ASPB and CIMSS Weekly Report
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ASPB AND CIMSS WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING MAY 22, 2010

IN THE PRESS:

ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, STAR:

GOES-R Proving Ground All-Hands Meeting: Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) and Advanced Satellite Products Branch (ASPB) scientists presented “Status & Plans for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite GOES-R Proving Ground (PG)” at the annual GOES-R Proving Ground All-Hands Meeting, May 18-19, 2010 in Boulder, CO. The presentation covered many activities, focusing on the variety of products that CIMSS/ASPB are providing to the National Weather Service (NWS): near realtime simulated ABI images, overshooting-top/enhanced-V, GOES Imager Convective Initiation, Weather Event Simulator (WES), MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Imagery and products, and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Imagery and products. In addition, two hands-on laboratory exercises were led. One allowed participants to run the ABI WES on Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS); the other was a web-based GOES-R ABI Weighting Function (WF) exercise, where participants could experiment with how the temperature, moisture, skin temperature, view angle, might affect the brightness temperatures of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on GOES-R/S. T. Schmit (STAR) attended as a member of the PG executive board. Several others from CIMSS and ASPB attended via the phone. (W. Feltz, CIMSS, 608-265-6283; J. Gerth, CIMSS; T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291, tim.j.schmit@noaa.gov)

ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, CoRP:

Manuscript on NWP Model Evaluation Accepted for Publication: A manuscript titled “Evaluation of Midlatitude Clouds in a Large-Scale High-Resolution Simulation using CloudSat Observations” was accepted for publication in the Journal of Geophysical Research. The paper by Tom Greenwald (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, CIMSS) and others used CloudSat observations to examine the vertical structure and radiative effects of midlatitude clouds in a large-scale cloud-resolving Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulation. (T. Greenwald, CIMSS, 608-263-3629)

GOES Cloud Optical Depth Validation during CalNex : On Sunday May 16, 2010 the NOAA P3 aircraft and the ship R/V Atlantis conducted coordinated measurements of a marine stratus deck near the San Nicolas, Catalina, and San Clemente Islands off the coast of Southern California. These coordinated measurements were conducted as part of the NOAA CalNex field mission which is investigating regional air quality and climate change in the California and the eastern Pacific coastal regions. Cloud retrievals from Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR, Peter Pilewskie, University of Colorado, PI) onboard the Atlantis are being used to validate real-time experimental GOES daytime cloud products produced at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS; Andy Heidinger, NESDIS/STAR). Preliminary comparisons between coincident GOES and SSFR cloud optical thicknesses show that the 15 minute GOES Cloud retrievals are able to capture the overall temporal variation of the SSFR retrievals but tend to underestimate optical thickness for more optically thick (>40) marine stratus. Comparisons with cloud retrievals and irradiance from SSRF measurements on the NOAA P3 are underway and will be used to interpret these differences. (R.B. Pierce, E/RA2, 608-890-1892, brad.pierce@noaa.gov; A. Heidinger, E/RA2, 608-263-6757, andrew.heidinger@noaa.gov; Sebastian Schmidt, Sebastian.Schmidt@lasp.colorado.edu; Samuel Leblanc, Samuel.Leblanc@Colorado.edu)

  (Click image to enlarge)

Figure caption: Upper left: Experimental GOES daytime Cloud Optical Depth retrieval at 19:30Z on May 16, 2010 with Atlantis track (black) and P3 flight track (white). The Atlantis and P3 were co-located within the red circle at 19:30Z. Lower right: Timeseries of SSFR (black) and GOES (red) optical thickness along the Atlantis ship track from 16-24Z on May 16, 2010.

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