{"id":3620,"date":"2004-10-19T12:57:40","date_gmt":"2004-10-19T17:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/?p=3620"},"modified":"2013-07-24T16:40:58","modified_gmt":"2013-07-24T21:40:58","slug":"monthly-news-summary-october-2004","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/articles\/3620","title":{"rendered":"Monthly News Summary – October 2004"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hurricanes Redux<\/em><\/h1>\n

Terri Gregory, Editor<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This issue of\u00a0<\/em>In the News\u00a0covers SSEC news and events from September 2004.\u00a0<\/em>Use images freely with credit to the Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison. Jennifer O\u2019Leary wrote all of Weather Research and most of Meetings. Either she or Terri Gregory wrote all other pieces, unless otherwise noted.<\/em><\/p>\n

In August, with hurricanes churning across the Atlantic to Florida, the\u00a0Tropical Cyclones Web<\/a>\u00a0site logged 10 million hits. For all of September, more than 53 million hits were scored! And the tropical storms discussions (a semiofficial news group for hurricane forecasters and researchers) continues to show the National Hurricane Center\u2019s and National Weather Service\u2019s reliance on products developed by CIMSS, especially the\u00a0Objective Dvorak Technique<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Popular Research Products<\/a><\/strong>\u2014The popularity of Gary Wade\u2019s hurricane montages has led to development of a new automated product. The Tropical Cyclone Research Team recently created a product that compiles snapshot images of a storm to display its path in one image. Additionally, these montages include a color-coded progression of the storm\u2019s intensity.<\/p>\n

\"oct.2004JEANNE-track\"<\/a><\/p>\n

SSEC\u2019s MODIS Direct Broadcast Facility<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0also received and processed spectacular images of the season\u2019s hurricanes through Ivan (September 16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"oct.Ivanthumb\"<\/a><\/td>\n\n
Hurricane Ivan after Florida landfall, September 16, 2004. See the\u00a0MODIS Gallery<\/a>\u00a0for more hurricane images.<\/h5>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

For the near future, this is unfortunately the last MODIS imagery available from SSEC\u2019s Direct Broadcast Facility. The computer used to process the data has met with an untimely accident. A replacement or fix is in the works, perhaps by the time you read this. Besides the many media appearances noted in\u00a0September 2004<\/a>\u00a0In the News, Chris Velden also spoke on Madison\u2019s WIBA radio and spoke with Canadian Broadcast Corporation reporters. UW\u2013Madison\u2019s\u00a0Why Files<\/a><\/em>\u00a0used\u00a0CIMSS images<\/a>\u00a0in a hurricane feature story and presented CIMSS\u00a0hurricane research<\/a>\u00a0and told how researchers\u00a0handle the data<\/a>. Every week,\u00a0Why Files,<\/em>\u00a0a a World Wide Web magazine funded by NSF and published by University Communications, covers a science story inspired by the headlines. On September 4, Alan Sealls, WKRG-TV\u2019s Chief Meteorologist, used McIDAS developer Rick Kohrs\u2019s high resolution animation of Hurricane Frances in their 5 p.m. newscast. WKRG-TV is the CBS affiliate in Mobile. Sealls estimates that they had more than 50,000 viewers during that broadcast.<\/p>\n

The official UW\u2013Madison newspaper,\u00a0Wisconsin Week,<\/em><\/a>\u00a0featured the movie of Hurricane Frances on September 8 as a new \u201csatellite animation tool.\u201d London, England\u2019s TV Channel 4 asked to use the \u201crather fabulous movie\u201d of Hurricane Ivan on their 7 p.m. news on September 10.<\/p>\n

In \u201cShelter from the Storm,\u201d the\u00a0Economist<\/em>\u00a0magazine (September 18, 2004) examines the current state of hurricane forecasting. \u201c\u2026 [S]ubstantial improvements have been made over the past 30 years,\u201d they say, but note that predicting intensity is still \u201chardly better\u201d than in 1974. Knowing more about the eyewall, where winds are most intense, would help. James Kossin, of SSEC\u2019s CIMSS Tropical Cyclones group, saw his predictions of vortices in the eye of Hurricane Isabel realized in 2003. The behavior is important because it makes clear that the eye is not symmetrical as many researchers had assumed. Jason Dunion, of the\u00a0National Hurricane Center<\/a>, works with CIMSS using satellite data to study the Saharan air layer off the Sahara Desert that Atlantic storms interact with. This \u201clayer inhibits the intensification of storms.\u201d Other groups also study hurricane intensity\u2014NOAA\u2019s Hurricane Research Division, Colorado State University\u2019s\u00a0CIRA<\/a>, the University of Miami and Ohio\u2019s Kent State University.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Data and Imagery<\/h1>\n

As seen in the\u00a0Spotlight<\/a>\u00a0on the SSEC front page, MODIS true color imagery clearly shows the vivid\u00a0transition to \u201cAutumnal Fire\u201d<\/a>\u00a0vegetation colors in northern Wisconsin. Scott Bachmeier provides an animation of 7 days during September and October. Thom Benson of WRCB TV\u2019s Channel 3 Storm Alert Team will show first and last images to his audience in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He notes, \u201cThe gallery images are awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"octmodis_fall-thb\"<\/a><\/td>\n\n
Wisconsin, October 9, 2004 through MODIS imagery.<\/h5>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The\u00a0UCAR Quarterly<\/a><\/em>\u00a0newsletter uses SSEC\u2019s\u00a0global montage<\/a>\u00a0in the background of a picture in an article about\u00a0COMET<\/a>, the Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology Education and Training.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Engineering Feats<\/em><\/h1>\n

ICDS<\/a>\u2014The\u00a0Wisconsin Engineer<\/em>, a magazine published by UW\u2013Madison College of Engineering students, features\u00a0IceCube<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0AMANDA<\/a>\u00a0neutrino telescopes in the September 2004 issue. The article noted that a special hot water drill needed to be made for the deep holes that will be drilled for IceCube. SSEC\u2019s\u00a0Ice Coring and Drilling Service<\/a>\u00a0provides the expertise for the drill.<\/p>\n

A-HSRL<\/a>\u2014The Arctic HSRL has\u00a0moved out<\/a>\u00a0of its testing position in the building\u2019s penthouse and has\u00a0begun operations<\/a>\u00a0in the Arctic Circle, near Barrow, Alaska.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Field Experiments and Meetings<\/h1>\n

Scanning HIS Experiments<\/strong>,\u00a0by Robert Knuteson<\/em>\u2014The\u00a0Scanning HIS<\/a>\u00a0team recently returned from a successful set of back-to-back experiments in Europe namedADRIEX<\/a>\u00a0(Italy) and\u00a0EAQUATE<\/a>\u00a0(England). The experiments were performed September 6 through 18, 2004, using the Scaled Composites Proteus aircraft. The Scanning HIS team had three objectives for this deployment: intercompare Scanning HIS upwelling infrared radiances with those of the NPOESS Atmospheric Sounder Testbed – Interferometer (NAST-I, to fly on future polar-orbiting weather satellites) on the same aircraft; intercompare radiances with the UK Meteorology Office ARIES instrument during wingtip-to-wingtip flights with the BAE146 aircraft; underfly the NASA \u201cA-train\u201d of satellites which currently includes both Aqua (temperature and water sounder) and Aura (atmospheric chemistry). The team successfully overcame numerous obstacles to accomplish their objectives but with the help of Paolo Antonelli (formerly of CIMSS, soon to be with the Mediterranean Agency for Remote Sensing) the language and cultural barrier in Italy was successfully bridged. In England, repair of a leaky fuel pump caused some delays with the aircraft but all objectives were eventually accomplished. A photo of the grueling conditions encountered by participants on a day trip to Capri is included for your enjoyment.<\/p>\n

\"oct.CAPRI-thb\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Presentations at AMS Satellite Conference<\/strong>\u2014CIMSS and ASPB claim credit for many of the poster presentations and papers at the 13th American Meteorological Society\u2019s (AMS)\u00a0Conference on Satellite Meteorology<\/a>\u00a0and Oceanography held on September 20-23. The theme was \u201cNext Generation Environment Sensors and Emerging Applications in Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography.\u201d The presentations at the conference focused on advances in the uses of a broad array of new sensors and innovative plans for the future. Robert Holz, CIMSS graduate student (Ph.D.), was awarded second place for his poster presentation on Scanning-HIS data analysis.<\/p>\n

MUG-ed<\/strong>\u2014On October 7 and 8, SSEC hosted the 2004 McIDAS User\u2019s Group (MUG<\/a>) Meeting. Participants learned how various sites used their McIDAS systems as well as recent technological advances. Of particular interest were\u00a0cloud products<\/a>developed by NASA\u2019s Langley Research Center to be used by pilots. The\u00a0merged CONUS cloud product<\/a>\u00a0shows cloud conditions in a variety of phase states\u2014icy, water, others across the U.S.\u2014all developed in McIDAS. MUG meeting attendees also had a chance to hear about plans for the future, and a panel of McIDAS users played a devilishly difficult and clever game of GEOpardy. Meeting presentations will be posted on the MUG\u00a0Web site<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Weather experts in training<\/strong>\u2014On September 27 and 28, CIMSS hosted a meeting to critique and continue the development of plans for the Satellite Hydrology and Meteorology (SHyMet<\/a>) training course. The meeting resulted in a revised plan and a set of action items.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Science Experts<\/em><\/h1>\n

Contrails<\/strong>\u2014Steve Ackerman appears with a NASA scientist in a video on contrails, or condensation trails. Produced by\u00a0Discoveries and Breakthroughs Inside Science<\/a>, the piece was aired by local stations in more than 100 U.S. television markets, possibly reaching 65 million viewers. The piece shows how contrails become cirrus clouds and trap Earth\u2019s radiated energy. The piece suggests that changing flight paths could prevent or at least decrease their buildup. The American Institute of Physics produces these videos with help from NewsProNet, the National Science Foundation, and other scientific societies.<\/p>\n

The Weather Guys,<\/strong>\u00a0by Jennifer A. O\u2019Leary\u2014The Weather Guys continue their monthly rendezvous with Larry Meiller on his WHA Radio call-in show. On September 27, as they have for the past five years, Professors Steve Ackerman and Jonathan Martin once again explained the mysteries of the weather to Wisconsin Public Radio listeners.<\/p>\n

In light of this summer\u2019s tropical activity, many callers posed questions dealing with hurricanes. Ackerman and Martin described what limits a hurricane\u2019s strength as well as how jet streams \u201cimpose their will\u201d on a hurricane\u2019s path. The Guys also addressed the accuracy of hurricane forecasting technology. In spite of many advances allowing earlier, more accurate predications, Ackerman pointed out that \u201cwe can\u2019t forecast the re-intensification of the eye wall.\u201d<\/p>\n

After revisiting summer storms, fall colors became a recurring topic of conversation. A caller wanted to know why New England foliage seemed more vibrant than that of Wisconsin. Ackerman and Martin said certain areas in Wisconsin exhibit more color than others and that a \u201clack of trees in other parts of the state \u2026 make it look less vibrant.\u201d The Weather Guys reminded the audience that they aren\u2019t arborists, but agreed with a caller that perhaps the types of trees in a given area contribute to the vibrancy of fall colors.<\/p>\n

With September rapidly coming to a close, the show soon turned to a discussion of winters past and present. Although September has been the hottest month this year and evidence shows a bit of an El Ni\u00f1o effect developing, both of the Guys seem to think, or at least hope, that this winter will bring snow and cold temperatures.<\/p>\n

WPR archives<\/a>\u00a0shows from the past year on their Web site. Tune in to 970AM or listen\u00a0online<\/a>\u00a0for The Weather Guys on the last Monday of every month from 11:45-12:30.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n

Weather Research<\/em><\/h1>\n

Spinning Satellite Images<\/a><\/strong>\u2014The CIMSS Tropical Cyclone Group recently produced a new tool to monitor structure and intensity changes in tropical cyclones. The Morphed anImated Microwave Imagery (MIMI) algorithm compiles tropical cyclone imagery from five satellite instruments to create an animation that helps scientists and forecasters see the timing of the eye-wall replacement cycles. To account for the complex motion properties of a cyclone, MIMI imposes an advection scheme on the microwave signal. The scheme, a function of the cyclone\u2019s radius and reported wind speed, blends the averaged satellite images while rotating them to create the morphed animation. During Hurricane Ivan, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) had a chance to try out the MIMI algorithm. \u201cIt really helps to see the evolution of banding features and how the low-level convergence patterns change,\u201d Stacey Stewart with NHC said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"oct.MIMI-Aqua-Ivan\"<\/a><\/td>\n\n
Aqua image of Hurricane Ivan from September 12, 2004, one of the images used to make the morphed animation<\/h5>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

A breath of fresh air<\/a><\/strong>\u2014On September 8, CIMSS researchers Tony Wimmers and Scott Bachmeier discussed the Infusing satellite Data into Environmental Applications (IDEA) project with staff from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources\u2019sBureau of Air Management<\/a>. They focused on techniques for interpreting true color MODIS data and on MODIS aerosol products. They also looked at validating chemical transport models with MODIS data to improve air quality at protected locations. State air quality forecasters offered suggestions on how to improve the IDEA Web site and product suite.<\/p>\n

Canada picks up MODIS technology<\/strong>\u2014On September 21, the Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC<\/a>) incorporated the MODIS polar winds product into their forecast system. The European Center for Medium-Range Forecasts (ECMRF), NASA\u2019s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO), and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) all use this technology in numerical weather prediction. The MODIS\u00a0polar winds<\/a>\u00a0product has had a positive impact on weather forecasts in both polar and extratropical regions.<\/p>\n

Papers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Clouds at night<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013 In a collaborative effort, Yinghui Liu, Jeff Key, Richard Frey, Steve Ackerman and Paul Menzel recently published a paper (.pdf<\/a>) in\u00a0Remote Sensing of Environment<\/em>. The paper, \u201cNighttime polar cloud detection with MODIS,\u201d presents new cloud detection tests that use water vapor data and carbon dioxide bands.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Education, Outreach<\/em><\/h1>\n

The SSEC course \u201cSatellite Meteorology for Grades 7\u201312\u201d has been added to the NESDIS Education and Outreach page under\u00a0Educational Resources<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n

In the Wings<\/h1>\n

Writer Visits<\/strong>\u2014SSEC will host UW\u2013Madison Writer in Residence Joel Swerdlow for lunch and a tour on November 8. Swerdlow has written for\u00a0National Geographic<\/em>\u00a0and leading newspapers around the country and will be on campus for that week. Room 823 is reserved starting at 11:30 a.m. and all in the Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences building are invited to join him for a brown-bag lunch. During the week, Swerdlow will talk to journalism classes and give public lectures.<\/p>\n

Also of Note<\/h1>\n

The Candidates Speak<\/strong>\u2014Even if did take them months to respond, Kerry and Bush campaign organizations answered questions that\u00a0Science<\/em>\u00a0magazine posed to them. The answers reveal how either administration would treat certain scientific and research areas, such as space and climate. See\u00a0Science<\/em>, Vol. 306, 1 October 2004. The\u00a0AIP<\/a>\u00a0lists more resources.<\/p>\n

Cloud Stamps<\/strong>\u2014The\u00a0U.S. Postal Service<\/a>\u00a0released a new series of cloud stamps and post cards on October 4. The Postal Service collaborated with\u00a0The Weather Channel<\/a>, the\u00a0American Meteorological Society<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0National Weather Service<\/a>\u00a0in a combined stamp and postcard release, featuring 15 different stamps showing 9 different cloud types.<\/p>\n

A recent Site of the Day<\/strong>\u00a0(refdesk.com) is \u201ca \u2018Guide to the Most Efficient Things in the World<\/a>,\u2019 with reviews and information on everything from LED lightbulbs, translucent eco-resins, HVAC, bikes and biodegradable carpets to ceramics, rainwater harvesting, non-toxic kids\u2019 toys, household electronics, etc.\u201d Isthmus writer David Medaris provided this useful site.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the News – October 2004<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3623,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3620","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\/3620","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=3620"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4328,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3620\/revisions\/4328"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}