ASPB and CIMSS Weekly Report
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IN THE PRESS:
ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:
ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:
ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, STAR:
GOES Sounder Products Promoted at SPC: As part of the support by the Advanced Satellite Products Branch (ASPB) in the participation by the Geostationary Observational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R Proving Ground (PG) Program in the National Weather Service (NWS) Storm Prediction Center’s (SPC) “Spring Program” in Norman, OK this season, G. S. Wade visited SPC on 28-29 May 2009. In addition to learning how satellite products from the PG (namely a GOES convective initiation product and a statistical GOES hail prediction product) were being evaluated, with respect to activities within the SPC Hazardous Weather Test Bed, Wade provided detailed background and examples to C. Siewert about improved products from the current GOES Sounder. Siewert is a recent hire for the PG who is to act as a satellite liaison at SPC. The GOES Sounder update material discussed during the visit may be accessed at ftp.ssec.wisc.edu/pub/garyw/GOES-Sndr-ovrvw-SPCvisit-20090529gsw.ppt. (G.S. Wade, E/RA2, 608-263-4743,gary.s.wade@noaa.gov;C. Siewert, CIMMS/SPC, 405-325-2663, chris.siewert@noaa.gov)
Volcanic Ash Meetings in Alaska: M. Pavolonis (NOAA/NESDIS) and J. Sieglaff (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, CIMSS) met with representatives from the National Weather Service (NWS) Anchorage office, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in Anchorage, Alaska to discuss new Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) based volcanic ash products developed by STAR and CIMSS. The AVHRR products, which include automated ash detection, ash height, ash microphysics, and ash mass loading are currently scheduled to be produced operationally by NESDIS, beginning in the spring of 2010. The Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) at the NWS is responsible for issuing volcanic ash related Significant Meteorological Information (SIGMET) statements, which are critical to the aviation industry. The USGS and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks at the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) monitor volcanic activity in Alaska and model the dispersion of ash clouds. All parties are interested in using these new products to improve ash detection and forecasting in Alaska, which has a high volume of air traffic and is one of the most volcanically active regions in the world. (M. Pavolonis, E/RA2, 608-263-9597, Mike.Pavolonis@noaa.gov, J. Sieglaff, CIMSS, 608-265-5357)
Meteorological Conditions at the Time of the Air France Flight 447 Crash: Satellite imagery and meteorological analyses from
the time of the Air France Flight 447 crash are available on the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) Satellite Blog (http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/archives/2601). (S. Bachmeier, CIMSS, 608-263-3958)
McIDAS Users Group Meeting: The McIDAS (Man-computer Interactive Data Access System) Users Group (MUG) meeting was held in Madison, Wisconsin on 2-4 June 2009. The McIDAS data analysis and visualization software is used by numerous university, government and industry groups for weather data analysis and display. Over 60 scientists attended. Presentations were provided on the current and future environmental satellite systems for the U.S and Europe. A demonstration of the fifth generation McIDAS, referred to as McIDAS-V, was followed by a day and a half of hands on McIDAS-V training. Many Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) and NOAA scientists were in attendance. (T. Achtor, CIMSS, 608-263-4206)
ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, CoRP:
CIMSS VISIT Activities: The Virtual Institute for Satellite Integration Training (VISIT) distance learning lesson "The Enhanced-V: A Satellite Severe Storm Signature" (http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/visit/ev.html) was led by staff from the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) on June 3, 2009. Five forecasters from the National Weather Service (NWS) office at Milwaukee/Sullivan, Wisconsin and six forecasters from the NWS office at Glasgow, Montana participated in the VISIT lesson. In addition, the CIMSS Satellite Blog was updated with a new post on the use of Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery to diagnose areas of calm winds over Lake Michigan (http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/archives/2669). (S. Bachmeier, CIMSS, 608-263-3958)Aune attends AMS Weather and Forecasting/Numerical Weather Prediction Conference: R. Aune gave two oral presentations at the 23rd Weather and Forecasting / 19th Numerical Weather Prediction Conference, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, in Omaha, NE. The first talk titled "Using the GOES Sounder to Nearcast Severe Convection", presented results of the severe weather nearcasting system under development at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Studies (CIMSS) in collaboration with Ralph Petersen of CIMSS. The second talk, titled "A Portable Mesoscale Prediction System for MODIS Direct Broadcast Sites", described the development and deployment of a regional numerical weather prediction system that assimilates locally-processed retrievals from the Moderate Resolution Infrared Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and generates real-time regional predictions of precipitation and clouds. (R. Aune, E/RA2, 608-262-1071)
Manuscript on Geostationary Advanced Sounder Applications Submitted: A
manuscript entitled "Application of geostationary advanced infrared
sounding system on severe storm nowcasting - a simulation using IHOP
case" has been submitted to Geophysical Research Letters.
Co-authors are Jun Li, Jinlong Li, Jason Otkin (Cooperative Institute
for Meteorological Satellite Studies, CIMSS), and Timothy J. Schmit
(STAR). (Jun Li, CIMSS, Jun.Li@ssec.wisc.edu, 608-262-3755)
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