3. Research Capability
SMCD's Branches exploit a number of science and technology areas in
fulfilling its broad mission of transforming raw satellite observations
into the accurate, quantitative information that is needed to predict
weather, monitor climate, and detect environmental hazards. The science
and technology area of each of SMCD's branches are described here.
Operational Products Development Branch
The Operational Products Development Branch performs most of the
Division's transition of research to operational products. This includes
the sounding products for the POES ATOVS system and the GOES sounder, as
well as the atmospheric motion vectors (winds) derived from tracking cloud
and water vapor features in sequential satellite images. The Branch also
develops GOES satellite products for use by weather service field
meteorologists in nowcasting and short range weather forecasts, such as
the Wet Microburst Severity Index (WMSI) and other atmospheric stability
products. It also works closely with the NESDIS Office of Satellite Data
Processing and Distribution to ensure reliable software for operational
production of satellite products and provide timely science fixes for in-
flight instrument problems.
Transition of Sounding Products to Operations
SMCD has supported the NESDIS POES sounding program since
1966 and the GOES sounders since 1994. SMCD has transitioned all new
sounding systems and upgrades that STAR has developed into operations. It
continues to monitor, validate, and improve the quality of the basic
temperature and moisture profiles derived from the sounder observations,
and provide science support and troubleshooting for many instrument
anomalies. The soundings are distributed to weather services throughout
the world via the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) Global
Telecommunications System (GTS). In October 2002, the GOES sounder
retrieved products were added to the NWS Advanced Weather Interactive
Processing System (AWIPS). SMCD is preparing for the next generation of
sounders on the METOP, NPP, and NPOESS satellites.
Atmospheric Motion Vectors
Atmospheric
motion vectors (AMVs) derived from a sequence of satellite images are an
important source of global wind information, particularly over the world's
oceans and more remote continental areas where conventional weather
observations are lacking in time and space. These data are routinely used
by the major NWP centers in the world and assimilated into regional and
global NWP models. These data are also made routinely available to NWS
forecasters responsible for providing the public with day-to-day weather
forecasts. These products are distributed over the GTS and the NWS's
AWIPS.
SMCD transitions to operational production the AMV algorithms developed
by STAR scientists. AMVs have been typically derived from the GOES imagery
providing approximately full disk coverage from 60S to 60N. The current
operational GOES wind products include infrared (IR) cloud-drift winds,
water vapor (WV) motion winds, and visible ( VIS) cloud-drift winds. More
recently, SMCD has transitioned a MODIS wind algorithm to operations.
Flash Floods
Precipitation information is critical for a wide variety
of applications, ranging from predicting flash floods to analyzing long-
term precipitation patterns for agriculture and water resource concerns.
Rain gauges have traditionally been the primary source of precipitation
data, but their coverage is quite poor, and radar observations have their
own limitations.
To support operational forecasters in the US and the NOAA Weather and
Water Goal, SMCD has developed and produces the Hydro-Estimator (H-E) -
automated estimates of rainfall for the entire Continental United States
(CONUS) based on infrared window cloud-top temperatures and supplementary
information from numerical weather models. The H-E is available
operationally to NWS forecasters via the AWIPS, and H-E fields are
produced worldwide (using data from the three GOES satellites and the two
Meteosat satellites) and distributed via the Internet on an experimental
basis. In addition, a number of experimental algorithms are under
development and/or evaluation at NESDIS, including the GOES Multi-Spectral
Rainfall Algorithm (GMSRA), which uses data from four GOES Imager channels
to extract additional information about cloud properties that are
pertinent to rainfall, and the Self-Calibrating Multivariate Precipitation
Retrieval (SCaMPR) which also uses data from multiple GOES Imager channels
and calibrates against microwave rain rate estimates in real-time.
Aviation Hazards
Aviation hazards include volcanic ash, in-flight icing, and fog and low
ceilings. An encounter with an airborne volcanic ash cloud can result in
millions of dollars in damage to jet engines and the airframe, as well as the
risk of engine stalls, so avoidance is critical. In-flight icing results in
significant aerodynamic drag, and causes 5-10% of all fatal air crashes
for smaller, general aviation and commuter class aircraft. Fog and low
ceilings are a major reason for aviation delays, resulting in >$2B annual
economic loss, and account for about 25% of fatal aviation and maritime accidents.
SMCD scientists have developed and continue to improve the following aviation hazards products:
- Nighttime fog and low clouds from GOES and POES IR imagery
- In-flight icing from GOES imagery
- Various wind downburst indices from GOES sounder observations
- Volcanic ash from the GOES Imager
