Meteorological Satellites (continued)

Bureau staff members placed a latitude-longitude grid on some of the pictures, with instructions supplied by Harry Wexler. After studying these pictures George Rutherford and I wrote separate papers on the interpretation of some of the photographs, our papers being published in issues No 32 and 34 of the AMM in 1961.

Because of the delay in receiving copies of the photographs by airmail it was not possible to use them for real-time analysis and forecasting but after the original Tiros I was replaced by subsequent US meteorological satellites in the Tiros and Nimbus series, coded 'nephanalysis' statements were regularly transmitted from the US to assist our synoptic analysis and forecasting. Tiros VIII, launched in December 1963, contained an automatic picture transmission system and by February 1964 we had acquired and installed a readout station making it possible to use current satellite pictures in synoptic analysis and forecasting.

Satellite technology has now developed to such an extent that the Bureau uses geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites not only to receive and analyse cloud pictures but to obtain sea and air temperatures, upper winds and other meteorological data, and to determine the position of drifting meteorological buoys and obtain observational data therefrom.

Griersmith and Wilson (1997) provide an up-to-date summary of the many satellite applications which provide a many-faceted series of meteorological observations by remote sensing which began modestly with Tiros I so many years ago. There is no doubt that the advent of the meteorological satellite was essential for the success of global NWP systems.

Bureau of Meteorology