NUMBER 154

DATE: 05/08/96

Sector Processing Center (SPC):

During March, NOA, CSU and AES processed greater than 86% of A data into B1/B2 data.

Normal operations for March were reported by NOA, CSU and AES. No reports were received from JMA or EUM.

CSU reported that the local midnight image (0900 UTC) for GOES-9 was lost from 14 March through 12 April, the eclipse season. Discussions are underway with NOAA to see whether their operations can be changed to avoid this loss. Both CSU and AES collected GOES-8 data during March, 87% and 78%, respectively.

EUM reported that they are reprocessing recent datasets to make changes in the tape file structure requested by the GPC.

AES reported that they are now fully operational, processing GOES-8 data although they are still encountering some problems on the new system.

Satellite Calibration Center (SCC):

AC data were received for January and February 96 from METEOSAT-5 and for March 96 from NOAA-14, GMS-5, GOES-8 and GOES-9. BC for May through December 95 for GOES-7 (finishing GOES-7) and for October 95 for METEOSAT-5 were shipped to the GPC.

Global Processing Center (GPC):

The GPC continued to receive B2 data, BC data and correlative data in a routine manner.

Production of NOAA-14 (preliminary) B3 is current. Production of final B3 will require normalizing the calibration to the standard, NOAA-9.

Production of NOAA-12 (preliminary) B3 data is current. Final B3 data have been produced through December 94.

Production of GOES-7 (preliminary) B3 data is completed through February 95. Final B3 data have been produced through August 94.

GOES-8 B2 data are now being received routinely, but the formatting software has not been written yet.

GOES-9 B2 data are now being received routinely, but the formatting software has not been written yet.

Production of METEOSAT-3 (preliminary) B3 data is completed through January 95. The special CD-ROM datasets sent by ESA for February through April 95 have not been processed yet. Final B3 data have been produced through August 94.

Production of METEOSAT-5 (preliminary) B3 data is current. Final B3 data have been produced through August 94.

GMS-5 B2 data deliveries are current, but formatting software has not been written yet. Production of GMS-4 (preliminary) B3 data is completed through May 95. Final B3 data have been produced through August 94.

Final INSAT-1 B3 has been produced for the period April 88 through March 89.

TOVS correlative data processing has been completed through 95. The revised version of the whole TOVS dataset (July 83 - December 95) has been delivered.

Production of the ice/snow correlative dataset is complete through 94.

DX/D1/D2 processing for January 86 and August through December 86 has been completed.

Additions to the ISCCP Web page: (1) A (downloadable) copy of the second of the series of articles about the project that were published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. (2) A (downloadable) copy of the documentation for the Stage B3 data (1987 version). (3) Data for another case study for the GEWEX Cloud System Studies (GCSS). The ISCCP World Wide Web Home Page can be accessed at URL

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-5, METEOSAT-5, GOES-8, GOES-9, NOAA-12 and NOAA-14 remained good.

Global datasets from the ISCCP have been available for more than 7 years (more than 11 years for the radiance data) and more than 200 papers have been published using these datasets. Since it has been more than seven years since the last special ISCCP symposium, the time seemed right to assess progress on cloud-climate problems. A workshop was organized for this purpose and held at NASA GISS in New York (the GPC). Over (60) scientists from (ten) countries participated. A total of 46 papers were presented, organized into three topic areas: (1) Validation or improved interpretation of ISCCP data (9 papers), (2) Determination of cloud properties or diagnosis of other climate processes (24 papers), and (3) Improving climate model representations of cloud processes (12 papers). Each topic session was followed by a discussion period. The workshop ended with one overview paper and a panel discussion. The purposes of the workshop were to evaluate progress on the original problem of quantifying the effects of clouds on the top-of-atmosphere and surface radiation budgets and to consider whether research should now begin to emphasize synoptic scale cloud behavior, including precipitation formation. Specific objectives were to: (1) review on-going analyses of global cloud datasets (mostly satellite-based), (2) review current global modeling of clouds and radiation, (3) assess progress on cloud-climate problems, and (4) suggest future research directions.

Presented papers for Topic 1 covered: (1) the effects of cloud particle sizes, shapes, and distributions on observed radiances, (2) the effects of small-scale inhomogeneities in clouds on radiation, (3) the use of multispectral analysis techniques to retrieve more information about clouds, (4) the physical significance of cloud types determined from surface and satellite observations, and (5) the importance of accurate calibration for monitoring long-term cloud changes. Presented papers for Topic 2 covered: (1) microwave measurements of clouds and precipitation, (2) inferences of global lightning distributions, (3) observations of marine boundary layer cloudiness, tropical convection, and synoptic scale cloud systems, (4) diagnosis of westerly wind burst events, total surface fluxes of energy and momentum over tropical oceans, and cloud and moisture feedbacks over hot oceans and land, (5) cloud effects on radiation in the polar regions, (6) cloud effects on shortwave radiation, (7) cloud effects on the total radiation balance of Earth, and (8) an examination of the character of small-scale cloud variations. Presented papers for Topic 3 covered: (1) treatment of radiation in GCMs, (2) treatment of radiation in ocean models, and (3) treatment of cloud processes in atmospheric GCMs.

Stage B3: July 83 - June 94 (11.0 years)

Stage CD: July 83 - December 94 (11.5 years)

Stage C1: July 83 - June 91 ( 8.0 years)

Stage C2: July 83 - June 91 ( 8.0 years)

Stage D1: January 90 - December 92 ( 3.0 years)

Stage D2: January 90 - December 92 ( 3.0 years)

Delivery backlog for B3 data = 15 months (with respect to planned schedule). B3 data for 132 months have been archived.

Delivery backlog for new DX/D1/D2 data = 33 months (with respect to planned schedule). C1/C2 data for 96 months have been archived. D1/D2 data for 44 months have been archived.