{"id":3602,"date":"2004-12-19T12:46:19","date_gmt":"2004-12-19T18:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/?p=3602"},"modified":"2013-07-24T16:39:22","modified_gmt":"2013-07-24T21:39:22","slug":"monthly-news-summary-december-2004","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/articles\/3602","title":{"rendered":"Monthly News Summary- December 2004"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1 align=\"left\"><em>Uranus from the Ground\u2014Amazing<\/em><\/h1>\n<p align=\"left\"><em>Terri Gregory, Editor<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>This issue of\u00a0<\/em>In the News<em>\u00a0covers SSEC news and events from November 2004. Use images freely with credit to the Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>When the space probe Voyager 2 swept past Uranus in 1986, it didn\u2019t see much. The distant planet, tipped on its side from some ancient cataclysm, was featureless, bathed in midsummer sun. At the time, scientists did not think that Uranus received enough solar energy to have seasons, but recent images taken with the far seeing ground-based Keck telescope seem to indicate otherwise. At the latest meeting of the American Astronomical Society\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.aas.org\/dps\/dps.html\">Division for Planetary Sciences<\/a>, teams from the University of California\u2013Berkeley (Heidi Hammel and colleagues) and the University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison (SSEC\u2019s Lawrence Sromovsky and Patrick Fry) presented images taken with the Keck on the top of Hawaii\u2019s Mauna Kea. Frederic Chaffee, director of the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www2.keck.hawaii.edu\/news\/science\/uranus\/index.html\">W. M. Keck Observatory<\/a>\u00a0said of the two sets of images, \u201cThese are the best pictures of Uranus that have ever been produced by a telescope, and they are opening new windows of understanding for this unique and special world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/06\/dec.204ura_comp-sml.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3603\" alt=\"dec.204ura_comp-sml\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/06\/dec.204ura_comp-sml.png\" width=\"500\" height=\"389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/06\/dec.204ura_comp-sml.png 500w, https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/06\/dec.204ura_comp-sml-300x233.png 300w, https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/06\/dec.204ura_comp-sml-385x300.png 385w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h5><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/media\/spotlight\/Uranus.htm\">Recent Uranus images<\/a>\u00a0using the Keck near-infrared camera on 11-12 July 2004 UT. These two images show opposite sides of the planet, with Uranus\u2019s north pole at 4 o\u2019clock.\u00a0<em>(L.Sromovsky, P.Fry)<\/em><\/h5>\n<p>News organizations, science Web sites and a handful of blogs around the world are featuring the new images and the work behind them. \u201cIn the News\u201d reports where the SSEC images were used, primarily those outlets that have a Web presence. If you see a print or television version not on the Web, please\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/cgi-bin\/email_form.cgi?name=media\">tell us<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison\u2019s Office of Communications (Terry Devitt)<a href=\"http:\/\/www.news.wisc.edu\/releases\/10402.html\">released the news<\/a>\u00a0of the SSEC team achievements on November 10, and<a href=\"http:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/pub_releases\/2004-11\/uow-kzi110504.php\">Eurekalert<\/a>\u00a0posted the release. Also using the Devitt release were\u00a0<em>Wisconsin Week Wire<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Wisconsin Week,<\/em>\u00a0online and print campus newspapers;\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/4tkhg\">AScribe<\/a>, the Public Interest Newswire; Germany\u2019s Innovations-Report; the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/wistechnology.com\/article.php?id=1336\">Wisconsin Technology Network<\/a>;\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.spacedaily.com\/news\/outerplanets-04i.html\">Space Daily<\/a><\/em>; the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bvalphaserver.com\/article10745.html\">Black Vault<\/a>, an online military and government research center; and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.physorg.com\/news1928.html\">PhysOrg.com<\/a>, providing \u201cThe latest physics and technology news.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the science blog UKWeatherWorld,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/456he\">\u201cNile Queen\u201d posted<\/a>\u00a0the text of Devitt\u2019s release interspersed with her own comments.<\/p>\n<p>Based on the UW\u2013Madison release,\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.space.com\/scienceastronomy\/uranus_images_041110.html\">Space.com<\/a><\/em>\u00a0detailed Uranus\u2019s clouds from Larry Sromovsky\u2019s descriptions, noting that \u201cthe cloud features are being used to trace and help define wind patterns and predict the motions of the large storm systems that sweep across the pale blue planet.\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.msnbc.msn.com\/id\/6456333\/\">MSNBC<\/a>,\u00a0<em>USA Today.com<\/em>, and\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/6anu9\">Yahoo! News<\/a><\/em>\u00a0posted the Space.com article. It also was posted on Yahoo!\u2019s front page.<\/p>\n<p>Ron Seely, writing on November 11 for the\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/5tsuq\">Wisconsin State Journal<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0described Sromovsky and Fry\u2019s images as \u201camong the clearest and best images of the planet ever\u201d that disclose gigantic, violent storms that can cover about 3 million square miles. The weather operates strangely, and scientists think that its orientation, with its poles tilted toward the sun, is at least partly to blame.<\/p>\n<p>After seeing the\u00a0<em>State Journal<\/em>\u00a0piece, reporter Mark Young of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.wort-fm.org\/\">WORT-FM<\/a>Radio interviewed Sromovsky December 2 on the biweekly science show. The show covers a variety of science topics and runs every other Thursday evening at 7:30. WORT can be found at 89.9 FM.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.astronomy.com\/default.aspx?c=a&amp;id=2592\"><em>Astronomy<\/em><\/a>\u00a0magazine\u2019s Francis Reddy noted that Uranus\u2019s current \u201cwacky weather\u201d is ruining its reputation as being rather dull. Look for the article in the January print version.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/news\/news.jsp?id=ns99996657\">New Scientist<\/a><\/em>\u00a0magazine (on line November 11) noted that Larry Sromovsky, SSEC senior scientist, found \u201clarge cloud complexes that may be driven by hurricane-like vortices.\u201d Because Uranus is so far from the Sun, Sromovsky noted that \u201cUranus\u2019s storms are likely to be much milder than those on Earth.<em><a href=\"http:\/\/uk.news.yahoo.com\/041111\/12\/f6fw1.html\">Yahoo News<\/a><\/em>\u00a0for the UK and Ireland posted David Chandler\u2019s New Scientist article, as did India\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/5dwvt\">Vigyan Prasar Science Portal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Emily Lakdawalla, writing for\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.planetary.org\/news\/2004\/uranus_1111.html\">The Planetary Society<\/a>, focused on how the Keck\u2019s Adaptive Optics system \u201cdynamically changes the shape of the telescope\u2019s main mirror in order to reduce the blurring effect of the Earth\u2019s atmosphere.\u201d Lakdawalla also noted the great amount of change visible on the planet.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/pacific.bizjournals.com\/pacific\/stories\/2004\/11\/08\/daily45.html\">Pacific Business News<\/a><\/em>\u00a0reveled in the technical capabilities of the Keck, while summarizing the Uranus research and noting that much new has been learned about the planet since it \u201cwas discovered by William Herschel five years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/4kgkq\">Bizjournals<\/a>\u00a0also used this piece.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/skyandtelescope.com\/news\/article_1390_1.asp\">Sky &amp; Telescope<\/a><\/em>\u00a0magazine posted Robert Naeye\u2019s article on the Web November 16. He lists all the recent storm and ring discoveries, including Sromovsky\u2019s team\u2019s, noting the extreme increase in detail since Voyager 2. Look for it in the January issue of the magazine.<\/p>\n<p>In an article based on the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www2.keck.hawaii.edu\/news\/science\/uranus\/index.html\">release<\/a>\u00a0from the Keck Observatory,\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/3zd5f\">Astrobiology<\/a><\/em>magazine emphasized the detail that astronomers are able to \u201csee from the ground,\u201d the Keck\u2019s advanced optical capabilities making it possible to \u201cstudy planets in the outer solar system that once could only be studied from space.\u201d They published UW\u2013Madison images but credited the University of Hawaii.<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/am\/publish\/uranus_can_be_stormy.html\">Universe Today<\/a><\/em>\u00a0used a version of the Keck Observatory\u2019s release, as did<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.spaceref.ca\/news\/viewpr.html?pid=15480\">SpaceRef<\/a><\/em>\u00a0in Canada,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rednova.com\/news\/display\/?id=101971\"><em>Red Nova<\/em><\/a>, and\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/6ywy6\">Kaleo.org<\/a><\/em>, from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. After Laura Craft posted her release on the Science Forum at Science groupsrv.com,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.groupsrv.com\/science\/viewtopic.php?t=65053\">Ralph Hertle<\/a>\u00a0thanked her \u201cfor the fine job of science and reporting,\u201d and another writer wondered if imaging Pluto were possible.<\/p>\n<p>NASA\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/solarsystem.nasa.gov\/multimedia\/display.cfm?IM_ID=3163\">Solar System Exploration<\/a>\u201d page presented the SSEC images when first prepared in July. The\u00a0<em>Astronomy\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov\/apod\/ap041118.html\">Picture of the Day<\/a><\/em>\u00a0Web site, hosted by Goddard Space Flight Center, featured the UW\u2013Madison images on November 18.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/the.honoluluadvertiser.com\/article\/2004\/Nov\/15\/ln\/ln17p.html\">The Honolulu Advertiser<\/a><\/em>\u00a0focused on the storms discovered by the two imaging teams, noting that \u201cthe images released at a Mainland conference last week are major scientific discoveries that reveal the workings of Uranus\u2019 atmosphere and ring system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/dsc.discovery.com\/news\/briefs\/20041108\/uranus.html\">The Discovery Channel<\/a><\/em>\u00a0used the SSEC image but named only the UC\u2013Berkeley research team.\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/science\/news\/stories\/s1241987.htm\">News in Science<\/a><\/em>\u00a0used the Discovery story, but correctly attributed the UW\u2013Madison image.<\/p>\n<p>Thailand\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vcharkarn.com\/snippets\/vcafe\/show_message.php?Cid=23&amp;Pid=24723\"><em>Vcharkarn<\/em><\/a>, written in Thai, provides (near the end) a pair of animated gifs (with an English caption) showing how a telescope like the Keck can cope with Earth\u2019s atmosphere. Around the world, others covering the imaging discoveries include Germany\u2019s\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wissenschaft.de\/wissen\/news\/246532.html\">wissenschaft.de<\/a><\/em>, the\u00a0<em>Frankfurter Allgemeine<\/em>\u2019s<a href=\"http:\/\/www.faz.net\/s\/Rub6E2D1F09C983403B8EC7549AB44FA0EF\/Doc~EAD8C276C01434AF5A700EBAE2B2C615C~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html\">Faz.net<\/a>,\u00a0<em>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/5swnu\">news.Telegraph<\/a>,\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.heise.de\/tp\/r4\/artikel\/18\/18827\/1.html\">Telepolis<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/permanent.nouvelobs.com\/sciences\/20041112.OBS1380.html\">Nouvel Obs.com<\/a><\/em>, Denmark\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tycho.dk\/article\/view\/2554\/1\/32%20\">Tycho Brahe Planetarium<\/a>, Croatia\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.iskon.hr\/znanost\/page\/2004\/11\/18\/0365006.html\">Iskon<\/a>\u201d portal, the Netherlands\u2019<em><a href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/573zl\">AstroStart<\/a><\/em>, France\u2019s\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/perso.wanadoo.fr\/pgj\/1104-nouvelles.htm\">PGJ Astronomie<\/a><\/em>, Germany\u2019s\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wetterfest.de\/wf-sites\/wf-news.php?id=508\">Wetterfest<\/a><\/em>, Belgium\u2019s<a href=\"http:\/\/news.surfwax.com\/astronomy\/files\/Uranus_Planet.html\">Europlanetarium<\/a>, Japan\u2019s\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/the-cosmos.org\/2004\/11\/2004-11-18.html\">The Cosmos.org<\/a><\/em>, Berlin\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/morgenpost.berlin1.de\/content\/2004\/11\/11\/aus_aller_welt\/715210.html\"><em>Morgenpost<\/em><\/a>, Germany\u2019s<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.raumfahrt24.de\/Artikel\/200411120166.html\">Raumfahrt24<\/a><\/em>, and a host of other Web sites, many of them offshoots of print publications.<\/p>\n<p>Paula Dohnal\u2019s article in\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailycardinal.com\/news\/814173.html?mkey=1167059\">The Daily Cardinal<\/a><\/em>, one of UW\u2013Madison\u2019s student newspapers, (November 23), dwelt on the differences between the Voyager flyby in 1986 and current research, especially Sromovsky\u2019s work on storms. She also noted Keck\u2019s capabilities, enabling the spectacularly more detailed new images. \u201cKeck\u2019s flexible, 10-meter-diameter mirror bends to correct \u2026 distortions\u201d caused by viewing through the atmosphere.<\/p>\n<h1><a name=\"antarctica\"><\/a>Antarctica<\/h1>\n<p><strong>Working<\/strong>\u2014Matthew Lazzara (SSEC\u2019s Antarctic Meteorological Research Center, AMRC) and Jeff Key (team leader of NOAA\u2019s NESDIS Advanced Satellite Products Branch at SSEC) helped WMTV\u2019s Amy Carlson (Madison, Wisconsin\u2019s Channel 15) with two short pieces on working in Antarctica in her Weather 101 series. The two pieces, aired November 17 and 22, covered work in the field, primarily on UW\u2013Madison\u2019s Automatic Weather Stations. The pieces used many pictures taken by Jeff Key at the South Pole. Please credit him as photographer if you use any of the pictures.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/stratus.ssec.wisc.edu\/scenes\/fieldex\/mcmurdo04\/mcmurdo04.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3604\" alt=\"nov.twinotters-JK-sml\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/06\/nov.twinotters-JK-sml.png\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/06\/nov.twinotters-JK-sml.png 400w, https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2013\/06\/nov.twinotters-JK-sml-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h5>Twin Otter airplanes with skis on the sea ice runway, waiting to take researchers into the field.<em>(J.Key, NOAA, at SSEC)<\/em><\/h5>\n<p><strong>Weather<\/strong>\u2014Key and Lazzara are featured in an article on Antarctic weather research and forecasting in the November 7\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.polar.org\/antsun\/Sun110704\/\">Antarctic Sun<\/a><\/em>. Key develops applications for satellite data, which the article notes is a powerful tool, along with a specialized Antarctic numerical model. Key was in Antarctica to implement his polar wind product. Lazzara works in the SSEC\u2019s AMRC to provide \u201cimagery of Antarctic icebergs and maintaining automated weather stations\u201d and, of course, Antarctic satellite composites, for which AMRC was founded.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Forecasting\u2014<\/strong><em>USA Today<\/em>\u2019s meteorologist\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/weather\/resources\/coldscience\/acoldsci.htm\">Jack Williams<\/a>\u00a0used an air rescue of a worker in Antarctica to showcase the difficulty of forecasting weather on the continent. His article appears in\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.weather-wise.org\/\">Weatherwise<\/a><\/em>, November\/December 2004. He mentions \u201cautomated weather stations\u201d and satellite composite imagery as tools in the forecasting arsenal, noting that UW\u2013Madison maintains them both. Because it is so difficult to maintain weather stations and gather weather data, satellite imagery fills an important niche. A composite image illustrates Antarctic weather on September 21, 2003, the day the worker was airlifted for medical care.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"data\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h1>Data and Imagery<\/h1>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov\/\"><strong>NOAA\u2019s Coast Watch<\/strong><\/a>Web site now serves MODIS data from SSEC\u2019s Direct Broadcast Facility. NOAA\u2019s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan provides the Web site, offering not only MODIS data from SSEC but a variety of other satellite imagery, including some from Canada\u2019s Radarsat. The Great Lakes node of Coast Watch \u201cobtains, produces, and delivers environmental data and products for near real-time monitoring of the Great Lakes to support environmental science, decision making, and supporting research.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/44k99\"><strong>Snow over the western U.S.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0taken by SSEC was featured on The Earth Observatory Natural Hazards Web page. The MODIS image from NASA\u2019s Aqua satellite on November 28 showed nearly 18 inches of snow over the western U.S. stopping abruptly at the Sierra Nevada mountains.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Three-D weather viewing<\/strong>\u2014If the picture on page 2 of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/newsletter.dri.edu\/\"><em>DRI News<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(Fall 2004, print version) looks familiar, it should. The large screen \u201canimated three-dimensional image \u2026 modeling airflow over the European Alps\u201d is based in Vis5D, the scientific visualization program developed at SSEC by Bill Hibbard. The\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/~billh\/vis5d.html\">software<\/a>, freely available on the Internet, has found its way onto the computers of countless numerical modelers, meteorologists, and other scientists around the world. Vanda Grubi\u0161ic of Nevada\u2019s Desert Research Institute uses the software to visualize her work in the Advanced Computing in Environmental Sciences Program. Vis5D is also the basis for Display 3-Dimensional (<a href=\"http:\/\/d3d.fsl.noaa.gov\/\">D3D<\/a>), part of National Weather Service system development \u201caimed at providing an advanced operational workstation to operational forecasters. It allows users to view model output and real-time meteorological data in a three-dimensional interactive display.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/media\/www.cls.fr\"><strong>An international research project<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is using a version of VisAD in a study of the movements and migrations of elephant seals in the southern ocean. Scientists are using MAMVis-AD to show Argos data of temperature and salinity in 3-D, obtained by seals fitted with Argos transmitters. The research is featured in French and English in the Argos Forum: News from the Deep.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.argosinc.com\/\">Service Argos<\/a><\/strong>, North America\u2019s contact point for the Argos satellite, uses an SSEC sea surface temperature image to decorate its home page.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/media\/www.pratt.duke.edu\"><strong>Pratt School of Engineering<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0at Duke University\u00a0uses a McIDAS image to illustrate a page in a current annual report. The page introduces a section on Integrated Environmental Sensing and Simulation. Rick Kohrs produced this enhanced GOES image of Hurricane Charley as the storm approached Florida landfall on August 13. The basemap was provided by NASA\u2019s Earth Observatory team.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.terraserver.com\/\"><strong>TerraServer.com<\/strong><\/a>, a gigantic Web site providing high resolution aerial photography and satellite imagery of virtually any place in the U.S. and elsewhere, uses SSEC\u2019s global montage on its home page. They now credit SSEC; clicking on the image takes you further into their Web pages.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/goes\/misc\/modis\/autumn\/modis_autumn_2004.html\">In October<\/a><\/strong>, people really enjoyed watching \u201cthe animation of the changing leaves in Wisconsin,\u201d as far away as Chattanooga, TN. Thom Benson of Chattanooga\u2019s<a href=\"http:\/\/www.wrcbtv.com\/three\/weather\/fivedayforecast.cfm\">WRCB TV Channel 3 Storm Alert<\/a>\u00a0Team showed them on his show, and added the compliment, \u201cThe gallery images are awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>In an article on the difficulty<\/strong>\u00a0of forecasting Hurricane Charley, forecaster and teacher Lee Grenci uses many images showing a variety of forecasting tools, including the hurricane track provided by CIMSS\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/tropic\/tropic.html\">Tropical Cyclones<\/a>\u00a0group. The article is in\u00a0<em>Weatherwise<\/em>, November\/December 2004.<a name=\"feats\"><\/a><a name=\"feats\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h1><em>Engineering Feats<\/em><\/h1>\n<p><strong><em>PSL Observer,<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0newsletter of UW\u2013Madison\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.psl.wisc.edu\/\">Physical Sciences Laboratory<\/a>, features the Enhanced Hot Water Drill, a project of SSEC\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/icds\/\">Ice Coring and Drilling Service<\/a>. With PSL\u2019s help, the ICDS has developed the special drill for IceCube, a kilometer sized neutrino telescope materializing in the South Polar ice from the smaller AMANDA. The drill is necessary for the very deep holes into which sensing modules will be lowered, forming a grid to detect elusive neutrinos from outer space. PSL facilities in Stoughton, Wisconsin, close to Madison, serve as a test site for IceCube. To \u201crealistically simulate hose and cable pay-out,\u201d a local well-drilling firm drilled a 250-foot dry hole into which the hose could be dropped. As of the Fall newsletter publication date, Mark Mulligan, EHWD program manager, said that the drill tower is to be completed by late November so it and other equipment can be shipped in mid-December. The ship should arrive at McMurdo research station in late January. The tower and related equipment for the drill will be stored until November 2005 when it will be airlifted to the South Pole.<\/p>\n<p>This Fall issue of the\u00a0<em>PSL Observer<\/em>\u00a0includes detailed information on the exacting task of building drill heads. The\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.psl.wisc.edu\/homepage.html\">Physical Sciences Laboratory<\/a>\u00a0is building and testing new drill heads for the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/icds\/gallery\/Enhanced-Hot-Water-Drill\">EHWD<\/a>\u00a0that must be painstakingly tested and calibrated. PSL is also building IceCube digital optical modules. The\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/\">National Science Foundation<\/a>\u00a0funds ICDS and IceCube development.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jim Birch<\/strong>, Meteorologist at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.wkowtv.com\/$spindb.!query.index2.forecast\">Weather Central<\/a>\u00a0at Madison\u2019s WKOW-TV Channel 27 was grateful to SSEC\u2019s Data Center for providing a data stream they were having trouble receiving. The Data Center hosts the ingestor that receives data from Meteosat-8 (Meteosat Second Generation, MSG) stationed over Europe and Africa. When Weather Central discovered they had the wrong antenna, the Data Center stepped in to provide access to the data stream from the SSEC antenna. Birch sent \u201csincere thanks in helping us get this feed up and going. You and your staff have been a great big help and we really appreciate it. We were up against some incredible deadlines (by no fault of anybody), it took a huge effort and we made them, but with a tremendous amount of effort on your end.\u201d<a name=\"tropic\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"weather\"><\/a><a name=\"research\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h1><em>Weather Research<\/em><\/h1>\n<p><em>by Jennifer Ann O\u2019Leary<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/clavr\/patmos-x.html\"><strong>Reported Progress<\/strong><\/a>\u2014In late October, Andy Heidinger (NOAA, stationed in CIMSS) presided over the AVHRR Reprocessing Meeting with scientists from NOAA\u2019s Office of Research and Applications (ORA). They discussed the progress of the AVHRR Pathfinder Atmosphere Extended (PATMOS-x) and the Global Vegetation Index (GVI-x) projects. Using the data from these projects, scientists begin to produce the preliminary data sets that will validate the algorithm and calibrations used to reprocess AVHRR Global Area Coverage (GAC) archive. The reprocessing will begin in the next year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Collaboration Overseas\u2014<\/strong>CIMSS recently collaborated with the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) to compare measurements from the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/research\/airs\/\">AIRS<\/a>instrument with China\u2019s geostationary satellite,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.spacedaily.com\/news\/china-02y.html\">Fengyun-2B<\/a>\u00a0(FY-2B). To do this, scientists from CIMSS calculated the radiance-to-brightness-temperature conversion coefficients using a sample of data from FY-2B along with both its and AIR\u2019s spectral response functions. The brightness temperatures differed by 2.3 K. CIMSS and CMA plan to collaborate in the same way for FY-2B\u2019s successor, FY-2C.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where the Polar Winds Blow<\/strong>\u2014Matthew Lazzara (SSEC) and Jeff Key (NOAA, stationed in CIMSS) presented a well-attended lecture at McMurdo Station in Antarctica titled \u201cUnlocking the Secrets of Antarctic Meteorology: Clouds, Fog and Polar Winds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hyperspectral in Honolulu\u2014<\/strong>From November 8\u201311, the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE) held its 4th International Asia-Pacific Environmental Remote Sensing Symposium. As a part of this symposium, Jun Li (CIMSS) gave a presentation titled \u201cVertical resolution study on the GOES-R Hyperspectral Environmental Suite (HES).\u201d Andy Heidinger (CIMSS) also presented at the symposium. Heidinger discussed the new cloud climatology derived from PATMOS-X and how it generally coincides nicely with existing climatologies.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What Will Happen to the TRMM Satellite<\/strong>\u2014The National Academy of Sciences National Research Council formed a panel that will determine the fate of NASA\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov\/homepage.html\">Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)<\/a>\u00a0satellite. The panel will either decide to extend TRMM operations until a controlled re-entry can occur or to extend its operations until it runs out of fuel and an uncontrolled re-entry occurs. The first option would extend operations by one year and the second would extend it five.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"outreach\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h1><em>Education, Outreach<\/em><\/h1>\n<p><strong>Girl Scouts<\/strong>\u00a0from troops 353, 844, 615, and 635\u201433 girls in all\u2014just earned their weather badge at SSEC. SSEC\u2019s Margaret Mooney has offered this career-oriented workshop every spring and fall for four years, exposing Dane County scouts and their leaders to the discipline of meteorology while also sharing the pivotal role that SSEC plays in current and historical developments in satellite technology.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tim Leister<\/strong>, an earth and space science teacher in New Holland, PA wants to make sure that his class continues to benefit from Steve Ackerman\u2019s and Tom Whittaker\u2019s weather lessons. He said, \u201cI use your\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/wxwise\/contour\/\">contouring analysis Web site<\/a>every year as an introduction to isoplething with my high school meteorology class. Please keep it running.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Every year,<\/strong>\u00a0SSEC\u2019s Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) presents scholarships to a few promising, and qualifying, high school seniors on their way to a Wisconsin college or university. The awards are presented in the memory of late SSEC and CIMSS Founder Director Verner Suomi. The Suomi scholars are expected to do well, but are not expected to<a href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/554hf\">make news<\/a>\u00a0during their college career. Freshman Victoria Vasys has done that. Visiting lecturer Alan Gomez gave his introductory engineering class a hands-on project of designing a device to make navigating small steps easier for people in wheel chairs. Vasys said, \u201ceven if I don\u2019t go on to be an engineer, I know what\u2019s involved [in the design project].\u201d Madison city officials eagerly await the project\u2019s conclusion this month.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wings\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h1>In the Wings<\/h1>\n<p>Watch for the January issue of\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.madisonmagazine.com\/\">Madison<\/a><\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.madisonmagazine.com\/\">\u00a0magazine<\/a>. It will feature Hank Revercomb, SSEC director, in its technology section.<a name=\"note\"><\/a><a name=\"etc\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Thanks this month to Bob Aune, Liam Gumley, Jeff Key, Matthew Lazzara, Margaret Mooney, Larry Sromovsky, and Dee Wade for help with content.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the News &#8211; December 2004<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3604,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-monthly-summary"],"acf":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3602"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4326,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3602\/revisions\/4326"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}