Polar Orbiting Satellite Data Archive: Australian Bureau of Meteorology

Updated: 2015-04-30

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. 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. The Bureau collects and uses data from satellites in the World Meteorological Organization's World Weather Watch system. This satellite information enables national weather services like the Bureau to monitor day to day weather conditions and longer term climate change over the entire globe. Several different types of satellite images are available and we recommend that you read "About Satellite Images". Registered Users can get password access to specially processed images or products. This link provides a list of Satellite products including registered user products and satellite information from other sites.