[Datastream #LMZ-150690]: Global watervapor & infrared

Hi Dzengiz,

re:
> I have been using IDV for quite some time now & i relied heavily on the
> global watervapor & infrared imagery. Since the update i had to point
> the datasources in my IDV bundles to the appropriate links which have
> changed. The bundles work fine now. I was wondering however...

The old, existing dataset definition (GLOBAL/(IR|WV)COMP) did not change,
but the resolution and band number did.  Also, the new images have had
GOES calibrations applied to them, so one can now load the images as
temperature instead of brightness.  NB: the calibration applied should be
completely applicable to portions of the composites that come from
GOES-East/West, but for the rest of the image, one must consider that
the calibrations are approximations only.

re:
> Is the old data still available somewhere through another means besides
> the IDV?

motherlode.ucar.edu has about a 30 day rolling archive of all images
it serves (as adde.ucar.edu).  As time goes on, the older images will
get scoured.

re:
> If so: I would have liked to ask how it can be accessed since
> there is a mayor setback in resolution from 4-5 to 20 km.

The change in resolution was made to satisfy the folks that are creating
the composites.  The creation of the full resolution composites is
funded by a couple of external organizations, and the creators of
the product asked us to not distribute these products as it might
result in the loss of funding for their creation.

If your desire is to copy off the full resolution images before they
get scoured, you can do so by going to:

http://motherlode.ucar.edu
  -> Decoded data archives -> gempak -> areas -> GLOBAL -> 4km -> (IR|WV)

The pre-March 22 daily directories you will find still have the full
resolution composites.  If you decide to download these, please do
so spaced over time.  Any bulk data transfers that cause problems
load problems on the servers we maintain are blocked to minimize impact
on other users.

re:
> Since I live in Europe (Belgium to be precise) I only have a temporal
> resolution of 3 hours available. Is there a way I can increase the
> temporal resolution to 1 hour or so?

No.  The principle reason for this is the EUMETSAT data policy explicitly
precludes the redistribution of real-time METEOSAT data; their definition
for real-time is any image that is less than 24 hours old.  Re-distribution of
METEOSAT at synoptic times is, however, allowed.

re:
> It would help me greatly in my
> studies at UCAR ("Meted" & "COAMPS"), "NOAA training branch" & "Visit".

We would love to be able to make the full resolution composites available
with as high an update frequency as possible, but we are prevented from
doing this.  Also, you should understand that both GOES-East and GOES-West
only do full disk scans every three hours.

re:
> I
> have contacted EumetSAT for a way to access their ADDE server using a
> project ID & username, but they told me to contact UCAR for this.

EUMETSAT told you to contact us?  Really??  Can you give us more details
about the interaction you had with EUMETSAT?  It would be helpful for
us to know:

- who exactly you spoke to at EUMETSAT (contacted by phone or email)

- exactly what was said to you and when (including the full email
  that you received in reply would be most helpful/interesting)

My surprise is based on the lack of a formal response from EUMETSAT
on our request to be able to make METEOSAT MSG and METOP data available
to the Unidata education community in "real-time" (or as close to
real time as possible).

re:
> Is there a server which can be accessed freely?

The only server that has real-time METEOSAT imagery that I know of is
the demonstration/test server that is operated by EUMETSAT.  Access to
this server is very tightly controlled.

re:
> Or is there anybody who
> can provide me a projectID & password for students following distance
> learning courses through any of the mentioned instances?

This can only be granted by EUMETSAT, and, if they follow what they have
done in the past, the access would be for training purposes only.

re:
> If so... how can i contact them?

How did you contact EUMETSAT previously?

re:
> I am looking forward to your reply.

We are _very_ curious about your contention that EUMETSAT advised you
to contact us.  We need to learn as much about this as we can to best
evaluate the current situation.

Cheers,

Tom
--
****************************************************************************
Unidata User Support                                    UCAR Unidata Program
(303) 497-8642                                                 P.O. Box 3000
address@hidden                                   Boulder, CO 80307
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unidata HomePage                       http://www.unidata.ucar.edu
****************************************************************************


Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: LMZ-150690
Department: Support Datastream
Priority: Normal
Status: Closed