NUMBER 218 DATE: 09/10/01

Sector Processing Center (SPC):

During July, EUM, JMA, CSU, MSC and NOA processed 95% of A data into B1/B2 data.

Normal operations for July were reported by EUM, CSU, MSC and NOA. NOAA-16 B2 data for April through July 01 were sent to the GPC, eliminating the delivery backlog. JMA discovered that, due to scanner operational problems on the aging GMS-5, all of the 1600 UTC data were half images; they are working to replace these with 1500 UTC whole images before delivering the B2 data for July 01.

CSU is still supplying the AC data for GOES-8 because the SCC has not accepted the revised format from MSC.

Satellite Calibration Center (SCC):

AC data were received for July 01 from NOAA-14 (AVHRR and HIRS), METEOSAT-5, METEOSAT-7, GMS-5, GOES-8 and GOES-10. BC data for May 01 for METEOSAT-5, METEOSAT-7, GMS-5 and GOES-8 and BC data for April and May 01 for GOES-10 were shipped to the GPC.

AC data for GMS are received on CD-rom; all other AC data are received and the BC data are sent via Internet.

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. All of these data are currently received on media, except for the BC data, the B2 data from MSC and CSU, and the correlative data, which are received via Internet. The ftp delivery of B2 data by EUM is still being tested. Delivery by ftp of all data (except DX) from the GPC to NOAA/NCDC and to NASA Langley is now underway.

Deliveries of B2 data from NOAA-14 are current. Production of NOAA-14 (preliminary) B3 data is complete through December 00. Final B3 data have been produced through December 00. NOAA-14 will remain the primary calibration reference for ISCCP because we have a much longer history for it than for NOAA-16.

NOAA-15 B2 data have been received for January 99 through July 00 (the last). Because of the changes in spectral response (visible channel) and the switching of channels (for channel 3), both the calibration procedure and the B3 processing software will have to be revised for NOAA-15 processing. Since the channel 3 switching was never implemented on NOAA-15, the cloud algorithm will not have to be changed to process these data. Revisions of the B3 formatting software are underway; B3READ will also have to be modified to accommodate the changes.

Deliveries of B2 data from NOAA-16 are current. Processing will require more extensive software changes than for NOAA-15 because of the six channels available.. Also, the cloud detection algorithm and the DX-format will have to be revised before these data can be used.

Deliveries of B2 data from GOES-8 are current. Production of GOES-8 (preliminary) B3 data is complete through December 99. Final B3 data have been produced through December 99.

Deliveries of B2 data from GOES-10 are current. Production of GOES-10 (preliminary) B3 data is complete through December 99. Final B3 data have been produced through December 99.

Deliveries of B2 data from METEOSAT-5 (at 63E) are current. Production of METEOSAT-5 (preliminary) B3 data is complete through December 99. Final B3 data have been produced through December 99.

Deliveries of B2 data from METEOSAT-7 are current. Production of METEOSAT-7 (preliminary) B3 data is compete through December 99. Final B3 data have been produced through December 99.

Deliveries of B2 data from GMS-5 are current. Production of GMS-5 (preliminary) B3 data is complete through December 99. Final B3 data have been produced through December 99.

TOVS correlative data processing is complete through June 00. All of the older version of TOVS data has now been re-processed.

Production of the ice/snow correlative dataset is complete through December 99.

DX/D1/D2 data processing is complete through December 98. These data have been delivered. Examining the time record from 95 through 98 revealed there was still a small NOAA-14 VIS calibration offset (5% too high), so all of these data are being re-processed; D data for 97 & 98 have been re-processed already and delivered. All data products are currently delivered by ftp to the ICA and NASA Langley (except for DX data).

Two CDs of D2 data are now available from NASA Langley, covering 83-88 and 89-93.

A preliminary survey of midlatitude cyclones has been performed for one year by combining the ECMWF re-analysis meteorology with the ISCCP D1 datasets. After a few refinements in the calculated diagnostic quantities, a complete survey covering the whole ISCCP time period (using the NCEP reanalysis) will be done. This survey tracks low pressure centers to determine the lifecyle of individual cyclonic storms, collecting meteorological information from the reanalysis and cloud information from the ISCCP dataset.

Data now available on the Web site are monthly mean data for July 83 through December 97 and climatology results based on the period July 83 through December 97. All of the data documents (for B3, CD, D and Calibration) have been redone in a more convenient pdf format and separated into chapters to make downloading easier. New datasets released include the snow/ice cover fraction, surface infrared and microwave emissivities and solar albedos, and surface skin temperatures. The surface properties are only samples from a particular year of data. Planning is underway to add the cloud climatology based on surface weather observations to the ISCCP Web site. 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, MSC, 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-16 remained good. METEOSAT-6 and GOES-11 are in stand-by mode. As of March 01, NOAA-16 is the primary "afternoon" polar orbiter, but NOAA-14 continues parallel operations. The start of FY-2B operations was planned to occur in January 01, but no report has been received. GMS-5 scan motor problems continue; although the frequency of whole-Earth images has been reduced to prevent sticking, the main 3-hr images required by ISCCP are still collected. GOES-M was successfully launched on 23 July 01; once check-out is complete, it will become GOES-12 and will be in stand-by mode.

Stage B3: July 83 - December 99 (16.5 years)

Stage CD: July 83 - December 99 (16.5 years)

Stage D1: July 83 - December 98 (15.5 years)

Stage D2: July 83 - December 98 (15.5 years)

Satellite Network 7/83-12/94	Satellite Network 1/95-12/05
B Level Data Products 7/83-12/94	B Level Data Products 1/95-12/05

* Delivery backlogs for B2 data (none).

* Delivery backlog for B3 data = 13 months (with respect to planned schedule). B3 data for 198 months have been archived.

* Delivery backlog for DX/D1/D2 data = 25 months (with respect to planned schedule). D1/D2 data for 186 months have been archived.