ASPB and CIMSS Weekly Report
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ASPB AND CIMSS WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING MAY 15, 2010

IN THE PRESS:

CIMSS and ASPB on WGN-TV: Tom Skilling of WGN-TV in Chicago reported on the role of satellites in storm tracking with a focus on the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) and its NOAA colleagues. The 6-minute video and story are available at http://www.wgntv.com/wgntv-storm-chase-cimss,0,6577558.story. It includes interviews with Steve Ackerman (CIMSS), Chris Velden (CIMSS), and Tim Schmit (ASPB). Mr. Skilling also had a report in early April that illustrated the role of CIMSS satellite research in forecasting (http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/eb0006ff-06bd-40ef-9a84-d23d88b4b513/News/Tom-Skilling-Fermilab-A-Revolution-in-Forecasting). (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291, tim.j.schmit@noaa.gov)

ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, STAR:

ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, CoRP:

GOES-R Fog and Sulfur Dioxide Technical Readiness Review: The next generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) Technical Readiness Review (TRR) for the fog and sulfur dioxide products was held on May 14, 2010. One of the goals of the meeting was to demonstrate that the fog and sulfur dioxide products are on track to meet the accuracy specifications. Validation efforts indicate that the fog and sulfur dioxide products are comfortably on track to meet the accuracy specifications. (M. Pavolonis, E/RA2, 608-263-9597, Mike.Pavolonis@noaa.gov; W. Wolf, E/RA2, 301-316-5003, Walter.Wolf@noaa.gov; W. Straka III, CIMSS; A. Parker, CIMSS; C. Calvert, CIMSS)

GOES-R Ice Products Technical Readiness Review: The next generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) Technical Readiness Review (TRR) for ice products was held on May 11, 2010. The TRR material, compiled jointly with the Algorithm Integration Team, was presented to the GOES-R Program Office. The focus of the presentation was on test results, validation, and generation of the ice cover, concentration, age, and motion products. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605, jkey@ssec.wisc.edu)

PATMOS-x Ice Water Path Data Used in Climate Study: A recent paper in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP), written by Saloman Eliasson and others, compared the 25 year NESDIS Pathfinder Atmospheres Extended (PATMOS-x) ice water path data (IWP) to that from CloudSat and other sensors. This paper states that "As PATMOS-x extends over more than 25 years and is in fairly close agreement with CloudSat, it was chosen as the reference data set for the model evaluation". PATMOS-x data was subsequently used to illustrate the large discrepancies between individual climate models. PATMOS-x is a NESDIS cloud climate data set developed by Andrew Heidinger. (A. Heidinger, E/RA2, 608-263-6757, andrew.heidinger@noaa.gov)

CIMSS VISIT Activities: The Virtual Institute for Satellite Integration Training (VISIT) distance learning module "Mesoscale Convective Vorticies" (http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/visit/mcv.html) was led by S. Lindstrom from the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) on May 13, 2010. Staff from the National Weather Service forecast office at Cheyenne, Wyoming participated in the VISIT lesson. In addition, the CIMSS Satellite Blog (http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/archives/5551) was updated with Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) images from the major tornado outbreak in Oklahoma and Kansas on May 10, 2010. (S. Lindstrom, CIMSS, 608-263-4425, S. Bachmeier, CIMSS, 608-263-3958)

(Click image to enlarge)

Figure caption: An AWIPS image of 1-km resolution MODIS 11.0 µm IR data at 19:49 UTC revealed a well-defined cold/warm cloud top temperature couplet associated with a developing “enhanced-v” storm top signature. This storm later produced hail of 4.25 inches in diameter around 20:10 UTC, and then a strong EF-3 tornado around 20:33 UTC.

Sounding Product Oversight Panel Meeting: On 12 May 2010, T. Schmit and G. S. Wade (remotely) participated in the NOAA/NESDIS Sounding Product Oversight Panel (SPOP) meeting. T. Schmit gave presentations on “Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Sounding Products” and “GOES-R Sounding Products”. The presentations are available upon request. The meeting was organized by Fuzhong Weng and Awdhesh Sharma, co-chairs of the SPOP. (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291, tim.j.schmit@noaa.gov; G. S. Wade, E/RA2, 608-263-4743, gary.s.wade@noaa.gov)

GOES-R Imagery and Soundings ATBD Comments and Responses: Responses to the Harris Corporation's comments on the GOES-R 80% Algorithm Theoretical Basis Documents (ATBD) for the imagery and soundings teams were provided to the Algorithm Working Group (AWG) Applications Implementation Team (AIT). (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291, tim.j.schmit@noaa.gov; J. Li, CIMSS, 608-262-3755; X. Jin, CIMSS)

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