# Presentation: 577305

## Compositing of MODIS Products

- June 12, 2007

## Introduction

- Coastal NWS offices wanted high resolution SST product to address forecast problems
- Weather associated with land/sea breezes
- Off shore weather such as clouds, precipitation, temperatures etc.
- Single pass of MODIS provides limited coverage
- Simple composite generated from multiple passes of MODIS data provides spatially continuous cloud free coverage
- Main assumption is that SST does not change significantly from one day to the next
- High resolution (1 km), full coverage on a regional scale
- Small scale features in SST gradients retained
- Alternative to the Real-Time Global (RTG) SST analysis and/or the OSTIA analysis for model assimilation
- Can also composite additional MODIS ocean color products such as chlorophyll

## Methodology

- Use the 1km SST MODIS product to produce a detailed and spatially continuous SST field while minimizing cloud contamination and latency effects
- Obtain SST in real-time from University of South  Florida (USF)
- Generate a SPoRT MODIS cloud mask for the same pass
- Retain 5 clear (as determined by the cloud mask) SST values for each pixel separately for day and night
- Average some of clear values to obtain a more consistent field
- Evaluating the use of AMSR-E SST to reduce latency

## SST Comparisons

- MODIS SST composites generated 4 times daily at 1 km resolution
- RTG-SST once daily 0.5 degree or 1/12 degree resolution
- OSTIA once daily 5 km resolution
- Loops available online at _[http://weather.msfc.nasa.gov/sport/sstAnimation/](http://weather.msfc.nasa.gov/sport/sstAnimation/)_

- Terra 04 UTC

- Aqua 19 UTC

- Terra 16 UTC

- Aqua 07 UTC

- RTG SST
- 0.5 degree

- OSTIA SST
- 5 km

## Work Performed Since Last SAC

**Work Performed Since Last SAC**

- Operational domain expanded to include Central America and composites being provided to the SERVIR group
- SST composites provided in near real time in GRIB (gridded binary) format for ease of use by modelers and additional users, used in several WRF modeling studies
- Composites also provided to Mobile and Miami NWS offices within AWIPS
- Journal article describing the method and validation for the May 2004 case, written and accepted for publication in the IEEE journal “Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing”
- SST composites provided to WorldWinds Inc.
- Ocean color products obtained from USF and compositing work begun

## NASA Products Support Marine Weather

**WxWorx, Inc. products available to marine customers**

***MODIS SST data reaches over 8000 users in the marine community!***

**NASA Products Support Marine Weather**

- SPoRT provides WorldWinds Inc. MODIS SST composites for their analysis system
- WorldWinds packages SST with other marine products for distribution by WxWorx Inc. (an affiliate of Baron Services)
- In conjunction with XM Satellite Radio Inc., WxWorx provides up to date weather information for boat owners
- PC based display software
- hand-held applications

## Ocean Color Composites

- Obtaining in real time from University of South Florida the following products
- Chlorophyll
- Total suspended matter
- Fluorescence line height
- Started work on compositing these products
- Of the two most recent values for each pixel, use the largest value in the composite
- Composites and single passes put on web _[http://weather.msfc.nasa.gov/sport/oceancolor/](http://weather.msfc.nasa.gov/sport/oceancolor/)_

- Single Pass of Aqua CHL

- Aqua CHL Composite

## Future Work

- Continue to improve MODIS SST composites by
- Improving latency by including AMSR-E SST in cloudy, non-coastal regions
- Improve the SPoRT MODIS cloud mask for ocean applications
- Improve the ocean color composites
- Learn about the products from USF experts
- Adjust the compositing techniques
- Looking at generating West Coast composites (requested by WorldWinds).  Requires near real time source of MODIS data – both SST and cloud mask
- Provide ocean color composites to NWS offices, WorldWinds Inc.
- Support field programs (ex. TCSP (summer 06), TC4 (summer 07)).
- Proposals
- WRF linked with coastal ocean model into the North Carolina Forecast System - NASA provide SST data and other remote sensing expertise.  ROSES 2007 – Disaster Management. PI: Adel Hanna (UNC-Chapel Hill), Jedlovec and Haines Co-PIs
- Daily Chlorophyll Products for Ecosystem and Fishery Applications, Co-PIs: Elizabeth Valenti (WorldWinds, Inc.) and Gary Jedlovec (NASA/MSFC) – RPC Council, May 2007.