Classifying direct normal irradiance 1-minute temporal variability from spatial characteristics of geostationary satellite-based cloud observations

t Variability of solar surface irradiances in the 1-minute range is of interest especially for solar energy applications. Eight variability classes were previously defined for the 1 min resolved direct normal irradiance (DNI) variability inside an hour. In this study spatial structural parameters derived fromsatellite-based cloud observations are used as classifiers in order to detect the associated direct normal irradiance (DNI) variability class in a supervised classification scheme. A neighbourhood of 3×3 to 29×29 satellite pixels is evaluated to derive classifiers describing the actual cloud field better than just using a single satellite pixel at the location of the irradiance observation. These classifiers include cloud fraction in a window around the location of interest, number of cloud/cloud free changes in a binary cloud mask in this window, number of clouds, and a fractal box dimension of the cloud mask within the window. Furthermore, cloud physical parameters as cloud phase, cloud optical depth, and cloud top temperature are used as pixel-wise classifiers. A classification scheme is set up to search for the DNI variability class with a best agreement between these classifiers and the pre-existing knowledge on the characteristics of the cloud field within each variability class from the reference data base. Up to 55 % of all DNI variability class members are identified in the same class as in the reference data base. And up to 92 % cases are identified correctly if the neighbouring class is counted as success as well – the latter is a common approach in classifying natural structures showing no clear distinction between classes as in our case of temporal variability. Such a DNI variability classification method allows comparisons of different project sites in a statistical and automatic manner e.g. to quantify short-term variability impacts on solar power production. This approach is based on satellite-based cloud observations only and does not require any ground observations of the location of interest

Handbook for MAP, volume 32. Part 1: MAP summary. Part 2: MAPSC minutes, reading, August 1989. MAP summaries from nations. Part 3: MAP data catalogue

Extended abstracts from the fourth workshop on the technical and scientific aspects of mesosphere stratosphere troposphere (MST) radar are presented. Individual sessions addressed the following topics: meteorological applications of MST and ST radars, networks, and campaigns; the dynamics of the equatorial middle atmosphere; interpretation of radar returns from clear air; techniques for studying gravity waves and turbulence, intercomparison and calibration of wind and wave measurements at various frequencies; progress in existing and planned MST and ST radars; hardware design for MST and ST radars and boundary layer/lower troposphere profilers; signal processing; and data management

Evaluating South African Weather Service information on Idai tropical cyclone and KwaZulu-Natal flood events

Severe weather events associated with strong winds and flooding can cause fatalities, injuries and damage to property. Detailed and accurate weather forecasts that are issued and communicated timeously, and actioned upon, can reduce the impact of these events. The responsibility to provide such forecasts usually lies with government departments or state-owned entities; in South Africa that responsibility lies with the South African Weather Service (SAWS). SAWS is also a regional specialised meteorological centre and therefore provides weather information to meteorological services within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). We evaluated SAWS weather information using near real-time observations and models on the nowcasting to short-range forecasting timescales during two extreme events. These are the Idai tropical cyclone in March 2019 which impacted Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi resulting in over 1000 deaths, and the floods over the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province in April 2019 that caused over 70 deaths. Our results show that weather models gave an indication of these systems in advance, with warnings issued at least 2 days in advance in the case of Idai and 1 day in advance for the KZN floods. Nowcasting systems were also in place for detailed warnings to be provided as events progressed. Shortcomings in model simulations were shown, in particular on locating the KZN flood event properly and over/-underestimation of the event. The impacts experienced during the two events indicate that more needs to be done to increase weather awareness, and build disaster risk management systems, including disaster preparedness and risk reduction.Significance: This paper is relevant for all South Africans and the SADC region at large because it provides information on: the weather forecasting processes followed at the South African Weather Service, available early warning products in South Africa and for the SADC region made possible through the public purse, the performance of nowcasting and modelling systems in the case of predicting two extreme weather events that had adverse impacts on southern African society, and the dissemination of warnings of future extreme weather events

Izaña Atmospheric Research Center. Activity Report 2019-2020

Editors: Emilio Cuevas, Celia Milford and Oksana Tarasova.[EN]The Izaña Atmospheric Research Center (IARC), which is part of the State Meteorological Agency of Spain (AEMET), is a site of excellence in atmospheric science. It manages four observatories in Tenerife including the high altitude Izaña Atmospheric Observatory. The Izaña Atmospheric Observatory was inaugurated in 1916 and since that date has carried out uninterrupted meteorological and climatological observations, contributing towards a unique 100-year record in 2016. This reports are a summary of the many activities at the Izaña Atmospheric Research Center to the broader community. The combination of operational activities, research and development in state-of-the-art measurement techniques, calibration and validation and international cooperation encompass the vision of WMO to provide world leadership in expertise and international cooperation in weather, climate, hydrology and related environmental issues.[ES]El Centro de Investigación Atmosférica de Izaña (CIAI), que forma parte de la Agencia Estatal de Meteorología de España (AEMET), representa un centro de excelencia en ciencias atmosféricas. Gestiona cuatro observatorios en Tenerife, incluido el Observatorio de Izaña de gran altitud, inaugurado en 1916 y que desde entonces ha realizado observaciones meteorológicas y climatológicas ininterrumpidas y se ha convertido en una estación centenaria de la OMM. Estos informes resumen las múltiples actividades llevadas a cabo por el Centro de Investigación Atmosférica de Izaña. El liderazgo del Centro en materia de investigación y desarrollo con respecto a las técnicas de medición, calibración y validación de última generación, así como la cooperación internacional, le han otorgado una reputación sobresaliente en lo que se refiere al tiempo, el clima, la hidrología y otros temas ambientales afines

Increasing the spatial resolution of cloud property retrievals from Meteosat SEVIRI by use of its high-resolution visible channel: Evaluation of candidate approaches with MODIS observations

This study presents and evaluates several candidate approaches for downscaling observations from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) in order to increase the horizontal resolution of subsequent cloud optical thickness (τ) and effective droplet radius (reff) retrievals from the native ≈ 3km×3km spatial resolution of the narrowband channels to ≈ 1km×1km. These methods make use of SEVIRI's coincident broadband high-resolution visible (HRV) channel. For four example cloud fields, the reliability of each downscaling algorithm is evaluated by means of collocated 1km×1km MODIS radiances, which are reprojected to the horizontal grid of the HRV channel and serve as reference for the evaluation. By using these radiances, smoothed with the modulation transfer function of the native SEVIRI channels, as retrieval input, the accuracy at the SEVIRI standard resolution can be evaluated and an objective comparison of the accuracy of the different downscaling algorithms can be made. For the example scenes considered in this study, it is shown that neglecting high-frequency variations below the SEVIRI standard resolution results in significant random absolute deviations of the retrieved τ and reff of up to ≈ 14 and ≈ 6μm, respectively, as well as biases. By error propagation, this also negatively impacts the reliability of the subsequent calculation of liquid water path (WL) and cloud droplet number concentration (ND), which exhibit deviations of up to ≈ 89gm-2 and ≈ 177cm-3, respectively. For τ , these deviations can be almost completely mitigated by the use of the HRV channel as a physical constraint and by applying most of the presented downscaling schemes. Uncertainties in retrieved reff at the native SEVIRI resolution are smaller, and the improvements from downscaling the observations are less obvious than for τ. Nonetheless, the right choice of downscaling scheme yields noticeable improvements in the retrieved reff. Furthermore, the improved reliability in retrieved cloud products results in significantly reduced uncertainties in derived WL and ND. In particular, one downscaling approach provides clear improvements for all cloud products compared to those obtained from SEVIRI's standard resolution and is recommended for future downscaling endeavors. This work advances efforts to mitigate impacts of scale mismatches among channels of multiresolution instruments on cloud retrievals. © Author(s) 2020

Evaluating South African weather service information on Idai tropical cyclone and KwaZulu- Natal flood events

Severe weather events associated with strong winds and flooding can cause fatalities, injuries and damage to property. Detailed and accurate weather forecasts that are issued and communicated timeously, and actioned upon, can reduce the impact of these events. The responsibility to provide such forecasts usually lies with government departments or state-owned entities; in South Africa that responsibility lies with the South African Weather Service (SAWS). SAWS is also a regional specialised meteorological centre and therefore provides weather information to meteorological services within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). We evaluated SAWS weather information using near real-time observations and models on the nowcasting to short-range forecasting timescales during two extreme events. These are the Idai tropical cyclone in March 2019 which impacted Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi resulting in over 1000 deaths, and the floods over the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province in April 2019 that caused over 70 deaths. Our results show that weather models gave an indication of these systems in advance, with warnings issued at least 2 days in advance in the case of Idai and 1 day in advance for the KZN floods. Nowcasting systems were also in place for detailed warnings to be provided as events progressed. Shortcomings in model simulations were shown, in particular on locating the KZN flood event properly and over/underestimation of the event. The impacts experienced during the two events indicate that more needs to be done to increase weather awareness, and build disaster risk management systems, including disaster preparedness and risk reduction. Significance: This paper is relevant for all South Africans and the SADC region at large because it provides information on: • the weather forecasting processes followed at the South African Weather Service, • available early warning products in South Africa and for the SADC region made possible through the public purse, • the performance of nowcasting and modelling systems in the case of predicting two extreme weather events that had adverse impacts on southern African society, and • the dissemination of warnings of future extreme weather events.The Climate Research for Development (CR4D) Postdoctoral Fellowship CR4D-19-11 implemented by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) in partnership with the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DfID) Weather and Climate Information Services for Africa (WISER) programme and the African Climate Policy Center (ACPC) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).http://www.sajs.co.zaam2022Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorolog

Optical in situ and geostationary satellite-borne observations of suspended particles in coastal waters

Les particules en suspension dans l'eau de mer incluent les sédiments, le phytoplancton, le zooplancton, les bactéries, les virus et des détritus. Ces particules sont communément appelés matière en suspension (MES). Dans les eaux côtières, la MES peut parcourir de longues distances et être transportée verticalement à travers la colonne d'eau sous l'effet des vents et des marées favorisant les processus d'advection et de resuspension. Ceci implique une large variabilité spatio-temporelle de MES et quasiment impossible à reconstituer à travers les mesures traditionnelles des concentrations de MES [MES], par filtration de l'eau de mer à bord de bateaux. La [MES] peut être obtenue à partir de capteurs optiques enregistrant la diffusion et déployés soit de manière in-situ, soit à partir d'un satellite dans l'espace. Depuis la fin des années 70, par exemple, les satellites "couleur de l'eau" permettent d'établir des cartes de [MES] globales. La fréquence d'une image par jour pour la mer di Nord de ces capteurs polaires représente un obstacle non négligeable pour l'étude de variabilité de la [MES] dans les eaux côtières où la marée et les vents engendrent des variations rapides au cours de la journée. Cette limitation est d'autant plus importante pour les régions avec une couverture nuageuse fréquente. Les méthodes in-situ à partir d'un navire autonome ou d'une plateforme amarrée permettent d'enregistrer des données en continu mais leur couverture spatiale reste néanmoins limitée. Ce travail a pour objectif de mettre en avant les techniques de mesures in-situ et satellite de la [MES] en se concentrant principalement sur deux points. Premièrement, d'acquérir une meilleure connaissance de la variabilité de la relation entre la [MES] et la lumière diffuse, et deuxièmement, d'établir des cartes de [MES] dans la mer du Nord avec le capteur géostationnaire météorologique Européen (SEVIRI) qui donne des images chaque 15 minutes.La variabilité de la relation entre la [MES] et la lumière diffuse est étudiée à l'aide d'une banque de données in-situ. Nous démontrons que la [MES] est le mieux estimée à partir des mesures dans l'intervalle rouge du spectre de lumière rétro-diffuse. Par ailleurs, la relation entre la [MES] et la rétrodiffusion est gouvernée par la composition organique/inorganique des particules, ce qui représente des possibilités d'amélioration pour les algorithmes d'estimation de [MES] à partir de la couleur de l'eau. Nous démontrons aussi qu'avec SEVIRI il est possible d'estimer la [MES], la turbidité et le coefficient d'atténuation, deux variables étroitement liées à la [MES], avec généralement une bonne précision. Bien qu'il y ait d'importantes incertitudes dans les eaux claires, cette réussite est remarquable pour un capteur météorologique initialement conçu pour le suivi des nuages et des masses glaciaires, cibles beaucoup plus brillantes que la mer! Ce travail démontre pour la première fois que la variabilité de la [MES] à l'échelle temporelle des marées dans les eaux côtières au sud de la mer du Nord peut être capturée et mesurée par le biais de la télédétection de la couleur de l'eau ; ce qui ouvre des opportunités pour le monitoring de la turbidité et pour la modélisation des écosystèmes. Le premier capteur géostationnaire couleur de l'eau a été lancé en juin 2012, donnant des images multispectrale des eaux coréennes chaque heure. D'autres capteurs vont probablement suivre dans l'avenir, couvrant le reste des eaux du globe. Ce travail nous permet donc de préparer, de façon optimale, l'arrivée de ces capteurs qui vont révolutionner l'océanographie optique.Particles suspended in seawater include sediments, phytoplankton, zooplankton, bacteria, viruses, and detritus, and are collectively referred to as suspended particulate matter, SPM. In coastal waters, SPM is transported over long distances and in the water column by biological, tide or wind-driven advection and resuspension processes, thus varying strongly in time and space. These strong dynamics challenge the traditional measurement of the concentration of SPM, [SPM], through filtration of seawater sampled from ships. Estimation of [SPM] from sensors recording optical scattering allows to cover larger temporal or spatial scales. So called ocean colour satelittes, for example, have been used for the mapping of [SPM] on a global scale since the late 1970s. These polar-orbiting satellites typically provide one image per day forthe North Sea area. However, the sampling frequency of these satellites is a serious limitation in coastal waters where [SPM] changes rapidly during the day due to tides and winds.Optical instruments installed on moored platforms or on under-water vehicles can be operated continuously, but their spatial coverage is limited. This work aims to advance in situ and space-based optical techniques for [SPM] retrieval by investigating the natural variability in the relationship between [SPM] and light scattering by particles and by investigating whether the European geostationary meteorological SEVIRI sensor, which provides imagery every 15 minutes, can be used for the mapping of [SPM] in the southern North Sea. Based on an extensive in situ dataset, we show that [SPM] is best estimated from red light scattered in the back directions (backscattering). Moreover, the relationship between [SPM]] and particulate backscattering is driven by the organic/inorganic composition of suspended particles, offering opportunities to improve [SPM] retrieval algorithms. We also show that SEVIRI successfully retrieves [SPM] and related parameters such as turbidity and the vertical light attenuation coefficient in turbid waters. Even though uncertainties are considerable in clear waters, this is a remarkable result for a meteorological sensor designed to monitor clouds and ice, much brighter targets than the sea! On cloud free days, tidal variability of [SPM] can now be resolved by remote sensing for the first time, offering new opportunities for monitoring of turbidity and ecosystem modelling. In June 2010 the first geostationary ocean colour sensor was launched into space which provides hourly multispectral imagery of Korean waters. Other geostationary ocean colour sensors are likely to become operational in the (near?) future over the rest of the world's sea. This work allows us to maximally prepare for the coming of geostationary ocean colour satellites, which are expected to revolutionize optical oceanography.De in zeewater aanwezige zwevende materie zoals sedimenten, fytoplankton, zooplankton, bacteriën, virussen en detritus, worden collectief "suspended particulate matter" (SPM) genoemd. In kustwateren worden deze deeltjes over lange afstanden en in de waterkolom getransporteerd door biologische processen of wind- of getijdenwerking, waardoor SPM sterk varieert in ruimte en tijd. Door deze sterke dynamiek wordt de traditionele bemonstering van de concentratie van SPM, [SPM], door middel van filtratie van zeewaterstalen aan boord van schepen ontoereikend. Optische technieken die gebruik maken van de lichtverstriioongseigenschappen van SPM bieden een gebieds- of tijdsdekkend alternatief. Zogenaamde "ocean colour" satellieten bijvoorbeeld leveren beelden van o.a. [SPM] aan het zeeoppervlak op globale schaal sinds eind 1970, met een frequantie van één beeld per dag voor de Noordzee. Deze frequentie is echter onvoldoende in onze kustwateren waar [SPM] drastisch kan veranderen in enkele uren tijd. Optische instrumenten aan boord vann schepen of op onderwatervoertuigen kunnen continu meten, maar de gebiedsdekking is deperkt. Dit werk heeft tot doel de lichtverstriioongseigenschappen van SPM te karakterizeren en te onderzoeken of de Europese geostationaire weersatelliet, die elk kwartier een beeld geeft, kan worden gebruikt voor de kartering van [SPM] in de zuidelijke Noordzee. Op basis van een grote dataset van in situ metingen tonen wij aan dat [SPM] het nauwkeurigst kan worden bepaald door de meting van de verstrooiing van rood licht in achterwaartse richtingen (terugverstrooiing). Bovendien blijkt de relatie tussen [SPM] en terugverstrooiing afhankelijk van de organische-anorganische samenstelling van zwenvende stof, wat mogelijkhenden biedt tot het verfijnen van teledetectiealgoritmen voor [SPM]. Voorts tonen woj aan dat de Europese weersatelliet, SEVIRI, successvol kan worden aangewend voor de kartering van [SPM] en gerelateerde parameters zoals troebelheid en lichtdemping in de waterkolom. Hoewel met grote meetonzekerheid in klaar water toch een opmerkelijk resultaat voor een sensor die ontworpen werd voor detectie van wolken en ijs! Op wolkenvrije dagen wordt hierdoor de getijdendynamiek van [SPM] in de zuidelijke Noordzee voor het eerst detecteerbaar vanuit de ruimte, wat nieuwe mogelijkheden biedt voor de monitoring van waterkwaliteit en verbetering van ecosysteellodellen. Sinds juni 2010 is de eerste geostationaire ocean colour satelliet een feit : elk uur een multispectraal beeld van Koreaanse wateren. Vermoedelijk zullen er in de (nabije?) toekomst meer volgen over Europa en Amerika. Dit werk laat toe ons maximaal voor te bereiden op te komst van zo'n satellieten, waarvan verwacht wordt dat zij een nieuwe revolutie in optische oceanografie zullen ontketenen

Izaña Atmospheric Research Center. Activity Report 2015-2016

This report is a summary of the many activities at the Izaña Atmospheric Research Center to the broader community. The combination of operational activities, research and development in state-of-the-art measurement techniques, calibration and validation and international cooperation encompass the vision of WMO to provide world leadership in expertise and international cooperation in weather, climate, hydrology and related environmental issues