Satellite Meteorology and Climatology Division (SMCD)

Environmental Monitoring Branch (EMB)

The Environmental Monitoring Branch (EMB) conducts research in satellite remote sensing of aerosols, precipitation, radiation budget components and land surface properties. The branch contains expertise in microwave remote sensing, and contributes to the research of the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation. Much of the NESDIS operational snow cover mapping techniques were developed in this branch, and work to retrieve properties of the snow pack from satellite sensors continues.

Products developed in EMB include boundary and initial conditions for numerical weather models, flash flood forecasting, climate monitoring, agricultural monitoring, and detection and assessment of drought.

The Environmental Monitoring Branch provides scientific support to NOAA's acquisition of new spacecraft and instruments.

Projects:

• Atmospheric Aerosols
• Satellite Rainfall Estimates (formerly Flash Flood Products)
• GOES Aerosol/Smoke Product (GASP)
• Automated Snow Mapping
• Vegetation Health Image Products
• GOES Surface Insolation and Temperature
• Microwave Sounding Calibration and Climate Trends (MSCAT)
• Experimental Global Vegetation Processing System (GVPS)