4. Geostationary satellites
• A geostationary satellite is an
earth-orbiting satellite, placed
at an altitude of approximately
35,800 kilometres (22,300
miles) directly over the
equator, that revolves in the
same direction the earth
rotates.
7. History of meteorological satellites
Year item Country
1960 First meteorological
satellite TIROS I launched
USA
1966 First geostationary
meteorological satellite
launched
USA
1970 NOAA series launched USA
1975 GOES launched USA
1977 GMS and METEOSAT
launched
Japan, Europe
1982 INSAT launched India
1994 GOMS launched Russia
1997 FY-II launched China
8. METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITES
REQUIREMENTS
• a) To serve as an observing platform with
appropriate sensors on board and transmitting the
information (imaging & sounding ) to the stations
located on the earth’s surface
• b) To serve as a collector of meteorological data
from unmanned land/ocean based instruments -
Data collection platforms
• c) To serve as a communication satellite for rapid
exchange of meteorological data among centres
and for rapid dissemination of weather forecasts,
warnings etc. to user agencies.
10. NOAA satellite
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration is an American scientific agency
within the United States Department of
Commerce focused on the conditions of
the oceans and the atmosphere.
• NOAA warns of dangerous weather, charts seas,
guides the use and protection of ocean and
coastal resources, and conducts research to
improve understanding and stewardship of
the environment.
11. fundamental activities of NOAA
• Monitoring and observing Earth systems with
instruments and data collection networks.
• Understanding and describing Earth systems
through research and analysis of that data.
• Assessing and predicting the changes of these
systems over time.
• Engaging, advising, and informing the public and
partner organizations with important
information.
• Managing resources for the betterment of
society, economy and environment.
12. NOAA satellites have the following
meteorological payloads
i) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer
(AVHRR)
ii) TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS)
iii) Earth Radiation Budget (ERB)
13. AVHRR
• AVHRR is a five channel scanning radiometer
in visible, near infra-red and infra-red
wavelengths for analysis of hydrological,
oceanographic and meteorological parameters
such as vegetation index (i.e. greenness),
clouds, snow and ice cover and sea surface
temperatures.
• Data are obtained by all the five channels with
a resolution of 1 km.
14. • The digital AVHRR data is transmitted from the
satellite in real-time (High Resolution Picture
Transmission or HRPT) as well as selectively
recorded on board the satellite for subsequent
playback when the satellite is in communication
range of the ground control station.
• This high resolution data is called Local Area
Coverage (LAC).
• AVHRR data is also sampled on real-time to
produce lower resolution Global Area Coverage
(GAC) data.
• The effective resolution of the GAC data is about
4 kms
15. GOES satellite
• The Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellite system (GOES), operated by
the United States' National Environmental Satellite,
Data, and Information Service (NESDIS),
supports weather forecasting, severe storm
tracking, and meteorology research.
16. History and status of GOES satellites
• GOES-1 launched on October 16, 1975, decommissioned
• GOES-2, launched on June 16, 1977, decommissioned
• GOES-3, launched on June 16, 1978
• GOES-4, launched on September 9, 1980, decommissioned
• GOES-5, launched on May 22, 1981, deactivated on July
18, 1990
• GOES-6, launched on April 28, 1983, decommissioned
• GOES-G, launched on May 3, 1987
• GOES-7, launched on February 1994, decommissioned
• GOES-8, launched on April 13, 1, 1986, failed to orbit
• GOES- 9, launched on May 23, 1995, decommissioned on
June 15, 2007
• GOES-10, launched on April 25, 1997
17. • GOES-11,launched on May 3,
2000, decommissioned on December 16, 2011
• GOES-12, launched on July 23, 2001, providing
coverage for South America
• GOES-13, launched on May 24, 2006, in operation
as GOES East
• GOES-14, launched on June 27, 2009
• GOES-15, launched on March 4, 2010, in
operation as GOES West starting December 14,
2011
• GOES-S, launched on March 1,2018
• GOES-T, scheduled for launch in December 2021
• GOES-U, scheduled for launch in 2025
18. NIMBUS satellite
• The Nimbus satellite were second-
generation U.S. robotic spacecraft used for
meteorological research and development.
The spacecraft were designed to serve as
stabilized, Earth-oriented platforms for the
testing of advanced systems to sense and
collect atmospheric science data
19. Operation history of the Nimbus
satellites
Satellite Launch Date Decay Date Launch Site
Launch
Vehicle
Mass
Nimbus 1
August 28,
1964
May 16,
1974
Vandenberg75-1-1 Thor-Agena B
374 kg
Nimbus 2 May 15, 1966
January 17,
1969
Vandenberg75-1-1 Thor-Agena B 413 kg
Nimbus 3 April 13, 1969
January 22,
1972
Vandenberg SLC-2E
Thor-Agena B
576 kg
Nimbus 4 April 8, 1970
September
30, 1980
Vandenberg SLC-2E Thor-Agena
619 kg
Nimbus 5
December 11,
1972
- Vandenberg SLC-2W
Delta 770 kg
Nimbus 6 June 12, 1975 - Vandenberg SLC-2W Delta 585kg
Nimbus 7
October 24,
1978
1994 Vandenberg SLC-2W Delta
832 kg
20. • The Coastal Zone Colour Scanner (CZCS) was a
multi-channel scanning radiometer aboard the
Nimbus 7 satellite, predominately designed for
water remote sensing .
• Nimbus 7 was launched 24 October 1978, and CZCS
became operational on 2 November 1978.
21. • CZCS measured reflected solar energy in
six channels, at a resolution of 800 meters.
• used to map chlorophyll concentration in
water, sediment distribution, salinity, and the
temperature of coastal waters and ocean currents.
• CZCS lay the foundations for subsequent satellite
ocean colour sensors, and formed a cornerstone for
international efforts to understand the ocean's role
in the carbon cycle
22. Meteosat series
• The Meteosat series of satellites are
geostationary meteorological satellites operated
by EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the
Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites) under
the Meteosat Transition Programme (MTP) and
the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG)
program.
23. First generation
• Meteosat-1 to Meteosat-7
• Meteosat-1 to 6 have retired, but Meteosat-7
provides data from over the Indian ocean.
24. Second Generation
Meteosat Second Generation was
designed in response to user
requirements to serve the needs
of numerical weather prediction
25. Third Generation
• Considering the long development cycle for a
new observational space system, EUMETSAT
(European Organisation for the Exploitation
of Meteorological Satellites) has been
working on the definition and the planning for
a Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) system
since the year 2000.
26. Megha-Tropiques
• Megha-Tropiques is a satellite mission to
study the water cycle in the tropical
atmosphere in the context of climate change.
• A collaborative effort between Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO) and French
Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES),
Megha-Tropiques was successfully deployed
into orbit by a PSLV rocket in October 2011.
27. • Megha-Tropiques is designed to understand
tropical meteorological and climatic
processes, by obtaining reliable statistics on
the water and energy budget of the tropical
atmosphere.
29. Properties of Meteorological satellite
image
Visible (VIS) image
Features of VIS image
• VIS image represents the intensity of sunlight
reflected from clouds and/or the earth’s surface
and makes it possible to monitor the conditions
of the ocean, land and clouds.
• high reflectance -bright
• low reflectance- dark.
30. Use of VIS image
• Distinction between thick and thin clouds
• Distinction between convective and strati
form types of clouds.
• Comparison of cloud top height
31. Infrared (IR) image
Features of IR image
• The IR image represents a temperature
distribution and can be observed without any
difference between day and night. Therefore,
it is useful for watching clouds and/or the
earth’s surface temperature.
• In the IR image, portions of low temperature
are visualized bright and portions of high
temperature dark.
32. Use of IR image
• Watching over meteorological phenomena
• Observation of cloud top height
• Measurement of earth’s surface temperature
33. Water vapour (WV) image
Features of WV image
• The WV image also represents temperature
distribution.
Use of WV image
• Grasp of airflow in the upper and middle air
The WV image can also represent radiation from the
water vapour content in the upper and middle layer.
That is, the airflow in the upper and middle layer can
be visualized.
34. 3.7-µm image
Features of 3.7-µm image
• The amount of radiation observed by the
satellite is the sum of blackbody radiation
from clouds and the earth’s surface and
reflected sunlight.
• In the 3.7-μm wavelength band, reflected
sunlight is more intense than the radiation
from the earth’s surface in comparison with
the IR1 and IR2 wavelength bands
35. Use of 3.7-µm image
• Identification of low clouds in the night
• Identification of snow/ice area in the day
36. The Indian National Satellite (INSAT)
• The Indian National Satellite (INSAT) is a multipurpose
geostationary satellite, which carries both
meteorological, and communications payloads.
• The INSAT-1D is located at 83.5 0 E and INSAT-2B is
located at 93.5 0 E.
• The VHRR (very high resolution radiometer) onboard
the satellite has a visible (0.55-0.75 µm) and infra-red
(10.5-12.5 µm) bands with resolution of 2.75 km and
11 km for INSAT-1 series, and 2 and 8 km respectively
for the INSAT–2 series.
37. • The VHRR scans are taken every 3 hours on
routine basis and half hourly to even less than
that, for monitoring cyclones etc.
• One VHRR scan takes about 30 minutes to be
completed and is made up of 4096 X 4096
picture elements (pixels) in case of visible
channel and 1024 x 1024 pixels in case of IR
channel
38. The meteorological component
provides:
• a) Round the clock, regular half-hourly synoptic images
of weather systems including severe weather, cyclones,
sea surface and cloud top temperatures, water bodies,
snow etc. over the entire territory of India as well as
adjoining land and sea areas.
• b) Collection and transmission of meteorological,
hydrological and oceanographic data from unattended
data collection platforms.
• c) Timely warning of impending disasters from cyclones
and storms etc.
• d) Dissemination of meteorological information
including processed images of weather systems to the
forecasting offices.
39. Ocean monitoring satellites
OceanSat-1 or IRS-P4
• It is the first Indian satellite built
specifically for Ocean applications. It
is a part of the Indian Remote
Sensing satellite series.
• The satellite carried Ocean Colour
Monitor (OCM) and a Multi-
frequency Scanning Microwave
Radiometer (MSMR) for
oceanographic studies.
40. Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM)
• It is a solid state camera literally designed primarily to
monitor the colour of the ocean,thereby useful for
documenting chlorophyll concentration,phytoplankton
blooms,atmospheric aerosols and particulate matter.
• It is capable of detecting eight spectrums ranging from
400 nm to 885 nm, all in the visible or near infrared
regions.
Multi-frequency Scanning Microwave Radiometer (MSMR)
• It collects data by measuring microwave radiation
passing through the atmosphere over the ocean.
• This offers information including sea surface
temperature, wind speed, cloud water content, and
water vapour content
41. Mission type Earth Observation
Remote Sensing
Operator ISRO
Mission duration 11 years, 2 months
Launch mass 1,036 kilograms
Launch date 26 May 1999
Rocket PSLV-C2
Launch site Sriharikota
Deactivated 8 August 2010
OceanSat-1 or IRS-P4
42. Oceansat-2
• It is an Indian satellite designed to provide service
continuity for operational users of the Ocean Colour
Monitor (OCM)instrument on Oceansat-1.
• The main objectives of OceanSat-2 are to study surface
winds and ocean surface strata, observation of
chlorophyll concentration,phytoplankton blooms,atmosph
eric aerosols and suspended sediments in the water.
43. mission type oceanography
Operator ISRO
Mission duration 5 years planned
Launch mass 960 kilograms
Launch date 23 September 2009
Rocket PSLV C14
Launch site Sathish Dhawan
Contractor ISRO
Oceansat-2
