NOAA's Transition to Operations of NPP and GCOM-W1 Products

The launches of the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite in October 2011 and the Global Change Observation Mission – Water (GCOM-W1) satellite in May 2012 bring opportunities for new and enhanced satellite products for NOAA's users. The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) within NOAA will perform data processing, archiving, and distribution of data sets from both the S-NPP and GCOM-W1 satellites.

NOAA's NPP Data Exploitation (NDE) Project will provide users of polar-orbiting data with temperature, sensor, and environmental data records derived from NPP instrument observation. NDE's data selection service enables tailoring of the data sets to meet user requirements and needs such as required formats, aerial coverages, frequencies, map projections, etc. In addition, NDE will have capabilities to apply science algorithms to data records allowing for the generation of additional products required by NOAA's users. This additional suite of unique NPP products will include an array of atmospheric, oceanic, and land surface products. New science algorithms and NDE's product tailoring will optimize fulfillment of end user requirements.

NOAA has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to use microwave data from the GCOM-W1 satellite. Products from the GCOM-W1 instrument, the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR-2), will include ocean surface wind speed, soil moisture, sea surface temperature, and snow depth. Such data will also be blended with other satellite data into the total precipitable water and rain rate products, which have proven to be beneficial to forecasters in lieu of single sensor products.

Users will be able to take advantage of new and improved products from NPP and GCOM-W1 for continuity of their missions. This paper will describe product development efforts taking place at NESDIS utilizing sensor data observations from these newly launched satellites.