Satellite Meteorology Education and Training Resources: Leveraging today's Polar-orbiting Satellite Data in Preparation for NPOESS

The Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education and Training (COMET®) receives funding from NESDIS and the NPOESS Integrated Program Office (IPO) to specifically support education and training efforts in the area of satellite meteorology. Distance-learning technologies applied by COMET include CD-ROM based modules, Internet-based training modules, teletraining developed in conjunction with the NOAA/NWS VISIT (Virtual Institute for Satellite Integration Training) program, and courses that employ a “blended” distance-learning approach. Access to these resources is freely available via COMET's MetEd Web site (meted.ucar.edu).

For COMET's partnership with NESDIS, the focus is on the integration of geostationary and polar-orbiting remote sensing data into operational applications and forecast processes by including examples and training in all COMET learning materials. COMET also provides updates and revisions to previously released satellite meteorology modules when sensor modifications or new capabilities come online.

For the NPOESS IPO, COMET's focus is on highlighting and demonstrating the future capabilities, applications and relevance of the NPP/NPOESS system to operational forecasters and other user communities. COMET works closely with these user communities to stimulate greater utilization of both the training materials and current polar-orbiting satellite data observations and products. For the NPOESS effort an additional Web-based resource is available, the NPOESS Userport training portal. The Userport Web site (meted.ucar.edu/npoess) provides links to polar-orbiting satellite multimedia learning resources and real-time data for forecasters, scientists, students, faculty, and anyone interested in learning more about the spacecraft, data processing, products, and applications.

This poster presentation will review of COMET's ongoing satellite training efforts with an emphasis on preparations for the NPOESS system. Recent training modules will be highlighted and visitors will be able to see the Userport Web site.