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Meteorological
Resources Catalog
This page provides links to
online meteorological resources. First, there are links to data centers
that provide comprehensive meteorological data. Second, there are links to
meteorological resources that include measured and modeled data and
satellite imagery relevant to VIEWS visibility goals. Current weather
information can be found on the
Weather Service's
public information site. |
Meteorological Data Centers
Western
Regional Data Center
- The Western Regional Climate Center, inaugurated
in 1986, is one of six regional climate
centers in the United States. The regional climate center program is
administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Western
Regional Climate Center's purpose is to disseminate high quality climate data
and information pertaining to the western United States; foster better use of
this information in decision-making; conduct applied research related t o
climate issues; and improve the coordination of climate-related activities at
state, regional and national scales.
High
Plains Regional Climate Center
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The High Plains Regional Climate Center is one of
the six regional
climate centers in the United States. It collects and distributes
national weather service data, including data from the of automated weather stations
network, for Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and
Wyoming.
National
Climatic Data Center (NCDC)
- NCDC is the repository of climate data for the
United States. It’s data include historical weather observations of surface
temperature, pressure, humidity, wind speed and direction at over 7000 locations
in the United States, sounding data from balloons ascending through the
atmosphere, radar observations of weather parameters, and satellite observations
from a wide array of satellites and instruments. These data include both
continuing operational data and research data. This site also provides access to
the six Regional
Climate Centers in the United States.
NOAA
General Data Catalog
- NOAA maintains a general data
storehouse that provides vast amounts of varied data related to the atmosphere,
the oceans & related environments. Specific weather
stations can be located here.
NCAR DATA
sets - The National Center for Atmospheric Research maintains a wide variety
of meteorological data associated with various research projects that can be
accessed from this site.
World Data Center
- The World
Data Center is a network of data centers that hold and distribute meteorological
and geophysical data on a global basis.
National Weather
Service - The National Weather Service provides access to
a wide variety of real time and recent weather data, much of it through their
regional offices (Western region, Central
region, and Pacific regions Hawaii,
and Alaska).
Measured Meteorological Data Resources
Surface Observations
| Unedited hourly surface observations
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Organization: National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)
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Metadata: GCMD
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Description:
Data set includes hourly surface observations from over 700
individual observing stations in the United States. Site provides
metadata for each observing site, hourly,
wind speed, direction, gustiness, and variability, visibility, current
weather, sky condition, temperature, dew point, and pressure. Stations
are accessed by name, number or location,
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Time Period:
1997-present |
Frequency:
hourly |
Duration:
varies |
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Place:
North America>United States |
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Method: Field
Measurement |
Stratum: Surface
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Parameter:
atmosphere>atmospheric temperature>air temperature;
atmosphere>atmospheric temperature>maximum/minimum temperature;
atmosphere>atmospheric temperature>surface air temperature;
atmosphere>atmospheric temperature>surface dew point temperature;
atmosphere>precipitation> precipitation amount;
atmosphere>pressure>surface pressure; atmosphere>wind>wind
speed; atmosphere>wind>wind direction; atmosphere>visibility
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Causality: Atmospheric
Transmission>Transport; Atmospheric
Transmission>Transformation; Atmospheric
Transmission>Removal; Atmospheric Transmission>Source
Receptor relationship
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Availability: Online
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Hourly/Daily
Rain Data |
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Organization: FSL/NOAA |
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Metadata:
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Description:
This web site, under development
by the Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL), retrieves daily and hourly precipitation totals from over 8000
weather stations throughout the continental United States. They
presently have 3 years' worth of data on line. You will need a
Java-aware web browser to view the data.
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Time Period: 1/1/98 -present
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Frequency:
Hourly, Daily |
Duration:
continuing |
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Place:
North America>United States
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Method: field
measurement |
Stratum: surface
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Parameter: atmosphere>precipitation>
precipitation amount |
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Causality: atmospheric
transmission >removal
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Availability: Online
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Remote Automated
Weather Stations (RAWS) |
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Organization:
Western Regional Climate
Center/DRI |
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Metadata:
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Description:
Remote Automated Weather Stations
(RAWS) in the western united states for land management applications.
Approximately 1,150 RAWS measure hourly: wind speed, gusts and
direction; precipitation; air temperature; relative humidity; and
forest fire fuel moisture. RAWS locations are based on land managers needs, so,
at any given time, there are both sites with an accumulation of
multiple years of data and sites with seasonal locations and data
records.
The
Wildland
Fire Assessment System (WFAS) provides a current map of RAWS
locations.
Also,
the Western Region of the National Weather
Service has integrated near real time RAWS observations, along with
other surface observations, on a regional
map access point.
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Time Period:
1975 - present |
Frequency:
hourly |
Duration:
varies |
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Place:
North America>United States
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Method: Field
Measurement |
Stratum:
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Parameter:
atmosphere>atmospheric
temperature>maximum/minimum temperature; atmosphere>atmospheric
temperature>surface air temperature; atmosphere>relative
humidity; atmosphere>precipitation> precipitation amount;
atmosphere>pressure>surface pressure; atmosphere>wind>wind
speed; atmosphere>wind>wind direction; Forest fuels> moisture
content |
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Causality: Atmospheric
Transmission>Transport; Atmospheric
Transmission>Transformation; Atmospheric
Transmission>Removal; Atmospheric Transmission>Source
Receptor relationship
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Availability:
graphical summary online |
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Upper Air
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Radiosonde
(RAOB) Observations Database
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Organization: FSL/NCDC
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Metadata: GCMD
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Description:
Upper air data are collected and transmitted during the flight of a
balloon borne radiosonde
include the air pressure, air temperature and humidity measured
continuously. At the receiving station, the height of the
package is sequentially computed at each reporting level. The wind
speed and wind direction at various levels are determined from the
ground-based radio tracking antenna that tracks the instrument
package as it is carried by the wind during the ascent of the
radiosonde. Observations are recorded at standard pressure levels,
surface, 1000, 925, 850, 700, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200, 150, 100, 70,
50, and 10 mb. |
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Time Period: 1/1/98 -
present |
Frequency:
2 per day |
Duration:
continuing |
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Place:
North America>United States
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Method: Field
Measurement |
Stratum: Aloft
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Parameter:
atmosphere>atmospheric temperature>air temperature;
atmosphere>atmospheric >pressure>air pressure> heights;
atmosphere>wind>wind speed; atmosphere>wind>wind
direction |
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Causality: Atmospheric
Transmission>Transport; Atmospheric
Transmission>Transformation; Atmospheric
Transmission>Removal; Atmospheric Transmission>Source
Receptor relationship
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Availability: Online
and NCDC Online Store (CD Rom) |
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NOAA Profiler Network
(NPN) |
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Organization:
FSL/NOAA
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Metadata:
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Description:
Wind profilers operate continuously, alternating sampling
modes every 1 minute between a low or high mode, and switch beam
positions (eastward, northward, or vertical) every 2 minutes. Each
mode contains 36 range gates (sampling heights), spaced every 250 m
in the vertical. The low mode samples the lower atmosphere,
beginning at 500 m above ground level (AGL) and continues to 9.25 km
AGL. The winds displayed at each height are an hour average from the
preceding hour of data. The hourly winds and RASS temperatures from
the network are available here about 15-30 minutes after each hour. |
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Time Period:
current |
Frequency:
Hourly |
Duration:
continuing |
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Place:
North America>United States
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Method: Field
Measurement |
Stratum: aloft
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Parameter: atmosphere>wind>wind
speed; atmosphere>wind>wind direction; atmosphere>atmospheric
temperature>air temperature
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Causality:
Atmospheric
Transmission>Transport; Atmospheric Transmission>Source
Receptor relationship
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Availability: Online
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Modeled Meteorological Data Resources
Historical Archives
| NCEP/ARL
Meteorological Data Archives |
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Organization: Air
Resources Laboratory, NOAA
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Metadata:
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Description:
The National Weather Service's
National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) runs a series of
computer analyses and forecasts operationally. NOAA's Air Resources
Laboratory (ARL) routinely uses NCEP model data for use in air quality
transport and dispersion modeling calculations. In 1989 ARL began to
archive some of these datasets for future research studies. Analysis
fields represent the best possible estimate of the state of the
atmosphere at that time, they are value-added observations. ARL has in
the past, or is presently archiving the following NCEP datasets;
Medium Range Forecast (MRF & FNL) model, Nested Grid Model (NGM),
Eta model, and ARL’s running of the Colorado State RAMS model, all of
which can be retrieved via ftp from this site. All of these datasets
contain basic fields such as the u- and v-wind components,
temperature, and humidity. However, the archives differ from each
other because of the horizontal and vertical resolution, as well as in
the specific fields provided by NCEP. All fields were selected by ARL
according to what is most relevant for transport and dispersion
studies and disk space limitations.
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Time Period:
1991-present |
Frequency: 2
per day & hourly
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Duration:
continuing |
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Place:
North America>United States
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Method: Modeled
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Stratum: Surface
and aloft |
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Parameter:
atmosphere>atmospheric
temperature> air temperature; atmosphere>relative humidity;
atmosphere>precipitation> precipitation amount;
atmosphere>precipitation> precipitation distribution;
atmosphere>pressure>air pressure; atmosphere>wind>wind
speed; atmosphere>wind>wind direction
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Causality: Atmospheric
Transmission>Transport; Atmospheric Transmission>Source
Receptor relationship
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Availability: O
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ARL's
HY-split applications on-line |
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Organization: Air
Resources Lab, NOAA
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Metadata:
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Description:
On-line
application tool for both current and historical meteorological
trajectories. Utilizes the Hy-split model
which is available for download to your own PC from this site.
Meteorological
data from the archived site described above, is available for use in
calculating back trajectories.
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Time Period:
past 6 months on line |
Frequency:
hourly |
Duration:
continuing |
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Place:
North America>United States
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Method: modeled
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Stratum: surface
and aloft |
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Parameter: atmosphere>air
pollution>air concentration |
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Causality: Atmospheric
Transmission>Transport; Atmospheric
Transmission>Transformation; Atmospheric
Transmission>Removal; Atmospheric Transmission>Source
Receptor relationship
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Availability: Online
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Current Data
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Operational
Eta model, 22km CONUS Graphics |
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Organization: National Centers for
Environmental Prediction, NOAA
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Metadata:
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Description: The “ETA” model output is
available on line in graphic format four times per day
(00,06,12,18Z.) The 00/12Z cycles forecast out to 60-h, the 06/18Z
cycles run to 48-h. Fields presented are surface level pressure, and
temperature and wind vectors at different pressure heights. Eta
Forecast Meteograms, plots of surface variables and vertical
profiles of cloud and wind are available for over 1100 stations
within the Eta domain. From this site one can select any available
location. Diagnostics
on the performance of this model for the western United States
are available.
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Time Period:
current 24 hours |
Frequency:
4 per day |
Duration:
continuing |
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Place:
North America>United States
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Method: Modeled
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Stratum: surface
and aloft layers |
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Parameter: atmosphere>atmospheric
temperature> air temperature; atmosphere>relative humidity;
atmosphere>precipitation> precipitation amount;
atmosphere>precipitation> precipitation distribution;
atmosphere>pressure>air pressure; atmosphere>wind>wind
speed; atmosphere>wind>wind direction
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Causality: Atmospheric
Transmission>Transport; Atmospheric
Transmission>Transformation; Atmospheric
Transmission>Removal; Atmospheric Transmission>Source
Receptor relationship
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Availability: Online
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FSL Numerical
model outputs |
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Organization: Forecast Systems Laboratory,
NOAA |
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Metadata:
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Description:
FSL produces a number of local and
mesoscale weather analysis and forecast products on an operational
basis. This site provides weather data assimilated into a gridded
format as well as the results of running forecast models from these
data. They include special analysis products for the front
range and surrounding regions of Colorado and Wyoming as well as CONUS-national
products. Also
graphical outputs from an alternative to the “Eta” mesoscale
meteorological forecast model, the Regional
Update Cycle (RUC) are available from the site.
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Time Period:
current, 24 hours |
Frequency:
hourly |
Duration:
continuing |
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Place:
North America>United States
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Method: modeled
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Stratum: surface
and aloft layers |
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Parameter: atmosphere>atmospheric
temperature> air temperature; atmosphere>relative humidity;
atmosphere>precipitation> precipitation amount;
atmosphere>precipitation> precipitation distribution;
atmosphere>pressure>air pressure; atmosphere>wind>wind
speed; atmosphere>wind>wind direction
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Causality: Atmospheric
Transmission>Transport; Atmospheric
Transmission>Transformation; Atmospheric
Transmission>Removal; Atmospheric Transmission>Source
Receptor relationship
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Availability: Online graphics
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Source receptor matrix (current day) |
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Organization: Air Resources Laboratory,
NOAA |
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Metadata:
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Description:
A simple approach to determine
which pollutant sources may be affecting specific receptor (or
sampling) locations is to compute the transport and dispersion from
all sources to compute the contribution of each source to a specific
receptor. The Hysplit_4
model runs multiple sources simultaneously. Corresponding
with each sample averaging period, air concentrations are output on a
grid for each source location. One unit of pollutant is emitted from
each source at the beginning of the simulation. Pollutant sources are
defined at each 5 degree latitude/longitude intersection over the
northern hemisphere (10N, 175W to 75N, 175E). The concentration grid
was defined at a resolution of 2.5 degrees. This configuration results
in the computation of transport and dispersion from 994 independent
sources.
The
model's output file is examined by selecting a specific receptor
location. Any point can be selected, but the program will select the
nearest air concentration grid node. The concentrations from all
sources are summed for that node location and divided into the
contributions from each source to obtain the percentage contribution
of that source to the selected receptor. The dispersion factor can be
multiplied by the emission (if known) from each source location to
obtain an estimate of the receptor air concentration. Alternately, the
dispersion factor can be divided into any measurements made at the
receptor to obtain an estimate of the emissions from a particular
source location |
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Time Period:
current, 24 hours |
Frequency:
hourly, daily |
Duration:
three days |
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Place:
Global |
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Method: Modeled
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Stratum: aloft
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Parameter: atmosphere>air
pollution>air concentration |
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Causality: Atmospheric
Transmission>Transport; Atmospheric
Transmission>Transformation; Atmospheric
Transmission>Removal; Atmospheric Transmission>Source
Receptor relationship
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Availability: Online
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Satellite Meteorological Data Resource
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Satellite
data |
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Organization:
NESDIS, NOAA
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Metadata:
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Description:
Environmental satellite data and
information. Over 260 terabytes of digital satellite information and
countless hard copies of satellite imagery collected from NOAA's
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) and
Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES). Also,
selected data from various NASA research satellites and Department
of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites are
part of this vast database. While much of the data are
meteorological, the oceanographic, agronomic, and geographic
applications have been extensive. Data include: Historical GOES
Browse Server - images since July 1992; Satellite Active Archive -
Lev 1b POES and DMSP data - since January 1995; Images/Movies of
Hurricanes and Special Events - as early as 1960; DMSP SSM/I Global
Gridded Data via anonymous FTP - from 1987 to present; SSM/I Monthly
Image Products - surface wetness, surface temperature, and snow
cover - from November 1997 to present; Satellite's Eye Art Galleries
- discussions and images; Interactive SSM/I and Blended Image
Products from the Live Access Server; TOVS Microwave Sounding Unit
(MSU) Tropospheric Temperature Anomalies; NOAA/NASA Long Term
Archive - Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) & Upper
Atmosphere Research Satellite Micro Limb Sounder (UARS MLS) datasets
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Time Period:
various |
Frequency:
various |
Duration:
continuing |
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Place:
global |
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Method: satellite
image |
Stratum: vertically
& horizontally integrated |
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Parameter: atmosphere
>radiation |
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Causality: Atmospheric
Transmission>Transport; Atmospheric
Transmission>Transformation; Atmospheric
Transmission>Removal; Atmospheric Transmission>Source
Receptor relationship
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Availability: various
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Radar Images
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NEXRAD
National Mosaic Reflectivity Images |
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Organization: NOAA
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Metadata:
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Description:
National
radar images are available on-line from this site for each hour from
31 December, 2000 back to 19 April 1997 and daily from 1 April 1995 to 18
April 1997.
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Time Period:
4/1/95-present |
Frequency:
Hourly, Daily |
Duration:
continuing |
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Place:
North America>United States
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Method: radar
images |
Stratum: aloft
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Parameter: atmosphere
> reflectivity |
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Causality: Atmospheric
Transmission>Transport; Atmospheric
Transmission>Transformation; Atmospheric
Transmission>Removal; Atmospheric Transmission>Source
Receptor relationship
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Availability: Online
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