orbiting satellites. Since aircraft flights are not restricted to the synoptic launch times of radiosondes, the AMDAR observations provide a much more comprehensive dataset for validation than the operational scheme which relies on sondes. Excellent agreement was found between the AMDAR profiles and the colocated IASI soundings. Pathways for implementing the AMDAR data into the operational validation scheme were discussed. (T. Wagner, CIMSS, 608-890-1980).

ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, CoRP:

Virtual Alaska Weather Symposium on Absorbed Solar Energy, Sea Ice, and Snow: Jeff Key gave a seminar on 19 December 2018 for the Virtual Alaska Weather Symposium (VAWS) titled "Using Satellite Climate Data Records to Study Absorbed Solar Radiation: Arctic vs Antarctic and Snow vs Sea Ice". The presentation described how recent declines in Arctic sea ice and snow extent have led to an increase in solar energy absorption at the surface, resulting in additional heating and a further decline in snow and ice. It addressed the questions (1) To what extent is the increased absorption of solar energy at the Arctic surface due to the loss of summer sea ice offset by increases of sea ice extent in the Antarctic? (2) How do the trends in absorbed solar radiation at the Arctic surface over land and ocean compare? What is the relative importance of the ice-albedo and the snow-albedo feedbacks? The work, recently published in two papers, utilized the AVHRR Polar Pathfinder-Extended (APP-x) climate data record. Information on VAWS, the presentation slides, and an audio recording of the presentation are available at https://accap.uaf.edu/VAWS_Dec2018. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605, jeff.key@noaa.gov)

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Figure: September albedo over the Arctic from the AVHRR Polar Pathfinder-Extended (APP-x) in 1984 and 2011.

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