CIMSS-NOAA Weekly Report
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ASPB AND CIMSS WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING AUGUST 25, 2006

IN THE PRESS:

ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:

GOES Sounder Cloud Product Approved for Operational Trial: The Operations and Services Improvement (OSIP) committee of the National Weather Service (NWS) accepted the Real Time Mesoscale Analysis (RTMA) for operational  trials.  The RTMA is a 5 km resolution system that generates gridded surface analyses of standard meteorological parameters to aid forecasters in validating the National Digital Forecast Database.  The NESDIS operational Effective Cloud Amount (ECA) retrieval from the GOES sounders was selected as a proxy for the RTMA hourly sky cover.  Transmission of the NESDIS ECA product will begin in October.  Personnel at the Forecast Products Development Team (FPDT) and the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellites Studies (CIMSS) worked hard to deliver the ECA product to the NWS in the proper format for the RTMA evaluation phase. (R. Aune, E/RA2, 608-262-1071)

Significance:
The RTMA will assist NWS forecasters with improving forecasts created for the National Digital Forecast database.  The RTMA will also be used to create a long-term Analysis of Record (AOR) in which the GOES sounder ECA will provide a record of sky conditions.

NOAA Mission Goal:
Serve society's needs for weather and water information.

NOAA Cross-Cutting Priorities:
Integrated Global Environmental Observation and Data Management

ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, STAR: 

CIMSS hosts CREST Students for McIDAS Training: Six graduate students from two of the participating institutions (City College of New York and Hampton University) in the NOAA Cooperative Remote Sensing Science and Technology Center (CREST) visited the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) August 22-25, 2006. The two-fold purpose of their trip was (1) to receive training on the University of Wisconsin-Madison Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) Man computer Interactive Data Access System (McIDAS) and (2) to be exposed to, and learn about, the various areas of satellite research at CIMSS. Nearly three days were devoted to McIDAS instruction and exercises (much by McIDAS Users Group (MUG) staff), while nearly another day was spent in discussion and presentation with over fifteen  CIMSS and SSEC scientists and staff. (G. S. Wade, E/RA2, 608-263-4743, gary.s.wade@noaa.gov)

ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, CoRP

Advantage of a Geostationary Hyperspectral IR Sounder in Temporal Coverage: A geostationary hyperspectral infrared (IR) sounder will provide high spatial and temporal coverage that is unique for regional weather forecasting.  Currently only the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on NASA's polar orbiting Aqua satellite provides hyperspectral IR measurements.  The animation below shows the hourly AIRS measurements (an IR window image) within an approximate geostationary disk coverage area.  A geostationary hyperspectral sounder will provide full hourly disk coverage rather than the partial coverage available with polar orbiting sounders, and will do so with a spatial resolution better than 10 km, as opposed the the 14 km resolution of AIRS.  (Jun Li, CIMSS/UW-Madison, 608-262-3755, Jun.Li@ssec.wisc.edu)

 (Click image to enlarge)

Figure caption: Animation of hourly AIRS data over the Western Hemisphere.

VISIT Distance Learning Activities: Two Virtual Institute for Satellite Integration Training (VISIT) distance learning lessons were led by instructors at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS): the "Mesoscale Convective Vortices" lesson on August 23 had 16 forecasters from 5 National Weather Service (NWS) offices participating, while the "Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) High Density Winds" lesson on August 21 had 1 forecaster from a single NWS office participating. (S. Bachmeier, CIMSS, 608-263-3958; S. Lindstrom, CIMSS)

Proposal Review: J. Key reviewed a proposal on polar cloud properties during the International Polar year for the National Science Foundation. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605, jeff.key@noaa.gov)

Other Meetings and Telecons:
 (None)

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