CSPP Quicklooks (click to view documentation) is a software package (available here) developed at CIMSS to (as the name might suggest!) create images from Polar-orbiting data, as shown in this blog post that shows imagery created from Direct Broadcast data (for example. using NUCAPS EDRs (Environmental Data Records) files as available at the CIMSS Direct Broadcast site). NUCAPS EDR files can also be downloaded from the NOAA CLASS site — by choosing ‘JPSS Sounder Products’ in the ‘Please select a product to search’ drop-down menu, and then choosing ‘NUCAPS Environmental Data Records’ — that is, EDRs.

Follow the instructions in this blog post to download and set up the Quicklooks software (free registration at the CSPP website may be required). Imagery at the previous blog post used default domains and colorbars. In the example above, multiple images are captured over a specified domain, and are scaled identically using keywords as shown in the calls below:

file18=$CSPP_SOUNDER_QL_HOME/data4/NUCAPS-EDR_v2r0_npp_s2018101917*.nc
sh ./ql_level2_image.sh "$file18" NUCAPS --dset temp --pressure 300 --plotMin 223.0 --plotMax 258.0 --lat_0 15.0 --lon_0 -75.0

Note that ‘file18’ identifies all files within a directory that contain an EDR from around 1700 UTC on 19 October 2018. The wildcard includes >20 different granules that are composited into an image for that time, as shown below. The –plotMin and –plotMax keywords define the color scaling used, and the data are centered at 15^o N, 75^o W on a Lambert Conformal grid. Similarly, an image that uses all data from 20181919* can be created, as shown below.

How are both images combined so that data from the afternoon/evening passes are in one image (as shown in the animation above?) This is done by making parts of the images above transparent, and by overlaying the transparent image over the bottom image (I did this using ImageMagick). Both white (“#ffffff”) and grey (“#d9d9d9”) values were made transparent, and a combined image (here) is created. This is done for all morning images, and afternoon/evening images, and the animation is then created.

Note that if this is done when both Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20 passes are available, the gaps apparent in the imagey above will not be present. October 2018 was before NOAA-20 NUCAPS were operational however.

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2.5-minute rapid scan JMA Himawari-8 Visible (0.64 µm) images (above) showed rapidly-intensifying Category 4 Typhoon Hinnamnor as it moved across the West Pacific Ocean (southeast of Japan) on 29 August 2022. Mesovortices within the eye were faintly evident though breaks in patchy high clouds overhead.

2.5-minute Himawari-8 Infrared (10.4 µm) images (below) revealed a few pulses  of convection which exhibited cloud-top infrared brightness temperatures of -80°C and colder (violet pixels).

A DMSP-17 SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) image at 2142 UTC from the CIMSS Tropical Cycones site (below) also depicted the well-defined eye and eyewall structure.

===== 30 August Update =====

On the following day, Himawari-8 Infrared (10.4 µm) images (above) showed the well-defined eye and surrounding eyewall as Hinnamnor reached Category 5 intensity at 1200 UTC. An eyewalll replacement cycle began around 2100 UTC, leading to a slight decline in intensity (to Category 4) and a deteriorating eye structure.

Post-sunrise Himawari-8 Visible (0.64 µm) images (below) better showed how close the eye passed to the Japanese islands of Kitadait?jima (RORK, where winds gusted to 98 knots) and Minamidait?jima (ROMD, where winds gusted to 69 knots).

In a toggle between nighttime Suomi-NPP VIIRS Infrared Window (11.45 µm) and Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) images valid at 1717 UTC, viewed using RealEarth (below), the Day/Night Band image displayed a bright lightning streak just southwest of the eye — showing clouds within the eyewall being illuminated by intense lightning activity; cloud-top gravity waves were evident southeast of the eye in the Infrared image.

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NASA was supposed to launch its Artemis rocket to the moon this morning, at 8:33 AM EDT (12:33 UTC) from Cape Canaveral, FL. However, an engine problem caused NASA to scrub the launch for today. Even if all technical aspects of the launch were “go”, developing convection near Cape Canaveral might have posed a problem for the rocket launch.

ProbSevere LightningCast, an AI model developed by CIMSS and NOAA, uses GOES-R ABI images to predict lightning in the next 60 minutes. It was predicting elevated probabilities of lightning near Kennedy Space Center prior to the start of the launch window, reaching nearly 60% by 12:31 UTC. Lightning was eventually observed by the Geostationary Lightning Mapper by 13:11 UTC.

Tools like LightningCast can help convert the rich information from GOES-R ABI into actionable information, helping decision-makers protect life and property. In this case, LightingCast could hypothetically be used to help protect billions of dollars of equipment, as well as the lives of NASA personnel preparing the launch pad. While this is a hypothetical case, experimental LightningCast output has been used routinely by the National Weather Service to provide guidance on lighting initiation and to inform their impacts-based decision support to key events and partners.

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Seismic activity has been ongoing in August 2022 beneath the island of Ta’u to the east of American Samoa. (USGS has published a variety of information on this swarm of Earthquakes: link 1; link 2; link 3); See also these two recorded Facebook Live presentations from the NWS WSO office in Pago Pago: (August 22nd and August 17th). Volcano updates fro Ta’u can also be viewed here.

The Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) that has responsibility for this region of the south Pacific is Wellington NZ. Click here for a pdf that shows all VAAC boundaries.

Should an eruption occur (NOTE: An eruption is not expected in the near term!), what kind of satellite information will be useful? The Volcanic Cloud Monitoring website (link) from CIMSS includes imagery over various sectors on Earth, sorted by VAAC. For American Samoa, and adjacent regions, Choose ‘Satellite Imagery’ and under the ‘Sector’ menu, and then choose, under the Wellington VAAC subsection, ‘American Samoa (750 m)’ Both GOES-17 / GOES-18 and Himawari view the region, but GOES-17/GOES-18 sub-satellite points are closer to American Samoa and will provide better resolution views. (NOAA-20 and Suomi-NPP as polar orbiters will provide the highest spatial resolution data, but have poor temporal resolution). You can choose various image types at the website: quantitative estimates of Ash Loading, Ash Height, Ash Loading, Ash Reflectivity, Single-channel Brightness Temperatures (or Reflectivity), and various Red/Green/Blue composites. Note that this website has an extensive explanatory section (under the ‘Tutorials’ tab) to help you understand what you’re seeing in the imagery. The GOES-18 false-color image red/green/blue image, above, is the from the website. An eruption is not occurring, nor detected, in the image.

Various websites also allow views of Satellite Imagery over the region. For example, the CSPP Geosphere site includes True-Color imagery (day) and Night time Microphysics (night) by default, but also allows a user to view single channels. (Direct link, see an example below) There is also a NOAA/NESDIS site that includes some RGBs and each of the individual bands; the CIRA Slider also includes imagery over the south Pacific.

Wind direction will be important if an eruption occurs (this is at present unlikely!!) to know as that will control the dispersion of any gases. The windy.com website will provide this with this link.

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This blog entry is meant to be a resource should an eruption occur. (Note: that is not expected!) For more information, please refer to the USGS website, and the American Samoa Facebook page.

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