1. Satellite Meteorology Basics
Scott Lindstrom and Hank Revercomb
SSEC
Tim Schmit
NOAA NESDIS STAR
Teachers Workshop
Cape Canaveral, FL

2. 1959—Black and White Sensors:
To address the Earth Radiation Budget challenge
Giving a global view of the Earth’s Climate
Black & White to separate Solar and IR contributions (Black = Solar + IR ; White = IR with little Solar)
Inspired by 1953 thesis: “The Heat Budget over a corn field” 2

3. 13 Oct 1959-Feb 1960 Explorer 7 measured the Earth Radiation Balance
The 1st meteorological satellite instrument to observe the Earth
Radiometer designed by Verner Suomi & Robert Parent
Omni-directional spheres
3-color (black, white, gold)
13 Oct 1959 Explorer 7 was launched and made the first meteorological measurements from satellite – Suomi’s net flux radiometer.
The measurements of the earth's radiation balance were significant. albeit less complete than Suomi hoped for. With as many as 432,000 separate measurements made in a single month, the accumulation gave meteorologists more than they could work through in the next seven years. As Explorer VII carried no storage unit, data reduction was difficult. Scientists first undertook analysis of the earth's radiation losses, leaving till later the computation of the gains from the sun in the earth's heat budget; the findings on gains were only beginning to emerge at the end of As redesigned for Explorer VII, the essential instrumentation for this experiment consisted of glass-coated bead thermistors making contact with the sensors, two spheres. and four hemispherical bolometers, that is, electrical devices that register minute quantities of radiant heat. The spheres, one black-coated and one fitted with a shade to protect it from direct sunlight, were mounted on the spin axis of the satellite. The four bolometers were placed in the satellite's equatorial plane close to, but thermally insulated from, a mirror so coated as to have high resistance in the ultraviolet. One hemisphere, coated white, was more sensitive to terrestrial than to solar radiation; two black-coated hemispheres responded about equally to solar and terrestrial radiation, while the fourth, coated with gold, responded chiefly to solar.
Although the lack of a data storage unit prevented a synoptic mapping of fields of radiation outgoing from the earth, study of the measurements indicated that patterns of a large-scale outward flux of radiation exist and are related to large-scale features of the weather; cloud cover and circulation patterns control the earth's loss of radiation; and within the atmosphere a pronounced vertical divergence of net long-wave radiation occurs. Further study permitted meteorologists in the course of time to estimate the heating and cooling of the atmosphere and to make a beginning on gauging the role of differential cooling in supplying atmospheric energy.
At the official termination of the IGC on 31 December 1959, some three weeks after Explorer VII had ceased to relay signals to the earth, reduction of the telemetered data had not progressed far; meaningful interpretations of all the findings would take years.
The white and black spheres are mounted on the black rectangles located on the equator of the satellite – each was approximately the size of a ping pong ball
Spheres also on TIROS 3, 4, 3

4. Two kinds of orbits
Not to scale!

5. Two kinds of orbits This is one day’s worth of
satellite passes (for Terra – a polar-orbiter)

6. LEO (full earth coverage)
Geo (rapid refresh) vs
LEO (full earth coverage)
Mr. Gary Wade

7. Spectral Bands Visible band Infrared band Water vapor band
Cloud cover and surface features
During the day
Infrared band
Surface or cloud-top temperature
Day and Night
Water vapor band
Upper-level water vapor

8. In these images – satellite is identified,
and wavelength, and day and time (UTC)

9. This is a Visible Image :
White regions are maxima in solar reflectance
This shows reflected light
Albedo is highest in white regions: Clouds, Snow, Sand

11. This is an Infrared Image :
White regions are minima in earth-emitted radiation
This shows emitted energy
Cold regions white; warm regions dark

12. Infrared
In both of these images, you can detect the
land-sea difference
10.7 mm
Visible
Conclusion: the atmosphere is mostly transparent to radiation at these wavelengths
0.63 mm

13. This image is from the same time – but at a different wavelength
6.7 mm…Notice that you cannot see the surface. Why?

14. This image is from the same time – but at a different wavelength
6.7 mm…Notice that you cannot see the surface. Why? Surface radiation
at this wavelength is absorbed by the atmosphere

15. This grey-scale makes things hard to distinguish

16. A color enhancement can be a big help!

17. GOES Imager IR Spectral bands

18. Satellite Data Sources
A variety of geostationary satellites and other info
A link to a variety geostationary and polar orbiting satellites
True-color MODIS Imagery over the USA, created daily
US- and Wisconsin-centric imagery and animations

19. Suomi NPP (National Polar Partnership)
On 25 January NASA & NOAA renamed their newest Earth-observing satellite after UW-Madison space pioneer
NPP VIIRS Image, GSFC 19