FIRST WIND DATA FROM SCATTEROMETER CAPTURES PACIFIC TYPHOONS
Douglas Isbell
Headquarters, Washington, DC
October 3, 1996
(Phone: 202/358-1753)
Mary Hardin
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
(Phone: 818/354-5011)
Hideo Hasegawa/Hiroyuki Ikenono
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tokyo
(Phone: +81-3-5470-4127)
FIRST WIND DATA FROM SCATTEROMETER CAPTURES PACIFIC TYPHOONS
The first image of winds over the oceans taken by the NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT) onboard Japan's Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS) show two tyhoons in the northwest. Pacific Ocean as they were seen on September 20.
Typhoon Violet eventually ran into the coast of Japan, killing several people and causing sever property damage. Typhoon Tom was observed in the open ocean east of Japan. The scatterometer measured winds in the storms at about 60 miles per hour.
"We are very pleased with the quality of these first images," said Jim Graf, NSCAT project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "These images are typical of the operational data that will be generated using NSCAT and made available to meteorologists. NSCAT will provide regular measurements of ocean surface wind speeds from space, which will enhance the ability of forecasters to predict the behavior of storms such sa Tyhoon Violet. In addition, Earth science researchers will use NSCAT data to better understand the climate changes occuring on our planet."
The scatterometer takes 190,000 wind measurements per day, mapping more than 90 percent of the world's ice-free oceans every two days. The instrument provides more than 100 times the amount of ocean wind information currently available from ship reports. Because the scatterometer is a radar instrument, it is capable of taking data day or night, regardless of sunlight ro weather conditions.
"This preliminary analysis of the first set of NSCAT data clearly demonstrates that the high resolution of the NSCAT instrument improves the monitoring of small scale disturbances, such as typhoons, which can be missed by conventional methods. It also shows that the repeated global coverage provides a better description of atomospheric circlation which has not been adequately sampled in in the past," said Dr. W. Timothy Liu, NSCAT project scientist at JPL.
Information gathered by the scatteromater is being used by the National Weather Service, an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The ocean surface wind measurements, used in numerical models, will help local weather forecasters more accurately predict the path and intensity of hurricanes, winter storms and other weather systems that form over the oceans.
"These first look images are still uncalibrated, but images like these will be routinely available after completion of the calibration validation phase on our World WIde Web site at http://www.jpl.masa.gov/winds," Graf explained.
ADEOS is an international global change research mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which includes instruments from the United States, Japan and France, with investigators from many other countries. The satellite is a key of an international environmental reserch effort that includes NASA's MIssion to Planet Earth (MTPE) program, a long-term, coordinated research effort to study the Earth as a global environmental system. The goal of MTPE is to allow humans to better understand natural environmental changes and to distinguish between natural and human-made changes and impacts.
MTPE-related data ,which NASA distributes to researchers worldwide, is essential to helping people make better informed decisions about the environment.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory developed, built and manages the NSCAT instrument for NASA.
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE: (818) 354-5011
http://jpl.nasa.gov
PHOTO CAPTION
P-47489
October 3, 1996
Four views of typhoons
First Image (1M)
These four images show a series of wind fields from the first set of NASA Scatterometer wind speed and direction measurements. The sequence was taken every 12 hours over two days, September 20 and 21, 1996. The four images show typhoons Violet and Tom sa yellow-orange spiral features. Tyhoon Violet is closer to Japan and during the two days of observations the storm moved landward, causing death and severe proprety damage. Tyhoon Tom is observed moving out into the ocean and away from Japan. The background color indicates wind speed, with blue being low winds and red moderate winds, yellow is high winds. The white arrows shows the direction of the wind. Data like these are being used by the National Weather Service, an agency of the National Oceanic and Atomospheric Adminstration in their global forecast models. NSCAT was launched August 16, 1996, onboard Japan's Advanced Earth Observing Satellite. The mission represents the first JPL developed, built and manages the NSCAT instrument for NASA's Mission to Planet Earth program. This "first look" image is still uncalivrated, but images like this will be routinely available after completion of the calibration validation phase on the project's World Wide Web site at http://www. jpl.nasa.gov/winds.
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINSTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE: (818) 354-5011
http://jpl.nasa.gov
PHOTO CAPTION
P-47490
October 3, 1996
NSCAT Pacific Map
This image shows ocean surface wind speeds and directions over the Pacific Ocean on September 21, 1996, as they were measured by the NASA Scatterometer onboard Japan's Advanced Earth Observing satellite. The background color indicates wind speed with blue being low winds, red is moderate winds, and yellow is high winds. The white arrows show the direction of the wind. The yellow-orange spiralfeatures in the upper left near Japan are tyhoons VIolet and Tom. Typhoon Tom is in the open ocean. Typhoon Violet is just south of Japan. After these data were taken, Typhoon Violet struck the east coast of Japan, causing damage and deaths. Strong winter storm activity is also shown in orange in the southern hemisphere. NSCAT provides continuous measurements of ocean surface wind speeds and direction from space, which gives forecasters better information to predict the behavior of storms such as Violet and Tom. Data like these are being used by the National Weather Service, an agency of the National Oceanic and Atomospheric Administration in their global forecast models. NSCAT was launched August 16, 1996. The mission represents the first major collaboration in Earth remote sensing between the two nations. JPL developed, built and manages the NSCAT instrument for NASA's Mission to Planet Earth program. This "first look" image is still uncalibrated, but images like this wil be routinely available after completion of the calibration validation phase of the project's World Wide Web site at http://www. jpl.nasa.gov/winds.
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINSTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE: (818) 354-5011
http://jpl.nasa.gov
PHOTO CAPTION
P-47491
October 3, 1996
NSCAT Global Wind Speed
This map shows a global three-day average of wind speeds over the world's oceans, as measured by the NASA Scatterometer onboard Japan's Advanced Earth Observing satellite. The uncalibrated data were taken from September 20 to 22, 1996. The color indicates wind speed, with purple and blue being low winds, green to yellow as moderate winds, and orange to red as high winds. Typhoons Violet and Tom are shown as yellow-orange spirals near Japan. The usual high level of winter storm activity is also shown in yellow in the southern hemisphere near Antarctica in an area sailors refer to as "the roaring forties". NSCAT wind measurements cover 90 percent of the ocean surface each day, achieving nearly 100 percent coverage within three days. NSCAT provides continuous measurements of ocean surface wind speeds from space, which will help meteorologists better predict the behavior of storms. Data like these are being used by the National Weather Service, an agency of the National Oceanic and Atomospheric Administration in their global forecast models. NSCAT was launched August 16, 1996. The mission represents the first major collaboration in Earth remote sensing between the two nations. JPL developed, built and manages the NSCAT instrument for NASA's Mission to Planet Earth program. This "first look" image is still uncalibrated, but images like this wil be routinely available after completion of the calibration validation phase of the project's World Wide Web site at http://www. jpl.nasa.gov/winds.
NASA PUBLIC INFORMATION
NSCAT Main Characteristics |
