Direct Broadcast antennae give timely full-resolution imagery from various Low-Earth-Orbit satellites as they move within the view of the satellite received. Community Satellite Processing Package (CSPP) software takes the downloaded signal and produces imagery (or AWIPS-ready files). The toggle above shows VIIRS (Visible-Infrared Imaging Scanning Radiometer) and ATMS (Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder) data from NOAA-20 from a Guam overpass near 0300 on 25 August 2023. A benefit of having visible/infrared and microwave instruments on the same orbiting platform is that it’s easier to compare (directly) features in the two images. In this case, note how the brightest (whitest) features in VIIRS channel M15 (10.8 µm) are very cold in the 88 GHz, and have large rain-rates.

Data from direct broadcast also allows a user to compare microwave data from two different satellites. NOAA-20 and GCOM-W1 both carry microwave sounders (the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer — ASMR-2 — in GCOM-W1) that sense energy at similar frequencies. The toggle below compares ATMS data at 88 GHz and AMSR-2 data at 89.2 GHz from about the same time. Note the significantly better resolution from AMSR-2!

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Thanks to Doug Schumacher, SSEC/CIMSS, for supplying these images!

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5-minute GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images with an overlay of the Total Precipitable Water (TPW) derived product (above) showed a pocket of high moisture — with TPW values in the 2.0-2.3 inch range — just northeast of a quasi-stationary front that was draped across lower Michigan during the nighttime hours preceding sunrise on 24 August 2023. As a Mesoscale Convective System was expanding south-southwestward from Ontario into Ohio, it produced an outflow boundary that moved to the northwest across lower Michigan — and that outflow boundary appeared to play a role in enhancing the development of new thunderstorms that then moved southeast across the Detroit (METAR identifier KDTW) area.

A closer look at GOES-16 Infrared images as the thunderstorms moved across the Detroit area is shown above with plots of 15-minute surface reports, and below with plots of 1-hour Precipitation Accumulation. Detroit Metro Wayne County Airport (KDTW) and Detroit Willow Run Airport (KYIP) as well as Monroe (KTTF) had rainfall rates in excess of 1.5-2.0 inches per hour at times. Total rainfall accumulations from these storms were as high as 7.36 inches in Wayne County and 6.80 inches in Monroe County.

The heavy rainfall led to flooding of roadways and tunnels leading to KDTW (below) — which resulted in a brief ground stop of air traffic (media story) until the flooding subsided and roads could re-open allowing access to the airport.

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1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) + Fire Power derived product (a component of the GOES Fire Detection and Characterization Algorithm FDCA) and Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images (above) showed the thermal signature associated with the Tiger Island Fire in far western Louisiana on 22 August 2023. A combination of mandatory and voluntary evacuations were issued for parts of the Singer and Merryville areas in Beauregard Parish.

A cursor sample of GOES-16 Visible + Fire Power and Shortwave Infrared images at 2306 UTC (below) revealed that the Tiger Island Fire exhibited a maximum 3.9 µm infrared brightness temperature of 138.71ºC — which is the saturation temperature of the GOES-16 ABI Band 7 detectors) at 2306 UTC — and Fire Power values exceeded 2300 MW at times.

A toggle between NOAA-20 (mis-labelled as NPP) Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) and Shortwave Infrared (3.74 µm) images valid at 0746 UTC on 23 August (below) showed the thermal signature and nighttime glow of the wildfire.

GOES-14 was temporarily brought out of storage for its annual instrument testing and evaluation — which allowed a “old vs. new” comparison of this wildfire, using 15-minute GOES-14 and 1-minute GOES-16 Shortwave Infrared images (below). The images are displayed in the native projection of each satellite.

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This recent blog post highlighted an Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-2) product showing estimates of Sea Ice concentration at high spatial resolution. This followup post shows the product on a different day in 2022. The MODIS True-Color imagery below, from March 22, 2022, shows ice in the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean surrounding Alaska. The red arrows highlight a large lead north of Russia, and an area of open water near the coast in Bristol Bay. Note also the irregular edge to the sea ice in the Bering Sea, and shore-fast ice along the northern edge of Kuskoskim bay. (An Alaskan map here (source) might help with geographic names)

Ice Concentration from microwave data from the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS; on Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20 at the time; NOAA-21 now also carries ATMS) and AMSR-2 is shown below. The better resolution from the AMSR-2 imagery allows a much better depiction of the open lead north Russia, the open water over northern Bristol Bay, the ragged southern edge of the ice sheet, and the shore-fast ice. This product continues to be evaluated by the Alaskan Ice Desk.

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Thanks to Tom Greenwald, SSEC/CIMSS, for the imagery in this post

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