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Satellite Meteorology and Climatology Division
Mission Statement
SMCD conducts research and develops new satellite products to improve
and expand the use of satellite data for monitoring global
meteorological, environmental and climatological conditions. The
Division conducts an end-to-end program ranging from planning new
satellite instruments to developing new satellite products and
applications and transitioning these developments to operations in
NOAA's weather, climate, and environmental monitoring and prediction
systems. Most of the Division's research and development falls in 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, drought
- Climate variables - ozone, Earth radiation budget, aerosols, greenhouse gases
In addition to developing new and improved products, we conduct the following crosscutting activities:
- Calibrating satellite instruments
- Transitioning research products to operational production
- Developing radiative transfer models for the National Weather Service (NWS) Numerical Weather
- Prediction (NWP) satellite data assimilation systems
- Developing and analyzing long-term satellite data sets for studying and assessing climate change
- Planning and preparing for new satellite instruments
To execute its activities, SMCD has an active visiting scientist
program, an extensive task order contract support system, and access to
Cooperative Institutes via grants, which provides scientists and
software specialists to support the SMCD investigators. Its scientists
also collaborate with colleagues both nationally and
internationally.
Satellite Meteorology and Climatology Division (SMCD)
2008 Annual Report
Download SMCD's FY2008 Annual Report (PDF, 3.5MB)
Message from Mitch Goldberg, Chief, Satellite Meteorology and Climatology Division
On behalf of the Satellite Meteorology and Climatology Division
(SMCD), it is my pleasure to present the Fiscal Year 2008 Report. This
report summarizes the major activities and accomplishments within my
division throughout the year.
As an organization focused on the research and development of new
satellite products, SMCD is actively engaged and committed to improve
and expand the use of satellite data for monitoring global
meteorological, environmental and climatological conditions.
I am very proud to share this report on our accomplishments, which
include the Division's completed tasks, highlights from workshops and
meetings attended, published papers, and training provided during the
2008 Fiscal Year.
We contributed to the Center for Satellite Applications and Research's
(STAR) mission through the following outcomes:
- Ensuring high quality calibrated observations and products
- Calibrating and intercalibrating sensors on NOAA and METOP satellites,
- Developing cal/val plans for the National Polar-orbiting
Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS), the NPOESS
Preparatory Program (NPP), and the Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R) satellites
- Providing essential contributions to the Global Space-based
InterCalibration System (GSICS), the NOAA Integrated Sounding
Product Validation System, and the Simultaneous Nadir
Observations (SNO) technique for satellite intercalibration,
etc.
- Improved utilization of satellite observations
- Advanced GOME-2 NO2 products
- Satellite-derived biomass burning data
- Near real time monitoring of smoke plumes from the October 2007
California wildfires
- Demonstration of the efficacy of STAR'S Vegetation Health time
series in monitoring droughts, mapping regions of malaria outbreaks,
and estimating crop yields.
- Transition to Operations: Products below were transitioned to
NESDIS Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution (OSDPD)
- Greenhouse gas products
- METOP GOME-2 O3 Product
- Microwave Integrated Retrieval System (MIRS) Updates
- Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Polar Wind Product
- METOP Level-2 IASI Products
- Future Operational Satellite Observing Systems (NPOESS and GOES-R)
- Delivered forty-two GOES-R Draft Algorithm Theoretical Basis
Documents (ATBD)
- Leading development of NPOESS Data Exploitation (NDE) NOAA unique
products
- Moving towards Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) level
three maturity for algorithm and systems development.
- National and International Collaborations:
- Continuing collaborations with many NOAA Programs: Air
Quality, Climate, and Weather and Water. In addition we had
international collaboration with NWP centers, the conference on
Earth Observations for Sustainable Development and Security and
MOA signing in Ukraine, the Committee on Earth Observation
Satellites Working Group on Calibration and Validation (CEOS
Cal/Val), CEOS Strategic implementation Team (SIT), Coordination
Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS), WMO GSICS, and the
Atmospheric Observation Panel for Climate (AOPC).
- Education, Outreach and Training: JCSDA Data Assimilation Training
Workshop, and the SMCD Student Mentorship Program.
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