Satellite-based aviation weather applications for convection, visibility, turbulence, and volcanic ash

A NASA LaRC effort, the Advanced Satellite Aviation-weather Products (ASAP) initiative, has been formed to provide satellite-derived meteorological products and expertise to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) weather research community. University of Wisconsin-Madison SSEC/CIMSS in conjunction with the University of Alabama in Huntsville, MIT, and NCAR/RAP has been tasked to provide satellite information to the NCAR-based Aviation Weather Research Program's (AWRP) Product Development Teams (PDT). Satellite-derived products that ASAP is providing to the AWRP PDTs are value-added information for forecasting/nowcasting aviation hazards such as those caused by low ceiling/visibility, convection, turbulence, and volcanic ash. Examples and ASAP product applications to nowcasting of aviation meteorological hazards will be presented.