Recent Developments of Satellite Products on the FNMOC TC Web Page

The Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) Tropical Cyclone (TC) Web Page has been running operationally on Department of Defense's Non-Secure Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNET) and Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNET) for more than 3 years. The site uses observational data from both geostationary and lower earth orbiting satellites to provide the Navy and the rest of the military community a centralized real-time source of data pertaining to tropical cyclones. It plays a critical and efficient role in minimizing the threat and impacts of tropical cyclones to military operations and civilian interests around world.

Continuous development of new satellite products has been ongoing since its inception. New functions and features are also being added to FNMOC TC Web Page to meet users' needs and satisfy emerging Navy METOC Portal requirements. The latest advancements include establishing the capability of supporting Navy ships with local coverage of geostationary and microwave data, adding product color-coding to indicate the age of imagery, expanding the Closest Point of Approach (CPA) table to include +/- 24 hour satellite passes, and posting the current CPA to the TC Web Page. The new satellite products are acquired from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMI/S), Coriolis/WindSat, Meteosat Second Generation (MSG), Meteosat-8, Multi-functional Transport Satellite-1 Replacement (MTSAT-1R), and NOAA-18. Comparisons of new products from each satellite and sensor will be discussed with emphasis on SSMI/S and WindSat. The integration of satellite data processing systems with FNMOC's operational job monitoring, scheduling, communication, database and configuration management systems will also be presented in this paper.

To view the current active tropical storms and storm history, visit the FNMOC TC Web Page at http://tcweb.fnmoc.navy.mil/tc-bin/tc_home.cgi. Send any suggestions and questions to fnmoc.satteam@fnmoc.navy.mil.