BNL - Scientific Information Systems Group:
Joyce Tichler, head
Database and Web Page Development: Kathy Doty, Li Hong Ma (Lynn),
Richard Wagener, Graham Campbell, Tom Nepsee, Ron Peierls, Dave Stampf
External Data: Laurie Benedict, Alice Cialella, Li Hong Ma, Richard
Wagener,
Tammy Kwan, Zhi-Zheng Wang
Satellite Data: Peter Minnett, Richard Wagener
System Management: Laurie Benedict, Richard Wagener, Graham Campbell
Students: David Olivares
_______________________________________________
PERSONNEL CHANGES
Unfortunately due to health problems, Tom Nepsee will be out on a
disability leave and unable to continue working with us.
WEB APPLICATIONS
Laurie started working on modifications to IOP forms for thw www.arm.gov
web pages. These modifications to IOP forms were made so they would
work
in the www.arm.gov transition.
Scripts were developed and used to find matches between lists of potential
new entries into the publications database and the current entries.
AIA and PIFCARDQR
Kathy Doty and Li Hong Ma (Lynn) attended Sybase training classes this month.
SCIENCE APPLICATIONS
Report from Mark Miller:
Data for the SCM cloud analysis for the IOP from June 18 to July 18
has been
ordered (both WSR-88D and Wind Profiler). Work on a wind profiler cloud
algorithm is progressing and preliminary results look encouraging.
Comparisons
between the cloud locations selected by the wind profiler cloud algorithm
and
cloud echoes from the Lamont 449 MHz wind profiler are quite compatible
for the
5-day test period (data from the end of October 1998). The basic
tenet
of the new profiler algorithm is that clouds inherently contain more
turbulence
than their surroundings and are characterized by strong moisture gradients
at
their boundaries. These physical parameters lead to enhanced
Bragg scatter,
which allows clouds to be deciphered from the signal if a characteristic
back-
ground reflectivity can be diagnosed. Precipitation may also
be detected in the
first moment data and is used as a second constraint. The new profiler
algorithm
seems to perform particularly well in cirrus clouds.
Another component of the SCM cloud analysis algorithm is the use of
satellite
and shadowband radiometer data as further constraints. With regard
to the
shadowband radiometer, we have coded a cloud detection scheme designed
by Chuck
Long (PSU) and are currently testing it with local data. Once
we are confident
that it produces reliable cloud fraction estimates, we will analyze
data from
the boundary facility shadowband radiometers during the SCM 97 IOP
and merge
this information into the SCM cloud analysis algorithm.
Report from Peter Minnett:
. NSA AVHRR processing script.
A script to process the AVHRR 1km data downlinked at the University
of Alaska was
completed and delivered to the XDC. It calibrates all five channels
of the AVHRR
data and remaps the images into a stereographic projection centered
at the position
of the NSA site. Solar and satellite zenith angles, and solar-satellite
azimuth
angle at each pixela are also calculated. The output images consist
of 512x512 1km2
pixels. Additional files containing images of the latitude and longitude
of each
pixel in the remapped data were also generated, along with overlay
files of the
Alaskan coastline and a latitude-longitude grid.
A second set of output files are generated covering the area of the
SHEBA ice
station drift. The images are calibrated and remapped to a stereographic
projection
of 800x800 1km sq pixles. Latitude-longitude images and a latitude-longitude
grid
overlay were also generated. A request has been submitted to the SHEBA
project
office for a file of daily positions of the ice camp. This will be
used to generate
a ship-drift overlay file and an ASCII file of positions, available
for
distribution with the AVHRR data.
All output files are in HDF. Draft data release notes have also been
prepared and
delivered to the XDC for approval.
. TWP 4km AVHRR processing script.
A script is being developed to process the 4km AVHRR data over the TWP
area and is
nearing completion. These data are extracted from the Global Area Coverage
data
stream at the University of Miami and were intended as a backup source
for TWP
AVHRR data to fill in gaps in the Port Moresby 1km AVHRR Data. There
have been some
unanticipated setbacks in developing this script, caused by data format
and
processing incompatibilities between the GAC data and the ARM requirements,
but
these have now been solved. The script will generate calibrated AVHRR
images in a
Mercator projection centered on each of the three TWP sites.
. TWP 1km AVHRR data.
The data flow from the PNG HRPT station has been absent for most of
this year. An
inspection of the diagnostic tapes written by the RESET Team during
their visit in
late summer indicated a possible problem in the cables between the
computer and the
antenna. A set of wiring diagrams was FedEx'ed to the PNG NWS in September
with a
request that they check the wires. Several emails were sent to prompt
this, but no
action was taken, and recently a response was recieved indicating that
the diagrams
were not received. FedEX tracking information indicates the package
was delivered
on September 28. A replacement set has been FedEx'ed from Miami.
In the absence of any progress at installing a telephone line to the
PNG NWS to
allow dial-in access to the HRPT receiving station, the cellular telephone
provider
in Port Moresby has been contacted in the hope of providing a cellular
modem link.
SeaSpace recently confirmed that the Modem card in the computer that
runs the HRPT
station can handle analog cellular signals. The cellular provider is
not able to
bill the service directly to the US, and so will have to bill the NWS
locally. The
machanics of how this bill is passed though to ARM needs to be resolved.
. TWP GMS data.
J-J Morcrette at ECMWF recently pointed out that the contents of the
TWP GMS data
files do not correspond exactly with the release notes. This is indeed
the case,
and a revision to the release notes (and a DQR) will be forthcoming.
. SGP satellite data.
There are problems to report about the data quality or flow for both
the GOES-8 and
AVHRR data products. Because of the anticipated high intensity of the
Leonid meteor
shower, GOES-8 was placed in safe mode resulting in the loss of data
over the SGP
site on 981117. The gap is from 1730 to 2130 UTC inclusive.
EXTERNAL DATA
Processed OKM QA data for 9809-9810 and ECMWF data in ascii format for 9808-9809.
Fetched new batch of wsr-88d files and updated page see:
http://www.xdc.arm.gov/data/prod/sgp/wsr88d/
Fetched, packaged and delivered to the Archive data from the University
of
Massachusetts cloud radar for the spring 1998 IOP.
Identified another potential source for replacing the hourly
surface data from NCDC, which has been unavailable since July 1996.
FSL has hourly METAR data in netCDF format for numerous stations
across the US. We are trying to work out a way to have that data
available
for ftp'ing on a daily basis. (NCDC also has another couple of
hourly surface
datasets available but one is only accessible through the Web interface
on a station by station, month by month basis and the other is available
on a
CDROM (for a fee) ending in 1997. Both the NCDC data sets are available
only
in ascii.)
After checking with Jim Mather to see if he would like these data, we
are
looking into obtaining copies of the Pacific Rainfall Database (PACRAIN)
produced by the University of Oklahoma.
See http://radar.metr.ou.edu/pacrain
SATELLITE DATA
We have finished sending the backlog of twgms5full and goes8 raw data
to the
archive.
twpgms5X1.00 data. Three tapes covering 980926-981007 were processed.
New data stream:
nsafullavhrr15ch2X1.a1 nsaavhrr15ch2X1.a1
Began to receive nsaavhrr n15 jpeg files on 11/10. Modified the script
to process n15 jpeg data.
CLASSIFIED SATELLITE DATA
Alice began working with ERDAS Imagine image processing software, which
will be used (among other things) as the software tool to analyse
previously classified satellite images of the CART sites.
She met with Doug Wheeler, Denise Perreca, Rich Hornick (all USGS),
and Bernie Zak on Nov. 19-20 to discuss which imagery derived
product (IDP) to create from satellite data first and the best way
to
go about obtaining the permissions to get and work with the data.
Alice has contacted Florence Fetterer (NRL) to see if ARM can work under
SHEBA's use request for Imagery Derived Products (IDP's). Decision
still pending.
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
Graham Campbell has been working with the BNL Network Group and with
Darren Curtis and Dave Sill to try to understand why we are not getting
the theoretical throughput we should expect on ESNET.
Graham's conclusions can be found at: http://pubweb.bnl.gov/people/gc/report.html
Prepared met & sisg for dev.www.arm.gov and www.arm.gov.
Installed Online DiskSuite to manage the disk-space in the disk tower
systems on met&sisg.
Started work on www dev./prod. set-up/management scripts.
Prepared met for sybase installation.
MAINTENANCE
4mm stacker send back for repair under warrantee.
Updated Manifest generator scripts & conf.
Updated tape utility scripts & conf.
recompiled imtools under Solaris 2.6 on development (needed for GMS
diag image generation)
fixed throttle2archive, twice!
WEB STATISTICS FOR November 1998
www.xdc.arm.gov:
Accesses: 10,203
Distinct hosts served: 420
Data transferred: 138,115 kbytes
40% requests from .gov
14% requests from .com
21% requests from .edu
12% unresolved numerical addresses
7% requests from .net
Directories accessed
54% data_viewers
26% data
11% stats
4% docs
www.db.arm.gov:
Accesses: 12,894
Distinct hosts served: 424
Data Transferred: 48,391 Kbytes
44% requests from .gov
6% requests from .com
21% unresolved numerical addresses
9% requests from .edu
5% requests from .uk
Directories accessed:
26% Publist
40% emp-bin
13% PIFCARDQR
6% MDS
SYSTEM PERFORMANCE AND STATISTICS
More details on the status and statistics for the BNL work is available
from http://www.db.arm.gov/ or
http://www.xdc.arm.gov