CIMSS-NOAA Weekly Report [ Archive ]

IN THE PRESS:

ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:

Geary Callan Retires: Geary Callan, a long-time member of the Advanced Satellite Products Team (ASPT), Office of Research and Applications (ORA), NOAA/NESDIS, retired on March 1, 2004.  ASPT is collocated with the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Mr. Callan began his 35 years of federal service in 1968 with the Census Bureau in Suitland, Maryland.  In 1970 he transferred to the Environmental Satellite Services Administration, which soon after became NOAA.  In 1979 he joined the NESDIS group in Madison, then known as the Meteorological Satellite Lab. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605)

ASPT Participates in ARL-ORA Technology Exchange Meeting:  On March 10, 2004, a meeting was held in Aberdeen, Maryland to discuss potential collaborative research between the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the Office of Research and Applications (ORA), NOAA Satellites and Information.  Three members of the ORA Advanced Satellite Products Team (ASPT) staff, stationed in Madison, Wisconsin, participated via video teleconference (VTC). ASPT advocated that ARL researchers consider providing their current and future satellite needs and requirements to NESDIS, especially with respect to the present development of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R and its markedly increased spectral capabilities.  ASPT also contributed background on satellite observation based nowcasting research being done within its host institution, the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS). (G.S. Wade, E/RA2, 608-263-4743, T.J. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291, R.M. Aune E/RA2, 608-262-1071)

ASPT and CIMSS Staff “Shadow” Local NWS Forecasters:  On Monday (8 Mar 2004), S. Bachmeier (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies)  and G. Wade (Advanced Satellite Products Team) spent the day shift at the local (southern Wisconsin) National Weather Service (NWS) office in Sullivan. Forecaster N. Johnston worked through, and explained how, the gridded forecasts, out to seven days, are routinely generated and adjusted for their County Warning Area (CWA).  The Interactive Forecast Preparation System (IFPS) was used, for first, the 5 to 7 day outlook, then the 1 to 5 day forecast, and finally, to assist with the daily text forecasts. Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imagery, abundantly displayed within the NWS Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System  (AWIPS), was an essential component to the shorter term forecast work; discussion of satellite influence on longer forecasts focused on model trend verification and more indirect effects through satellite data assimilation in the numerical forecast models. (G.S. Wade, E/RA2, 608-263-4743;  S. Bachmeier, CIMSS, 608-263-3958;  K. Rizzo, NWS, 414-297-3243)

Air Quality Collaborations with the Desert Research Institute:  On March 10, E. Prins met with M. Wetzel, T. Brown, B. Hall and J. Xu at the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada.  Discussions focused on the applications of satellite-derived fire products in collaborative research in the areas of aerosol source apportionment and visibility, fire climatology, smoke dispersion forecasting, and possible impacts of forest fire plumes on cloud microphysics and precipitation in the intermountain West.  While at DRI, joint discussions with B. Hicks (NOAA Air Resources Laboratory) emphasized the need to incorporate Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) fire products in NOAA's air quality forecasting efforts. (E. Prins, E/RA2, 530-271-2256)

McMurdo Ground Station Workshop: J. Key participated in a workshop to evaluate the need for satellite data acquisition at McMurdo, Antarctica.  Issues that were addressed included how satellite products can aid field and flight operations in Antarctica, what options are available for data reception,  what communication capacity to/from Antarctica is required, and what is planned for the NPOESS era.  The workshop was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and held at the Byrd Polar Research Institute (BPRC), Ohio State University.  It was co-hosted by the Antarctic Meteorological Research Center (AMRC), University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Participants were from NSF, NASA Headquarters, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the Integrated Program Office (IPO), the National Ice Center, Rathyeon, the Alaska Satellite Facility, SPAWAR, the British Antarctic Survey, the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, the University of Denver, Clarkson University, AMRC, BPRC, and NESDIS. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605)

Paper Published on Cloud Microphysical Properties from Aircraft and Satellite Observations:  A paper entitled "Dynamical and microphysical characteristics of Arctic clouds using integrated observations collected over  SHEBA during the April 1998 FIRE-ACE flights of the Canadian Convair" was published in the journal Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics (2004, vol. 85, pp. 235-263).  The paper is authored by I. Gultepe, G. Isaac (Meteorological Service of Canada), J. Key, T. Uttal, J. Intrieri (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), D. Starr (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), and K. Strawbridge (Meteorological Service of Canada).  The paper presents a comparison of cloud microphysical properties as observed by aircraft, satellite, and surface instruments during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic (SHEBA), First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project Regional Experiment-Arctic Clouds Experiment (FIRE/ACE) project. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605)

ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, ARAD

Aerosol Polarimeter Sensor Operational Algorithm Team Meeting:  A. Heidinger participated in the Aerosol Polarimeter Sensor (APS) Operational Algorithm Team (OAT) meeting via teleconferencing on March 9, 2004.  The APS is a sensor that will fly on one of the NPOESS polar platform and make multi-angle, multi-spectral observations of the reflectance including the Stokes parameters.  These measurements will allow for unambiguous retrieval of aerosol amount and size as well as new cloud properties.  However, these measurement are only available in a relatively small region of the NPOESS orbits.  (A. Heidinger, E/RA2, 608-263-6757)

NOAA NPOESS Data Exploitation Team Quality Flag Review:  A. Heidinger participated via teleconference in  a meeting between NOAA and the NPOESS contractors concerning the availability of quality flags in the cloud environmental data records from the Visible and Infrared Imaging  Radiometer Suite (VIIRS).  A. Heidinger spoke on the current quality flags used in the POES products and reviewed the MODIS cloud quality flags.  Several new quality flags were slated for addition to the VIIRS products.  (A. Heidinger , E/RA2, 608-263-6757)

Paper on Cold Air Outbreak Submitted: A paper titled "A Satellite View of the Cold Air Outbreak of 13-14 January 2004", by S. A. Ackerman, S. Bachmeier, K. Strabala, and M. Gunshor, was submitted to Weather and Forecasting.  The paper describes a cold, dry arctic air mass that occupied southern Canada and the northern Great Lakes region on January 13, 2004.  This air mass was very dry (total column precipitable water was 0.6 mm) allowing significant amounts of radiation originating from the surface to be detected in satellite water vapor imagery from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) -12.  The strong thermal gradient between the very cold land in southern Canada and the unfrozen, cloud-free, warm water along the northern portion of the Great Lakes was seen in water vapor imagery.  (S. Ackerman, CIMSS, 608-263-3647)

Computer Failure Temporarily Impacts GOES Sounder Products from CIMSS: After eight years of service, the  computer used to generate the benchmark 3x3 field-of-view (FOV) sounding profiles and resulting derived product imagery (DPI) from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS), failed completely on March 8, 2004.  The CIMSS web page at http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/realtime/realtime.html, displaying the current GOES Sounder products, had previously included the “older” 3x3 FOV data as well as the “newer” (better resolution) Single FOV (SFOV) data, often in interactive comparisons.  The CIMSS GOES web page, and the attendant scripts for display generation, are being modified to show only the SFOV GOES data.  (G.S. Wade, E/RA2, 608-263-4743,  J. Nelson, CIMSS, 608-263-6013)

Papers on Arctic Climate Submitted: Two papers describing spatial and temporal trends in Arctic surface, cloud, and radiative properties based on satellite data were submitted to the Journal of Climate.  Both papers were co-authored by X. Wang, Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, and J. Key.  The titles are "Arctic surface, cloud, and radiation properties based on the AVHRR Polar Pathfinder data set. Part I: Spatial and temporal characteristics" and "Arctic surface, cloud, and radiation properties based on the AVHRR Polar Pathfinder data set. Part II: Recent trends".  (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605)

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