METEOSAT PRODUCTS FOR SURVEILLANCE: THE EUSKALMET CASE.

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1 METEOSAT PRODUCTS FOR SURVEILLANCE: THE EUSKALMET CASE. S. Gaztelumendi (1)(2), K. Otxoa de Alda (1)(2), R. Hernandez (1)(2), J. Egaña (1)(2), I. R. Gelpi (1)(2). (1) Basque Meteorology Agency (EUSKALMET). Parque tecnológico de Álava. Avda. Einstein 44. Of. 303, Miñano, Álava, Spain. (2) TECNALIA METEO. Ed EUVE, Parque tecnológico de Álava. Avda. Einstein 28, Miñano, Álava, Spain. Abstract In Euskalmet office we have a lot of information available for Basque country area coming from different systems (Meteosat, Radar, AWS network, Wind Profiler ). With this information we generate several products in real time basis for surveillance purposes. One of the most important applications of Meteosat data in Basque Meteorology Agency (Euskalmet) is weather surveillance and monitoring in severe weather cases, especially in heavy precipitation events. In our case, an effective technique for operational surveillance is the real time monitorization of weather elements for human consideration. For this purpose, the most relevant monitoring tool available in Euskalmet office is the so-called visualization panel (or surveillance panel ). This panel is a Display Wall of 10 meters broad by 3 meters high, conformed to 16 DLP Mitsubishi Display Wall. In this paper we present how MSG information is included in this system and the intranet for different purposes. Information coming from the Meteosat system is presented in different ways and combined with other information available in the Basque Country area, mainly with the automatic weather station network and Kapildui Doppler radar. The system has diverse monitoring capabilities; all information is shown in real time. Several graphical outputs have been specially designed for qualitative use and to improve monitoring of severe weather scenarios. 1. INTRODUCTION The Basque Meteorology Agency (Euskalmet) performs tasks, among others, of meteorological surveillance and forecast within the Basque Country. In the forecast processes, information coming from implemented mesoscale numerical models is the most important data source. Nowcasting and surveillance activities depend on a large extent on different real time data types acquisition systems available in the territory and our capabilities for real time data analysis and monitorization. We have developed different tools to help in the diagnostic and prognostic procedures of severe weather scenarios. In the surveillance process information coming from the Automatic Weather Station (AWS) mesonet and other data sources are essential. Here we focus on some aspects related with the surveillance system, and the use of METEOSAT information. Surveillance is mainly based on the visual analysis of different kind of information presented on the Euskalmet Office Surveillance Video-Wall which is giving, in a real time basis, graphical information for surveillance purposes.

2 2. INFORMATION SOURCES Information coming from different sources is available for operational purposes: Meteosat, Meteorological Radar, AWS network, Lighting Detection Network, buoys and others. 2.1 AWS mesonetwork Currently the Basque Country AWS mesonet is a combined automatic high density measuring network for meteorology, hydrology, oceanmeteorology and water quality. This automatic network provides meteorological measures each 10 minutes in more than 80 different sites in the area, based on different AWS types and sensors configuration (see figure 1). Stations in the network are classified according to major use and configuration, meteorological (#36) blue dots, hydrological (#15) yellow dots, quality (#27) green dots and oceanometeorological (#7) red dots. Raw data are available in Euskalmet office in real time, using different tools we elaborate diverse maps and meteograms. In particular, field maps such as precipitation, wind, temperature, etc are generated, using krigging techniques with punctual data of meteorological stations (see figure 2). Fig 1. Basque Country AWS network Fig 2. Field maps krigging-interpolated, examples of daily and hourly accumulated rainfall, 1-hour and 10-min maximum rainfall, river levels and temperature. 2.3 METEOSAT The Euskalmet EUMETCast system installed in the Basque Government is conformed by a Radio Frequency Frontal Subsystem receives EUMETCast signal via satellite through a satellite dish, a EUMETCast Station that extracts the disseminated information and generates electronic files for later use, and a Workstation Server Subsystem which processes and adjusts the data provided by EUMETCast Station allowing users access directly to the products.

3 At the end, the system consists mainly on a workstation with all I/O ports and interfaces required to carry out the HOTBIRD 6 data reception and to decode tasks, and a server workstation that process and stores the final products. In our case, the EUMETCast Subsystem consists on a DELL Precision 390 computer with an Intel Core Duo 3.2Ghz with 2Gb RAM and 2 Ethernet cards. Outside the system core, users are able to access to graphical products using an Intranet and the image display tool 2met! Vision +, with it is possible to access XF format (native format in 2met! environment). With the final objective of making meteorological surveillance on a 24 hour / 365 day per year and especially in punctual severe weather episodes, operational MSG basic products have been defined. The spatial scales go from global domain (Europe - EU) to regional domain (Basque Country - BC), with an intermediate domain (Iberian Peninsula -IP). These domain configurations permit, sufficiently in advance, look at future situations in low and medium range, focusing with high degree of detail the phenomena at present time. Most used Meteeosat products focus on Basque Country, Iberian Peninsula and Europe are shown in table 2, and figure 3. MSG products DOMAIN CHANNEL BC HRV HRV IR10.8 IR10.8 (colour enhanced) IR IR3.9 EU IR3.9 EU IR10.8 EU IR10.8 (colour enhanced) EU WV6.2 EU RGB (WV6.2-WV7.3, IR9.7 - IR10.8, WV6.2i ) EU RGB (VIS06, VIS08 IR1.9) Table 2. MSG most used products in the surveillance panel. Fig 3. Example of METEOSAT images used in diverse panel configurations. (A) HRV (Iberian Peninsula),(B) HRV (Basque Country), (C) IR10.8, (D) IR10.8 colour-enhanced-iberian-peninsula, (E) IR10.8 colour-enhanced-europe, (F) WV6.2 and (G) RGB09 (WV6.2, WV7.3, IR9.7, IR10.8, WV6.2).

4 2.3 Radar Euskalmet radar is sited in Kapildui mountain near Basque Country capital. Kapildui Radar is a METEOR 1500 Doppler Weather Radar with Dual polarization capabilities from Gematronik. This Radar is based on a Klystron transmitter system, operating in C-band frequency. At present time we are using four different scans to provide precipitation and wind information data every 10 min. First volumetric scan takes 120 seconds and is configured for a maximum range of 300 km with 5 elevations from 0º to 2.5º. Second volumetric scan takes 363 seconds and is configured for a maximum range of 100 km with 14 elevations from 1.5º to 35º. Third and fourth scans are elevation scans. Vendor software is used for data representation (see figure 4). Fig 4. Example of P, CAP and MAX products for surveillance panel. 2.4 Other sources The Basque Country lightning detection network becomes operational in November This regional LDN is performing accurate detections of both cloud-to-ground (CG) and intra-cloud (IC) lightning events thanks to the combination of Vaisala s LF and VHF technologies in the LS8000 series sensors. A Wind Profiler located in Punta Galea (near Bilbao harbour) registers, with a temporary resolution of 30 minutes, vertical profiles of wind and virtual temperature. Other sources of available real time data are used in surveillance activities, such as METAR, SYNOP and BUOY data. 3. SURVEILLANCE PANEL In Euskalmet site, there is a surveillance video wall (see figure 4) that is used for real time monitoring 24 hours a day, 365 days a year composed of 16 DLP Display Wall Cubes (Mitsubishi VS-50XL20U 50" Proyector). We have developed an automatic system that takes all the information available in real time and configures different slides putting all the information together for an easier, effective and rapid analysis, viewing synchronized images from different remote sensing systems (Meteosat, Kapildui Radar, lightning detector, etc.), and other datasets ( AWS network, oceanographic structures, buoys, etc.) which manages Euskalmet. Fig 5. The Display Wall in Euskalmet Office. A selection of available information is grouped in thematic visualization slides; each slide is a special combination of different graphical products giving information about one particular surveillance

5 subject. The general surveillance control module is in charge of load and visualizes graphical products, for a concrete slide configuration chosen by user. Also, this module has specific functions such as pause, play frame by frame, etc.. In an automatic way, the active slide configuration incorporates all the updated information available at that moment. All the information is visualized as soon as available, without any intervention (see figure 6). Fig 6. General Control Module Scheme and Control Application Scheme. Currently we have defined 13 different configurations in order to be able to carry out surveillance and real-time monitoring of different weather situations: flash floods situations, Storms surveillance, Coastal Trapped Disturbance situations, AWS warning detection, and monothematic slides for METEOSAT and Radar. It is noteworthy that in all of these different configurations, images of various Meteosat products have great relevance (see fig 7). Fig 7. Example of panel configuration slide for general survey. 4. INTRANET From the Intranet it is possible to consult a selection of Meteosat real time images as well as archived images. The Intranet can be checked using any computer of the Euskalmet computer network. The site is structured by grouping the different products according to their spatial resolution: Basque Country, Iberian Peninsula and Europe. Once a product is selected, there are three different ways of navigation. Selecting date, hour, minute and clicking go, the image appears directly. Clicking on forward/reverse arrows, previous or next images may be selected. Finally, the last available image can be chosen pressing the arranged button for that purpose. When we are viewing an image, clicking on it, the image appears in full screen size (see figure 8).

6 Fig 8. EUSKALMET Meteosat intranet. 5. CONCLUSIONS We have developed a display system to check real time warning scenarios in a compact way. Display strategies allow a clear perception of locations affected by severe weather phenomena. Meteosat real-time information is an essential tool for real-time weather monitorization due to its stability and reliability. METEOSAT data play a very important role in surveillance activities. With the objective of improving monitorization, more products must be defined, including combinations of Meteosat data with other data sources like: Radar, Lightning Detection System and AWS network. In near future we plan to include more slides, combining more graphical information related with all the severe weather scenarios and to implement a fully automatic surveillance panel configuration. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to thank the Basque Government and specially the Meteorology and Climatology Directorate staff for the public provision of data from the Basque Country Automatic Weather Station Network and for Kapildui Radar maintenance and data availability. We also would like to thank Interior department of the Basque Government for operational service financial support, and all our Euskalmet colleagues for their daily effort in promoting valuable services for the Basque community. REFERENCES Gaztelumendi S., Hernández R., Otxoa de Alda K. (2003). Some aspects on the operative use of the automatic stations network of the Basque Country. 3rd ICEAWS, Torremolinos, Spain. Gaztelumendi S., Otxoa de Alda K., Egaña J., Gelpi I. R. Inclusion of Radar information in the surveillance panel of the Basque Meteorology Agency. Proceedings of the 4th ERAD. Barcelona (Spain), September 2006, pp. Gaztelumendi S., Otxoa de Alda K., Egaña J., Gelpi I. R. Visual Products for Surveillance in the Basque Meteorology Agency. 6th EMS & 6th ECAM. Ljubljana (Slovenia), 4-8 September Glantz, Michel H., Usable Science 8: Early Warning Systems: Do s and Don t s - Report of the workshop held in Shanghai, China; October 16, Gobierno Vasco (2009), Plan de predicción y vigilancia de fenómenos meteorológicos adversos. Hernández R., Gaztelumendi S., Otxoa de Alda K., Gelpi I. R., Egaña J. Combining Meteosat data and weather radar products to improve the meteorological surveillance and nowcasting. EUMETSAT 2010.