1. Remote Sensing Allie Marquardt Collow Met Analysis – December 3, 2012

2. Met Analysis Fall 2012 Remote Sensing Homework #6 Be sure to kink the isobars around fronts! Don’t forget to complete the COMET Module on Weather Radar for next week! You may hand in your hurricane tracking charts today or next week

3. Met Analysis Fall 2012 Remote Sensing Types of Radiation Shortwave Radiation: Energy that is emitted by the Sun, which enters Earth’s atmosphere. Can be reflected by clouds and aerosols. Longwave Radiation: Energy that is emitted by the Earth proportional to the temperature 4. Can be absorbed by greenhouse gases.

4. Met Analysis Fall 2012 Remote Sensing Satellites Can be used to measure radiation in different wavelengths Can also be used for soundings, measuring emissions in different wavelengths, and interpreting them as layer temperatures or humidity Active Sensor – Emits radiation that is reflected by a target, such as a cloud, which is then detected by the satellite. Examples are radar and lidar. Passive Sensor – Detects radiation that is reflected or emitted from Earth

5. Met Analysis Fall 2012 Remote Sensing Comparison of Different Orbits Geostationary Orbit Limited to its field of view Gives a constant view of a location, enabling diurnal studies Polar Orbit Can see the entire globe twice in one day, including the poles Will give you temporal gaps between successive data points for a location

6. Met Analysis Fall 2012 Remote Sensing Geostationary Satellites Orbits with same period as Earth (located at the equator) Gives you a constant view over its field of view One geostationary satellite cannot give you information for the whole globe Examples: GOES GERB (Meteosat-8) Nasa.gov Esa.gov Also has a sounder that can give us the temperature and moisture profile, surface and cloud top properties, and ozone distribution. GOES uses an imager to give us a picture of the atmosphere using visible, shortwave, and infrared radiation. GERB uses a scanning radiometer to give us the amount of shortwave radiation reflected and longwave radiation emitted from Earth.

7. Met Analysis Fall 2012 Remote Sensing The A-Train Polar orbiting satellites that are referred to as the afternoon constellation because they pass over the equator at 1:30 pm local time, within minutes of each other Consists of 8 satellites that contain numerous instruments including MODIS, CERES, and a cloud camera CloudSat = a cloud radar on a satellite CALIPSO = a lidar on a satellite Atrain.nasa.gov

8. Met Analysis Fall 2012 Remote Sensing A-Train, the afternoon constellation

9. Met Analysis Fall 2012 Remote Sensing Sun-Synchronous Satellites http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/OrbitsCatalog/imag es/sun-synchronous_orbit.h264.movhttp://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/OrbitsCatalog/imag es/sun-synchronous_orbit.h264.mov Pass over at the same local time each day Nasa.gov

10. Met Analysis Fall 2012 Remote Sensing GPS http://www.nasa.gov/mov/255363main_134_GPS_Work.mov GPS satellites give you a signal with the exact time and location of the satellite Gps.gov

11. Met Analysis Fall 2012 Remote Sensing GRACE GRACE uses GPS to determine gravity by measuring how the distance between two satellites changes When the first satellite encounters a region with stronger gravity, it starts to move faster, increasing its distance from the other satellite Csr.utexas.edu/grace

12. Met Analysis Fall 2012 Remote Sensing COSMIC http://www.cosmic.ucar.edu/index.html Stands for Constellation Observing System for Meteorology Ionosphere and Climate Contains 6 satellites, 5 of which are operational, in a low Earth orbit that use GPS signals to get temperature and moisture profiles of the atmosphere Cosmic.ucar.edu

13. Met Analysis Fall 2012 Remote Sensing MODIS MODIS stands for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Aboard Aqua (passes over the equator in the afternoon) and Terra (passes over the equator in the morning) Views the entire Earth every 1 to 2 days The optical system aboard MODIS contains a two-mirror off- axis afocal telescope that directs energy to four different refractive assemblies (Visible, Near IR, SW/MW IR, LW IR) http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/about/media/modis_sm.mov http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/

14. Met Analysis Fall 2012 Remote Sensing Visible Satellite A visible satellite image shows reflected shortwave radiation at a wavelength of 0.52 to 0.75 micrometers Only available during daytime hours Clouds appear white, while the land and ocean appears gray or black Can distinguish between land and ocean Loops can show snow cover Smoke from wildfires http://synoptic.envsci.rutgers.edu/site/sat/sat.php

15. Met Analysis Fall 2012 Remote Sensing Infrared Satellite An infrared satellite image shows radiation emitted from the surface and atmosphere at a wavelength of 10.2 to 11.2 micrometers Can be used during the night, unlike the visible channel Lighter colors (white) represent colder temperatures, such as a cloud top Darker colors (black) represent warmer temperatures, such as the surface Can give you land and sea surface temperatures

16. Met Analysis Fall 2012 Remote Sensing What are the advantages and disadvantages of the visible and infrared channels?