NUMBER 124

DATE: 12/04/93

Sector Processing Center (SPC):

During October NOA, JMA, and ESA processed greater than 98% of A data into B1/B2 data; CSU collected 73.4%.Normal operations for October were reported by NOA, CSU, ESA, and JMA. No reports for September and October have been received from AES.

Special Area Processing Center (SAPC):

No report received.

Satellite Calibration Center (SCC):

The SCC received AC data for August 93 for GMS-4 and GOES-7, for July, August and October 93 for NOAA, and for August, September and October for MET-3 and MET-4. BC data for GMS-4 for July 93 and for GOES-7 for June and July 93 were sent to the GPC. The problems encountered with MET-3 BC processing while it was moving across the Atlantic are being worked on still.

Global Processing Center (GPC):

The GPC continued to receive B2 data, BC data and correlative data in a routine manner.Production of NOAA-11 (preliminary) B3 data is current.Production of NOAA-12 (preliminary) B3 data is current.Production of GOES-7 (preliminary) B3 data is current. Investigation of the error in the UWS replacement B2 data is ongoing.Production of METEOSAT-3 B3 data has not started yet. Final testing of software has resumed.Production of METEOSAT-4/5 (preliminary) B3 data is current.Production of GMS-4 (preliminary) B3 data is current.Production of all INSAT-1 (preliminary) B3 data has been completed. These data will not be delivered to the ICA until the short-term calibration variations are removed.A first test of the re-calibration of the AVHRR visible radiances was performed by reproducing a climatology of downwelling solar flux at the surface calculated from the ISCCP cloud optical thicknesses. The first climatology, using the existing calibration, showed the offsets between the NOAA-7, NOAA-9 and NOAA-11 time periods in the first empirical orthogonal eigenfunction (EOF); in other words, the calibration anomaly was as large as the El Nino anomalies in the time record. These offsets were removed by forcing the mean surface reflectances from the three time periods to be the same. The climatology was re-calculated: the only hint of a calibration anomaly occurs in the 6th EOF, which is not statistically significant. A comparison of the ISCCP global mean surface temperatures with the Hansen/Lebedeff land surface temperature climatology confirms the drift of IR calibration inferred from a previous comparison of SST climatologies. These calibration changes will be reduced in the re-processed cloud products.Production of the ice/snow and TOVS correlative datasets is current.Production of the CX data for INSAT B3 has commenced; data for January 86 through March 87 have been completed.Because of the large volume of the new DX data, the polar orbiter dataset will be divided into five sectors to make it more accessible to researchers. These sectors are the two polar caps (latitudes poleward of 55 in each hemisphere) and the low latitude band divided into three 120 longitude sectors (300 to 60E, 60 to 180E, and 180 to 300E). This will allow researchers accessing the DX data for a geostationary satellite to obtain the same coverage (approximately) from AVHRR without ordering the whole DX dataset for AVHRR. For polar researchers, this will create a specially tailored dataset for the first time.Coding of the first (and main) stage of statistics processing that will produce D1 and D2 data has been completed and is being tested.

ISCCP Central Archive (ICA):

The ICA continued to receive B1 data from NOA, AES, ESA, CSU and JMA and B3 and C data from the GPC in a routine manner.

The health of GMS-4, METEOSAT-3 (at 75 W), METEOSAT-4, METEOSAT-5, GOES-7, NOAA-11 and NOAA-12 remained good. NOAA-I was not recovered. Investigation has not yet identified the cause of the failure, so the schedule to launch NOAA-J has not been accelerated. Details are lacking, but rumor has it that METEOSAT-6 was successfully launched. Once checked out, plans are to move METEOSAT-5 to replace METEOSAT-3.

Stage B3: July 83 - June 91Stage CD: July 83 - December 91Stage C1: July 83 - June 91Stage C2: July 83 - June 91

Delivering sea ice correlative data for 92 to the GPC.

Delivery backlog for B3 data = 22 months (with respect to planned schedule). B3 data for 96 months have been archived.

Delivery backlog for C1/C2 data = 22 months (with respect to planned schedule). C1 data for 96 months have been archived.