Polar Satellite Composite Imagery: A Useful Tool from Operations to Research

The Antarctic Meteorological Research Center (AMRC), part of the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), has been generating Antarctic satellite composite imagery since 1992 in support of the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The imagery is generated in five separate channels (infrared, water vapor, visible, longwave and shortwave) using the Man-computer Interactive Data Access System (McIDAS) centered over the South Pole and reaching to approximately 50 degrees South. Over the years, the imagery has improved, both in resolution and processing, as the satellites and the computer processing improves. This poster will outline the compositing methodology. Recently, AMRC has applied a similar procedure to produce Arctic satellite composite imagery in the same five channels. Both the Antarctic and Arctic satellite composite imagery is utilized for operational purposes, as the imagery aids in flight and ship navigational forecasts. The Antarctic imagery has also been used in the research realm, one example being the study of Cloud Mass Meridional Transport (CMMT) events. All of the satellite composites are provided free for public use. The end goal for the Arctic imagery is for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Satellite and Product Operations (OSPO) to take over processing and generation and provide the imagery for the Ocean Prediction Center (OPC), Weather Prediction Center (WPC), National Weather Service (NWS) Alaska-Fairbanks, and National Ice Center (NIC) along with on-going broad public availability. The future of the Antarctic composite imagery is however less certain.