The CyMISS (Cyclone Intensity Measurement from the ISS) program on the International Space Station demonstrated that satellite stereoscopy could provide high resolution cloud altitude and wind data that could be used much like Hurricane Hunter aircraft data to improve forecasts of tropical cyclones. A 2015 post by Drew LePage, who was the Principle Investigator, CyMISS (Cyclone Intensity Measurement from the ISS), discusses the early work of the CyMISS project.
The page here notes that CyMISS was given the 2017 Innovation in Earth Science and Remote Sensing Award from CASIS which manages the ISS National Laboratory for NASA. A sense of the quality of the data collected is apparent in the CyMISS 3D image of Super Typhoon Atsani, which can be viewed at CyMISS Image of the Month: Super Typhoon Atsani in 3D.
NASA discusses the CyMISS project in one of their mission pages entitled Tropical Cyclone in Sight, where they state:
“Improved measurements and predictions of tropical cyclone intensity and trajectory would help communities better prepare for such storms.”
In the section entitled “From Emerging Application to Mature Capabilities: Retrospective Benefits” on page 12 of ISS Benefits for Humanity, the value of the CyMISS project is also discussed.
The importance of increasing the spatial resolution of Tropical Cyclone (TC) measurements has become apparent. For example, the 2020 article Recent Progress in Tropical Cyclone Intensity Forecasting at the National Hurricane Center, in the journal Weather and Forecasting, states:
“Recent advancements in the ability to incorporate tail Doppler radar data from reconnaissance aircraft into the HWRF model (Lu et al. 2020) and by adding more detailed satellite observations in model initializations, we will hopefully observe continued improvements in model TC intensity predictions.”
Of course, if the work of reconnaissance aircraft can be replaced by satellites, then the high resolution data can become available world-wide.
The current plans for the Hurricane Hunter Satellites along with a fuller discussion of other plans can be found in the article The Hurricane Hunter Satellites.
Related Reading
Drew LePage,”Using the Carnot Engine Model to Characterize Hurricanes from Orbit”, TWA Blog, July 23, 2022 [Post]
Drew LePage, “Turn Up the Stereo”, TWA Blog, March 3, 2022 [Post]
Articles on the Drew Ex Machina website about the CyMISS project can be found on the CyMISS Page.
Other news articles on the CyMISS program, including posts on NASA and ISS websites, can be found on the News about CyMISS page.
Images and videos from the CyMISS program can be found on the Gallery for CyMISS Page.
