JPSS User Community

User Community Overview

The JPSS Program is committed to ensuring that the user community is prepared for the new types of satellite imagery and data that will be available from the JPSS system of satellites.Our goal is for an effective transitions to operations where users are ready to take full advantage of JPSS data from day one.JPSS is engaging users early in the process through the Proving Ground activities, scientific and user conferences, and other communication and outreach efforts.

NOAA's polar-orbiting satellites are used for a wide array of applications: they provide a majority of the data that the National Weather Service uses in their computer models of weather patterns three days and beyond. They are also important in tracking storms, forecasting sea and shipping conditions, observing changes in long-term climate and weather patterns, monitoring vegetation health, tracking volcanic eruptions, and observing air quality, among other uses.

Government users such as the National Weather Service, the Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Defense are joined by academic and research users, state and local governments, and private companies in sectors as diverse as agriculture, insurance, and commercial shipping. NOAA works closely with users across all sectors to communicate the new capabilities future systems like JPSS will provide and help them get ready for operational transitions.

The diversity of the JPSS user community is reflected in the wide variety and applications of JPSS data and products. Larger, institutional users can exploit the increases in spectral, temporal, and spatial resolution and assimilate radiances for use in prediction models, increasing the timeliness and accuracy of forecast products. JPSS data will be used in real time for critical life and property forecasting and warning applications primarily by the National Weather Service, where these users can combine satellite data with conventional data such as radar to monitor the rapid development and interaction of severe storms and to predict these severe events days in advance Other smaller public and private sector users will be able to obtain JPSS data through direct broadchast, or through terrestrial network distribution.

Academic Community

The academic community is an important user of JPSS data, for informational, educational, and research purposes. The University of Wisconsin, Space Science and Engineering Center (UWSSEC) , Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS), collaborates with NOAA/NESDIS in the development and creation of derived JPSS satellite products.

The academic community is an important user of JPSS data, for informational, educational, and research purposes. At NOAA, JPSS will work closely with our Cooperative Institutes, which are located at major universities with strong remote sensing academic programs.

1. Bowie State University
2. City College New York
3. City University of New York
4. Columbia University
5. Hampton University
6. Lehman College
7. UMBC
8. University of Puerto Rico

The map above also shows:

• Cooperative Institute for Oceanographic Satellite Studies (CIOSS), Corvallis, OR - Oregon State University
• Advanced Satellite Products Branch (ASPB) & the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS), Madison, WI - University of Wisconsin - Madison
• Regional and Mesoscale Meteorology Branch (RAMMB) & the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA), Ft. Collins, CO - Colorado State University
• Satellite Climate Studies Branch (SCSB) & the Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites (CICS) - locations at College Park, MD - University of Maryland and Asheville, NC - North Carolina State University
• Cooperative Remote Sensing Science and Technology Center (CREST), New York, NY - City University of New York  (CUNY) with University Partners in the Mid-Atlantic States and Puerto Rico

Other academic partners include University of Colorado, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,  and Utah State University