Identify and interpret atmospheric phenomena
Ok Hee Kim holds the weather briefing for the South Korean region. Her topics are: Asian Dust, Typhoons and typical weather phenomena in East Asia.
Length: 50 min
Author: Ok Hee Kim
Ok Hee received her BSc in Astronomy at the Chungbuk National University at Chungchungbukdo the province of South Korea (1992), and MSc in Meteorology from the Seoul National University in Seoul South Korea (2004). She is preparing for the PhD. Her areas of interest include severe weather, lake-effect snow, Asian dust, fog and applications of satellite imagery to weather forecasting, particularly on the mesoscale. She worked at weather forecasting division as assistant for weather forecaster for 3 years from 1992 and satellite image analyst 3 years from 1996. She has been a research associate at NMSC (National Meteorological Satellite Center) KMA (Korea Meteorological Administration) since 2006. She is currently working as a meteorological satellite image trainer and analyzer of COMS (Communication Ocean Meteorological Satellite) image for KMA's weather forecaster in NMSC. Presently, she is trying to develop Conceptual Models which are applicated in East Asia after training SATREP in ZAMG.
Vesa Nietosvaara and Larisa Nikitina give a weather briefing for the European region, Larisa focusses on the preparations for the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.
Length: 55 min
Author: Vesa Nietosvaara, Larisa Nikitina
Vesa Nietosvaara has worked as an operational weather forecaster for twenty years in 1988-2008. Since 1998 Vesa has been working within several training projects and created learning resources for operational meteorologists. Particularly, he is interested in satellite image interpretation and conceptual models for weather diagnosis. Most of his career Vesa has done at the Finnish Meteorological Institute, but since 2012 he works as a Training Officer at EUMETSAT. He assists the EUMeTrain monthly weather briefing team and regularly participates or lead the European online weather briefings (ePort weather briefings).
Larisa (Lara) Nikitina has been working as aviation weather forecaster in Rostov aviation center (Rostov-on-Don, south Russia) since 1985 after training as a weather forecaster in Russian State Hydrometeorological University (RSHU). And since 2010 she became the weather forecaster for Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. Her special interests are the satellite meteorology applications for nowcasting and distance learning.
Diamantino Henriques gives a weather briefing for the Azores and looks back to the heavy rain event on 13th and 14th March 2013.
Length: 30 min
Author: Diamantino Henriques
Diamantino Henriques, received his degree in Atmospheric Physics at the University of Aveiro (1986) and his MS in Meteorology from the University of Lisboa (1996). From 1987 to 2003 he worked in Lisbon as meteorologist on atmospheric ozone and UV radiation issues. He has represented Portugal on several international meetings related with atmospheric composition and has participated in several projects and programs related with atmospheric ozone (GAW), atmospheric pollutants transport (EMEP) and UV radiation (EDUCE). In 2003 he moves to the Azores and worked at Ponta Delgada Airport as a senior meteorologist and forecaster. Later in 2008 he was nominated Head of the Regional Delegation of the Portuguese Institute of Meteorology (IM) in the Azores. Currently, he is the Head of the Azores Regional Delegation of the Portuguese Sea and Atmosphere Institute (IPMA, former IM) that includes the weather forecast service for the Azores.
The extra tropical transition (ETT) of Hurricanes over the Atlantic is something that happens about 5 times a year and can severely disrupt the weather forecast.
The extra tropical transition (ETT) of Hurricanes over the Atlantic is something that happens about 5 times a year and can severely disrupt the weather forecast. In this CAL the important features of ETT are addressed and physical theories are presented. After each chapter several exercises allow you to test the theory.
This module will demonstrate the usefulness of the water vapour channels in forecasting.
Water vapour images have traditionally been used as additional information which tells about the air streams and water vapour content in the upper and middle levels of the troposphere.
Water vapour is a trace gas, that tells about the origin and kinematics of an airmass. In this respect water vapour images can reveal features that Infrared or Visible channel images are not capable of showing.
Since the introduction of RGB techniques in satellite products, water vapour information is been used more and more in these RGB combination images. Water vapour information is particularly important in Airmass and Severe Storms RGB products.
This module takes a closer look at vorticity maxima and minima signatures in satellite imagery.
Vorticity patterns control the circulation of air masses in their vicinity. By doing this they control the location of important meteorological quantities that are essential for an accurate diagnosis and forecast of the atmosphere.
The scale of vorticity patterns in the atmosphere ranges from large-scale synoptic system circulations (low and high pressure centres) to smaller meso-scale circulations (water vapour vortices (sometimes referred as WV eddies or WV eyes). The (anti-)cyclonic rotation in the atmosphere caused by a vorticity maxima is easily seen in satellite imagery. And quite naturally, satellite imagery is the key tool to correctly locate the maximum of cyclonic and anticyclonic vorticity in the atmosphere. Moreover, satellite images are able to show the small-scale vorticity patterns that are easily overlooked and smoothed out by a NWP model.
This training module has been developed to teach you to identify these vorticity centres in Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite imagery. In addition the module will provide you with a firm physical background to help you understand why it is important to do a good diagnosis of satellite images and also provide you with a range of examples and exercises to demonstrate the impact a vorticity centre may have on your weather forecast.
This module provides a guideline on how to assess the threat of volcanic ash. Therefore several tools based on satellite data can be consulted. Prominent examples are the Ash RGB or the use of IASI data.
Extreme weather conditions such the presence of volcanic ash can put aircraft navigation into major difficulties. If an aircraft encounters volcanic ash the navigation gets extremely challenging. Between 1975 and 1994 more than 80 jet airplanes were damaged due to unplanned encounters with clouds of volcanic ash. Seven of these encounters caused in-flight loss of jet engine power, putting the passengers lives at severe risk. Therefore the correct assessment of the weather conditions is essential to ensure save flight conditions. This training module is dedicated to forecasters/aviation forecasters. The main intention is to provide a guideline on how to assess the potential of hazardous weather events such as volcanic ash. For this purpose several tools based on satellite data can be consulted.
Training module on the detection of dust storms over Europe with various RGB images and products.
Atmospheric dust storms are common in many of the world's semi-arid and arid regions and can impact local, regional, and even global weather, agriculture, public health, transportation, industry, and ocean health. This globally-relevant three-hour module takes a multifaceted approach to studying atmospheric dust storms. The first chapter examines the impacts of dust storms, the physical processes involved in their life cycle, their source regions, and their climatology. The second chapter explores satellite products (notably dust RGBs) and dust models that are used for dust detection and monitoring. It also presents a process for forecasting dust storms. The third and final chapter of the module examines the major types of dust storms: those that are synoptically forced, such as pre- and post-frontal dust storms and those induced by large-scale trade winds; and those caused by mesoscale systems, such as downslope winds, gap flow, convection, and inversion downburst storms.
This training module was produced by COMET with the sponsorship and contribution of EUMETSAT and EUMeTrain.
Icing still represents a major threat to aviation. This CAL module focuses on the occurrence of icing in stratiform clouds. A method to detect icing probability from satellite images in combination with radar and radiosonde data is presented.
Ice formation on wings and inside of the jet engine of planes causes around 15% of weather related aircraft accidents. Most icing occurs inside cumulonimbus clouds when supercooled droplets freeze with contact of the aircraft body. But also in stratiform clouds icing represents a major threat to aircrafts during landing and take-off phase. In this CAL module, icing hazards related to stratiform clouds are examined. The introductory chapter focuses on the different types of icing and the physical principles leading to ice formation on aircrafts. Satellite products from geostationary and polar orbiting satellites help differentiating between ice and water clouds. A sample of satellite images and products illustrate this capability. Additional data sources like radiosoundings and radar imagery are useful completions to the satellite data. Interpretation of radiosoundings in view of icing occurrence is the main topic of chapter 4. The usefulness of radar data for detecting ice clouds is demonstrated. Three case studies complement the theoretical part of the training module, showing typical weather situations where severe icing represented a serious threat to aircrafts in the past. These case studies combine the above mentioned data sources in the frame of a practical situation. The CAL module finishes on a suggested procedure for nowcasting icing from stratiform clouds. Exercises offering the possibility to test the acquired knowledge form the end of this module.
In this CAL module you will learn to detect areas with the risk for Clear Air Turbulence (CAT). This will be done with the help of satellite images, soundings, flight reports and analyses of the airflow.
Clear Air Turbulence is one of the most frequent hazards for civil aviation. It is also one of the biggest challenges for forecasters to detect and warn for possible Clear Air Turbulence occurrence.
In this CAL module you will learn to detect areas with a high risk for Clear Air Turbulence (CAT). This will be done with the help of satellite images, soundings, flight reports and analyses of the airflow. Practical examples will show you how to apply your knowledge.
This CAL module deals with applications of MSG water vapour images in operational forecast departments. It focusses on the analysis of WV imagery in view of turbulence, cyclogenesis, convection and deformation zones.
This training module gives an overview on applications of MSG water vapour channels for operational weather forecasting. It handles the concept of potential vorticity which is a key feature to understand the dynamic processes in the higher Troposphere such as cyclogenesis. The CAL module also shows practical applications of the WV images from the geostationary satellites for locating tropopause foldings, clear air turbulence and deformation zones. It handles the effects of WV boundaries on the initiation of convective processes and finally presents some meteorological products heavily based on WV imagery.
In this Training Module you can follow the voyage of the research vessel Polarstern across the Atlantic and observe various atmospheric phenomena.
Follow the voyages of the research vessel Polarstern through different climate zones and weather situations in three oceans - Arctic, Atlantic and Antarctic. Learn more about fog, winds and convection, the globel circulation and climate zones. See how satellite images help you observe the atmospheric phenomena.