ASPB and CIMSS Weekly Report
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ASPB AND CIMSS WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING MAY 21, 2011

IN THE PRESS:

Space News Article on GOES-R: Tim Schmit and others were interviewed by Space News. The topic was the next generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R and potential benefits, especially those associated with severe weather. The article is available at http://www.spacenews.com/earth_observation/110516-weather-sats-saw-tornado-swarm.html. (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291, tim.j.schmit@noaa.gov)

ITEMS FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR:

ITEMS FOR THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR:

SWIPA Assessment of Arctic Cryosphere Released: Excerpts of a US State Department press release, May 12, 2011: "Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton joined her counterparts at the May 12, 2011 Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Nuuk, Greenland, in welcoming the release of a major climate science report on the state of the frozen Arctic. The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), a working group of the Arctic Council, released an assessment report on the impacts of climate change on Snow, Water, Ice, and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA). The report represents the culmination of a multi-year study that included contributions from scientists and indigenous groups from all of the Arctic States and additional expertise from non-Arctic communities as well...The Arctic Council will publish the full scientific assessment and an executive summary for policymakers, which captures the key scientific findings, found within the full report. The executive summary for policymakers is available at the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program's website: http://amap.no/swipa/. The United States urges forward looking cooperation among the Arctic countries to respond to the SWIPA Assessment's findings and recommendations." The full press release is available at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2011/05/163288.htm. Jeff Key (STAR) is a member of the SWIPA Integration Team and a lead/co-lead author on three SWIPA chapters. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605, jkey@ssec.wisc.edu)

Significance: SWIPA is a major assessent of recent changes in the Arctic cryosphere. Two NOAA scientists (NESDIS and OAR) made significant contributions to the report, and NOAA satellite data played a important role in the science presented.

NOAA Mission Goal: Understand Climate Variability and Change to Enhance Society's Ability to Plan and Respond NOAA Cross-

Cutting Priorities: Sound, Reliable State-of-the-Art Research; Integrating Global Environmental Observations and Data Management

ITEMS FOR THE OFFICE DIRECTOR, STAR:

ITEMS FOR THE DIVISION CHIEF, CoRP:

MODIS Science Team Meeting: Andrew Heidinger attended a meeting of the Science Team for NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) held at the University of Maryland. He gave a presentation on a new method to estimate cirrus cloud properties from the MODIS Infrared (IR) observations. The IR properties are much closer in agreement with those from a space-borne lidar and may offer insight into the cause for the large differences between the lidar values and those derived from MODIS with a solar-reflectance based technique. The current lack of spectral consistency between IR and solar-based methods limits advances in cloud remote sensing. (A. Heidinger, E/RA2, 608-263-6757, andrew.heidinger@noaa.gov)

CalNex Data Analysis Workshop: Brad Pierce presented a talk entitled "Chemical and Aerosol Data Assimilation and Forecasting Experiments during CalNex" at the Research at the Nexus of Air Quality and Climate Change (CalNex) Data Analysis Workshop. CalNex was jointly sponsored by NOAA and the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Results from CalNex will be used to improve air quality models used in the development of California State Implementation Plan (SIP). SIPs identify how states will attain the primary and secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) required under the Clean Air Act (R.B. Pierce, E/RA2, 608-890-1892, brad.pierce@noaa.gov)

National Science Olympiads Pipeline to Future Scientists: Patrick Rowley and Margaret Mooney from the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) staffed an exploration station for young scholars attending the National Science Olympiads (NSO) in Madison, Wisconsin this week. The station featured the popular weather and climate applets developed at CIMSS which are available on-line at http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/wxfest/. The middle and high school scholars were state champions destined for science-related careers. (M. Mooney, CIMSS/SSEC, 608-265-2123)

(Click image to enlarge)

Annual GOES-R Proving Ground Meeting: The annual Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R Proving Ground (PG) and satellite training meetings were held in Boulder, CO, May 16-20, 2011. The GOES-R PG meeting consisted of presentations and break-out groups. There were four attendees from Madison, WI; others participated remotely. W. Feltz summarized the accomplishments and plans of CIMSS/ASPB. J. Gerth gave a demonstration of the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) Weather Event Simulator (WES) case on the GOES-R Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI). NESDIS/STAR Advanced Satellite Products Branch (ASPB) member T. Schmit participated as a member of the Executive Board. S. Lindstrom and J. Gerth attended the training meeting. (T. Schmit, E/RA2, 608-263-0291, tim.j.schmit@noaa.gov).

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