Satellite Meteorology and Climatology Division Road Map

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.

Download a PDF version of the SMCD Road Map (PDF, 5 MB)

• Executive Summary
• 1. Introduction
  • Overview of The Satellite Meteorology and Climatology Division
  • Organization
  • Personnel
  • Resources
• 2. Trends and Drivers for Research
  • Legal Drivers
  • Technology Drivers
  • Requirements Drivers
• 3. Research Capabilities
  • Sensor Physics Branch
    • Calibration
    • Hyperspectral Infrared Soundings
    • Microwave Products
    • Radiative Transfer Models
    • Ozone
    • Air Quality
    • Carbon Cycle Science
    • Active Instruments: Doppler Wind Lidar and Global Positioning System/Radio Occultation (GPS/RO)
  • Environmental Monitoring Branch
    • Vegetation Products
    • Earth Radiation Budget and Aerosols
  • Operational Products Development Branch
    • Transition of Sounding Products to Operations
    • Atmospheric Motion Vectors
    • Flash Floods
    • Aviation Hazards
  • JCSDA
• 4. Road Map
• 5. Current Research
  • Sensor Physics Branch
    • Powerful New Tool for Inter-satellite Instrument Calibration
    • The Next Generation Microwave Integrated Retrieval System (MIRS)
    • The 2004 Antarctic Ozone Hole
    • Carbon Cycle Science: An Emerging Product Suite
  • Environmental Monitoring Branch
    • New Vegetation Products Transitioned to Operations
    • Detection of Severe Drought in Horn of Africa
    • A New Capability: Automated Ice Cover Maps
  • Operational Products Development Branch
    • Aircraft Icing Product Achieves High Reliability
    • Significant Advance in Satellite Wind Measurements
    • AIRS Data Significantly Improve Weather Forecasts
• 6. Performance Targets
  • Overarching Performance Targets
  • Weather and Water
  • Climate
  • Commerce and Transportation
• 7. Constraints and Enablers
• 8. Impact on Society and NOAA Goals
  • Goal: Understand Climate Variability and Change to Enhance Society's Ability to Plan and Respond
  • Goal: Serve Society's Needs for Weather and Water Information
  • Goal: Support the Nation's Commerce with Information for Safe, Efficient, and Environmentally Sound Transportation
  • Goal: Provide Critical Support for NOAA's Mission
• 9. Summary
• Appendix I - Characteristics of Future Advanced Satellite Instruments
• Appendix II - Road Map Diagrams
• Appendix III - Abbreviations and Acronyms