The low-orbiting satellites will be the first to provide atmospheric data daily in real time over thousands of points on Earth for both research and operational weather forecasting by measuring the bending of radio signals from the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) as the signals pass through Earth's atmosphere.
Called COSMIC (Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate) in the United States and FORMOSAT-3 in Taiwan, the $100 million satellite network is the product of an agreement between the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States. The array is based on a system design provided by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR).
Temperature and water vapor profiles derived from the GPS data will help meteorologists observe, research, and forecast hurricanes, typhoons, and other storm patterns over the oceans and improve many areas of weather prediction. The stability, consistency, and accuracy of the measurements should be a boon to scientists quantifying long-term climate change trends.
COSMIC's measurements of electron density in the ionosphere are expected to improve analysis and forecasting of space weather, including geomagnetic storms that can interrupt sensitive satellite and communications systems and affect power grids on the ground.
COSMIC relies on a technology known as radio occultation. Just as the water molecules in a glass change the path of visible light waves so that a pencil appears bent, molecules in the air bend GPS radio signals as they pass through (are occulted by) the atmosphere. By measuring the amount of this bending, scientists can determine underlying atmospheric conditions, such as air density, temperature, and moisture, and electron density.
"This is the first time the technique of radio occultation has been used on a large scale in real time to provide nearly continuous measurements of worldwide atmospheric conditions at all altitudes," says William Kuo, director of the UCAR COSMIC office.
While several single-satellite systems have used GPS signals experimentally over the past decade, COSMIC's unique six-satellite array is the first to provide the high-density global coverage required for both research and operational forecasting. Its radio occultation technique leverages significant investments by the United States, Europe, and Russia in the Global Navigation Satellite Systems.
"Centers around the world will have access to this new information for both research and operational forecasting," says UCAR president Richard Anthes. "User-friendly versions of the data will enable those with less sophisticated systems to benefit as well," he adds.
Orbiting at an altitude of 500 miles (800 kilometers), COSMIC satellites will take approximately 2,500 measurements every 24 hours in a nearly uniform distribution around the globe. The system will provide novel and independent data over vast stretches of the oceans where there are no weather balloon observations. The data's high vertical resolution will complement the high horizontal resolution of other weather satellite measurements.
"COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 scientists and engineers have built a system that cleverly measures the atmospheric bending of radio signals from the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and then converts these measurements into a remarkably precise worldwide set of weather, climate, and space weather data," says NSF program manager Jay Fein. "This new information will have a tremendous impact on geosciences research and operational weather prediction and will be an important contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, a program led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration."
Because radio signals pierce thick cloud cover and precipitation, weather conditions will not interfere with data gathering, as is often the case with remote sensing platforms. The satellites will not need to be recalibrated and the instruments' accuracy and sensitivity will not drift during the five-year mission--common problems with Earth-observing satellites over their lifetime. The data will be available to researchers and forecasters within a few hours of the observations, making them a potential boon to everyday forecast operations.
"The COSMIC mission would not have been possible without the broad support of U.S. sponsors and the partnership with Taiwan," says Fein.
You can check
http://www.cosmic.ucar.edu/launch/ for launch status.
Source: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Related stories:
Quantum Chaos Unveiled?
(PhysOrg.com) -- A University of Utah study is shedding light on an important, unsolved physics problem: the relationship between chaos theory - which is based on 300-year-old Newtonian physics - and the modern theory of quantum mechanics.
NSF awards grant to track 'space weather' in Earth's near-space environment
Global and real-time "space weather" observations of near-Earth space--and the solar storms that can knock out electric power grids--is about to happen for the first time, thanks to funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
NIST assists in solar stake-out to improve space weather forecasts
The sun is about to undergo unremitting scrutiny. About six times each minute of every hour for at least five years, a soon-to-be launched NASA satellite will measure the sun's quirky—and sometimes stormy—output of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light. To ensure that this solar stake-out yields data useful for understanding the weather in space and its earthly consequences, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology are helping a NASA team prepare for annual rocket-borne check-ups of key instruments aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO).
Phoenix probe lands on Mars (Update 4)
NASA's Phoenix spacecraft landed in the northern polar region of Mars Sunday to begin three months of examining a site chosen for its likelihood of having frozen water within reach of the lander's robotic arm.
Joint NASA-French satellite to track trends in sea level, climate
A satellite that will help scientists better monitor and understand rises in global sea level, study the world's ocean circulation and its links to Earth's climate, and improve weather and climate forecasts is undergoing final preparations for a June 15 launch from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Weather, waves and wireless: Super strength signalling
A new study from the University of Leicester has discovered a particular window of time when mobile signals and radio waves are ‘super strength’ – allowing them to be clearer and travel greater distances, potentially interfering with other systems.
LIDAR imaging detector could build 'super road maps' of planets and moons
Technology that could someday “MapQuest” Mars and other bodies in the solar system is under development at Rochester Institute of Technology’s Rochester Imaging Detector Laboratory (RIDL), in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory.
NASA'S Mission to Improve Predictions of Violent Space Weather
About 93 million miles from us lies an immense nuclear furnace spanning 100 Earths. In just one second, it produces enough power to supply the entire United States for nine million years. It is the closest star, our sun. Although its light powers almost all life on Earth, the sun has a dark side. Storms from the sun can knock our finely tuned technological civilization off balance, disrupting satellites, power grids, and radio communication, including the Global Positioning System. Radiation from solar storms can cause cancer in astronauts on unshielded areas, like the moon's surface.
