Polar Orbiting Satellite Data Archive

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The Bureau of Meteorology receives polar orbiter data (i.e. data from satellites whose orbit cross the north and south poles) from two satellites, USA's NOAA satellite, and China's FY-1D satellite.

NOAA

The Bureau's main reception site for NOAA polar orbiting data is Crib Point, with additional sites at Melbourne CBD (until June 2004), Casey, Darwin Alice Springs and Perth. The Bureau archives the 5 channels of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) High Resolution Picture Transmission (HRPT) data for Melbourne, Casey and Darwin while the Perth data is archived by WASTAC. TIP data [High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS), Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU), Stratospheric Sounding Unit (SSU) and Data Collection Platform (DCP) data components] are also archived. Charges apply to extraction of data from the archive. Quotes for provision of the data in the format, projection and on the medium required can be obtained by clicking on the "Feedback" tab at the top of this page, then select "Satellite Pictures" and fill in the required details.

Launch and operational dates for the NOAA satellites

The table below lists the NOAA data received and archived by the Bureau of Meteorology

Reception Station	NOAA Satellite	Component of HRPT Signal	Archive Period	Format
Melbourne	17	AVHRR 5 Channel	1 Jan 2003 ->	McIDAS & ASDA
		TIP HIRS MSU SSU DCP	1 Jan 2003 ->
	16	AVHRR 5 Channel	1 Jan 2001 ->	McIDAS & ASDA
		TIP	8 Jan 2001 ->
	15	AVHRR 5 Channel	15 Dec 1998 ->	McIDAS & ASDA
		TIP	15 Dec 1998 ->
	14	AVHRR 5 Channel	10 April 1994 - May 2003	McIDAS only until 1997 then McIDAS & ASDA
		TIP	10 April 1994 - May 2003
	12	AVHRR	July 1994 ->	McIDAS
		TIP	Sept 1994 ->
	11	AVHRR	n a
		TIP	July 1997 - Feb 2000
	10	AVHRR	n a
		TIP	n a
Casey	16	AVHRR	n a
		TIP	May 2001 ->	McIDAS
	15	AVHRR	15 Dec 1998 ->	ASDA
		TIP	n a
	14	AVHRR	Jan 1997 - May 2003	ASDA
		TIP	n a
Perth WASTAC archive	17	AVHRR	See WASTAC
		TIP	Jan 2003 ->	McIDAS & ASDA
	16	AVHRR	See WASTAC
		TIP	Jan 2001 ->	McIDAS & ASDA
	15	AVHRR	See WASTAC
		TIP	May 1998 ->	ASDA
	14	AVHRR	See WASTAC
		TIP	Jan 1997 - May 2003	ASDA
	12	AVHRR	See WASTAC
		TIP	Sept 1994 ->	ASDA
	10	AVHRR	See WASTAC
		TIP	Aug 1997 - Dec 1997	ASDA
Darwin	17	AVHRR	Apr 2003 ->	ASDA
		TIP	Apr 2003 ->	McIDAS
	16	AVHRR	Feb 2001 ->	ASDA
		TIP	May 2001 ->	McIDAS
	15	AVHRR	15 Dec 1998 ->	ASDA
		TIP	15 Dec 1998 ->	McIDAS
	14	AVHRR	Jan 1997 - May 2003	ASDA
		TIP	Mar 1995 - May 2003	McIDAS
	12	AVHRR	Jan 1997 ->	ASDA
		TIP	Sept 1994 ->	ASDA
Alice Springs	17	AVHRR	Jan 2003 ->	ASDA
		TIP	n a
	16	AVHRR	Apr 2001 ->	ASDA
		TIP	n a
	15	AVHRR	Jan 2003 ->	ASDA
		TIP	n a
	12	AVHRR	Feb 2002 ->	ASDA
		TIP	n a

Examples of southbound and northbound overpasses recorded by the AVHRR instrument

Channel 1 0.58-0.68 µm	Channel 2 0.725-1.10 µm	Channel 3 3.55-3.93 µm	Channel 4 10.3-11.3 µm	Channel 5 11.5-12.5 µm
Southbound	Southbound	Southbound	Southbound	Southbound
Northbound	Northbound	Northbound	Northbound	Northbound