CIMSS-NOAA Weekly Report [ Archive ]

ASPB AND CIMSS WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 21, 2020

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) CIMSS scientist Ralph Petersen participated in a climate forum, The Promise of Ag Stewardship, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Dane County. Petersen talked about improved "weather and climate forecasting capabilities that, in turn, have provided new accuracies in the predictive power of current climate models." (https://go.wisc.edu/gr2969). 2) Jordan Gerth, UW honorary fellow, talked with WTMJ-TV Milwaukee about "Why 5G technology could impact your weather forecasts." (https://go.wisc.edu/nh8wu3). 3) CIMSS Satellite Blog contributors Scott Bachmeier and Scott Lindstrom published posts on the "Active Monsoon Trough, with Tropical Invest 96P and Tropical Cyclone Vicky near American Samoa" (Feb. 18, 20), "Hurricane Force lows in the North Atlantic Ocean" (Feb. 15), "Global Visible True-Color Imagery" (Feb. 15), and "Mesoscale Convective System in Argentina" (Feb. 14). Read more at the CIMSS Satellite Blog (https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/). (R. Petersen, CIMSS, J. Gerth, CIMSS, S. Lindstrom, CIMSS, S. Bachmeier, CIMSS, J. Phillips, SSEC, 608-262-8164)

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Figure: Beautiful true-color visible image of Earth from 9 February 2020. Developed by Rick Kohrs at SSEC, the composite knits together vertical local-noon swaths of multispectral visible/near-infrared geostationary imagery using SSEC's McIDAS-X. Credit: SSEC. 

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Figure: GOES-17 (GOES-West) “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images showed the movement of numerous thunderstorms across American Samoa, Feb. 16-18, 2020. Credit: CIMSS. 

ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, STAR:

GOES-17 Radiance and Imagery Passes Full Maturity Stage Review: A Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-17 Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) Full Maturity Peer Stakeholder - Product Validation Review (PS-PVR) was held on February 19, 2020 for radiances and Cloud and Moisture Imagery. X. Wu (Calibration Working Group) presented the Level 1b radiance portion of the review. T. Schmit and M. Gunshor (Algorithm Working Group) presented the imagery portion. Both the radiances and imagery passed to the full maturity stage, which means in part that "all known product anomalies are documented and shared with the user community". The GOES-17 Loop Heat Pipe issue was covered along with other artifacts. The vast majority of images from the GOES-17 ABI are without defect, but some have artifacts that program scientists and engineers are working to solve. (X. Wu, STAR; M. Gunshor, CIMSS; T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291)

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Figure: The vast majority of images from the GOES-17 ABI are without defect, but this image is an example of one of the known, rare, artifacts which occurs on both GOES-16 and -17 that program scientists and engineers are working to solve. 

ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, CoRP:

New Training on Above-Anvil Cirrus Plumes (AACPs): Scott Lindstrom at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) has released a new Virtual Institute for Satellite Integration Training (VISIT) module on Above-Anvil Cirrus Plumes (AACPs), storm structures that are associated with severe weather. This module is geared towards National Weather Service forecasters and was co-authored by Kris Bedka at NASA/Langley and Chauncey Schultz, the Science and Operations Officer (SOO) at the Weather Forecast Office in Bismarck. This live training is being offered via VISIT starting in late March. The training calendar is available at http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/training/visit/calendar.asp. A recorded version of the training is on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxzARPsW9jM). (S. Lindstrom, CIMSS, 608 263 4425; S. Bachmeier, CIMSS)

VISITORS:

NEXT WEEK:

LOOKING AHEAD: