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CIMSS-NOAA Weekly Report
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IN THE PRESS:
ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:
ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:
ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, ORA:
DAO Reports Positive Impact of MODIS Polar Winds: Lars
Peter Riishojgaard of the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations's
(NASA) Data Assimilation Office (DAO) reported that the MODerate-resolution
Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) polar winds have a positive impact on short-range
forecasts over the Arctic and Northern Hemisphere extratropics for the case
study period March 5 - April 3, 2001. These results are similar to
what was previously reported for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather
Forecasts (ECMWF) impact study. The DAO also demonstrated that
the forecast impact over Antarctica is slightly positive. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605, D. Santek, CIMSS, 608-263-7410,
C. Velden , CIMSS, 608-262-9168)
Figure caption: Skill in forecasting the 500 hPa height over the Arctic
(north of 60 degrees latitude) as a function of forecast day, with (dashed)
and without (solid) assimilating the MODIS polar winds. The comparisons
are between the Data Assimilation Office (DAO) forecast and the European
Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) analysis. The time
improvement in forecast skill is approximately 6 hours for a 4-day forecast.
GIFTS/MURI Meeting: W. P. Menzel, T. Schmit,
and J. Key attended the Workshop on Hyperspectral Meteorological Science
of the University of Wisconsin (UW) Multidisciplinary University Research
Initiative (MURI) and Beyond. The workshop was held at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison on May 14-15, and hosted by MURI project investigators
at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS).
W. P. Menzel gave a presentation titled "National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA)/Indian Ocean METOC Imager (GIFTS/IOMI) Plans and Operations". Other participants were from the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Navy. (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291,
J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605)
ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, ARAD:
Reduced False Alarms Observed with Version 6.0 of
the WF_ABBA: Based on analyses of experimental Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellite (GOES)-8/-10 Wildfire Automated Biomass Burning
Algorithm (WF_ABBA) fire products (version 5.9) generated since August of
2000, most false alarms in North America are typically detected in the spring
and fall transition periods. They are often associated with reflection
off clouds under extreme view angle conditions and at sunrise and sunset.
As part of the pre-operational evaluation of the WF_ABBA, comparisons of
versions 5.9 and 6.0 have shown improved performance with version 6.0 for
both GOES-8 and GOES-10 during the month of May. Version 6.0 eliminates
many of the false alarms detected under extreme view angle conditions at
sunrise and sunset. (E.
Prins, E/RA2, 608-263-6607, C. Schmidt, CIMSS, 608-262-7973)
Figure Caption: The figures show the GOES-10 Wildfire ABBA North American
fire products generated with version 5.9 and 6.0 at 11:30 UTC on May 13,
2002. Version 6.0 eliminates many of the saturated and low possibility
fire category false alarms detected in Canada and the Great Lakes region.
BUFR to McIdas MD File Converter: Using existing Binary Universal Form for Representation of meterological data (BUFR) decoding software and new code, a program was written to convert BUFR files to Man Computer Interactive Data Acquisition System (McIDAS) Meteorological Data file (MD file). This is a general program that converts radiosonde data but can be modified for use with other data types. (G. Callan, E/RA2, 608-263-3951)
Second GORWG Meeting: T. Schmit, as the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) representative, attended (via a telecon) the second meeting of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Operational Requirements Working Group (GORWG) on May 16, 2002. T. Schmit supplied a list of GOES-R products. (The list is available for review.) Product attributes will next be added and circulated to any interested parties. (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291)
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IN THE PRESS:
ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:
ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:
ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, ORA:
Achtor Named as Co-Chair of ITWG: Tom Achtor, Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) Executive Director, was recently elected as a Co-Chair of the International TOVS (Tiros Operational Vertical Sounder) Working Group (ITWG; http://www.bom.gov.au/bmrc/basic/tovs/index.html). The ITWG is a subgroup of the International Radiation Commission (IRC) which serves the needs and acts as a forum for the international infrared and microwave sounder science community. A primary focus of the ITWG is applications of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced TOVS (ATOVS) observations. CIMSS has worked with the Forecast Products and Development Team (FPDT) Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) science team (http://poes.nesdis.noaa.gov/) to support the ITWG. Achtor and Tony Reale (Office of Research and Applications) currently lead an ITWG subgroup on Satellite Sounder Science and Products (SSSP; http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/itwg/sssp/index.html). (T. Achtor , CIMSS, 608-263-4206)
ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, ARAD:
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