Satellite Meteorological Applications (Code 7541)
Section Head: 7541@nrlmry.navy.mil

The Satellite Meteorological Applications Section develops techniques for enhancing the interpretation of satellite data and imagery and develops and transitions innovative satellite meteorology products created from 5 global geostationary and 13 polar orbiter digital data sets for operational use at Navy regional and central-site facilities. The products are designed to meet specific Navy requirements and incorporate a data fusion approach, exploiting new sensors and platforms as they become available. The ability to develop and test new applications in near real-time and display them via the World Wide Web promotes customer feedback and helps produce robust products for transition to the operational Navy.

The Satellite Meteorological Applications Section is working in these main areas:

Development of Multi-channel, Multi-sensor, Multi-platform Satellite Products 

• Tropical Cyclone products for analyzing and monitoring storm location & intensity, with an emphasis on Multi-sensor and passive microwave data.
• A rapid-update global rainrate product derived from infrared and passive microwave data.
• Properties of marine stratocumulus and passive drizzle inference.
• Determination of low cloud top altitudes.
• Improved identification of cloud phase with emphasis on supercooled liquid regimes.
• Alternative techniques to identifying and resolving deep convective towers via high-resolution (1-km) multi-sensor, multi-channel data.

• Development of Algorithms for Enhanced Imagery Interpretation.
  • Dust/smoke/ash over land and water.
  • Multiple cloud layers/snow.
  • Contrails.
    
• Use of Artificial Intelligence Methods to Extract Meteorology Variables from Satellite Data.
  • Tropical cyclone structure and intensity.
  • Derivation of cloud base heights via a combination of satellite and mesoscale model data sets.
  • Aviation risk assessment including meteorological factors.
  • Cloud-type classification from satellite imagery.
    
• Utilization of Satellite Observations in Prediction Models.
  • High-resolution cloud-tracked and water vapor-tracked winds.
  • Assimilation of satellite-based aerosol measurements for aerosol prediction.
  • Direct assimilation of satellite-observed radiances for numerical weather prediction.
  • Improving satellite-estimated (hybrid microwave/infrared) precipitation via inclusion of terrain effects and determining its utility to numerical weather prediction.
    
• Sensor Calibration/Validation (SSM/I and SSM/IS).