SoylentNews

quietus [soylentnews.org] writes:

From late May to early June of this year, wildfires raged in Canada: the plumes crossed the Atlantic and were observed in Europe.

In the night of 12-13 August, the first of a next generation of weather satellites for EUMETSAT [eumetsat.int] was launched aboard an Ariane 6 missile.

The satellite, named METOP-SGA1, carries a total of six atmospheric sounding and imaging instrument missions. The payload includes the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer – New Generation (IASI-NG), METimage (a visual and infrared imager), the Microwave Sounder (MWS), a Radio Occultation sounder, and the Multi-Viewing, Multi-Channel, Multi-Polarisation Imager (3MI) – the latter being an entirely new instrument designed to enhance the monitoring of aerosols -- as e.g. created by the Canadian wildfires -- and cloud properties.

Metop-SGA1 also carries the European Union’s Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission, which will supply detailed data on atmospheric composition and trace gases that affect air quality, helping health authorities to monitor air pollution.

One aim of the satellite is to improve weather forecasts from 6 hours before (now-casting) to up to 10 days ahead. Another aim is to further improve climate models. A crucial instrument here is the Microwave Sounder [eumetsat.int], which will create temperature and humidity profiles across the atmosphere by measuring microwave brightness temperatures at different altitudes, in all weather.

“Instruments on board Metop-SG satellites and other exciting new European missions span a much broader frequency range than we have had so far. By bridging gaps between the microwave and infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, we can build a more complete picture of the Earth’s atmosphere, land, water, and ice – data that are essential for enhancing the numerical prediction models behind weather forecasts.

“Lower microwave frequencies penetrate clouds to reveal surface conditions like soil moisture, snow cover, and sea ice – data often inaccessible to infrared and optical sensors, as we live on a very cloudy planet! Higher frequencies can be used to detect tiny ice particles in high-altitude clouds, helping refine how these clouds are represented in weather and climate models. And combined with infrared sounder data, microwave observations can also offer very detailed insights into atmospheric humidity and temperature, the two most important variables in weather forecasts.”

The spacecraft’s counterpart, Metop-SGB1, will be launched next year with a complementary payload that (amongst others) includes a Microwave Imager that will deliver data relevant for monitoring precipitation, clouds, and surface conditions; an Ice Cloud Imager to observe high-altitude cirrus clouds; and a Scatterometer to gauge ocean surface roughness and estimate wind speed, direction, and soil moisture.

Data generated by the METOP-SGA series of weather satellites will be shared with NOAA, as part of the Joint Polar System. [noaa.gov]

Original Submission