September 2021 Highlight- SSEC Research Highlights
October 1, 2021While highlights usually focus on the AOS department, this year’s September’s highlight showcases some of work done by our partners in the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) this month. Also located in the AOSS building, SSEC develops and utilizes instrumentation located in aircraft, on the ground, and in space to improve understanding of atmospheric, climate, and weather processes. Additionally, SSEC is a leader in developing algorithms and archive systems for processing data collected from weather satellites.
SSEC also houses the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS), renowned for its satellite meteorology research, and the SSEC Data Center, the world’s largest online archive of geostationary weather data. We recommend checking out their research, outreach, and educational programs to learn more about the invaluable work they do.
Earlier in September, a study involving researchers from CIMSS was published in Science on how icy plumes can indicate the formation of hail and damaging tornadoes.
September also saw a study published in Atmosphere, showcasing a new flash drought index developed by Jason Otkin, a researcher in CIMSS.
A collaboration between SSEC and a U.S. interagency partnership is aiming to bring hyperspectral infrared sounders—instruments that can detect outgoing longwave radiation from the Earth—to U.S. based satellites.
CIMSS researchers have been comparing water vapor data collected on commercial aircraft to water vapor data collected via radiosondes. The results were published in Spring 2021 in the Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology.
Finally, Ronald Adomako—a master’s student from City College of New York in the Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies—completed a 12-week internship with NOAA researcher Tim Schmit, who is based in CIMSS. This project aimed to reduce processing anomalies in imaging data, helping automate fixes in these data anomalies.