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.