STAR Seminars

STAR Science Seminars
Presenter:
Changyong Cao, NESDIS/STAR

Sponsor(s):

STAR Science Seminar Series

Remote Access:
WebEx:
Event Number:    906 217 066   
Password: STARSeminar
Event address for attendees:
https://noaa-nesdis-star.webex.com/noaa-nesdis-star/j.php?MTID=m5ac7f173195bf1d6ae887a03ad0f5d18

Audio:
  
+1-415-527-5035 US Toll
    Access code: 906 217 066

Abstract:
The Low Earth Orbit (LEO) sun-synchronous operational constellation missions have been evolving rapidly in recent years.  The Visible-Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) has replaced the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) in the afternoon orbit on the Joint Polar-Satellite System (JPSS) satellites, which will provide sustained earth observations till 2031 and beyond.  Meanwhile, the last AVHRR, launched on MetOp-C in late 2018, will be replaced by the METimage around 2022, to provide continued observations of the earth in the morning orbit. 
This seminar provides an overview of METimage, including its major instrument capabilities, and expected radiometric, spatial, and spectral performance.  While VIIRS and METimage have similar characteristics, significant differences exist as well.  For example, METimage includes water vapor channels, while VIIRS supports ocean color product generation with dual gain capabilities, and low light imaging with the Day/Night Band.  The potential impacts of these differences on product generation will be discussed.  Characteristics of the METImage datasets simulated and provided by EUMETSAT will be introduced. The goals are to support the Metop-SG product development at NOAA, facilitate advanced planning and user readiness, as well as collaboration between NOAA and EUMETSAT teams to provide sustained support to the operational global earth observations with a variety of land, ocean, and atmosphere products.
 

Bio:
Dr. Changyong Cao specializes in the calibration and validation of radiometers onboard NOAA's Operational environmental Satellites.  He initially joined NOAA in 1999 as the infrared sounder instrument scientist, became the VIIRS sensor team lead since 2011, and the branch chief for the Satellite Calibration and Data Assimilation Branch (SCDAB) of NESDIS/STAR/SMCD in 2018.  In addition, he is actively involved in the Metop-SG(METImage), small satellite data exploitation, and GNSS radio occultation.
In addition to the operational pre&post instrument calibration support, Changyong is responsible for developing and refining the methodology for inter-satellite calibration using the Simultaneous Nadir Overpass (SNO) method, which has been used for the performance monitoring of satellite radiometers, and for developing long-term time series. He has made significant contributions to the international and inter-agency satellite instrument calibration/validation community, including the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Working Group on Calibration/Validation, and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Space-based Inter-Calibration System (GSICS).
Before joining NOAA in 1999, Changyong was a senior scientist with five years of aerospace industry experience supporting NASA small satellite technology initiative and commercial remote sensing program. He was the recipient of two gold and one silver medals honored by the U.S. Department of Commerce for his scientific and professional achievements.  He has served as the reviewer and editor for professional journals, published many peer-reviewed papers, as well as a book on the calibration and validation of visible infrared imaging radiometers.  Changyong received his Ph.D., and B.S. degrees in geography from Louisiana State University and Peking University respectively.

POC:
Stacy Bunin, stacy.bunin@noaa.gov

STAR Science Seminars
Presenter:
Cara Wilson of NOAA/NMFS (presenting remotely)

Sponsor(s):

STAR Science Seminar Series

Remote Access:
WebEx (for screen sharing only, see below for Audio):
Event Number:    908 061 986   
Password: STARSeminar
Event address for attendees:
https://noaa-nesdis-star.webex.com/noaa-nesdis-star/j.php?MTID=mdaeb6adf7647f9e491902ac322e82d59

Audio:
  
USA participants: 866-832-9297
Passcode:  6070416

Abstract:
Distributing large global or regional datasets to a targeted user community is challenging, particularly if the users require data from many data providers and are interested in discrete geographical and temporal ranges. The ERDDAP data server addresses these challenges, acting as middleman between disparate remote data servers, to provide a single unified pathway for data access that offers 1) a simple, consistent way to download data, 2) subsetting by user-defined areas and time periods, and 3) downloads in over 30 data, image, and metadata formats that are compatible with analysis tools such as R, MATLAB, and Python. The ERDDAP GUI allows users to visualize data and refine download requests. Download requests are completely defined within a URL, allowing machine-to-machine data exchange, bringing data directly into analysis tools, and using ERDDAP as a backend to drive customized online interfaces.
ERDDAP was developed by Bob Simons at the NMFS/SWFSC Environmental Research Division and has been installed by over 80 organizations worldwide.  The ERDDAP servers at CoastWatch Regional Nodes and other NOAA offices provide access to thousands of satellite data, model output, and climatology products, as well as ocean-related ancillary datasets (e.g. buoy, shipboard oceanographic, animal track, and in situ data). NOAA's Data Access Procedural Directive includes ERDDAP in its list of recommended data servers for use by groups within NOAA.
In this seminar we will describe the features of ERDDAP, including subsetting and downloading data, creating mapped images, visualizing wind vector fields, and generating timeseries and Hovmöller diagrams. A live demonstration of these capabilities will be given.  A tutorial explaining how to use ERDDAP is also available on the website of the West Coast Regional node of CoastWatch at  coastwatch.pfeg.noaa.gov/projects/erddap
About the

Presenter(s):
Cara Wilson is a satellite oceanographer for the Environmental Research Division (ERD) at NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center in Monterey CA and is the PI of two regional nodes of NOAA's CoastWatch program - the West Coast Regional Node and PolarWatch, which are both housed at ERD. Her research interests are in using satellite data to examine bio-physical coupling in the surface ocean, with a particular focus on determining the biological and physical causes of the large chlorophyll blooms that often develop in late summer in the oligotrophic Pacific near 30°N. She received a Ph.D. in oceanography from Oregon State University in 1997, where she examined the physical dynamics of hydrothermal plumes. After getting her PhD she worked as the InterRidge Coordinator at the University Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, France. Her introduction to remote sensing came with a post-doc at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center which involved analyzing TOPEX and SeaWiFS data. She joined NOAA in 2002 and has been active in increasing the satellite usage within the National Marine Fisheries Service. She is also the treasurer for PORSEC (Pan Ocean Remote Sensing Conference) and the current chair of the IOCCG (International Ocean Colour Coordinating Group).

POC:
Stacy Bunin, stacy.bunin@noaa.gov

STAR Science Seminars
Presenter:
Sinéad L. Farrell, University of Maryland

Sponsor(s):

STAR Science Seminar Series

Remote Access:
WebEx (for screen sharing only, see below for Audio):
Event Number:    908 239 193   
Password: STARSeminar
Event address for attendees:
https://noaa-nesdis-star.webex.com/noaa-nesdis-star/j.php?MTID=mcad69cb0154465709bf94f1477ddff56

Audio:
  
USA participants: 866-832-9297
Passcode:  6070416

Abstract:
One of the most striking, and widely publicized, environmental changes underway in the Earth system is the disappearance of the Arctic sea ice cover.  Since sea ice is a key component of the climate system, its ongoing loss has serious, and wide-ranging, socio-economic implications. Increasing year-to-year variability in the geographic location, concentration and thickness of Arctic ice will pose both challenges and opportunities. Advancing our understanding of how the sea ice cover varies, and why, is key to characterizing the physical processes governing change, and for advancing model predictions. An emerging need is short-time-critical sea ice data products to support safety and security for maritime operations in ice-infested waters.
Altimeter instruments on satellite and aircraft platforms have revolutionized our understanding of Arctic sea ice mass balance over the last two decades. Satellite laser and radar altimeters on NASA's ICESat and ICESat-2 satellites, and ESA's CryoSat-2, provide unique measurements of sea ice elevation, from which ice thickness may be derived, across basin scales. Meanwhile altimeters deployed on aircraft such as the Operation IceBridge Mission, together with coincident digital imagery, provide a range of novel, high-resolution observations that describe key features of the ice cover including its snow cover, surface morphology and deformation characteristics, and summer melt features. We will explore the novel sea ice data products developed at the NOAA Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry that describe changes in the Arctic ice cover during the last two decades. We will also discuss efforts to advance access to polar ocean remote sensing observations and improve communication with Arctic stakeholders through the NOAA PolarWatch initiative, which is designed to deliver data products that best address societal needs (polarwatch.noaa.gov).

Bio:
Sinéad Louise Farrell is an associate professor with the Department of Geographical Sciences at the University of Maryland, and a visiting scientist at the NOAA / NESDIS / STAR / SOCD Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry, College Park, Maryland. Dr. Farrell received her Ph.D. in Space and Climate Physics from University College London in 2007. Her primary fields of study are cryospheric sciences and remote sensing. She is a principal investigator on the NASA ICESat-2 Science Team and a member of the Mission Advisory Group for the EU Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter. Prior to joining the Department of Geographical Sciences, Dr. Farrell was with the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC), at the University of Maryland.

POC:
Stacy Bunin, stacy.bunin@noaa.gov

STAR Science Seminars
Presenter:
Douglas Miller, UNC Asheville, and Ana Barros, Duke University

Sponsor(s):

STAR Science Seminar Series

Remote Access:
WebEx (for screen sharing only, see below for Audio):
Event Number:    908 336 124   
Password: STARSeminar
Event address for attendees:
https://noaa-nesdis-star.webex.com/noaa-nesdis-star/j.php?MTID=m721f19bb9ddcea0b85d23703d0d9672d

Audio:
   USA participants: 866-832-9297
Passcode:  6070416

Abstract:
A high elevation rain gauge network, known as the Duke Great Smoky Mountains
Rain Gauge Network (Duke GSMRGN), has been collecting rainfall observations
since 2007 in the Pigeon River Basin located in the Southern Appalachian
Mountains. The presentation will focus on the founding, funding, findings, and
future of the Duke GSMRGN and their associated fellowships. The findings
portion will examine the influence of atmospheric rivers on extreme rainfall events
observed by the Duke GSMRGN over an eight period commencing 1 July 2009.

Bio:

Douglas Miller is a professor at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.  He received his Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from Purdue University. His research expertise is in mesoscale and synoptic meteorology, mountain meteorology, coastal meteorology, boundary layer meteorology, and numerical weather prediction/forecasting.  He has been involved with a collaborative project extending the Great Smoky Mountain rain gauge mesonet and exploring the origins of extreme precipitation events in the southern Appalachian Mountains and their signatures as observed by the GOES-R satellite.

POC:
Stacy Bunin, stacy.bunin@noaa.gov

STAR Science Seminars
Presenter:
Isaac Moradi, NASA

Sponsor(s):

STAR Science Seminar Series

Remote Access:
WebEx (for screen sharing only, see below for Audio):
Event Number:    905 458 573   
Password: STARSeminar
Event address for attendees:
https://noaa-nesdis-star.webex.com/noaa-nesdis-star/j.php?MTID=m9876a81238d7e49c4b1dc3d202e9d614

Audio:
  
USA participants: 866-832-9297
Passcode:  6070416

Abstract:
We propose a novel Bayesian Monte Carlo Integration (BMCI) technique to retrieve the profiles of temperature, water vapor, and cloud liquid/ice water content from microwave cloudy measurements in the rainbands of tropical cyclones (TC). These retrievals then can either be directly used by meteorologists to analyze the structure of TCs or be assimilated into numerical models to provide accurate initial conditions for the NWP models. The BMCI technique is applied to the data from the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) onboard Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager (GMI).

Bio:

Dr. Isaac Moradi is a remote sensing scientist with over fifteen years of experience specializing in radiative transfer modeling; Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSE); data assimilation; satellite data analysis and bias correction; atmospheric humidity and ice clouds; inverse methods and retrieving geophysical variables from satellite observations; solar radiation resource assessment; quality assurance of solar radiation and in-situ radiosonde measurements; and developing new instrument concepts especially for measuring tropospheric humidity. Please also see https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sed/bio/isaac.moradi

POC:
Stacy Bunin, stacy.bunin@noaa.gov