CIMSS Scientists who work with JPSS data had numerous presentations at the American Meteorological Society’s Annual Meeting held at the end of January in Baltimore. This blog post discusses two poster by Rich Dworak who (along with co-authors) investigated how JPSS data can define winds and ice properties in the Arctic.

Atmospheric Motion Vectors can be computed from polar-orbiting satellites, and these give better spatial resolution over the Poles compared to geostationary data. Additionally, because Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20 have similar orbits, data from multiple satellites can be used in tracking atmospheric features; it is the translation of those features that is used to infer atmospheric motion. (The addition of NOAA-21 to the mix will improve things further) ‘Polar Tandem’ winds in the poster below refer to winds computed using both Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20 data; a better forecast results when such winds are input into a numerical model (NAVGEM in this case). SWIR winds use observations from 2.25 um (that is, M11 on VIIRS) on Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20; these computed low-level winds lead to improved model forecasts as well.

Dworak and (different) collaborators also work on cryosphere products, detailed in the poster below. These operational products combine all-weather AMSR-2 information with high-resolution VIIRS observations of surface ice. In particular this results in better observations and predictions of the sea ice edge.

Satellite winds that are based on this work are available in real time at this link. An example the includes both Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20 data is shown below (0748 UTC on 22 February 2024). These winds were also discussed in this recent blog post.

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A sequence of daily NOAA-20 VIIRS Visible (0.64 µm) images from 01 November 2023 to 19 February 2024 (above) showed Iceberg A23a as it migrated northward away from the Antarctic Peninsula to east of the South Shetland Islands (days when dense cloud cover obscured A23a were omitted). Near the end of this time period, the iceberg — whose motion was driven by a combination of winds and ocean currents — performed a complete rotation, and reversed its path to begin drifting back toward the South Shetland Islands.

Daily NOAA-20 VIIRS Natural Color RGB images (excluding cloudy days) from 27 December 2023 to 15 February 2024 (below) also displayed the rotation of A23a, along with the change in direction of its drift within the Southern Ocean.

A toggle between Suomi-NPP VIIRS False Color RGB imagery and the Sea Ice Temperature product as viewed using RealEarth (below) showed A23a as it was located just east of Elephant Island and Clarence Island on 15 February. Sea Ice Temperature values were near or just below freezing.

GOES-16 (GOES-East) True Color RGB images (source) on minimally-cloudy days from 03 February to 19 February (above) also displayed the motion of A23a as it reversed course and drifted southwestward, back toward the South Shetland Islands (while performing part of its rotation).

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GOES-16 True Color RGB images from the CSPP GeoSphere site (above) showed multiple mesoscale vortices embedded within the exposed Low-Level Circulation Center (LLCC) of a Tropical Depression off the southeast coast of Brazil on 18 February 2024. This disturbance continued to organize and gradually intensify during the day and into the evening hours — with part of the LLCC being drawn beneath deep convection in the SW quadrant of the system — becoming Tropical Storm Akará at 0000 UTC on 19 February (surface analysis | warning text). Tropical Storms in the South Atlantic are relatively rare — the last was Tropical Storm Iba in 2019.

A sequence of Meteosat-10 Water Vapor images with an overlay of deep-layer wind shear from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below) indicated that Akará was located within a corridor of relatively low shear — a factor that favored intensification. Sea Surface Temperature values in the area where Akará first developed (near 25ºS latitude, 40ºW longitude) were around 27ºC.

A 6-day animation of the MIMIC Total Precipitable Water product — from 13-18 February (below) — showed that Akará first began to develop along the trailing edge of a stalled cold front that had been moving northward (surface analyses). Beginning on 15 February, a broad plume of moisture from the tropics began to move south along the coast of Brazil — which then fed into the circulation of the developing tropical disturbance (which formed as a subtropical depression on 16 February), helping it to intensify.

A closer view of the MIMIC Total Precipitable Water product (below) included plots of surface and ship reports from 13-18 February. Maximum TPW values within the circulation of Akará on 18 February were around 3.5 inches (brighter shades of white). The relatively compact system was far enough offshore to not have any adverse impacts (such as strong winds) that showed up in any of the surface/ship reports.

Surface wind information from Metop-B/C ASCAT and GCOM-W1 AMSR2 (below) showed the flow within portions of the developing tropical disturbance during the 17-18 February period (source). The circulation of Akará was well-sampled by Metop-B ASCAT at 0003 UTC on 19 February, just after it reached Tropical Storm intensity.

Significant Wave Height values derived by Sentinel-3A increased from 11.27 ft at 1216 UTC on 17 February to 14.98 ft at 0038 UTC on 18 February (below) — along the southern periphery of what was still a subtropical depression.

===== 19 February Update =====

GOES-16 True Color RGB images (above) showed that there was a notable lack of sustained deep convection near the exposed LLCC on 19 February — this was likely due to an increase in shear in the vicinity of Akará (below). The tropical storm had also moved far enough south to be located over colder water, where Sea Surface Temperature values were only around 25ºC.

===== 20 February Update =====

For the second consecutive day, sustained deep convection failed to develop near the exposed LLCC of Akará (above). The MIMIC TPW product (below) indicated that a ribbon of dry air had begun to wrap into the circulation of the tropical storm, beginning on 19 February.

Akará was then downgraded to a Tropical Depression as of 0000 UTC on 21 February (below).

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Altimetric measurements of the sea surface (from this site), above, show a region of very tall waves early on 14 February, with Significant Wave Heights exceeding 30 feet. Those waves are also show below in an analysis from OPC (link); they are southwest of a hurricane-force low (surface analysis; here is a toggle between the Significant Wave heights and the surface analysis).

Forecast Waves, below, show the long wave period associated with the large waves starting to affect the Hawai’ian Islands by 1200 UTC 15 February. The north-facing shores of the Hawai-ian islands are under a High Surf Warning.

What does the satellite imagery show for the storm that supported such strong waves? Airmass RGB imagery from Himawari-9, below, (from 0000 UTC 9 February through 2300 UTC 12 February) show the development of the system and a long fetch of strong winds (by 2300 UTC 12 February). The strong storm exits the eastern edge of the domain by the end of the animation

GOES-West imagery (from the CSPP Geosphere site), hourly below from 1500 UTC on 12 February through 1900 UTC on 14 February shows the strong storm moving eastward across the Pacific, with strong nortwest winds inferred behind a propagating cold front.

For more information on this wave event, refer to the forecast office of the National Weather Service in Honolulu.

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