Operational Capabilities, Products, and Customers of the NOAA Direct Broadcast Real Time Network

On behalf of NOAA JPSS, the Space Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison owns and operates a network of 5 polar satellite reception sites in Guam, Hawaii, Wisconsin, Florida, and Puerto Rico. Funding for this network was provided by NOAA JPSS in order to provide low latency advanced sounder data from CrIS, ATMS, and IASI for NWP assimilation. Sounder data from the SSEC/NOAA sites, along with data obtained from network partner sites in Alaska, Oregon, California, New York, and Virginia, are ingested at SSEC, processed to Level 1B, and converted to DBNet BUFR format with CSPP, AAPP, and OPS-LRS. The BUFR data are posted for delivery to end users typically within 15 minutes of observation on the satellite. NOAA/NWS/NCEP routinely ingests the BUFR files for NWP assimilation. Starting in mid 2017, EUMETSAT began ingesting the BUFR files and rebroadcasting them on EUMETCAST as a pilot service under an agreement between NOAA and EUMETSAT. Finally, NOAA is preparing to distribute the files globally via GTS. This presentation will provide an overview of the network technical design, data latency, and data delivery. The presentation will also show a number of other real-time applications of imager and sounder products at the SSEC/NOAA antenna sites for weather forecasting and decision support.