From Observations to Forecasts – Part 3. Key principles and recent developments in satellite observations

Abstract

On 1 April 1960, two and a half years after the launch of the first satellite, Sputnik-1, the Television InfraRed Observation Satellite (TIROS-1) became the first meteorological satellite. Since then, meteorology has been at the forefront of Earth observation. In 1963, the World Weather Watch programme was set up by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to establish a satellite observation network of (nominally) five geostationary and two polar orbiting meteorological satellites. The first geostationary meteorological observations started in 1966, followed by the launch of a series of meteorological satellites to observe and monitor our atmosphere (see Brugge and Stuttard, 2003). Key to the success of satellite observations was the ability to acquire routine synoptic-scale observations of the Earth and its atmosphere at relatively fine resolutions. By interpreting the imagery and monitoring any changes, these observations have provided crucial information to aid our understanding and knowledge of meteorological and atmospheric processes. Furthermore, the longevity of such observations now allows such data to be used on climatological timescales. Meteorological satellites provide observations of the Earth from low-Earth orbits or from geostationary orbits: observations taken by satellite sensors in these orbits complement each other to provide global im agery on a routine basis. Figure 1 shows the current operational meteorological satellites of the Global Observing System (GOES).