Use of EUMETCast/GEONETCast at
Regional Branch Offices in Ethiopia
Kassa Fekadu
National Meteorological Agency of Ethiopia
NMA 25 March 2015
• Introduction and GEONETCast Toolbox
• EUMETCast Data Reception Systems in Ethiopia:• Some previous experiences
• Regional Meteorological Branch offices• Dedicated “Water and Food Security – Ethiopia
Toolbox” developed:• Design of toolbox
• Functionality examples
• Effective use of GEONETCast in Branch Offices:• Installation
• Insight training
• Conclusions
Overview of Presentation
Introduction• GEONETCast is a near real time, global network of
satellite based data dissemination systems in situ
data, metadata and products to diverse
communities
• Using GEONETCast large amounts of environmental
related information is currently operationally
disseminated over Africa and can be received
without internet connection;
• Complementary data contained in these data
streams is relevant for application domains related
to weather, atmosphere, oceans, land, vegetation,
water and environment;
• A ground receiving station can be established using
low cost and off-the-shelf equipment;
GEONETCast Toolbox: an ILWIS Open Plug-in
Ilwis Key-features:• Integrated raster and vector design
• Import and export of widely used data formats
• On-screen and tablet digitizing
• Comprehensive set of image processing tools
• Orthophoto, image geo referencing, transformation and mosaicing
• Advanced modeling and spatial data analysis
• 3D visualization with interactive editing for optimal view findings
• Rich projection and coordinate system library
• Geo-statistical analyses, with Krigingfor improved interpolation
• Production and visualization of stereo image pairs
• Spatial Multiple Criteria Evaluation
ILWIS is now open source RS/GIS Package; download at www.52North.org
• GEONETCast toolbox developed as ILWIS 3.7.2 Open Plug-in (@ ITC), incorporates the following routines:
– GEONETCast data reception File Manager
– MSG images: HRIT, LRIT and RSS import routines (user window-based)
– Real time visualization of MSG HRIT data
– Products: MPEF, SAFs, SPOT_VGT and Modis-fire import routines
– Open software routines, Java applets, batch files and automation scripts processing, included (samples);
– Coupling to other freeware tools: BUFR, GRIB2, Irfanview, BILKO, BEAM and BRAT.
– All other standard ILWIS functionality
GEONETCast Toolbox features
Open design: easy to change – modify or add routines
� Menu based on XML configuration file
� Can be easily modified according to preferences of user
� New functionality can be added without need for programming
Data Reception Systems in EthiopiaSome previous experiences
• National Meteorological Agency of Ethiopia (NMA) has been
receiving and using hard copies of satellite imageries in 1980s
• Since 1990 Meteorological satellite (METEOSAT) has been
installed in cooperation with the UK government. This system
called METEOSAT PRIMARY DATA USERS SYSTEM (PDUS).
• PUMA (Preparation for the Use of MSG in Africa), 2005 was the
first pan-African technology project focusing on Earth observation
funded by the European Union and has vastly enhanced weather
forecasting capabilities across the African continent.
• The African Monitoring of Environment for Sustainable
Development (AMESD) 2010 project is taking PUMA a stage
further by significantly extending the use of remote sensing data
for environmental and climate monitoring applications.
PUMA 2005
PUMA 2010
Reception Antenna
At HQ in Addis
Regional Meteorological Branch offices
Bahir Dar●
●Mekelle
●SemeraKombolcha●
Adama
Jijiga
Robe
Assossa
Gambella
Awassa
●
●
●
●
●
●
●Jimma
Some Activities of Regional Branch Offices
• The offices have structured organization provide
meteorological services at their respective areas
• Represent the Agency in all meteorological matters in
the regional states
• Provision of weather and climate information to
regional states
• Administer conventional and Automatic weather
stations as well as collect and archive data from
stations
• Issuing short and medium range weather forecast for
their respective regional state
• NMA is working, with support
of the UN World Food Program,
under the framework of a
dedicated project in which a
toolbox was developed by ITC,
University of Twente;
• The toolbox should also contain
meteorological information so it
can be effectively used by the
branch offices and should be
freely available.
Dedicated “Water and Food Security –
Ethiopia Toolbox” developed
The WFS-Ethiopia Toolbox main and sub
menu structure under ILWIS 3.7.2
About 130 processing routines and EUMETCast Data Manager
Configure input & output folders and
import the data
After input and output folder are defined only the
product time stamp is required to import the product
Info on temporal
resolution
Simple in use!
MSG Data Retriever and METEOSAT 7
import
Import of MSG (time series) images according to user needs and import
routines for MET-7 for the whole field of view and resampled to the
Ethiopia Window.
Real Time MSG Visualization routines
Automated day time and night time animation capability, every 15 minutes
For the IGAD Region and
including HRV channel for
Ethiopia Window (resolution
merge and pseudo natural
colour transformation) for
more detailed assessment
Thermal channel using
inverted gray scale and
applying thresholds for
color coding (orange
to pink – representing
clouds from 235K to
less than 190K)
Ethiopian Window: some selected High
Resolution MPEF examples
Atmospheric motion vectors, cloud analysis image,
cloud top height and cloud mask
Ethiopian Window: some selected Low
Resolution MPEF examples
MSG derived Daily and Dekadal Minimum, Maximum and
Mean NDVI
Ethiopian Window: some selected SAF
examples• Surface Radiation Budget parameters
Albedo (daily), Land Surface
Temperature (15 minutes) and Down-
welling Surface Short-wave Radiation
Flux (30 minutes)
Ethiopian Window: some selected SAF
examples• Bio-Geophysical Area parameters
Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetic
ActiveRadiation (FAPAR), Fraction of
Vegetation Cover (FVC) and Leaf Area
Index (LAI), all daily products
Ethiopian Window: SAF ET Daily example
Aggregated Daily ET from 48 half- hourly
ET products in an automated manner and
creation of status map showing number of
valid observation (to evaluate if the
aggregated ET might be underestimated
due to “no data values” in some of the
half hourly products)
ET distribution
over the day –
time in UTC
Ethiopian Window: some selected
TAMSAT examples
TAMSAT Dekadal and Monthly Rainfall Estimates
and Anomalies
Ethiopian Window: some selected SPOT
VGT and PROBA-V examples
Current PROBA-Vegetation products: NDVI, LAI and FVC
Ethiopian Window: some selected other
products
MSG based Automated Burned Biomass Algorithm Fire product, FIR-C
and MODIS Aqua – Terra Fire Product with attribute tables, ASCAT
(Metop A/B) and Copernicus Soil Moisture products
NWC-SAF Cloud Products
• Cloud mask, type, cloud top temperature, height and
pressure and cloudiness at full MSG spatial and temporal
resolution, resampled to Ethiopia window
• Based upon requirements from NMA
• First find MDD-3 Product codes from different messages
Meteorological Data Dissemination Service:
MDD-3
Meteorological Data Dissemination Service:
MDD-3• Example of Mean Sea Level Pressure at 980hPa and
Winds at 850hPa
Products are at different resolution (1 and 2.5 degree), if available both are
processed
MeteoFrance NWP model output at 15
isobaric levels
• Example of temperature profile over a selected location, from
100 to 975 hPa, from 3 hr forecast
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Tem
pe
ratu
re º
C
Pressure level
MDD-4 (ACMAD) visualisation of
rainfall and temperature forecasts
• Creating animations of latest ECMWF forecasts
Precipitation Temperature (at 2 mtr)
• Automatically create mapviews, showing latest images /
products received
Viewer MSG-Day MSG-Night MPEF NWC-SAF Image/products
imported All MSG SEVIRI channels, converted to reflectance and temperature. Images are stretched and gamma function is applied.
All IR MSG SEVIRI channels, converted to temperature. Images are stretched and gamma function is applied.
Cloud Mask (CLM), Multi Sensor Precipitation Estimate (MPEG), Atmospheric Motion Vectors (AMV), Optimal Cloud Analysis (OCAE)
Cloud Mask (CMa), Cloud Type (CT), Cloud Temperature-Height (CTTH)
Layers added to MapView
visualization
IR_10.8 (K) WV_6.2 (K) Enhanced IR_10.8 Airmass RGB Dust RGB Microphysics RGB Severe Storm RGB Natural RGB HighRes RGB
IR_10.8 (K) WV_6.2 (K) Enhanced IR_10.8 Airmass RGB Dust RGB Microphysics RGB
CLM Cloud Mask MPEG Precipitation (mm/hr) OCAE Pixel Scene Type AMV Direction, Speed, Pressure, Temperature, approx. Elevation, Scaling for speed
CMa Cloud Mask CT Cloud Type and Phase CTTH Cloudiness (%), Temperature (K), Pressure (hPa), Height (m)
Background layers used / at disposal
Layers used: land/water mask, water bodies and main roads Ethiopia, country boundaries, Other layers available: (colour shaded) DEM and satellite image background, Ethiopia (admin) regions and cities
Automated processing and visualization
Automated processing and visualization
• Automatically create mapviews of latest information received
• Layers can be turned on /off by operator, no further
interaction required!
MSG-Day Visualisation MPEF Visualisation
Automated processing and visualization
• Automatically create animation of latest 2 hr MSG-10.8
channel information received
• Colour coding of temperatures below 240 K
MSG- 10.8 Channel Animation
Temperature class (K) Colour>240 Inverted gray scale
240-235 Dark blue234-230 Blue229-225 Cyan224-220 Green219-215 Yellow214-210 Orange209-205 Red
< 205 Brown
Effective use of GEONETCast
at the Branch Offices
• Installation
• Consequently, NMA planned to establishing 11 low
cost GEONETCast stations for 11 branch offices.
• Prioterized three GEONETCast stations, located at
Bahir Dar, Awassa and Adama
• Currently all branch offices equipped with low cost
GEONETCast reception stations
System layout
• Two PCs are recommended - one for the DVB acquisition and a second for
processing applications.
• Digital Video Broadcasting Board
• EUMETCast Client Software
• EUMETCast Key Unit (EKU)
• Antenna, with universal V/H LNB in C-band
Ground receiving components
GEONETCast Reception Stations at 11
Branch offices
Adama
Awassa
Bahir Dar
Effective use of GEONETCast data in
Branch Offices
• Insight Training sessions
Concluding remarks
• In Ethiopia, weather and climate risks are major determinants
for water and food security of the livelihood of the population;
• Hence, timely and reliable weather and climate monitoring
and forecasting are very crucial;
• In order to have reliable weather and climate monitoring as
well as prediction the role of satellite data received by
GEONETCast stations is indispensable;
• Low cost data reception system, in conjunction with free
toolbox is a good alternative for weather and climate
monitoring and forecasting to provide trustworthy information
to various Ethiopian regional user communities.
Thank you very much
for your attention !