Argos Data Collectionand Location System (DCS)

Satellite Direct Readout Conference

April 4-8, 2011

Miami, FL

Scott Rogerson

Argos DCS Program Manager

NOAA/NESDIS/OSPO/SPSD/DSB

Outline

• System Overview

• Applications• Major Platform Types

• Global Environmental Data

• Key Global Successes (over last 20 years)

• Future Plans• Space Segment

• Ground Segment

• Argos-4 Instrument

System Overview

•Global data collection & platform location system aboard polar-orbiting satellites

• In-situ data collection platforms w/sensors & transmitters

• Argos instruments on NOAA & EUMETSAT satellites

• Global telemetry ground stations (Alaska / Virginia / Norway)

• Local HRPT network (~60 stations around the globe)

• Data processing & distribution centers (Maryland / France)

•Administered under joint agreements among CNES, EUMETSAT and NOAA

•Major applications (~90%): Wildlife Tracking, Oceanography & Meteorology, and Fishery Management

•20,000 active platforms, 1,700 users, 107 countries

Argos Data Collectionand Location System

Platforms transmit data up to passing satellite…and satellite transmits data down to ground stations.Data is processed & distributed to customers/users…including GTS for met-ocean data.

(Platforms w/o GPS are located using Doppler shift calculations.)

Growth in Argos Use(1996-2011)

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000

20000

22000

Jan-96 Jan-97 Jan-98 Jan-99 Jan-00 Jan-01 Jan-02 Jan-03 Jan-04 Jan-05 Jan-06 Jan-07 Jan-08 Jan-09 Jan-10 Jan-11

Month

Nu

mb

er o

f ac

tive

pla

tfo

rms

Total ARGOS

Science

Fishing

Humanitarian/Adventure Use

Global Distributionof Argos Platforms

7

Current Argos DCS Satellite Network

1200 local sun time

0600Local time

1800Local time

N18N19

MetOp A

N17

N15

N16

Local HRPT Network

This “real-time” network decreases data delivery time from >3 hrs for stored data to 15-20 minutes when both a platform and an HRPT Station are in view of a passing satellite.

Applications

• Major Platform Types

• Global Environmental Data

• Key Global Successes (over last 20 years)

Major Platform Types(Number of Active Platforms)

Global Environmental Data

• Oceanic & Atmospheric Observations are used for:• Weather Analyses & Forecasts

• Tropical Cyclone Forecasting

• Climate Studies & Predictions

• Argos Data Global Telecommunication System (GTS)• ~1,600 WMO Platforms

• ~50,000 Text Bulletins (daily)

• GTS Global Atmospheric & Oceanic Models• GTS data are exchanged according to WMO Resolution 40.

• Annex 1 to the resolution defined “essential” data and products to be exchanged without charge and with no conditions on use. All available in situ observations from the marine environment as well as upper air observations are regarded as “essential” by the resolution.

http://nomads.ncdc.noaa.gov/data.php

NOAA Numerical WeatherPrediction Models

NOAA Climate Models

http://nomads.ncdc.noaa.gov/data.php

Key Global Successes(over last 20 yrs)

• Ability to monitor ENSO & predict the onset of El Nino events in the tropical Pacific.

• Increased accuracy & capabilities of both weather forecasting & climate monitoring/predicting.

• Improved hurricane predictions due to increased understanding of air-sea mixing.

• Better understanding of the ocean in 4-dimensions with use of global profiling floats.

• 3D hindcast-nowcast-forecast of global ocean.

Key Global Successes(over last 20 yrs)

• Marine environmental safety services; e.g., “Eddy Watch” in Gulf of Mexico.

• Rewriting textbooks on migration habits & patterns of wide range of wildlife.

• Fishery management plans on a global basis.

• Anti-piracy alerting for hijacked ships at sea.Photo by Naoto Honda,

Japan’s Fisheries Agency

Future Plans

Space Segment:

2011: SARAL launch in 0530 orbit

2012: MetOp-B launch in 0930 orbit (followed by MetOp-C in ~2016)

2016-2022: JPSS launches (spacecraft/orbits TBD)

Ground Segment:

2011-2012: – Antarctica Telemetry Station– Optimize HRPT Network for all satellites

Advanced Argos-4 Instrument (for JPSS+):– Expanded bandwidth– Increased receiver sensitivity and data throughput– Two-way communications, using spread-spectrum for downlink

Thank You

For more information

http://noaasis.noaa.gov/ARGOS

http://www.argos-system.org

Other Environmental Applications: USCG SLDMBs

(2010)

The U.S. Coast Guard uses Argos for their Self-Locating Data Marker Buoys, which are deployed to collect drift data for Search & Rescue cases. In 2010, 350 SLDMBs were deployed in the Atlantic, Caribbean, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific.

Most recent System Use Agreement approved by NOAA…

Meteorologists and Oceanographers…Do you remember studying Rossby Waves?

Dr. Thomas Rossby is a world-renowned physical oceanographer and co-creator of the SOFAR float. Dr. Rossby’s latest project will use RAFOS floats to determine the mean & time-dependent circulation of the Lofoten Basin Mode Water layer, estimate vortex properties, and diagnose the routes by which the cooled products are subsequently exported. The work is part of an NSF-funded collaborative project with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution & NorthWest Research Associates, Inc. This is a new Argos DCS agreement under the “Oceanography” application. Argos was selected because of the need for polar coverage, location accuracy, service continuity & reliability, platform compatibility, and system access.

Rossby waves are named after Carl-Gustav Rossby (1989-1957). His son Thomas is a professor at the Graduate School of Oceanography at URI.