Developments for MTG and EPS SG

The NWC SAF will provide software packages for MTG-I and EPS SG A satellites from the first day of operations of these satellites: MTG-I day-1 and EPS SG A day-1 respectively.  

MTG-I day-1 will mainly provide continuity of the current NWC SAF MSG products and services. The main improvement of the products generated with MTG-I day-1 software package will come from the higher spatial and temporal resolution of MTG-I with respect to MSG.

Other remarkable improvements in MTG-I day-1 software package are:

  • A new ASII-ICE product delivered as demonstrational product, for aviation purposes. It will provide in-flight icing detection, with two components: high-altitude ice crystals and icing potential based on supercooled water droplets . It is also expected that this product will significantly improved in the future with the use of MTG-S/IRS data.
  • RDT product: Over African continent, there is a lack of possibilities to validate convection products. Thanks to MTG/LI RDT product will be validated with objective scores for the first time over several African areas. RDT attributes computed with LI will help to improve the description of lightning activity inside convective cells (lightning counts, lightning jumps, etc.). For operation the LI data will improve the "Yes or No" convection diagnosis given by a process relying only on multi-channel radiometer instrument. Like for all other regions the new FCI radiometer with new channels, better resolution (scan spatial resolution, bandwidth) will improve several features of convection products: tracking, detection of small-scale phenomena like overshooting tops, etc. Some of the last mentioned improvements could come in the software versions after MTG-I day-1.

 

Other significant improvements expected for the NWC SAF software releases after MTG-I day-1 are:

  • Cloud distinction stratiform/cumuliform clouds.
  • Cloud products provided at visible channels resolution (1 km at nadir).
  • LI products to monitor the lightning activity: The 30 sec original EUMETSAT L2 F_AFA, F_AF and F_AFR products aggregated into rolling accumulations that update each minute (user configurable) will make it easier to track individual thunderstorm cells while preserving the rapid updates afforded by lightning.

 

EPS SG A day-1 software will provide continuation of the current service for Metop.  Full exploitation of the new capabilities of EPS SG A satellites will come in the following software releases. Current products include:

  • High quality Neural Network cloud top height product
  • Cloud mask, cloud type and cloud microphysics

 

A new SW package GEO-S will be developed and released with new products for the IRS sensor in the MTG-S satellites, between them:

  • qIRS product/service: new RGBs
  • 4D representation of the atmosphere (Temperature and humidity) and stability indices without precedent over Europe and Africa.

 

A new SW package PPS-MW will be developed and released with new products from the Microwave sensors MWS, MWI and ICI in EPS SG A and B satellites. The new products include:

  • High quality of the new ice water path product from ICI instrument on B satellite
  • Good precipitation product from MWS instrument on A satellite
 

 

For more information about the activities of the NWC SAF in the era of the new EUMETSAT satellites MTG and EPS SG, see the poster presented in the MTG and EPS SG User Days in Darmstadt in May 2022 link.