CIMSS-NOAA Weekly Report [ Archive ]

ASPB AND CIMSS WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING JULY 12, 2019

IN THE PRESS:

SSEC and CIMSS 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) Steve Ackerman, who has served as the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s associate vice chancellor for research in the physical sciences since 2012, will assume a new role as interim vice chancellor for research and graduate education on August 19. Ackerman is a professor of atmospheric science and a former director of CIMSS. The story was published by UW News and SSEC News: https://go.wisc.edu/52awi8, https://www.ssec.wisc.edu/news/articles/12084/. 2) UW-Madison Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Steve Ackerman was elected to a four-year term as Secretary General of the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences. Read more at http://www.iamas.org/. 3) CIMSS Satellite Blog contributor Scott Bachmeier published posts on "Tropical Storm Barry" (July 11), the "Undular bore in the southern High Plains" (July 10), and "Canadian wildfire smoke across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes" (July 7,8,9). Read more at the CIMSS Satellite Blog: http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/. (S. Ackerman, SSEC, S. Bachmeier, CIMSS, J. Phillips, SSEC, 608-262-8164)

  (Click image to enlarge)

Figure: Steve Ackerman to serve as University of Wisconsin–Madison’s interim vice chancellor for research and graduate education starting Aug. 19. Credit: Jeff Miller/UW-Madison. 

  (Click image to enlarge)

Figure: On July 8, 2019, GOES-16 (GOES-East) true color red-green-blue (RGB) images showed the signature of dense smoke from Canadian wildfires that was transported southward across the Upper Midwest. Credit: UW-Madison Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. 

ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, STAR:

AGU Celebrate 100 Grant for Climate Education: To mark its Centennial, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) awarded ‘Celebrate 100’ grants to showcase the value of Earth and space science and its impact on society. Margaret Mooney from NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) garnered funding support to develop a curriculum that dovetails with weekly themes of the Mindful Climate Action (MCA) project. MCA is the first initiative of its kind to incorporate mindfulness with climate education, and to examine the relationship between an individual’s carbon footprint and health. AGU enabled Mooney to author or co-author nine chapters freely available on-line at http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/education/MCA/. (M. Mooney, CIMSS, 608-265-2123)

Imager + Sounder Cloud Height Paper Published: A paper was published which demonstrated a technique to use cloud heights derived from a sounder to serve as a first guess and constraint in the optimal estimation approach used for the imager cloud height algorithm. This paper used data from the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) to demonstrate the technique. With support from the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Risk Reduction Program, this technique is being implemented using the NOAA Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System (NUCAPS) cloud heights into the Enterprise/Algorithm Working Group (AWG) Cloud Height Algorithm (ACHA). This technique exploits the accuracy of the sounder and high spatial resolution of the imager to make a product that should improve the height products going into the Polar Winds and Aviation Applications. The paper can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-18-0079.1. (A. Heidinger, E/RA2, 608-263-6757, andrew.heidinger@noaa.gov)

2019 CSPP Users' Group Meeting: The fourth Community Satellite Processing Package (CSPP) Users’ Group Meeting was held in Chengdu, China, 25-27 June 2019. Attendees from 11 countries and 5 continents gathered to discuss a wide variety of topics related to reception, processing, and applications of meteorological data received directly from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geostationary satellites (Geo). CSPP LEO and Geo programs provide software to generate calibrated/geolocated data and geophysical science products from a number of satellites, including the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), NOAA, Metop, Fēngyún-3 (FY-3), Geosynchronous Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) and Himawari. The meeting program is available at http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/meetings/cspp/2019-meeting/program/. (K. Strabala, CIMSS/SSEC, 608-263-8752, L. Gumley, CIMSS/SSEC, G. Martin, CIMSS/SSEC, A. Huang, CIMSS/SSEC, J. Braun, CIMSS/SSEC)

  (Click image to enlarge)

Figure: 2019 CSPP Users' Group Meeting Group Photo.

ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, CoRP:

Satellite Meteorology Workshop: During the week of July 8th, Paul Menzel and Tim Schmit supported the NOAA/NASA Satellite Meteorology Summer Workshop held in Fort Collins, Colorado. The workshop was coordinated by Steve Goodman and Dan Lindsey. Paul Menzel covered many aspects of radiative transfer, including high-spectral resolution measurements. Tim Schmit covered the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI). Both included hands-on activities. There were approximately two dozen students, representing six countries. (W.P. Menzel, CIMSS, 608-263-4930; T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291, tim.j.schmit@noaa.gov)

  (Click image to enlarge)

Figure: Satellite Meteorology Summer Workshop students playing the ABI matching activity. On-line version: https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/webapps/matching/satmatch_abi_GreatLakes8.html. 

CIMSS Provides New Temperature Thresholds for GOES-17 ABI DQFs: Researchers at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) and the Advanced Satellite Products Branch (ASPB) provided the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R Program with new thresholds for when to flag GOES-17 Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) data during the daily heating period due to the loop heat pipe issue. A special data quality flag (DQF) was added for this purpose. The new thresholds were determined by studying the results of the predictive calibration test data provided by the instrument vendor for April 13-14, 2019 (the hottest, worst-case, two days of the year for the instrument). Predictive calibration greatly improves the data quality of bands 8-16 on the ABI during periods when the instrument is rapidly heating or cooling, resulting in more of the data on either side of the peak heating period being usable. The thresholds are based on Focal Plane Module (FPM) temperature and the original values were chosen conservatively, such that a lot of data that will be usable would be given a DQF indicating the instrument is too hot. Predictive calibration for GOES-17 ABI is expected to become operational July 15 and CIMSS will continue to monitor ABI data quality relative to the FPM temperatures in case these thresholds need further adjustment. (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291, tim.j.schmit@noaa.gov, M. Gunshor, CIMSS, J. Nelson, CIMSS).

Satellite Workshop at Native Youth Congress: A workshop on hazardous weather products including GOES-R satellite imagery was given to senior high school and college students at the Native Youth Community Adaptation Leadership Congress. NOAA services and internship opportunities were also highlighted a Career Fair at the event. The Congress is hosted by Federal Agencies and is sponsored by U.S Fish and Wildlife Service at their National Training Center (Bob Rabin, NOAA/NSSL and CIMSS Fellow, 405-325-6336).

CIMSS Support for ECCC-Sponsored GOES-R Workshop in Montreal: Scott Lindstrom and Chris Schmidt gave presentations at the GOES-R Short Course organized by members from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and held just prior to the annual congress of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS), held this year in conjunction with the International Union of Geophysics and Geodesy (IUGG) in Montreal, Canada. The Short Course was held on 8 July 2019. Lindstrom gave presentations on the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) and on the creation of Red/Green/Blue (RGB) composite imagery. Lindstrom and Schmidt gave short presentations/labs on using GOES-R Advanced Baseline Imagery (ABI) to identify, monitor or predict Extratropical Transition, Atmospheric Rivers, Fog and Low Clouds, and Convective storms. Class materials are available online at http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/shortcourse/cmos2019. (S. Lindstrom, CIMSS, 608 263 4425; C. Schmidt, CIMSS)

VISITORS:

NEXT WEEK:

LOOKING AHEAD: