[McIDAS #HCT-951994]: McIDAS/MSG-2 SEVIRI

Hi Richard,

re:
> I am part of a GIS and remote sensing team working for QEERI, a research
> institute based in Qatar. One of our current projects is to map solar
> energy potential and as part of that project we plan to use Meteosat
> MSG-2 SEVIRI data.

This sounds very interesting indeed!

re:
> We are interested in using the McIDAS software to
> help us manage the SEVIRI images but we have a few questions which we
> would be grateful if you could answer.

When you say McIDAS, are you referring to McIDAS-X (legacy Fortran and
C-based package long used worldwide by satellite meteorologists), or are
you referring to McIDAS-V (the Java-based next generation McIDAS that
is based on Unidata's Integrated Data Viewer (IDV) package)?

re:
> 1. What is the spatial resolution of MSG-2 SEVIRI data over Qatar?

Which wavelength channels are you asking about?  MSG IR bands have
nominal 3 km resolution while the high resolution VIS channel has
nominal 1 km resolution.

re:
> 2. Does the McIDAS software process SEVIRI data in any way to improve
> or alter this spatial resolution?

Spatial resolution can not be improved from its original form.  McIDAS
typically deals with the data without modifying the resolution, but one
can produce "blowndown" images that have lesser resolution.

re:
> 3. Does McIDAS provide access to SEVIRI data or just help to manage
> the data after it is obtained?

One must get the SEVIRI data first.  This is typically done via a direct
ingest capability (see the EUMETSAT website for details on what is
needed and costs for the decryptor key and ingest code) or via access
to archives at EUMETSAT.  EUMETSAT does operate a McIDAS ADDE server
that provides access to real-time MSG data (currently METEOSAT 10), but
that server is not publicly accessible.

re:
> 4. How does the SEVIRI data acquired through McIDAS (is this correct
> - see q3.?) differ from the archive of MSG-2 SEVIRI provided directly
> by Eumetsat?

Again, McIDAS does not "acquire" the SEVIRI data (unless EUMETSAT provides
access to their non-operational ADDE server).  If one is lucky enough
to be granted access to the EUMETSAT ADDE server, then s/he would typically
create local holdings of the sectors desired using the McIDAS-X (if we
are talking about McIDAS-X; see my question about which version of McIDAS
you are inquiring about above) IMGCOPY command.  The format of the data
saved locally would either be in McIDAS AREA (an internationally accepted
standard image storage format) or netCDF (which can not be re-imported
into McIDAS-X).

re:
> 5. Generally, what functionality does the McIDAS software provide with
> respect to SEVIRI data?

The same set of functions that is available for all satellite data.  Please
review the McIDAS documentation on our or UW/SSEC's website for details.

re:
> Thank you very much

No worries.

Cheers,

Tom
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Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: HCT-951994
Department: Support McIDAS
Priority: Normal
Status: Closed