WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION
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TCM-7/Doc. 4.2
(6.XI.2012)
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SEVENTH TROPICAL CYCLONE RSMCs/TCWCs
TECHNICAL COORDINATION MEETING
ITEM 4.2
CITEKO, WEST JAVA, INDONESIA
12 TO 15 NOVEMBER 2012
ENGLISH ONLY
COORDINATION
Requirements for operational forecasts/advisories, watches and warnings
(Satellite Observation)
(Submitted by the Secretariat)
Summary and Purpose of Document
This document introduces the online resource where comprehensive information
can be found on the current status and future plans of satellites contributing to the
space-based component of WIGOS, including all satellites of relevance to the
Tropical Cyclone Programme. This resource is named OSCAR (Observing
Systems Capabilities and Analysis Tool).
ACTION PROPOSED
The meeting is invited to review the current status and the future plan of the
meteorological satellite observations. It may discuss the requirements of the data from the
operational and R&D satellites contributing to the Global Observing System (GOS) for provision of
better operational forecasts and effective warning services.
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TCM-7/Doc. 4.2, p. 2
SPACE-BASED OBSERVING SYSTEM (SBOS)
The space-based observing system includes constellations of operational satellites in
geostationary and Low-Earth Orbit (LEO). Environmental Research and Development (R&D)
satellites provide a useful complement to these operational observations when available in nearreal time. Of particular relevance for tropical cyclones are the geostationary spacecraft for
permanent high resolution visible and infrared imager, infra-red and microwave imagery from LEO
satellites to derive sea surface temperature, microwave sounding from LEO satellites to derive total
precipitable water, microwave imagery associated with active microwave sensors for precipitation
rate (like TRMM and the future GPM), scatterometry (e.g. with Metop/ASCAT) to derive ocean
surface wind fields, and radar altimetry (e.g. Jason-2) to derive sea state.
Status information of satellite missions contributing to the Global Observing system is
provided through the new on-line tool OSCAR (Observing Systems Capability Analysis and Review
Tool), which is available under: www.wmo.int/oscar. Current constellations of operational
geostationary and polar-orbiting meteorological satellites include: GOES-12 (reaching end of life in
March 2013), GOES-13, GOES-15, and NOAA-19 operated by the United States; MTSAT-1R
operated by Japan; Meteosat-7, Meteosat-9 and METOP-A operated by EUMETSAT; FY-2D, FY2E, FY-3A and FY-3B operated by China; Kalpana and INSAT-3A operated by India; Meteor-M1
operated by the Russian Federation; and the ocean surface altimetry satellite JASON-2 as a
cooperation among Europe (EUMETSAT), France (CNES) and the USA (NASA and NOAA).
Additional satellites are in back-up position, or undergoing commissioning like the new generation
Suomi-NPP of the USA, Metop-B and Meteosat-10 of EUMETSAT. The geostationary INSAT-3D is
expected to be launched in 2013 by India.
Among the R&D or other environmental missions that provide a valuable contribution to
operational tropical cyclone activities, one should note in particular: NASA’s Aqua and Terra
missions; NASA-CNES Jason-1 mission; NASA-JAXA’s TRMM (with precipitation radar,
microwave imager and lightning mapper); and ISRO’s Oceansat-2 (with scatterometer, ocean
colour monitor and radio-occultation). It is expected that China’s HY-2A ocean monitoring satellite
(with scatterometer, altimeter and microwave radiometer), CNES-ISRO’s Megha-Tropiques (with
microwave imager and sounder for precipitation estimation), and JAXA’s recently launched GCOMW1 mission (with microwave imager providing all-weather sea surface temperature
measurements), will provide valuable support when data will be routinely available. The ISROCNES SARAL (with an altimeter) is planned to be launched in December 2012. As concerns the
Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) programme, the launch of its core satellite is now
planned for early 2014.
An inventory of detailed satellite and instrument characteristics is maintained in OSCAR
(www.wmo.int/oscar ). Additionally, OSCAR also provides expert assessments on the relevance of
instruments for fulfilling pre-defined capabilities. This resource can be used to perform gap
analyses for the different components of the GOS. To consult satellite-related information in
OSCAR, choose “Satellite capabilities”. There are 2 general ways of accessing data in OSCAR,
either through the “quick search”, helpful if searching for any particular Satellite or Instrument, or
via the full data tables, if the objective is to get an overview of multiple data items.
Among the capabilities described in OSCAR, the following ones are of particular relevance
to the Tropical Cyclone Programme (follow the hyperlink to display the timeline of satellite
availability):
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Multi-purpose VIS/IR imagery from GEO
MW temperature/humidity sounding from LEO
Sea-surface wind by active and passive MW
Low-frequency MW imagery
Radar altimetry
TCM-7/Doc. 4.2, p. 3
Future research & development (R&D) satellites potentially contributing to the GOS
For example Table 1 below shows the planned availability of scatterometers, capable of providing
Sea surface wind observations. It shows that several scatterometers will normally be available
over the coming decade. While it is confirmed for METOP/ASCAT and for OCEANSAT/SCAT,
there is no confirmation yet of the detailed plan for Meteor/SCAT and of the open, near-real time
availability of HY-2A data, which is an ocean monitoring spacecraft operated by China’s National
Satellite Ocean Applications Service (NSAOS).
Figure 1: Planned availability of scatterometers for the “Sea-surface wind” capability in 2010-2030
(based on OSCAR)
Table 2 is an example of the capability Low-frequency microwave imagery, capable of providing
all-weather Sea Surface Temperature observations. It shows that JAXA’s GCOM series should
enable all-weather sea surface temperature observations. HY-2A mission might contribute to such
observations too, subject to near-real time availability of the data.
Figure 2: Planned availability of low frequency radiometers for the “Low-frequency microwave
imagery” capability in 2010-2030 (based on OSCAR)