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At least 433 records · Page 24

Determination of sea surface temperatures from microwave and IR data

Microwave measurements from the Nimbus 7 SMMR were used to derive the atmospheric precipitable water, which was then used to obtain the atmospheric correction for use with AVHRR thermal IR measurements to obtain sea surface temperature (SST). The resulting SST's were compared with the NOAA operational sea surface temperature measurements, and the two sets of measurements were found to be in reasonable agreement. The average residuals between the two sets of measurements was 0.15 K with the NOAA operational SST's being slightly greater.

Rangaswamy, S.↗

NASA News

The launch of NOAA E, an advanced TIROS N (ATN) environmental monitoring satellite, carrying special search and rescue instrumentation is announced. NOAA E carries instrumentation for a demonstration to search and rescue (SAR) mission agencies for evaluation of a satellite aided SAR system that may lead to the establishment of an operational capability. The ability of a spaceborne system to acquire, track and locate existing Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs) and Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) that are being used aboard general aviation and other aircraft, and ships, and are operating on 121.5 and 243 Megahertz frequencies is demonstrated.

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Simulation of meteorological satellite (METSAT) data using LANDSAT data

The information content which can be expected from the advanced very high resolution radiometer system, AVHRR, on the NOAA-6 satellite was assessed, and systematic techniques of data interpretation for use with meteorological satellite data were defined. In-house data from LANDSAT 2 and 3 were used to simulate the spatial, spectral, and sampling methods of the NOAA-6 satellite data.

Austin, W. W.↗

Naval Remote Ocean Sensing System (NROSS) study

A set of hardware similar to the SEASAT A configuration requirement, suitable for installation and operation aboard a NOAA-D bus and a budgetary cost for one (1) protoflight model was provided. The scatterometer sensor is conceived as one of several sensors for the Navy Remote Ocean Sensing System (NROSS) Satellite Program. Deliverables requested were to include a final report with appropriate sketches and block diagrams showing the scatterometer design/configuration and a budgetary cost for all labor and materials to design, fabricate, test, and integrate this hardware into a NOAA-D satellite bus. This configuration consists of two (2) hardware assembles - a transmitter/receiver (T/R) assembly and an integrated electronics assembly (IEA). The T/R assembly as conceived is best located at the extreme opposite end of the satellite away from the solar array assembly and oriented in position to enable one surface of the assembly to have unobstructed exposure to space. The IEA is planned to be located at the bottom (Earth viewing) side of the satellite and requires a radiating plate.

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Satellite-in situ measurement intercomparisons at Wallops Island, Virginia

A field program was carried out at Wallops Island, Virginia in which a number of in situ soundings were made during February to May 1980 in conjunction with near overpasses of NOAA-6. A comparison of NOAA-6 measured and derived quantities with those of in situ instruments was made. Positive temperature biases (satellite warmer) were found to appear in the lower troposphere and tropopause regions; negative differences generally were found to appear in the middle and upper stratosphere. Average geopotential height differences were relatively small at all levels, but increasing rms errors showed decreasing reliability with height of satellite geopotential heights. Satellite-derived geostrophic winds were found to have less shear than in situ determined winds. Bias in the directional differences was found to range from less than 5 deg to about 20 deg, with rms differences apparently decreasing near the level of wind speed.

Nestler, M. S.↗

Statistical theory for estimating sampling errors of regional radiation averages based on satellite measurements

The processes which determine the weather and climate are driven by the radiation received by the earth and the radiation subsequently emitted. A knowledge of the absorbed and emitted components of radiation is thus fundamental for the study of these processes. In connection with the desire to improve the quality of long-range forecasting, NASA is developing the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE), consisting of a three-channel scanning radiometer and a package of nonscanning radiometers. A set of these instruments is to be flown on both the NOAA-F and NOAA-G spacecraft, in sun-synchronous orbits, and on an Earth Radiation Budget Satellite. The purpose of the scanning radiometer is to obtain measurements from which the average reflected solar radiant exitance and the average earth-emitted radiant exitance at a reference level can be established. The estimate of regional average exitance obtained will not exactly equal the true value of the regional average exitance, but will differ due to spatial sampling. A method is presented for evaluating this spatial sampling error.

Smith, G. L.↗

The special effort processing of FGGE data

The basic FGGE level IIb data set was enhanced. It focused on removing deficiencies in the objective methods of quality assurance, removing efficiencies in certain types of operationally produced satellite soundings, and removing deficiencies in certain types of operationally produced cloud tracked winds. The Special Effort was a joint NASA-NOAA-University of Wisconsin effort. The University of Wisconsin installed an interactive McIDAS capability on the Amdahl computer at the Goddard Laboratory of Atmospheric Sciences (GLAS) with one interactive video terminal at Goddard and the other at the World Weather Building. With this interactive capability a joint processing effort was undertaken to reprocess certain FGGE data sets. NOAA produced a specially edited data set for the special observing periods (SOPs) of FGGE. NASA produced an enhanced satellite sounding data set for the SOPs while the University of Wisconsin produced an enhanced cloud tracked wind set from the Japanese geostationary satellite images.

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Measurement of sea surface temperature from HIRS2/MSU

The High-Resolution Infrared Sounder (HIRS), a 20-channel infrared sounder, and the Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU), a 4-channel microwave sounder, were first launched on the TIROS-N Satellite in November 1978 as an upgraded operational temperature sounding system. Essentially identical instruments have flown on NOAA-6 and NOAA-7 and are scheduled to fly on future operational satellites through the eighties. While HIRS2 and MSU were designed primarily for the purpose of measuring atmospheric temperature profiles, the observed radiances are also sensitive to other meteorological parameters such as sea surface temperature, ground temperature, cloud height and cloud amount, ice extent over ocean, snow cover over land, etc. A physically based processing system for analysis of HIRS2/MSU data was developed to determine the above atmospheric and surface parameters, which when substituted in the radiative transfer equation, match the satellite observations to a given noise level. All parameters are retrieved in a mutually interacting fashion.

Susskind, J.↗

Objective assessment of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer data for land cover mapping

The validity of using data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) of the satellites NOAA-6 and NOAA-7 for land cover mapping is assessed by making comparisons with much higher resolution LANDSAT multi-spectral scanner (MSS) data. Near synchronous data for both systems are analysed for test sites in the Imperial Valley, California, the Nile Delta, and southern Italy. The results strongly indicate that despite the very coarse resolution of the AVHRR data compared with conventional MSS data they are sufficiently strongly correlated to suggest that the former have significant potential for land cover mapping, especially at small scales and for large areas. Hence the outstanding benefits of AVHRR data, namely their high temporal frequency, relative cheapness and low data volumes for image processing, may readily be taken advantage of for such tasks.

Townshend, J. R. G.↗

Ocean services user needs assessment. Volume 1: Survey results, conclusions and recommendations

An interpretation of environmental information needs of marine users, derived from a direct contact survey of eight important sectors of the marine user community is presented. Findings of the survey and results and recommendations are reported. The findings consist of specific and quantized measurement and derived product needs for each sector and comparisons of these needs with current and planned NOAA data and services. The following supportive and reference material are examined: direct contact interviews with industry members, analyses of current NOAA data gathering and derived product capabilities, evaluations of new and emerging domestic and foreign satellite data gathering capabilities, and a special commercial fishing survey conducted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Montgomery, D. R.↗

Air-Sea Interaction During Cold Air Outbreaks

The NOAA P-3 1-sec and 20 Hz gust probe data, dropsonde measurements, and lidar data were combined to study the organized convection and the effects of the coastal shape and the sea surface temperature (SST) pattern on the development of the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) during cold air outbreaks. The preliminary analysis indicated that the SST pattern and the coastal shape caused the MABL to deepen eastward and southward, which is in good agreement with the suggestion of Atlas et al. (1983). Also, good agreements were found between the lidar data and the NOAA P-3 and dropsonde date, e.g., the boundary heights, the dominant scales of motion, and the heat flux ratio between the top of MABL and the sea surface. The planetary boundary layer (PBL) height measured by lidar was found to be in good agreement with that measured by the dropsonde temperature profile. Assuming a linear heat flux profile in the clear PBL, the heat flux ratio between the PBL top and the surface may be estimated from the ratio of the entrainment zone to the completely mixed boundary layer height. The heat flux ratio estimated by lidar measurements was found to be in good agreement with that derived from the gust probe data.

Chou, S.↗

The Ponape ST radar

In May, 1984, a 50-MHz ST radar was installed on the island of Ponape in the western equatorial Pacific (7 deg N, 158 deg E) by the Aeronomy Laboratory of NOAA. The radar consists of a 100 m x 100 m array with a single, vertically directed, beam and is initially transmitting micro sec. (2.25 km) pulses. The radar is operating continuously, with Doppler spectra being recorded at approximately 1 1/2 minute intervals and sent to Boulder for later analysis. One of the principal goals of the radar is to measure vertical motions in the troposphere and lower stratosphere at a location which is within the intertropical convergence zone during part of the year. First results, during generally fair weather conditions, show detectable echoes up to about 21 km with the tropopause at 17-18 km. Once daily balloon soundings are available locally from a NOAA Weather Service Office on the island, it is planned that this radar will be joined in the coming year by two others with oblique as well as vertical beams on two yet-to-be-selected equatorial islands as part of the TOGA (Tropical Oceans Global Atmosphere) program.

Carter, D. A.↗

Effects of atmosphere and view and illumination geometry on visible and near infrared radiance data from the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHR)

The use of Dave's models to evaluate satellite off-nadir remote sensing of green vegetation cover types by simulating the visible and near-infrared advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) NOAA-6 and NOAA-7 radiances for three green-leaf biomass levels and bare soil. Ground measurements of surface reflectances were used. The simulations were done along a scan line at 30 deg latitude during the summer solstice, equinox, and winter solstice. The simulation models are described and the effect of atmosphere over moderately vegetated surfaces is discussed. The results show that sensor response to atmospheric path length can be substantial for the AVHRR visible and near-infrared channels and normalized difference values, but they can be minimized by high sun and clear atmospheric viewing. The results indicate that AVHRR data would be most useful for monitoring low green leaf biomas canopies.

Holben, B. N.↗

Considerations of and improvements to large-scale vegetation monitoring

The NOAA-7 polar orbiting sun-synchronous operational satellite carries the 5-channel advanced very high-resolution radiometer which acquires data globally at a spatial resolution of 4 km on a daily basis. These data provide a means for frequently monitoring global vegetation at continental scales. Techniques for compositing and cloud screening a green leaf density vegetation index product for Africa are presented for 9 sequential days beginning August 16, 1982 and are compared with a semi-operational vegetation index product produced by NOAA.

Gatlin, J. A.↗

Determination of volcanic dust deposition from El Chichon using ground and satellite data

Major volcanic eruptions of El Chichon on 28 March 1982, 3 April 1982 and 4 April 1982 produced heavy tephra falls in surrounding areas. Data from the NOAA-6 and NOAA-7 satellites were used to determine the extent of the tephra falls. The satellite data showed a larger area of tephra deposition than was reported from conventional ground measurements.

Tucker, C. J.↗

Active and passive microwave measurements in Hurricane Allen

The NASA Langley Research Center analysis of the airborne microwave remote sensing measurements of Hurricane Allen obtained on August 5 and 8, 1980 is summarized. The instruments were the C-band stepped frequency microwave radiometer and the Ku-band airborne microwave scatterometer. They were carried aboard a NOAA aircraft making storm penetrations at an altitude of 3000 m and are sensitive to rain rate, surface wind speed, and surface wind vector. The wind speed is calculated from the increase in antenna brightness temperature above the estimated calm sea value. The rain rate is obtained from the difference between antenna temperature increases measured at two frequencies, and wind vector is determined from the sea surface normalized radar cross section measured at several azimuths. Comparison wind data were provided from the inertial navigation systems aboard both the C-130 aircraft at 3000 m and a second NOAA aircraft (a P-3) operating between 500 and 1500 m. Comparison rain rate data were obtained with a rain radar aboard the P-3. Evaluation of the surface winds obtained with the two microwave instruments was limited to comparisons with each other and with the flight level winds. Two important conclusions are drawn from these comparisons: (1) the radiometer is accurate when predicting flight level wind speeds and rain; and (2) the scatterometer produces well behaved and consistent wind vectors for the rain free periods.

Delnore, V. E.↗

Observation of total ozone fields in the Antarctic atmosphere from TOVS of TIROS-N/NOAA

Total ozone amounts in the Antarctic atmosphere are derived from infrared nadir scanning data of TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) of NOAA-6 and 7. HRPT data of the TIROS-N NOAA series of meteorological satellites have been received at Syowa Station (69 deg 00'S, 39 deg 35'E), Antarctica, about once a day since February 1980, by the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. HIRS/2 data of TOVS were extracted from HRPT data after being converted into CCT at the home institute. Total ozone amounts were derived for the northeastern part of the Antarctic, for about 100 orbits in 1981 and 1982.

Yamanouchi, T.↗

Remote sensing and disaster monitoring - A review of applications in Indonesia

The role played by remote sensors on-board the Landsat and NOAA-7 satellites in monitoring and management of three catastrophic events that took place in 1982 and 1983 in Indonesia (two major volcanic eruptions and a large-scale forest fire) is assessed. The modes of operation of the satellite platforms, the types of data derived, and data availability to the users are described, and the sources of failures and delays (such as the presence of clouds, technical and computer errors, red-tape, etc.) are examined. The major drawbacks of the Landsat-supplied information for monitoring short-lived and fast-changing events were the insufficient frequency of data acquisition, delayed delivery of data, and extended times needed for data distribution and processing. Indonesia's NOAA-7 and GMS sensors, although of low spatial resolution, offered higher frequency of data collection, and profited from the existence of a local receiving station. The present value of the space-based imagery is seen mainly in the baseline assessment of the disaster-prone areas, which can assist in preparing these areas for the impending catastrophic events.

Malingreau, J. P.↗