NUMBER 188

DATE: 03/10/99

Sector Processing Center (SPC):

During January, EUM, JMA, AES and CSU processed more than 98% of A data into B1/B2 data.

Normal operations for January were reported by EUM, JMA, AES and CSU.

NOA processing of B2 data is still on hold, pending receipt of new funding.

CSU is still supplying the AC data for GOES-8 until AES revises their format. AES has reported completion of this revision, but the new format has not be confirmed by the SCC.

Satellite Calibration Center (SCC):

AC data were received for January 99 from GOES-8, GOES-10, METEOSAT-5, METEOSAT-7, GMS-5 and NOAA-14 (AVHRR and HIRS). BC data for September and October 98 for GOES-10, for October and November 98 for GOES-8, and for November 98 for METEOSAT-5, METEOSAT-7 and GMS-5 were shipped to the GPC.

All BC reports now include normalization for the visible, standard infrared and "split-window" infrared channels (except METEOSAT which does not have a split-window channel), and the "water vapor" channels.

Global Processing Center (GPC):

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

The upgrade of the tape silo was again postponed because an operating mistake crashed the mainframe computer system and some of its storage devices; the system was unusable for over two weeks. The (very old) system has now been restored and the tape silo upgrade is now scheduled to for late March.

Production of NOAA-14 (preliminary) B3 data is current as of April 98; no further B2 data have been received. Final B3 data have been produced through April 98.

Production of NOAA-12 (preliminary) B3 data is current as of April 98; no further B2 data have been received. Final B3 data have been produced through April 98.

Production of GOES-7 (preliminary) B3 data is complete. Final B3 data have been produced through December 95, the last full month. Processing of GOES-7 B3 data is finished.

GOES-8 B2 data deliveries are current. Development of the formatting software is underway.

No usable GOES-9 B2 data has been delivered as yet (this problem also effects the first year of GOES-8 data, for 95, processed by CSU). A readable and accurately documented tape format has not yet been provided to the GPC. Development of the formatting software is underway.

Production of METEOSAT-5 (at 0) B3 data is complete. Final B3 data have been produced through December 95. Deliveries of B2 data from METEOSAT-5 (at 63E) are current, but processing has not resumed.

Production of METEOSAT-6 (preliminary) B3 data is complete through June 98.

Production of METEOSAT-7 (preliminary) B3 data has not commenced; however, the formatting software has been completed.

Production of GMS-5 (preliminary) B3 data is current.

All B3 processing software and the B3 data formats have been revised to include, as of January 96, the normalization coefficients for all the additional spectral channels.

TOVS correlative data processing is complete through April 98.

Production of the ice/snow correlative dataset is complete through December 97.

All of the old C1/C2 data have now been re-processed into D1/D2. Delivery of the last data was delayed by the computer system problems, but the last shipments to the archives have now been completed. The first CDrom of D2 data (for 89-93) has been released and is now available from the GPC or NASA Langley. Another CDrom of D2 data (for 83-88) will be prepared as soon as possible.

DX/D1/D2 data for September 94 - December 94 have been processed. This processing was difficult because this is the first time in the history of ISCCP that processing has been attempted without an afternoon polar orbiter as the calibration reference (NOAA-11 having died suddenly in mid-September 94 and NOAA-14 having not begun operations until February 95). These data will have to be carefully examined and possibly re-processed to insure reasonable calibration accuracy.

A paper describing what is known about the accuracy of the C-series dataset and comparing with the new D-series dataset has been submitted to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

The data for 83-85 has been added to the Web site. Now available are monthly mean data for July 83 through December 93 and climatology results based on the period July 83 through June 94. 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, EUM, CSU and JMA and B3 and D data from the GPC in a routine manner.

The health of GOES-8, GOES-10, GMS-5, METEOSAT-5, METEOSAT-7, NOAA-14 and NOAA-15 remained good. Collection of NOAA-12 data ceased in mid-December 98; collection of NOAA-15 data will commence in January 99 as soon as processing funds are received by NOAA. The report that the Chinese FY-2 satellite recovered to full operations sometime within the past several months was apparently not true: instead the earlier statement that partial operations are on-going is still the case. GOES-L, next in the series, is scheduled for launch in March 99; NOAA-L is scheduled for launch in December 99.

Stage B3: July 83 - April 95 (11.8 years)

Stage CD: July 83 - December 97 (14.5 years)

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

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

Stage D1: July 83 - August 94 (11.2 years)

Stage D2: July 83 - August 94 (11.2 years)

* Delivery backlogs for B2 data (NOA = 9 months).

* Delivery backlog for B3 data = 39 months (with respect to planned schedule). B3 data for 142 months have been archived.

* Delivery backlog for new DX/D1/D2 data = 47 months (with respect to planned schedule). C1/C2 data for 96 months have been archived. D1/D2 data for 134 months have been archived.