World Space Week ? Bureau looks to the future in satellite technology

09/10/2013

The future of satellite technology will be a key focus of the Asia-Oceania Meteorological Satellite Users Conference hosted by the Bureau of Meteorology in Melbourne this week.

Bureau of Meteorology Assistant Director for Observations, Dr Anthony Rea, said it was timely that this week’s conference coincided with World Space Week, as discussions would focus on the launch of the Japan Meteorological Agency’s Himawari-8 meteorological satellite mid-2015.

“Himawari-8 represents the first in a new generation of satellites providing an upgrade in service that could be compared to switching a television from black and white to colour, and from analogue to digital, at the same time,” Dr Rea said.

“The satellite will provide meteorological service providers in the Asia-Pacific region with access to colour imagery at four times the current resolution, with images updated every 10 minutes; compared with the black and white imagery currently available every hour.

“The Bureau’s homepage is visited by tens of millions of people every year and the first thing they see is a real-time meteorological satellite image.

“What most people don’t know is that this satellite image is also an essential tool used by forecasters and researchers to forecast and track weather systems. These leaps in available data, combined with an increase in the computing capacity to analyse and interpret this data, will contribute to ongoing improvements in forecast accuracy,” Dr Rea said.

While Australia doesn’t have any meteorological satellites of its own, it plays an important role in the transmission of data.

In Victoria’s Crib Point, the Bureau operates a dedicated meteorological Satellite Earth Station. Crib Point receives data from satellites operated by Japan, China, the European Union and the United States. The site also supports the operation of satellites operated by the China Meteorological Administration by positioning them in space.

Crib Point is an internationally significant site that contributes to the United Nations World Meteorological Organization World Weather Watch program and exemplifies 21 years of international cooperation.

The Asia-Oceania Meteorological Satellite Users Conference is being held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. More than 120 delegates from 60 countries will participate, including leading scientists, satellite operators and world leaders in the field of satellite meteorology.

For further information on the conference go to the AOMSUC page.