6 mars 2013 par Yann KERR
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Recent results from LOCEAN team
Variability in the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans between 2010 and 2011 is very large linked to the ending 2009-2010 El Nino, 2010 strong La Niña and 2011 weak La Niña events, and to negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) in 2010 (see Figure below).
figure1 Time series of SST anomalies in the four Niño regions from http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/data/indices/sstoi.indices in 2010-2011 and corresponding Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) Index (SST difference between eastern and western equatorial Indian Ocean) from the Australian bureau of Meteorology.
Large scale SSS variability is very consistently observed on SMOS SSS maps (1) compared with ISAS SSS maps (2) derived from in situ (ARGO floats and ship data) measurements, as seen on the film. SMOS anomalies are often more contrasted than ISAS anomalies due to fresher SMOS SSS in fresh regions associated with rain (Boutin et al., 2013). Signal is much noisier from January to May due to worse SMOS SSS quality during commissioning phase in January-May 2010, but nevertheless spatial structures of anomalies remain very consistent with ISAS maps.
(1) SMOS SSS maps are generated using ESA reprocessing version 5 as described in J. Boutin, N. Martin, G. Reverdin, X. Yin and F. Gaillard, Sea surface freshening inferred from
SMOS and ARGO salinity: Impact of rain, Ocean Sci., 9, 183-192, doi:10.5194/os-9-183-2013, 2013.
22 février 2013 par Ahmad AL BITAR
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We added the SMOS CATDS product performance monitoring using zoomable plots (here) and static but more complete plots (here)
The performance monitor shows the percentage and number of retrievals of the Soil Moisture multi-orbit retrieval algorithm used at CATDS (Centre Aval de Traitement des Données SMOS) the CNES L3 and L4 processing center for SMOS.
The information is updated daily.
The results can be compared to the level 2 Soil moisture processor, but this should be done with care: the gridding system is not the same (ISEA 15km for L2 DPGS and EASE 25km for L3 CATDS), the L3 CATDS is a daily product, so multiple revisites at high latitudes are filtered (a daily brightnees temperature product is used), finally the CATDS uses a multi-orbit retrieval algorithm. Nevertheless the selected options give higher successful retrievals rate for CATDS so the selected options are optimal in respect to the processing efforts.
Example plots:
Retrievals over total fractions:
Retrievals over soil cover:
18 février 2013 par Lucie BERTHON
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In January 2013, ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald passed trough parts of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia, causing widespread turmoil including storms, at least six tornadoes over south-eastern Queensland, and severe flooding in many areas within 200km of the coast. Coastal regions of Queensland were the most impacted with Mundubbera, Eidsvold, Gayndah and Bundaberg in the Wide Bay-Burnett hit severely.
For more information about this event: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Eastern_Australia_floods
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology recorded the amount of precipitations (as shown in the following figure), which is the cumulative precipitation between the 23rd and the 29th of January.
At the CATDS, the 10-day product covering the end of January shows a large difference in soil moisture during this period. In the figure below, the left plot shows the minimum value of soil moisture recorded between the 21st and the 31st of January, and the right plot shows the maximum value of soil moisture over the same period.
The Weather Bureau said that the flooding could have been worse if the region wasn’t so dry before the rain started. The CATDS saw both conditions: a dry spell in the middle of January, and a significant increase in soil moisture after the cyclone.
12 février 2013 par Ahmad AL BITAR
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Now you can use interactive plots to zoom and pan to a subset of the retrieval performances plots. These are also updated daily here
Use mouse wheel or double click to zoom
