Executive Summary
The Satellite Meteorology and Climatology Division (SMCD) is one of three
units in the NOAA NESDIS Center for Satellite Applications and Research.
It conducts research and develops new satellite products to improve and
expand the use of satellite data for monitoring global meteorological,
climatological and environmental conditions. The Division conducts an
end-to-end program ranging from planning new satellite instruments to
developing advanced satellite products and applications and transitioning
these innovations to operations in NOAA's weather, climate, and
environmental monitoring and prediction systems.
The Division's research capabilities are concentrated in the
sciences associated with satellite remote sensing of the Earth's
atmosphere, surface, and climate. Most of the Division's research
and development falls into the following discipline areas: atmospheric
variables – temperature, humidity, winds; land surface variables
– vegetation, snow and ice cover; hydrological cycle variables -
precipitation, clouds, water vapor; environmental hazards –
aviation hazards, air quality, fires, heavy rainfall and flash
floods, and drought: and climate variables – ozone, Earth
radiation budget, aerosols, and greenhouse gases.
In addition to developing new and improved products, SMCD conducts
the following crosscutting activities: calibrating satellite instruments;
transitioning research products to operational production; developing
radiative transfer models for NWS NWP satellite data assimilation systems;
developing and analyzing long-term satellite data sets for studying and
assessing climate change; and planning and preparing for new satellite
instruments.
Aside from legal mandates and interagency agreements, the
Division's R&D program over the next 5 years and beyond
will be driven by emerging trends in satellite technology and
user requirements. Major trends in instrument technology that
will challenge but offer new opportunities to SMCD scientists
include:
- Hyperspectral sounding and imaging instruments on Metop,
NPP, NPOESS, and GOES-R with finer wavelength, spatial,
and temporal resolution, but with orders of magnitude
for more data, that will provide atmospheric and surface
measurements of unprecedented information content, timeliness,
and detail.
- Active instruments such as GPS/RO, Cloudsat, Precipitation
Radars, Calipso, and ALADIN (Atmospheric Laser Doppler
Instrument) that will provide detailed measurements of the
vertical structure of the atmosphere, including temperature
and moisture, cloud and precipitation properties, and aerosols.
- New operational passive instruments such as the NPOESS APS,
ERBS, and TSIS, that will provide the first space-based
information on aerosol composition and continue indefinitely
into the future the observations of solar irradiance and
Earth radiation budget initiated by NASA's research satellite.
Trends in requirements will reflect increasing pressures to
improve NOAA's weather, climate, and environmental hazards
analysis and prediction capabilities. SMCD will support NOAA's
Weather and Water Goal performance measures to increase lead
time and accuracy for weather and water warnings and forecasts
and improve predictability of the onset, duration, and impact of
hazardous and severe weather and water events. Satellite data,
together with improvement in data assimilation, NWP models, and
computer power have enabled forecast accuracy to improve at a
rate of about one day per decade over the last few decades
– i.e., today's 5-day forecasts are as accurate as 4-day
forecasts were just 10 years ago. But the data being used are
largely for clear skies, and rain and snow forecasts are still
difficult. SMCD will develop the tools to assimilate observations
of cloudy and precipitating areas. New SMCD initiatives in air
pollution measurements from satellites will support NOAA's
emerging air quality forecast program.
NOAA's mission for the next century includes a bold new
Climate Goal to Understand Climate Variability and Change to
Enhance Society's Ability to Plan and Respond. Among NOAA's
strategies for achieving this goal are: 1) Improve the quality
and quantity of climate observations, analyses, interpretation,
and archiving by maintaining a consistent climate record and by
improving our ability to determine why changes are taking place,
and 2) Improve the quantification and understanding of the
forces bringing about climate change by examining relevant
human-induced increases in atmospheric constituents. SMCD will
contribute to implementation of both strategies.
The Aviation Weather Program of NOAA's Commerce and Transportation
Goal focuses on improving observation, forecast and training
capabilities to deliver long term reduction in the number of
weather-related aviation mishaps and the number and extent of
weather-related flight delays. SMCD contributes to the Aviation
Weather Program by developing tailored satellite-based aviation
weather hazards products for the air transportation sector.
Responding to these satellite technology and user
requirements drivers, SMCD has developed road maps for
17 focused projects. These road maps will guide the
Division's R&D program over the next 5 years and
beyond. Each Project Road Map has its own goals,
objectives, and timeline. The Project Road Maps' milestones
represent the building blocks that are necessary for
achieving the individual Project Goals.
To monitor the success of the its research and development
program, SMCD has adopted a number of overarching Performance
Targets as well as Performance Targets for each of the NOAA
goals to which it contributes.
SMCD, through the satellite-based products and data sets
it develops and generates, and its science, contributes to
most of NOAA's strategic goals. A chapter of this document
summarizes how SMCD helps NOAA meet many of the objectives
under these goals.
Achievement of SMCD's Performance Targets will be facilitated
by a dramatic increase in satellite observing capabilities over
the next 5 years, its world-class core of civil servant scientists
and an extremely competent cadre of supporting contractors and
post-docs/visiting scientists, its collegial atmosphere, and
advances in computing and communications technologies.
Potential constraints include lack of sufficient computing
power, limited scientific capability in new instrument areas:
active instruments, APS, ERBS, TSIS, limited ground truth,
and anticipated loss of senior scientific staff as a result
of retirement.
The challenges are great - the opportunities greater.
Dept. of Commerce • NOAA • NESDIS • STAR • Last revised: May 8, 2013