The spin scan camera system on application technology satellite. I.
ATS-1 spin scan camera experiment for photographic recording of weather motions
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Application of dynamical systems theory to global weather phenomena revealed by satellite imagery
Theoretical studies of low frequency and seasonal weather variability; dynamical properties of observational and general circulation model (GCM)-generated records; effects of the hydrologic cycle and latent heat release on extratropical weather; and Earth-system science studies are summarized.
Saltzman, Barry↗
Current and Future Applications of Multispectral (RGB) Satellite Imagery for Weather Analysis and Forecasting
No abstract available
Molthan, Andrew↗
Applications of Earth Remote Sensing for Severe Weather and Damage Assessment
No abstract available
MODIS↗
Application of VISSR Atmospheric Sounder (VAS) data in weather analysis
A technique which analyzes irregularly spaced satellite data is described. An experiment with rawinsonde and VISSR Atmospheric Sounder (VAS) radiance measurements collected on March 6-7, 1982 is conducted to reveal the applicability of the technique. The rawinsonde data are analyzed on a 16 x 12 grid using the two pass analysis scheme of Barnes (1973). A scheme similar to the Barnes (1973) procedure is employed to produce gridded analysis of VAS data over a 200 x 15000 km region in central part of the U.S. The use of a correction pass on the initial gridded field is described; the technique is extremely effective on uniformly spaced observations. The incorporation of the limited fine mesh model to the scheme to analyze data in sparse and cloudy regions is examined. A comparison of rawinsonde data with VAS data is provided. The technique proves effective for studying cloudy and sparse areas with VAS data and produces a four-dimensional data set with significant mesoscale structure.
Jedlovec, G. J.↗
SPoRT's Participation in the GOES-R Proving Ground Activity
The next generation geostationary satellite, GOES-R, will carry two new instruments with unique atmospheric and surface observing capabilities, the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) and the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), to study short-term weather processes. The ABI will bring enhanced multispectral observing capabilities with frequent refresh rates for regional and full disk coverage to geostationary orbit to address many existing and new forecast challenges. The GLM will, for the first time, provide the continuous monitoring of total lightning flashes over a hemispherical region from space. NOAA established the GOES-R Proving Ground activity several years ago to demonstrate the new capabilities of these instruments and to prepare forecasters for their day one use. Proving Ground partners work closely with algorithm developers and the end user community to develop and transition proxy data sets representing GOES-R observing capabilities. This close collaboration helps to maximize refine algorithms leading to the delivery of a product that effectively address a forecast challenge. The NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) program has been a participant in the NOAA GOES-R Proving Ground activity by developing and disseminating selected GOES-R proxy products to collaborating WFOs and National Centers. Established in 2002 to demonstrate the weather and forecasting application of real-time EOS measurements, the SPoRT program has grown to be an end-to-end research to operations activity focused on the use of advanced NASA modeling and data assimilation approaches, nowcasting techniques, and unique high-resolution multispectral data from EOS satellites to improve short-term weather forecasts on a regional and local scale. Participation in the Proving Ground activities extends SPoRT s activities and taps its experience and expertise in diagnostic weather analysis, short-term weather forecasting, and the transition of research and experimental data to operational decision support systems like NAWIPS, AWIPS, AWIPS2, and Google Earth. Recent SPoRT Proving Ground activities supporting the development and use of a pseudo GLM total lightning product and the transition of the AWG s Convective Initiation (CI) product, both of which were available in AWIPS and AWIPS II environments, by forecasters during the Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) Spring Experiment. SPoRT is also providing a suite of SEVIRI and MODIS RGB image products, and a high resolution composite SST product to several National Centers for use in there ongoing demonstration activities. Additionally, SPoRT has involved numerous WFOs in the evaluation of a GOES-MODIS hybrid product which brings ABI-like data sets in front of the forecaster for everyday use. An overview of this activity will be presented at the conference.
Jedlovec, Gary↗
Quality Control and Calibration of the Dual-Polarization Radar at Kwajalein, RMI
Weather radars, recording information about precipitation around the globe, will soon be significantly upgraded. Most of today s weather radars transmit and receive microwave energy with horizontal orientation only, but upgraded systems have the capability to send and receive both horizontally and vertically oriented waves. These enhanced "dual-polarimetric" (DP) radars peer into precipitation and provide information on the size, shape, phase (liquid / frozen), and concentration of the falling particles (termed hydrometeors). This information is valuable for improved rain rate estimates, and for providing data on the release and absorption of heat in the atmosphere from condensation and evaporation (phase changes). The heating profiles in the atmosphere influence global circulation, and are a vital component in studies of Earth s changing climate. However, to provide the most accurate interpretation of radar data, the radar must be properly calibrated and data must be quality controlled (cleaned) to remove non-precipitation artifacts; both of which are challenging tasks for today s weather radar. The DP capability maximizes performance of these procedures using properties of the observed precipitation. In a notable paper published in 2005, scientists from the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS) at the University of Oklahoma developed a method to calibrate radars using statistically averaged DP measurements within light rain. An additional publication by one of the same scientists at the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) in Norman, Oklahoma introduced several techniques to perform quality control of radar data using DP measurements. Following their lead, the Topical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Satellite Validation Office at NASA s Goddard Space Flight Center has fine-tuned these methods for specific application to the weather radar at Kwajalein Island in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, approximately 2100 miles southwest of Hawaii and 1400 miles east of Guam in the tropical North Pacific Ocean. This tropical oceanic location is important because the majority of rain, and therefore the majority of atmospheric heating, occurs in the tropics where limited ground-based radar data are available.
Marks, David A.↗
Land and Atmosphere Near-Real-Time Capability for Earth Observing System
The past decade has seen a rapid increase in availability and usage of near-real-time data from satellite sensors. The EOSDIS (Earth Observing System Data and Information System) was not originally designed to provide data with sufficiently low latency to satisfy the requirements for near-real-time users. The EOS (Earth Observing System) instruments aboard the Terra, Aqua and Aura satellites make global measurements daily, which are processed into higher-level 'standard' products within 8-40 hours of observation and then made available to users, primarily earth science researchers. However, applications users, operational agencies, and even researchers desire EOS products in near-real-time to support research and applications, including numerical weather and climate prediction and forecasting, monitoring of natural hazards, ecological/invasive species, agriculture, air quality, disaster relief and homeland security. These users often need data much sooner than routine science processing allows, usually within 3 hours, and are willing to trade science product quality for timely access. While Direct Broadcast provides more timely access to data, it does not provide global coverage. In 2002, a joint initiative between NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), and the DOD (Department of Defense) was undertaken to provide data from EOS instruments in near-real-time. The NRTPE (Near Real Time Processing Effort) provided products within 3 hours of observation on a best-effort basis. As the popularity of these near-real-time products and applications grew, multiple near-real-time systems began to spring up such as the Rapid Response System. In recognizing the dependence of customers on this data and the need for highly reliable and timely data access, NASA's Earth Science Division sponsored the Earth Science Data and Information System Project (ESDIS)-led development of a new near-real-time system called LANCE (Land, Atmosphere Near-Real-Time Capability for EOS) in 2009. LANCE consists of special processing elements, co-located with selected EOSDIS data centers and processing facilities. A primary goal of LANCE is to bring multiple near-real-time systems under one umbrella, offering commonality in data access, quality control, and latency. LANCE now processes and distributes data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer Earth Observing System (AMSR-E), Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) instruments within 3 hours of satellite observation. The Rapid Response System and the Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) capabilities will be incorporated into LANCE in 2011. LANCE maintains a central website to facilitate easy access to data and user services. LANCE products are extensively tested and compared with science products before being made available to users. Each element also plans to implement redundant network, power and server infrastructure to ensure high availability of data and services. Through the user registration system, users are informed of any data outages and when new products or services will be available for access. Building on a significant investment by NASA in developing science algorithms and products, LANCE creates products that have a demonstrated utility for applications requiring near-real-time data. From lower level data products such as calibrated geolocated radiances to higher-level products such as sea ice extent, snow cover, and cloud cover, users have integrated LANCE data into forecast models and decision support systems. The table above shows the current near-real-time product categories by instrument. The ESDIS Project continues to improve the LANCE system and use the experience gained through practice to seek adjustments to improve the quality and performance of the system. For example, anGC-compliant Web Map Service (WMS) will be added shortly that will allow users to download geo-referenced MODIS images for arbitrary bounding boxes. Further, an OGC-compliant Web Coverage Service (WCS) will be added later this year that will expedite user access to arbitrary data subsets or re-formatted products. AIRS images are now served through WMS and available in multiple formats (PNG, GeoTIFF, KMZ). NASA has established a LANCE User Working Group to steer the development of the system and create a forum for sharing ideas and experiences that are expected to further improve the LANCE capabilities. The LANCE system has proved a success by satisfying the growing needs of the applications and operational communities for land and atmosphere data in near-real-time. NASA's Earth Sciences Division was able to leverage existing science research capabilities to provide the near-real-time community with products and imagery that support monitoring of disasters in a timely manner.
Murphy, Kevin J.↗
Global Precipitation Analysis Using Satellite Observations
Global precipitation analysis covering the last few decades and the impact of the new TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) observations are reviewed in the context of weather and climate applications. All the data sets discussed are the result of mergers of information from multiple satellites and gauges, where available. The focus of the talk is on TRMM-based 3 hr. analyses that use TRMM to calibrate polar-orbit microwave observations from SSM/I (and other satellites) and geosynchronous IR observations and merges the various calibrated observations into a final, 3 hr. resolution map. This TRMM standard product will be available for the entire TRMM period (January 1998-present) at the end of 2002. A real-time version of this merged product is being produced and is available at 0.25 deg latitude-longitude resolution over the latitude range from 50 deg N-50 deg S. Examples will be shown, including its use in monitoring flood conditions and in relating weather-scale patterns to climate-scale patterns. The 3-hourly analysis is placed in the context of two research products of the World Climate Research Program's (WCRP/GEWEX) Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP). The first is the 23 year, monthly, globally complete precipitation analysis that is used to explore global and regional variations and trends and is compared to the much shorter TRMM tropical data set. The GPCP data set shows no significant global trend in precipitation over the twenty years, unlike the positive trend in global surface temperatures over the past century. Regional trends are also analyzed. A trend pattern that is a combination of both El Nino and La Nina precipitation features is evident in the Goodyear data set. This pattern is related to an increase with time in the number of combined months of El Nino and La Nina during the 23 year period. Monthly anomalies of precipitation are related to ENSO variations with clear signals extending into middle and high latitudes of both hemispheres. Also shown is the GPCP daily, 1 deg latitude-longitude analysis, which is available from January 1997 to the present. Plans to incorporate the TRMM data and 3-hourly analysis into the GPCP products are outlined. The outcome should be an improved global analysis and climatology on monthly scales for the 23 year period and finer time scale analyses for more recent periods, including real-time 3-hourly (or finer) analyses over much of the globe.
Adler, Robert F.↗
Optimum space shuttle launch times relative to natural environment
Three sets of meteorological criteria were analyzed to determine the probabilities of favorable launch and landing conditions. Probabilities were computed for every 3 hours on a yearly basis using 14 years of weather data. These temporal probability distributions, applicable to the three sets of weather criteria encompassing benign, moderate and severe weather conditions, were computed for both Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Edwards Air Force Base. In addition, conditional probabilities were computed for unfavorable weather conditions occurring after a delay which may or may not be due to weather conditions. Also, for KSC, the probabilities of favorable landing conditions at various times after favorable launch conditions have prevailed have been computed so that mission probabilities may be more accurately computed for those time periods when persistence strongly correlates weather conditions. Moreover, the probabilities and conditional probabilities of the occurrence of both favorable and unfavorable events for each individual criterion were computed to indicate the significance of each weather element to the overall result.
King, R. L.↗
The Cooperative Huntsville Meteorological Experiment (COHMEX)
The Satellite Precipitation and Cloud Experiment, the Microburst and Severe Thunderstorm, and the FAA Lincoln Laboratories Operational Weather Studies of the COHMEX are described. The precipitation and cloud experiment focuses on the prestorm period in order to observe the physical processes leading to the formation of small convective systems. Aircraft, remote sensing and rewinsonde data are utilized to determine various storm/environment characteristics. Doppler velocity and reflectivity of microburst clouds are studied to evaluate the three-dimensional structure of microbursts from thunderstorms. The weather studies are designed to develop and test automatic algorithms for wind shear detection using Doppler weather radars. The application of satellite systems to data collection for these experiments is discussed.
Dodge, J.↗
A Thermal Infrared Radiation Parameterization for Atmospheric Studies
This technical memorandum documents the longwave radiation parameterization developed at the Climate and Radiation Branch, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, for a wide variety of weather and climate applications. Based on the 1996-version of the Air Force Geophysical Laboratory HITRAN data, the parameterization includes the absorption due to major gaseous absorption (water vapor, CO2, O3) and most of the minor trace gases (N2O, CH4, CFCs), as well as clouds and aerosols. The thermal infrared spectrum is divided into nine bands. To achieve a high degree of accuracy and speed, various approaches of computing the transmission function are applied to different spectral bands and gases. The gaseous transmission function is computed either using the k-distribution method or the table look-up method. To include the effect of scattering due to clouds and aerosols, the optical thickness is scaled by the single-scattering albedo and asymmetry factor. The parameterization can accurately compute fluxes to within 1% of the high spectral-resolution line-by-line calculations. The cooling rate can be accurately computed in the region extending from the surface to the 0.01-hPa level.
Chou, Ming-Dah↗
Global Precipitation Measurement Program and the Development of Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar
The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) program is a mission to measure precipitation from space, and is a similar but much expanded mission of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. Its scope is not limited to scientific research, but includes practical and operational applications such as weather forecasting and water resource management. To meet the requirements of operational use, the GPM uses multiple low-orbiting satellites to increase the sampling frequency and to create three-hourly global rain maps that will be delivered to the world in quasi-real time. A dual-frequency radar (DPR) will be installed on the primary satellite that plays an important role in the whole mission. The DPR will realize measurement of precipitation with high sensitivity, high precision and high resolutions. This paper describes an outline of the GPM program, its issues and the roles and development of the DPR.
Iguchi, Toshio↗
Interpretive Tools for Analysis of Coronal Images
Contents include list of publications resulting from grant: Magneto-Hydrodynamic Model of the Solar Corona and Interplanetary Medium. Coronal magnetic field topology and source of fast solar wind. Geophysical Importance of Global Magnetic Field Geometry and Density Distribution in Solar Wind Modeling. Empirical Model of the Corona-Solar Wind with Multiple Current Sheets. Model of the Solar Wind and its Comparison with ULYSSES. Physical properties of a coronal hole from a coronal diagnostic spectrometer, Mauna Loa Coronagraph, and LASCO observations during the Whole Sun Month. Semi-Empirical 2-D MHD Model of the Solar corona and Solar Wind: Energy Flow in the Corona. Source Region of High and Low Speed Wind during the Spartan. Three-dimensional coronal density structure. Cone Model for Halo CME's: Application to Space Weather Forecasting.
Ofman, Leon↗
Improved AIRS/AMSU Surface and Atmospheric Soundings Under Partial Cloud Cover Using an AIRS Only Cloud Clearing Approach
AIRS was launched on EOS Aqua on May 4,2002, together with AMSU-A and HSB, to form a next generation polar orbiting infrared and microwave atmospheric sounding system. This paper describes the latest scientific advances made in the AIRS Science Team Version 5.0 retrieval algorithm. Starting in early 2007, the Goddard DAAC will use this algorithm to analyze near real time AIRS/AMSU observations. These products are then made available to the scientific community for research purposes. The products include twice daily measurements of the Earth's three dimensional global temperature, water vapor, and ozone distribution as well as cloud cover. In addition, accurate twice daily measurements of the earth's land and ocean temperatures are derived and reported. Scientists use this important set of observations for two major uses. They provide important information for climate studies of global and regional variability and trends of different aspects of the earth's atmosphere. They also provide information for researchers to improve the skill of weather forecasting. A very important new product of the AIRS Version 5 algorithm is accurate case-by-case error estimates of the retrieved products. This heightens their utility for use in both weather and climate applications. These error estimates are also used directly for quality control of the retrieved products.
Susskind, Dr. Joel↗
The Ground Flash Fraction Retrieval Algorithm Employing Differential Evolution: Simulations and Applications
The ability to estimate the fraction of ground flashes in a set of flashes observed by a satellite lightning imager, such as the future GOES-R Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), would likely improve operational and scientific applications (e.g., severe weather warnings, lightning nitrogen oxides studies, and global electric circuit analyses). A Bayesian inversion method, called the Ground Flash Fraction Retrieval Algorithm (GoFFRA), was recently developed for estimating the ground flash fraction. The method uses a constrained mixed exponential distribution model to describe a particular lightning optical measurement called the Maximum Group Area (MGA). To obtain the optimum model parameters (one of which is the desired ground flash fraction), a scalar function must be minimized. This minimization is difficult because of two problems: (1) Label Switching (LS), and (2) Parameter Identity Theft (PIT). The LS problem is well known in the literature on mixed exponential distributions, and the PIT problem was discovered in this study. Each problem occurs when one allows the numerical minimizer to freely roam through the parameter search space; this allows certain solution parameters to interchange roles which leads to fundamental ambiguities, and solution error. A major accomplishment of this study is that we have employed a state-of-the-art genetic-based global optimization algorithm called Differential Evolution (DE) that constrains the parameter search in such a way as to remove both the LS and PIT problems. To test the performance of the GoFFRA when DE is employed, we applied it to analyze simulated MGA datasets that we generated from known mixed exponential distributions. Moreover, we evaluated the GoFFRA/DE method by applying it to analyze actual MGAs derived from low-Earth orbiting lightning imaging sensor data; the actual MGA data were classified as either ground or cloud flash MGAs using National Lightning Detection Network[TM] (NLDN) data. Solution error plots are provided for both the simulations and actual data analyses.
Koshak, William↗
Global Modeling and Assimilation Office Annual Report and Research Highlights 2011-2012
Over the last year, the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) has continued to advance our GEOS-5-based systems, updating products for both weather and climate applications. We contributed hindcasts and forecasts to the National Multi-Model Ensemble (NMME) of seasonal forecasts and the suite of decadal predictions to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5).
Rienecker, Michele M.↗
Sea Surface Salinity : Research Challenges and Opportunities
Sea surface salinity (SSS) can be important in regulating sea surface temperature (SST). Two technological breakthrough satellite SSS missions, Aquarius and Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS), are currently producing high-quality SSS data. This paper provides an overview of the importance of SSS for weather and climate applications and describes the Aquarius and SMOS missions. The newness of adequately sampled SSS data prompted a first-time at-sea field campaign devoted to improved understanding of SSS variations.
Aquarius↗