1. GOES-R ABI and Himawari-8 AHI Training using SIFT
Raymond K. Garcia, David Hoese, Jordan J. Gerth, Scott S. Lindstrom, Kathleen I. Strabala
UW-Madison Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies
Timothy J. Schmit
NOAA/NESDIS/ASPB
Bill Ward
NOAA/National Weather Service

2. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
SIFT
Satellite Information and Familiarization Tool
Created to facilitate training of Himawari-8 data in the Pacific Region of the NWS
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

3. Where has SIFT been used?
NWS Day-1 Ready Training for Guam WFO (Himawari)
NWS Training at Honolulu WFO
Satellite Liaison Training in Kansas City
Graduate Student Training in Madison
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

4. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
System Requirements
Compatible with Windows/Linux/Mac
Faster I/O the better
Does a lot on the Graphics Card
500 Mb (8.5 Gb) workspace needed for 2 km (0.5 km) imagery
Sample datasets (pre-projected mercator GeoTIFF files) require up to 1TB of storage.
Coming soon: Data in Native Formats!
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

5. Why is SIFT good for training?
Quick access to multiple bands for visual inspection/comparison
Density Diagrams/Scatterplots to compare two channels
Easy and seamless zoom and roam capabilities
Datasets are pre-selected and loaded
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

6. AMS Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
The SIFT Display
Area Probe Graphs (Density Diagrams, Bar Graphs)
Layers – List of data that are loaded
Layer Details
AMS Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

7. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
SIFT Example 1 #1 #2
First, just load up one image, then load up all bands for a different time
Ask a simple question: Why is Image #2 brighter?
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

8. SIFT Example 1 Discuss Probe Features of SIFT Tool
0.47 mm, “blue”
0.51 mm, “green”
0.64 mm “red”
0.86 mm, “veggie”
1.6 mm, “cirrus”
2.2 mm, “phase”
3.9 mm, “shortwave IR”
6.2 mm, “high wv”
6.9 mm, “middle wv”
7.3 mm, “low wv”
8.6 mm, “SO2 window”
9.6 mm, “ozone”
10.4 mm, “clean window”
11.2 mm, “window”
12.1 mm, “dirty window”
13.2 mm, “CO2”
Visible and near-IR: Reflectance values
shown and they increase to the right
Discuss Probe Features of SIFT Tool
What does this tell you about your scene?
Why is Band 5 reflectance small?
Why is Band 7 so much warmer?
Why is band 13 warmer than band 14?
Why is Band 12 Warmer than most other IR bands?
Day or Night?
Infrared: Brightness temperature
shown and they increase to the right

9. SIFT Example 2
Load up all Bands, and create a histogram & density diagram of a region – those are shown below. Explain what you see!
Why is there a region of relatively high Band 4 Reflectance?
Band 3 Reflectance is mostly small, with a few higher values
Conclusion: Mostly clear

10. SIFT Example 2: AHI Band 3 Versus Band 4
AHI Band 3 (0.64 μm)
AHI Band 4 (0.86 μm)
Easy to toggle between these two to really accentuate the differences
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

11. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
SIFT Example 3
Describe what you see in this Density Diagram (Band 3 v. Band 14)
This is an excellent way to make sure the students really do understand the capabilities of each individual band
Note there are two distributions:
Fairly Warm and Highly Reflective
Colder with Increasing Reflectivity
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

12. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
SIFT Example 4a
What are the different bands telling you here?
Is it day or night?
Is it cloudy? Thick clouds? Thin clouds?
What do the Water Vapor Bands Tells you?
Which two (that’s a hint) bands are most important in describing what’s going on?
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

13. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
SIFT Example 4b
Visible/Near IR Bands
Infrared Bands
Which Probe Matches Which Scene?
Which Two Channels help most?
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

14. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
SIFT Example 4c
Behold the Power of Band 4 in highlighting Land!
Reflectivity is much greater
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

15. At which two channels are you looking?
SIFT Example 5
Cirrus/Ice Band
At which two channels are you looking?
Visible or Infrared?
Veggie Band

16. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
Sift Example 5
0.47 mm, “blue”
0.51 mm, “green”
0.64 mm “red”
0.86 mm, “veggie”
1.6 mm, “cirrus”
2.2 mm, “phase”
3.9 mm, “shortwave IR”
6.2 mm, “high wv”
6.9 mm, “middle wv”
7.3 mm, “low wv”
8.6 mm, “SO2 window”
9.6 mm, “ozone”
10.4 mm, “clean window”
11.2 mm, “window”
12.1 mm, “dirty window”
13.2 mm, “CO2”
Which probe corresponds to the Ocean Location you just saw?
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

17. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
Sift Example 5
Of the remaining three probes, which corresponds to this point
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

18. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
Sift Example 5
Match the Probe on the left to the Scene. Which goes with the ‘x’?
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

19. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
Sift Example 5
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

20. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
SIFT Example 6 15 14 13
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

21. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
SIFT Example 6
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

22. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
Questions asked in Lab
What AHI visible reflectance band is best for detecting/identifying low clouds?
What AHI visible reflectance band is best for detecting/identifying high clouds?
What AHI thermal infrared band is best for detecting/identifying low clouds?
What AHI thermal infrared band is best for detecting/identifying high clouds?
What AHI visible reflectance band is best for detecting/identifying land surface features?
What AHI thermal infrared band is best for detecting/identifying land surface features?
What AHI band or bands are best for detecting/identifying mid atmosphere features?
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

23. What does this scene represent?
Day or Night?
Water or Land?
Cloudy or Clear?
If cloudy: Thick clouds or Thin?
This forces the student to understand how each Band might be used.
Visible/Near IR Bands
Infrared Bands
(This is thin cirrus over land)
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

24. What’s the chief difference between these two probes?
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

25. SIFT Training always referred back to Spectral Response Functions
Why are the channels placed where they are?
What can you expect the bands to view given the Spectral Response Functions?
Handouts provided to facilitate learning
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

26. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
Advanced Baseline Imager Spectral Bands
AHI
Band
Approximate Central
Wavelength (μm)
ABI
Type
Nickname 1
0.47
Visible
Blue 2
0.51
Green 3
0.64
Red 4
0.86
Near-Infrared
Veggie
1.4
Cirrus 5
1.6
Snow/Ice 6
2.3
2.2
Cloud Particle Size 7
3.9
Infrared
Shortwave Window 8
6.2
Upper-level Water Vapor 9
6.9
Mid-level Water Vapor 10
7.3
Lower-level Water Vapor 11
8.6
8.4
Cloud-Top Phase 12
9.6
Ozone 13
10.4
10.3
“Clean” Longwave Window 14
11.2
Longwave Window 15
12.4
12.3
“Dirty” Longwave Window 16
13.3
CO2 Longwave
Handout
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

27. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
AHI
Handout
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

28. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
ABI
Handout
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

29. US Standard Atmosphere (1976) Brightness Temperature Difference
as a result of water vapor (H2O) absorption
Why isn’t the window channel here?
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
Credit: Mat Gunshor, Cong Zhou, Tim Schmit, Allen Huang

30. US Standard Atmosphere (1976) Brightness Temperature Difference
as a result of ozone (O3) absorption
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
Credit: Mat Gunshor, Cong Zhou, Tim Schmit, Allen Huang

31. Once more: What does this scene represent?
Day or Night?
Water or Land?
Cloudy or Clear?
If cloudy: Thick clouds or Thin?
This is a trick question
Visible/Near IR Bands
Infrared Bands
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016

32. Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016
Questions?
Satellite Meteorology Madison Wisconsin 2016