A BUFR and GRIB Tailoring System for Satellite Operational Products

A tailoring software system that will convert the satellite operational products into Binary Universal Form for the Representation of meteorological data (BUFR) and GRIdded Binary Edition 2 (GRIB2) formatted files is under development at NOAA/NESDIS/STAR. This Reformatting Toolkit will convert the products of the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP)/Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), the Global Change Observation Mission 1st - Water (GCOM-W1) Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2), the Japanese next generation Himawari-8/9 Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI), and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite - R Series (GOES-R) into BUFR and GRIB2 files. The current toolkit development schedule consists of five phases, each adding new tailoring capabilities. In phase 1, the NPP Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) Radiances, Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) Radiances and Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Radiances will be converted into BUFR files. In phase 2, this software system will reformat the NPP VIIRS Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT), Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) Nadir Profile (NP) and OMPS Total Column (TC) data into BUFR files. In phase 3, the NPP VIIRS Polar Winds and the Advanced Clear-Sky Processor for Oceans (ACSPO) Sea Surface Temperature (SST) will be converted into BUFR files, and the Global and Regional Green Vegetation Fraction (GVF) will be converted into GRIB2 files. In phase 4, this software will reformat the GCOM-W1 AMSR2 Microwave Brightness Temperature and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) into BUFR files, Sea Ice into GRIB2 files, and convert the AHI Radiances and WINDS into BUFR file. In phase 5, the GOES-R radiances, Winds and other products will be converted into BUFR files. Currently, the toolkit is running in the NPP Data Exploitation (NDE) system tailoring phase 1, 2, 3 and part of phase 4 products. The NDE is distributing these tailored products to the NOAA Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) in near real-time. The GOES-R Winds BUFR table has been designed and under review. The details of this toolkit design and its products will be discussed.