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AIRCRAFT MISSION AND SATELLITE DATA SUMMARIESR. Houze et al. (University of Washington, USA)Announced availability: 1 April 1994 Data AccessUpdated and corrected versions of TOGA COARE aircraft mission summaries and satellite data summaries, which were initially prepared in the field at the Honiara Operations Center, are available from the University of Washington at http://www.atmos.washington.edu/togacoare/summaries.html.
BackgroundThe aircraft mission summaries overlay flight tracks, GMS IR satellite data and NOAA WP3D airborne radar data to illustrate the meteorological setting of aircraft sampling by the NOAA WP3Ds, NCAR Electra, and NASA DC-8 and ER-2. The satellite data summaries consist of several products derived from GMS satellite IR data: a time-size series of the distribution of contiguous cold cloudiness areas, weekly percent high cloudiness (PHC) maps, and a time-longitude plot illustrating the zonal motion of large areas of cold cloudiness.
Data InformationAircraft Mission SummariesThe aircraft mission summaries are intended as a road map for the COARE aircraft dataset. Since the project ended, the mission summaries have been corrected, updated, and made more complete. The mission summaries indicate where and when data were collected and the meteorological context for that data. Each mission summary consists of scientist notes describing the objectives and implementation of the mission, and one or two sequences of color images at 30-min intervals during the on-station time of the aircraft. For all missions, there is a sequence of images of aircraft flight tracks superimposed on GMS satellite IR data on a ~7 deg x ~7 deg scale. Additionally, for missions that included the NOAA WP3D aircraft, flight tracks are superimposed on a combination of GMS satellite IR data and radar composites from the NOAA WP3D lower fuselage radars on a scale of ~4 deg x ~4 deg.Each mission summary image presents data that were most recent up to the time of the image. Since different platforms (e.g., satellite and aircraft) collected data at different time intervals, the exact collection time of the data presented for each platform is indicated in every image. The aircraft mission summaries were assembled at the University of Washington using Zebra software, a comprehensive data integration, display and processing tool developed and maintained by the NCAR Research Data Program (NCAR/RDP). The mission summaries are a collaborative product of Robert Houze and Sandra Yueter (University of Washington), Frank Marks (NOAA/AOML/HRD), Bradley Smull and John Daugherty (NOAA/NSSL/MRD).
Satellite Data SummariesFor the purpose of providing guidance in flight planning, the spectrum of convection present in the COARE domain each hour was partitioned into five classes numbered 0 through 4 according to the areas of contiguous cold cloud-top temperatures < K (Mapes and Houze, 1992). Each aircraft mission was assigned a class designation according to the largest contiguous area of cold cloud-top temperatures < 208 K present in the region sampled by the mission. Class 0 missions had no cloud top area < 208 K, while classes 1-4 had progressively larger areas of cold cloud top. The distribution of classes at each hour during the four-month period, 1 November 1992 - 28 February 1993, is given in a time-size plot for the Intensive Flux Array (IFA), the aircraft accessible area, and the entire COARE domain.The weekly PHC maps were created by calculating the fraction of time during the week that each 10 km x 10 km pixel in the GMS IR image had a value of 235 K or less. PHC maps were constructed for the region between 20 deg S and 20 deg N for each week during the period from 4 October 1992 to 27 February 1993. The PHC values are color coded in each map. Additionally, ECMWF weekly mean 850-hPa winds at 2.5 deg by 2.5 deg resolution are overlaid on each map. The patterns of cold cloudiness illustrated in the weekly PHC maps are an indicator of the general locations of mesoscale convective systems and other convection during the week. The weekly PHC maps are displayed using SatView, an interactive display and analysis tool for satellite and other meteorological data developed and maintained by the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington. The time-longitude map was created from five months (1 October 1992 - 28 February 1993) of daily PHC maps each averaged over a 0.5 deg by 0.5 deg grid. Each one day by 0.5 deg longitude point in the time-longitude map is color coded according to the value of the meridional summation between 20 deg S and 20 deg N of daily PHC values >. Patterns illustrated in the time-longitude map indicate the gross evolution and zonal migration of large areas of cold cloudiness across the longitude range 80 deg E to 160 deg W. Three episodes of the intraseasonal oscillation over the west Pacific are included. The satellite data summaries are a result of collaboration between Shuyi Chen and Robert Houze (University of Washington) and Brian Mapes (University of Colorado).
For more information, please contact:
Robert Houze
email: houze@atmos.washington.edu or
Sandra Yuter
email: yuter@atmos.washington.edu
ReferenceMapes B. and R. Houze, 1992: Satellite-observed cloud clusters in the TOGA COARE domain. TOGA Notes, No. 7, April 1992.
AcknowledgmentsIn addition to the collaborations mentioned above, the following people have contributed to the completion of the aircraft mission summaries and satellite data summaries: Randy Brown, Christopher Burghart, Michele Case, Jonathan Corbet, Gary Granger, Paul Herzegh, Pat Hrubiak, David Jorgensen, Scott Katz, Marc Michelson, and Mike Siedelberg. The GMS data were received at the Honiara Operations Center via the Bureau of Meteorology of Australia. Data for the aircraft mission summaries were provided by NOAA, NASA, and NCAR. This work has been sponsored by NSF grant ATM-9024431 and ONR grant N0014-93-1-1271.
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