ASPB and CIMSS Weekly Report
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ASPB AND CIMSS WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING MARCH 15, 2008

IN THE PRESS:

ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, STAR:

Satellite Data Compression Presentation at the CCSDS 2008 Spring Technical Meeting: Bormin Huang of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) attended the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) 2008 Spring Technical Meeting, hosted by NASA in Crystal City, VA, March 11-13, 2008. Invited by the CCSDS (http://www.ccsds.org) Multispectral & Hyperspectral Data Compression (MHDC) working group (WG) chair Aaron Kiely (NASA JPL), Bormin Huang gave a 3-hour talk on "Current Status of Hyperspectral Imager and Ultraspectral Sounder Data Compression". His talk reflects recent advances in this research area, conducted by the CIMSS satellite data compression team in support of the NOAA next-generation advanced weather satellite data compression studies (NOAA co-leads are Roger Heymann of OSD and Timothy Schmit of STAR). Per the CCSDS MHDC WG's request, Bormin Huang selected 20 published papers and 1 book chapter for their collection and reference. Raffaele Vitulli, the European Space Agency (ESA) delegate to CCSDS MHDC WG and Chair of ESA On-Board Payload Data Compression Workshop (OBPDC), invited Bormin Huang to attend the 2008 ESA OBPDC, Noorwijk, the Netherlands, June 26-27 (http://www.congrex.nl/08c20/). (B. Huang, CIMSS, 608-265-2231)

ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, CoRP:

Satellite Analysis of a Bennett Island Plume: A satellite-based analysis of the so-called "Bennett Island Plume" over the East Siberian Sea was added to the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) Satellite Blog (http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/archives/622) on March 12, 2008. A long cloud plume was seen on satellite products from the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and the NASA Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments. CIMSS polar cloud-tracked atmospheric motion vector products over the arctic region verified the presence of a southeasterly flow aloft over Bennett Island. MODIS brightness temperature difference imagery indicated that the long, high-altitude cloud plume was composed primarily of ice crystals, possibly above supercooled water droplets. Up to the early 1990s, the Bennett Island Plume was hypothesized to be formed from leaking deposits of frozen methane under the ocean floor. Aircraft studies later indicated that the plume was instead a result of orography, even though the island is only 1,398 feet in altitude.   (S. Bachmeier, CIMSS, 608-263-3958)

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Figure caption: False color NOAA-18 AVHRR image showing a long Bennett Island cloud plume over the East Siberian Sea on March 12, 2008.

RAQMS ARCPAC Aerosol Forecasting : In support of the NOAA Aerosol, Radiation, and Cloud Processes affecting Arctic Climate (ARCPAC) field mission, Real-time Air Quality Modeling System (RAQMS) chemical and aerosol forecasts where used to develop March 13, 2008 flight plans for the NOAA P3 during pre-mission flight planning exercises. The flight planning focused on sampling mid-latitude pollution plumes from Fairbanks, AK. RAQMS aerosol predictions indicate enhanced sulfate aerosols embedded within a low-level cloud band associated with difluent low level flow off the North Slope of Alaska. (R. Bradley Pierce, E/RA2, 608-890-1892, brad.pierce@noaa.gov)

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Figure caption: RAQMS 36hr, 3km SO4 forecast valid at 00Z March 14, 2008 along with NOAA-18 visible imagery valid at 20:20Z March 13, 2008 showing enhanced sulfate aerosols embedded within the observed cloud band north of Alaska.

Sample GOES-O Imager GVAR data read into McIDAS: To better prepare for changes of the GVAR (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Variable) that supports the improved spatial resolution of the 13.3 micron band, sample GVAR laboratory data was supplied. The data were used for verifying the new GVAR format and to test ingestors, not the overall quality of GOES-O data. The finer 'band 6' spatial data is evident in images from both the Sensor Processing Subsystem (SPS) and an updated Man computer Interactive Data Access System (McIDAS). More information, and a Powerpoint file with sample images, can be found at: http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/goes14_blog/. (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291, SSEC Data Center)

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Figure caption: Image of GOES-O Imager thermal vacuum test data. These images were made using the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) McIDAS system. Note the improved spatial resolution of the 13.3 micron band (6) of the GOES-O imager (right panel), which is now the same field-of-view size as the other infrared bands (as shown in the left panel).

CIMSS VISIT Activities: The Virtual Institute for Satellite Integration Training (VISIT) distance learning lesson "Water Vapor Imagery and Potential Vorticity Analysis" was offered by staff from the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) on March 14, 2008. Forecasters from the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast office at Birmingham, Alabama participated in the VISIT lesson. (S. Bachmeier, CIMSS, 608-263-3958)

Other Meetings and Telecons:

None.

VISITORS:

NEXT WEEK:

LOOKING AHEAD:


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