New MetOp Second Generation climate satellite tv for pc returns first information

The MetOp Second Generation (MetOp-SG) mission builds on the confirmed success of the first-generation MetOp satellites, securing the stream of significant information for world climate forecasting and local weather monitoring – whereas introducing main developments in efficiency and determination.

As excessive and unpredictable climate occasions turn out to be extra frequent, exact and well timed forecasting has by no means been extra important. Operating from polar orbit, the MetOp-SG satellites will present the important information wanted to strengthen climate prediction fashions and deepen our understanding of Earth’s altering local weather.

The mission consists of three successive pairs of satellites, every pair made up of an A-type and a B-type satellite tv for pc carrying complementary devices to seize a variety of observations.

This mission is the results of long-standing collaboration between ESA and Eumetsat. ESA is accountable for the design and growth of the satellites, whereas Eumetsat manages the launch providers, floor section growth, satellite tv for pc operations and distribution of knowledge to the meteorological neighborhood.

Launched on 13 August, aboard an Ariane 6 rocket from the European Spaceport in French Guiana, Eumetsat is at present placing MetOp-SG-A1 via a rigorous commissioning part.

Despite this new satellite tv for pc solely being in orbit for 3 weeks and the commissioning is at a really early stage, its Microwave Sounder (MWS) and Radio Occultation (RO) sounder are already returning early ‘first glimpse’ information, marking a major milestone in a brand new period of European climate and local weather monitoring.

The MWS gives temperature and humidity profiles. It combines MetOp’s authentic Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A1 and AMSU-A2) and Microwave Humidity Sound (MHS) right into a single antenna instrument with new channels for temperature, humidity sounding and ice-cloud detection. The horizontal decision of the temperature sounding channels has improved from round 48 km to twenty km at nadir.

The instrument started sensing only one week after launch – and the hanging picture introduced above is a 24-hour seize from 24 August from its Channel 17. Besides Earth’s floor properties, this channel can also be delicate to convective clouds, proven as numerous filaments and banding buildings over the oceans. For occasion, the purple swirl seen within the North Atlantic displays the deep convective cloud system of ex-hurricane Erin.

The subsequent picture, from MWS Channel 2, clearly reveals a swath of summer season ‘brightness temperatures’ (in Kelvin) over land and ocean over Europe.

In actuality, info from MWS’s 24 totally different channels won’t be utilized in isolation, they are going to be mixed to yield atmospheric temperature and humidity information merchandise at totally different altitudes above Earth.

The RO sounder delivers detailed profiles of atmospheric temperature and humidity throughout each the troposphere and ionosphere. Building on the heritage of the first-generation GNSS Receiver for Atmospheric Sounding (GRAS) instrument on the primary technology of MetOp satellites, the brand new instrument triples the variety of radio occultation measurements – offering greater than 1600 observations per day. This leap in protection is made doable by incorporating indicators not solely from GPS, but additionally from Europe’s Galileo and China’s BeiDou satellite tv for pc navigation constellations.

As the picture reveals, the brand new protection consists of a lot of the worldwide ocean, the place information had been beforehand comparatively sparse.

The picture makes use of occultations between 20 and 26 August. The smaller plots present vertical temperature and humidity profiles derived from the instrument’s first measurements on 20 August over the Southern Pacific. The curves are plotted alongside ECMWF forecast information, revealing how RO measurements refine and replace temperature and humidity construction predictions, notably in data-sparse areas.

Both the MWS and RO will present inputs of unprecedented precision for numerical climate predication. While these early indicators present that progress is continuous at tempo, the info should not but operationally certified, and the commissioning of Metop-SG-A1 is anticipated to require months of thorough testing and calibration earlier than any information are launched to Member State meteorological providers and different customers.

Phil Evans, Eumetsat Director-General, mentioned, “Receiving these first data so quickly is a thrilling achievement for Eumetsat, particularly considering the technological sophistication of Metop-SG-A1 and its payload.

“In collaboration with ESA and our European industry partners, Eumetsat teams are working intensely to render all the satellite’s instruments operational, and the fact that data is already flowing seamlessly from the MWS and the RO shows that we are firmly on the right track to having powerful, validated products ready for our user community in the planned timeframe.”

Simonetta Cheli, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, mentioned, “These first glimpses of data are extremely encouraging, and I want to thank all the teams who have contributed –both to developing the mission as a whole and to operating and commissioning MetOp-SG-A1 in orbit.

“This is a major undertaking: six satellites in total, flying in successive pairs and delivering critical data for at least the next 20 years. While we closely monitor MetOp-SG-A1’s early performance, we are already in the final stages of preparing its companion, MetOp-SG-B1, for launch next year. “Together, the polar-orbiting MetOp-SG mission and the geostationary Meteosat Third Generation mission place Europe firmly at the forefront of global weather forecasting.”

Read: MetOp Second Generation mission kit