ISCCP completed its 26th year of data collection on 30 June 2009. Radiances from all operating meteorological satellites are being routinely collected by the cognizant Sector Processing Centers (SPC) and delivered to the Global Processing Center (GPC) in accordance with project requirements. All project datasets are now being delivered via Internet. CSU and MSC operations will be taken over by NOAA NCDC this year. Currently operating satellites are NOAA-17, NOAA-18, MTSAT-1R, FY-2C, GOES-10, GOES-11, GOES-12, METEOSAT-7, METEOSAT-9 with METOP-1, MTSAT-2, FY-2D, GOES-13, METEOSAT-6 and METEOSAT-8 in reserve. GOES-10 has been moved to 60W and is being operated by Brazil; data from this satellite will be contributed to ISCCP. METOP-1 will eventually replace NOAA-17 in providing data for the "morning" polar orbit. If all of these additional satellites begin supplying data (more than the minimum required), the data products will be re-designed slightly to process and accommodate all of these.
The Satellite Calibration Center (SCC) in Lannion, France, provides monthly satellite-to-satellite radiance normalization for three wavelength channels when available, nominally at 0.6, 11 and 12 m. Normalization data are complete through April 2009 as scheduled.
The GPC monitors the calibration of the polar orbiting radiometers (AVHRR) that serve as the reference standard for the radiance data. Monitoring results are complete through December 2008. These results are being compared with the calibrations of MODIS on TERRA and AQUA. Calibration information posted on the ISCCP Web page is complete through June 2008.
Routine archival of Stage B3 data is complete through June 2008 (25 years).
Atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles and the sea ice and snow correlative datasets are complete through June 2008.
Stage DX, D1 and D2 data have been completed for July 1983 through June 2008 (25 years). All D2 data are now on-line on the ISCCP Web site.
A complete survey of cloud particle sizes, both liquid and ice, has been completed and will be released later this year. These data will also be combined with the aerosol product produced by the Global Aerosol Climatology Project to facilitate studies of cloud-aerosol interactions.
Complete datasets currently available at the ICA are:
Stage B3 and BT: July 1983 -- June 2008
Atmospheric data: July 1983 -- June 2008
Sea ice and snow data: July 1983 -- June 2008
Stage DX, D1 and D2: July 1983 -- June 2008
The ISCCP Web pages can be found at
A separate Home page for the GEWEX Cloud System Study - Data Integration for Model Evaluation (GCSS - DIME) can be found at
The survey of midlatitude cyclone cloudiness produced by combining the NCEP re-analysis with ISCCP has been completed; the basic tracking results have been released on the ISCCP website and the cloud-composite results will be posted within the next few months.
The results of the cluster analysis survey of the whole ISCCP dataset have been posted on the ISCCP website for four regions: Tropics ( 15 latitude), Extended Low-Latitudes ( 35), Northern Midlatitudes (30 to 65) and Southern Midlatitudes (30 to 65).
New scientific results based on the ISCCP datasets are reported in:
Zhang, Y., W.B. Rossow, P. Stackhouse, A. Romanou and B.A. Wielicki, 2008: Implication from recent global datasets about decadal variations of global energy and ocean heat budget and meridional energy transports, Flux News, 5, 16-18.
Waliser, D., F. Li, C. Woods, J. Bacmeister, J. Chern, A. Del Genio, J. Jiang, M. Kharitondov, Z. Kuang, H. Meng, P. Minnis, S. Platnick, W.B. Rossow, G. Stephens, S. Sun-Mack, W.K. Tao, A. Tompkins, D. Vane, C. Walker and D. Wu, 2009: Cloud ice: A climate model challenge with signs and expectations of progress. J. Geophys. Res., 114, D00A21, doi: 10.1029/2008JD010015 (1-27).
Foster, M.J., S.A. Ackerman, R. Bennartz, A.K. Heidinger, B.C. Maddux and W.B. Rossow, 2009: Global Cloudiness, in State of the climate in 2008: Peterson, T.C., and M.O. Baringer, eds., Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 90, (in press).
Tromeur, E., and W.B. Rossow, 2009: Interaction of tropical deep convection with the large-scale circulation in the Madden-Julian oscillation. J. Climate, (submitted).
Tselioudis, G., and W.B. Rossow, 2009: Time scales of variability of the tropical atmosphere derived from cloud-defined weather states. J. Climate, (in preparation).
Rossow, W.B., and C. Pearl, 2009: Global, 20-yr survey of effective cloud particle sizes for liquid and ice clouds based on the ISCCP products. J. Climate, (in preparation).
Rossow, W.B., and V. Golea, 2009: Cloud detection in the polar regions from satellites. J. Climate, (in preparation).