National Weather Service GOES Assessment Results

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National Weather ServiceGOES Assessment Results

• Jim Gurka
• Satellite Spacecraft Program Leader
• Jim Heil Andy Noel Carl Weiss

COMET/SATMET COURSE Boulder, CO March 5, 1999
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GOES Overview

• Current Status
• Assessment Results
• Future Satellites

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GOES Coverage
135 W
75W
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Current Satellites

• GOES-8 (GOES-E) Operational at 75W
• GOES-10 (GOES-W) Operational at 135W
• GOES-9 In Stand-by at 105W
• GOES-L Launch

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Current Satellites (cont.)
GOES-8 Status

• Launched April 13, 1994
• Spacecraft Attitude Orbit Control Electronics
  (AOCE)
• Several RAM locations corrupted by ESD - April
  18, 1996, using AOCE 2
• Sounder E/W Mirror Moter (August 1994) 1 of 2
  windings has Intermittent Open Circuit. Doesnt
  Cause Data Loss
• Electronics on Momentum Wheel 1 failed (January
  9, 1997) using redundant wheel (Need both
  remaining wheels)
• Earth Sensor Anomaly (October 27, 1998)
• GOES-8 experienced large attitude errors caused
  by an anomalous signature in the controlling
  earth sensor data
• Spacecraft was successfully transitioned to
  normal mode
• Full INR recovered in time for Shuttle launch

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Current Satellites (cont.)
GOES-10 Status

• Launched April 25, 1997
• May 1997 - Solar array slowed, stopped
  spacecraft placed in stand-by
• July 1997 - Spacecraft rotated (Yaw Flip), array
  successfully commanded in Reverse Mode
• March 16 - April 12, 1998 - Science Operations
  Test
• May 1998 returned Spacecraft to storage mode
  until operational call-up
• July 9, 1998 - Successfully returned from storage
  mode for anticipated operational replacement of
  GOES-9
• July 27, 1998 - Operational (replacing GOES-9 as
  GOES-W)

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GOES-10 Science and Operations Test
GOES-10 Science and Operations Test Plan March
16 - April 12, 1998

• GOES-10 Science Test Goals
• Validate NWS Science Requirements for a 3-GOES
  system including STORMSAT
• Significant Improvements to the NWS
  Watch/Warnings
• Merge 5-minute GOES and WSR-88D
  Products/Information
• Develop new, enhanced GOES-AWIPS Imager
  Capabilities
• New GOES-Imager Requirements
• High Density Cloud Motion Wind Vectors to
  forecast offices
• Develop enhanced GOES-Sounder Capabilities
• New GOES-Sounder Requirements
• Routine mesoscale Sounder Products to NWS-WFOs

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Current Satellites (cont.)
GOES-9 Status

• Launched May 23, 1994
• Operated as GOES-West until July 27, 1998
• Significant current increase in momentum wheel 1
  and 2
• Telemetry consistent with low/no lubricant levels
• Remaining life thought to be very limited
• Possible on-orbit spare at 105W

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Current Satellites (cont.)
GOES-L Status

• Launched Tentatively Scheduled for May 22,
  1999
• Check out at 105W
• Earliest satellite can be used operationally is
  September 1999

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GOES I-M Launch Schedule
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GOES-East Routine Operations
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GOES-East Normal Rapid Scan
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GOES-West Routine Operations
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GOES-West Normal Rapid Scan
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GOES-East Volcano Sector

• Normal RSO Sector is shifted Southward when
  Volcano RSO is called

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GOES-West RSO Hawaii Sub-Sector

• Normal SUB-CONUS RSO is replaced by Hawaii
  Sub-Sector

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GOES Imager Channel Notation
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NWS GOES AssessmentObjectives

• Assessment of GOES Sounder/Imager real-time
  digital data in numerical weather prediction
• Assessment of GOES Imager/Sounder real-time
  digital data in local forecasting operations

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NWS GOES Assessment Results
Products and Services Summary

• GOES-Imager Products
• Operational
• IR WV High Density Cloud Drift Winds
• HI and PR GOES-ASOS Cloud Information
• Satellite Precipitation Estimates
• Lake-Effect Snow Study
• Volcano Detection
• Experimental
• VIS High Density Cloud Drift Winds
• CONUS GOES-ASOS Cloud Information
• GOES/NOAAPORT/AWIPS

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GOES Cloud-Drift Winds

• HIGH DENSITY Cloud Drift Winds
• Imager and Sounder base product
• 8 times daily
• Imager water vapor and IR channels
  (operational)
• Imager visible (experimental)
• Sounder water vapor (experimental)
• September 97 NESDIS began routine production
• September 97 NCEP-EMC began data QC for models
• ETA Regional Data Assimilation models
• March 98 Complete integration into NCEP-EMC
  operations

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GOES Cloud-Drift Winds

• Low Density Winds

• High Density Winds

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GOES High Density Winds
Western U.S. and Pacific

• IR and water vapor tracers
• Consecutive images
• Automated, 3 hourly products
• 60N - 60S
• Users
• NCEP
• FNMOC
• ECMWF
• 100 - 200 mb
• 250 - 400 mb
• 400 - 700 mb

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GOES Data Continuity

• Frequent No-Data Periods Scheduled and
  Unsheduled
• Eclipse (GOES-EW) - Each satellite misses data
  78 days/season, 156 day/year, 2.5 hrs/day
• Spacecraft Maneuvers (GOES-EW)- Each satellite
  has 8/year

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GOES Data Continuity
(cont.)

• When one satellite is down, the Other is in
  Full Disk Mode
• Is it possible to offset this loss of GOES Data?
• Yes, by
• Merging GOES-West with METEOSAT data when
  GOES-East is missing
• Merging GOES-East with GMS Data when GOES-West is
  missing

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GOES-West/METEOSAT
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No GOES-West Composite
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GOES-West vs. No GOES-West
GOES-West
No GOES-West
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AWIPS Satellite Composite
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NWS GOES Assessment Results
NWS Local Forecast Offices

• NESDIS Satellite Precipitation Estimates (SPEs)
• Manual Product
• Mainly favorable feedback from field offices -
  SPEs valuable during hurricanes, flash floods,
  lake effect snows, and winter storms
• Field recommendations have resulted in product
  enhancements
• Integration into AWIPS datastream estimated for
  FY99
• Call Satellite Analysis Branch for real-time
  estimates/guidance [phone]

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NWS GOES Assessment Results
NWS Local Forecast Offices (cont.)

• NESDIS Satellite Precipitation Estimates (SPEs)
• Experimental Auto-Estimator
• Automatic, GOES Imager-based, 4-km IR,
  half-hourly
• Algorithm initially developed for cold-top
  convection - plan is to support full spectrum of
  precipitation phenomena
• Planned enhancements include orographic
  correction, multiple imager channels, AMSU and
  SSM/I data
• OM -funded post-doc at HPC performing systematic
  validation
• NWS Field Test August 5 - Spetember 18, 1998

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3-Hourly Manual vs. Auto-Estimator
Manual
Auto-Estimator
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NWS GOES Assessment Results
Products and Services Summary

• GOES-Sounder Products
• Operational
• Layered Precipitable Water
• CONUS GOES-ASOS Cloud Information
• Experimental
• High Density Water Vapor Winds
• Derived Product Indices
• Temperature Radiances
• Moisture Radiances

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Automated Surface Observing System
(ASOS)
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ASOS Satellite Cloud Product

• Cloud Top Pressure and Amounts above 12k ft
• 50 x 50 km box
• 900 locations
• Hourly
• Users
• NWSFO State Weather Roundups
• NWS-TDL MOS LAMP
• The Weather Channel Local Weather Summaries
• NCDC Local Climatological Data Products

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NWS GOES Assessment Results

• GOES Sounder ASOS Cloud Product
• Currently hourly production
• GOES-East 15-20 minutes after end of sector scan
• GOES-West 10-15 minutes after end of sector scan
• Future work
• Processing on the fly or in smaller bursts
• NWSFO La Crosse, WI
• Implemented the first ASOS SCP Assessment Home
  Page
• http//www.chr.noaa.gov/arx/scp

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State Weather Roundup

• If Fair
• Clear below 12,000 ft and SCP either not
  available or greater than 2 hours old
• If Fair persists next hour
• Check whether local program, which merges ASOS
  and SCP, is working OK
• And there are no know data outages (e.g.,
  eclipse, maneuver, etc.), call SOC [phone]
  to trouble shoot problem

• ASUS44 KSAT 181611
• SWRTX
• South Texas Weather Roundup
• National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX
• Note Fair indicates few or no clouds below
  12,000 feet with no significant weather and/or
  obstructions to visibilty
• THZ168gt173-183gt194-202gt209-217gt225-228-18700
• Hill Country and South Central Texas
• City Sky/WX Temp
  Dewpt RH Wind Pres
• Junction Clear 45
  28 51 Calm 30.08
• Burnet Fair 52
  32 46 S10
  30.12R
• Georgetown Fair 54
  34 47 S9 30.12R
• Austin/Mueller Clear 52
  40 63 SW7 30.13R
• Austin/Bergstm Clear 52
  40 63 Calm 30.13R
• San Marcos Fair 50
  34 54 SW3 30.13R
• New Braunfels Clear 54
  39 57 SW6 30.12R
• San Antonio Clear 54
  37 52 Calm 30.13R

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NWS ASOS Status
as of 2/28/99
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Tri-Agency ASOS Status
as of 2/28/99
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Tornadoes in Jarrell, Texas
May 27, 1997
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GOES Imager Sounder Product
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NWS GOES Assessment
Field Forecast Offices

• Volcano Eruption and Monitoring
• Imager and Sounder capabilities
• Imager Split Window technique test/evaluation
• NESDIS Satellite Analysis Branch
• NASA-GSFC
• Sounder new capability
• Cooperative Institute/NOAA/University of
  Wisconsin
• Sounder multi-channel approach
• User community very active
• Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA)
• FAA

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Split Window
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Montserrat Eruption
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NWS GOES Assessment
National Centers

• Precipitable Water (PW)
• Layered Precipitable Water (LPW)
• Sept-97 NCEP-EMC began operations
• ETA Regional Data Assimilation Model
• Tendency to keep the models dry

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NWS GOES Assessment
Field Forecast Offices

• GOES-AWIPS
• Deployment underway
• 1-km Visible data very big hit
• Real-time deliver
• Local color table enhancements
• Fog product very useful
• Still learning Rapid-Scan capability/potential
• Major emphasis on assessment feedback in FY99

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AWIPS - GOES Map
as of 2/28/99
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NWS/OM Satellite Program
Internet Address

• http//www.nws.noaa.gov/om/sats.htm
• SATMET Course Presentation
• GOES Assessment Plan
• Satellite Hot Links

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GOES Information via the Internet

• GOES Satellite Operations
• http//www.nnic.noaa.gov/SOCC/SOCC_HOME.html
• GOES Images, Products, and Tutorials
• http//rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goesb/chesters/web/goespr
  oject.html
• http//cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/goes.html
• http//www.cira.colostate.edu/RAMM/OVERVIEW.HTM
• http//orbit-net.nesdis.noaa.gov/goes
• News Releases
• http//www.noaa.gov/public-affairs/press98.html
• GOES Retrospective Data
• http/www.ncdc.noaa.gov

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GOES Future
Remaining Challenges

• Satisfy Synoptic/Mesoscale Imaging needs
• Faster Scanners
• Automated Ground System Operations
• Eliminate Seasonal Outages
• Navigation Accuracy
• Detector Striping

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GOES Imager Evolution