1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-16 (GOES-East) True Color RGB images from the CSPP GeoSphere site (above) showed blowing dust (shades of tan) along and in the wake of a strong cold front that was moving southward across the High Plains on 02 December 2022.

A Suomi-NPP VIIRS True Color RGB image valid at 1905 UTC (above) provided a higher-resolution view of the blowing dust. About an hour prior to this image time, the peak wind gust at Akron, Colorado was 59 knots (68 mph).  A larger-scale view of 3 consecutive VIIRS True Color RGB images from Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20 is shown below. The data used to create these VIIRS images were downloaded and processed using the SSEC/CIMSS Direct Broadcast ground station.

1-minute GOES-16 Dust RGB images (below) include plots of GOES-16 Derived Motion Winds (DMW) within the 775-900 hPa layer — these DMWs indicated that the airborne dust (brighter shades of pink in the RGB images) was moving southeastward at speeds of 40-52 knots (46-60 mph), in general agreement with the surface wind speeds.  This blowing dust reduced the surface visibility to 1-2 miles at some locations. Peak wind gusts across northeastern Colorado are listed here.

Of note was a second post-frontal pulse of blowing dust, which began in far northeastern Colorado after 21 UTC — this pulse of blowing dust was accompanied by a short-lived drop in dew point concurrent with an increase in wind speed, as observed at Sterling (KSTK, located about 40 miles north-northwest of Akron KAKO), Akron (KAKO) and Burlington (KITR) (below).

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After 1800 UTC on 01 December 2022, changes were made to Full Disk GOES-16 (GOES-East) imagery that is distributed via the Satellite Broadcast Network (SBN) for AWIPS users (see the bottom section of this TOWR-S Communications). One change was the increase in spatial resolution of the ABI Band 13 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) data from 6 km to the native 2 km (at satellite nadir) — as shown in an animation of imagery in the vicinity of a low pressure system located over northern Quebec, Canada (above). A toggle between those “before” (1800 UTC) and “after” (1810 UTC) images is available here.

GOES-16 Infrared imagery in the tropics (below) displayed convection along the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in the East Pacific Ocean. A toggle between those “before” and “after” images is available here.

Another GOES-16 Infrared example centered over southern British Columbia, Canada is shown below. A toggle between those “before” and “after” images is available here.

One other important change is that “Full Disk” imagery will only cover the Northern Hemisphere, as shown in an animation of GOES-16 Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images (below).

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One of the gases emitted from the Mauna Loa eruption is SO₂. The 0223 UTC 30 November update from this site notes that emission rates of approximately 250,000 tonnes [sic] per day were measured on 28 November! What satellite products can be used to diagnose this gas qualitatively and quantitatively? There is an SO₂ RGB created with GOES-R channels, so GOES-17 and GOES-18 are available to monitor SO₂ qualitatively. The animation above shows both the SO₂ and Ash RGBs over Hawaii, at half-hourly intervals. The light green regions around and downstream of Mauna Loa highlight parts of the lower troposphere that are rich in SO₂. (Here is the SO₂ RGB Quick Guide).

Longer animations using 5-minute images of GOES-17 Ash RGB and SO2 RGB imagery — from 1801 UTC on 29 November to 1501 UTC on 30 November — are shown below.

Gridded NUCAPS fields available at this site from SPoRT include SO2 concentrations, as shown above. A minor increase in SO2 concentration is indicated. However, the Quality indicators suggest that the NUCAPS retrievals over part of Hawai’i failed.

NASA has a global SO₂ monitoring site here that shows daily qualitative imagery from OMI (on board Aura), OMPS (on board Suomi-NPP) and Tropomi. OMI imagery is here, OMPS imagery is here, and TROPOMI imagery is here. (Note that the TROPOMI imagery is not processed as quickly as OMI and OMPS imagery). The OMPS images for 28 and 29 November, shown below, show values off the scale.

SO₂ concentrations/distributions from OMI on Aura and OMPS on Suomi NPP are also available at NASA Worldview as shown below. OMPS imagery is available more quickly at NASA Worldview.

The toggle below compares OMI (Aura) and OMPS (NPP) estimates of SO₂ concentration on 28 November. Aura and NPP have similar orbits so there is little time difference between the two observations. Both show values greater than 32 DU.

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The JStar Mapper also shows SO2 concentration (from Suomi NPP OMPS) on top of Suomi NPP VIIRS True-Color imagery, as shown below.

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Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawai’i became active overnight, ending a quiescent phase that started back in 1984 — the longest period of dormancy for this Volcano since the 1800s. The Ash Probability animation above, combining both GOES-17 PACUS and GOES-17 Full Disk imagery (using imagery from this site) shows the Ash Cloud from this eruption moving northeastward from Hawai’i into the Pacific Ocean. The hot spot of the caldera is also apparent in the imagery.

The SSEC/CIMSS Volcano Monitoring website also includes a Thermal Monitoring tab, and the information for Mauna Loa (link) from 0926 to 1526 UTC on 28 November is shown below.

Tim Schmit (NOAA STAR/ASPB) created the 16-panel animations below, one showing all GOES-17 channels and one showing all GOES-18 channels. The heat signature is very apparent at 3.9 µm — but there is also a significant contributions at 1.6 µm and 2.2 µm! The window channels (Bands 11, 13, 14 and 15 at 8.4 µm, 10.3 µm, 11.2 µm and 12.3 µm) also show the heat signature. The effects of the Loop Heat Pipe malfunction on GOES-17 are also apparent in the Band 12 and Band 16 imagery (9.6 µm and 13.3 µm) by the end of the animation; GOES-18 has a more pristine look. Post-launch check-outs for GOES-18 continue, and it is scheduled to become operational as GOES-West in January of 2023. (GOES-18 data in the animation are preliminary and non-operational).

The animation below shows the Clean Window Infrared (10.3 µm) and the Fire Temperature RGB. Note the ash cloud in the 10.3 µm imagery is difficult to distinguish from other clouds, except by inferring a connection to the sudden hot spot in the Fire Temperature RGB. Channel difference products, however, such as the Split Cloud Top Phase (11.2 µm – 8.4 µm), shown underneath the animation below, do highlight the ash cloud (compare the signals in the Ash Cloud stretching east-northeast of Hawai’i with the cloud approaching Hawai’i from the southwest), as would RGBs that incorporate that difference field (that is, the Ash RGB, a variation of which is available at the SSEC/CIMSS volcano website, from both ABI and VIIRS data).

Larger-scale animations of GOES-17 Ash RGB and SO2 RGB images (below) exhibited a strong signature of SO2 within the volcanic cloud — particularly the segment that drifted east-northeastward away from the Big Island of Hawai`i during the 0931-2101 UTC period.

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NOAA-20 overflew Hawai’i shortly after 1130 UTC, and the higher-resolution (compared to ABI) VIIRS instrument gave a good view of the eruption. The I04 (3.74 µm) channel showed such warm temperatures that wrap-around effect occurred in the imagery (the white region that is within the orange/red center of the signal), and the visible signal was so bright that a hysteresis effect is apparent downscan of the volcano in the Day Night band imagery. Note in the Day Night Band image that a very small signal is apparent over Kilauea to the southeast of Mauna Loa.

For more information on this evolving event, refer to this USGS website, or this one. The CIMSS Volcanic Monitoring website includes satellite imagery and interpretation of this event. Also, as of 1900 UTC on 28 November 2022, GOES-17 Mesosector 1 is positioned over Hawai’i to give 1-minute imagery over the volcano. (SSEC Geo Browser link ; CIRA Slider ; NOAA Star Website ; Wisconsin AOS site ; College of Dupage)

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