The Eumetsat Geostationary and Polar Satellite Systems and Products

Satellite data are the main source of information in Numerical Weather Prediction (Szyndel (2003)), with 99% of the available data for global numerical weather prediction (NWP) being satellite based. It should also be noted that satellites are one of the few observing systems that can provide data at sufficiently high temporal and spatial frequency for regional and mesoscale models. The derivation of quantitative meteorological parameters from the Meteosat satellites started already with Meteosat-1 in 1979. Major improvements in the algorithms during the 1980’s established the derived products as a major source of information for global NWP, with initially Atmospheric Motion Vectors (AMV) and later also Clear Sky Radiances being the key products for the assimilation. Lately, AMVs are also used both in regional and mesoscale NWP models (e.g. Bonavita and Torrisi (2004)), proving the importance of this data. The Meteosat First Generation satellites were the first to provide observations in the water vapour band from geostationary orbit with a 5 km resolution every 30 minutes. The water vapour data combined with the infrared window measurements have proven to be a powerful combination enabling the derivation of high quality cloud height measurements and other products. However, the addition of new channels on the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) imager SEVIRI (Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager) will further improve the capabilities to determine cloud heights. Additionally, information on cloud properties, aerosol and total ozone amongst other potential applications can be provided with the new instrument. The first MSG satellite MSG-1 was successfully launched in August 2002. The commissioning ended in December 2003 and the satellite entered operations as Meteosat-8 in January 2004. The new imager is performing well (for details see e.g. Hanson et al. (2004), Müller et al. (2004)) and with improved image and product quality. The following sections will give an overview and status of the EUMETSAT Meteorological Product Extraction Facility (MPEF) and the derived products. The last sections will shortly introduce the current status of the EUMETSAT system of polar orbiting satellites and EUMETSAT's contribution to the JASON-2 programme.