20031030: MCIDAS and SSEC satellite archives

>From: "Servranckx,Rene [CMC]" <address@hidden>
>Organization: Environment Canada
>Keywords: 200310301548.h9UFmROb027580 McIDAS

Rene,

>I am a meteorologist at the Canadian Meteorological Centre of the
>Meteoroligal Service of Canada (Environment Canada). Our Centre makes
>available its GEM regional model data to Unidata
>(<http://my.unidata.ucar.edu/content/publications/newsletters/nl2002fall/GEM
>data.htm>). 

Pleased to meet you.  I am the McIDAS support contact in Unidata.

>I am interested in obtaining information about the Unidata MCIDAS system and
>in the SSEC satellite archives.  I wonder if you could help answer the
>following or point me to the appropriate person:
>
>- Does anyone at the Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment Canada
>currently use the Unidata McIDAS system?

Not that I am aware of.

>- Does the fact that we provide our GEM model data to Unidata give us access
>to the Unidata McIdas system

Our licensing agreement with SSEC permits us to distribute our version
of McIDAS (a superset of SSEC McIDAS) to education and research
institutions worldwide.  This is typically interpreted as universities
and colleges.  We are permitted, however, to sponsor sites of our
choosing.  Environment Canada would fall under that provision.

>and online /archvie data at SSEC?

Access to the full GOES archive housed in the SSEC Data Center is free
only for US universities.  See below for more information.

>If not, how can we become a member of Unidata?

You become a Unidata participant by registering through our web
portal:

http://my.unidata.ucar.edu

>Is there an annual fee for this?  

There are no fees for participating in Unidata.

>- Are the SSEC satellite archive independent of the Unidata membership or
>are they somehow linked? 

There are two satellite archives at SSEC:

- an archive of the images sent out in the Unidata-funded Unidata-Wisconsin
  IDD datastream (UNIWISC).  This archive contains hourly images for
  three imager channels (VIS, WV, IR) for both GOES-East and GOES-West
  dating back to 1991 (with some gaps).  There are also some 3-hourly
  composite images like the ANTARCTIC IR and, more recently, the global
  Mollweide IR and WV composites.  Examples of the coverage and
  resolution of these sectors can be seen in:

GOES-East
http://my.unidata.ucar.edu/content/data/datastream.html#goes_east
  
GOES-West
http://my.unidata.ucar.edu/content/data/datastream.html#goes_west

- a full archive of GOES imagery.  This archive is open to free access
  by US university sites (network domains that end in .edu).  All other
  sites must pay for imagery from this comprehensive archive.

>Thank you in advance for any information you might be able to
provide.

I hope that this information was useful.  If you need more information,
please let me know.

>Kind regards,
>Rene
>
>Rene Servranckx
>Canadian Meteorological Centre
>Meteorological Service of Canada
>Environment Canada
>phone: 514-421-4704
>email: address@hidden

Cheers,

Tom Yoksas