Dr. Christopher S. Velden Profile

Dr. Christopher S. Velden

Scientist at Univ of Wisconsin Madison

SPIE Involvement:

Author

Proceedings Article | 18 September 2018 Presentation + Paper

Overview of the NASA TROPICS CubeSat constellation mission

W. Blackwell, S. Braun, B. Zavodsky, C. Velden, T. Greenwald, D. Herndon, R. Bennartz, M. DeMaria, G. Chirokova, R. Atlas, J. Dunion, F. Marks, R. Rogers, H. Christophersen, B. Annane

Proceedings Volume 10769, 1076908 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2320333

KEYWORDS: Satellites, Microwave radiation, Radiometry, Spatial resolution, Spectrometers, Temporal resolution, Antennas, Data modeling

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Recent technology advances in miniature microwave radiometers that can be hosted on very small satellites has made possible a new class of affordable constellation missions that provide very high revisit rates of tropical cyclones and other severe weather. The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) mission was selected by NASA as part of the Earth Venture–Instrument (EVI-3) program and is now in development with planned launch readiness in late 2019. The overarching goal for TROPICS is to provide nearly all-weather observations of 3-D temperature and humidity, as well as cloud ice and precipitation horizontal structure, at high temporal resolution to conduct high-value science investigations of tropical cyclones (TCs). TROPICS will provide rapid-refresh microwave measurements (median refresh rate better than 60 minutes for the baseline mission) over the tropics that can be used to observe the thermodynamics of the troposphere and precipitation structure for storm systems at the mesoscale and synoptic scale over the entire storm lifecycle. TROPICS will comprise a constellation of at least six CubeSats in three low-Earth orbital planes. Each CubeSat will host a high performance radiometer to provide temperature profiles using seven channels near the 118.75 GHz oxygen absorption line, water vapor profiles using three channels near the 183 GHz water vapor absorption line, imagery in a single channel near 90 GHz for precipitation measurements (when combined with higher resolution water vapor channels), and a single channel at 205 GHz that is more sensitive to precipitation-sized ice particles and low-level moisture. This observing system offers an unprecedented combination of horizontal and temporal resolution in the microwave spectrum to measure environmental and inner-core conditions for TCs on a nearly global scale and is a major leap forward in the temporal resolution of several key parameters needed for assimilation into advanced data assimilation systems capable of utilizing rapid-update radiance or retrieval data. Here, we provide an overview of the mission and an update on current status, with a focus on unique characteristics of the Cubesat system, recent performance simulations on a range of observables to be provided by the constellation, and a summary of science applications.

SPIE Journal Paper | 16 December 2013 Open Access

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-14 super rapid scan operations to prepare for GOES-R

Timothy Schmit, Steven Goodman, Daniel Lindsey, Robert Rabin, Kristopher Bedka, Mathew Gunshor, John Cintineo, Christopher Velden, A. Scott Bachmeier, Scott Lindstrom, Christopher Schmidt

JARS, Vol. 7, Issue 01, 073462, (December 2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.JRS.7.073462

KEYWORDS: Satellites, Imaging systems, Clouds, Convection, Video, Environmental sensing, Radar, Infrared imaging, Data centers, Meteorological satellites

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Proceedings Article | 19 December 2008 Paper

Synergisms between future geosynchronous and low-Earth orbiting wind observations in the GEOSS era

George Emmitt, Stephen Mango, Christopher Velden

Proceedings Volume 7151, 715108 (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.806508

KEYWORDS: LIDAR, Clouds, Aerosols, Doppler effect, Sensors, Data modeling, Signal processing, Troposphere, Atmospheric modeling, Environmental sensing

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Proceedings Article | 14 October 2004 Paper

Environmental satellite data utilization: determination of wind vectors by tracking features on sequential moisture analyses derived from hyperspectral IR satellite soundings

Christopher Velden

Proceedings Volume 5548, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.559955

KEYWORDS: Satellites, Clouds, Algorithm development, Meteorological satellites, Detection and tracking algorithms, Satellite imaging, Earth observing sensors, Device simulation, Data processing, Wind measurement

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Proceedings Article | 18 October 1996 Paper

Automated cloud-motion winds from GOES-8 and -9

Steven Nieman, W. Paul Menzel, Christopher Velden, Steve Wanzong

Proceedings Volume 2812, (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.254121

KEYWORDS: Image registration, Clouds, Wind measurement, Control systems, Satellites, Imaging systems, Digital filtering, Meteorological satellites, Tolerancing, Image resolution

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Conference Committee Involvement (2)

Atmospheric and Environmental Remote Sensing Data Processing and Utilization: Numerical Atmospheric Prediction and Environmental Monitoring

1 August 2005 | San Diego, California, United States

Atmospheric and Environmental Remote Sensing Data Processing and Utilization: an End-to-End System Perspective

4 August 2004 | Denver, Colorado, United States

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