Third RGB Experts and Developers Workshop (organised by WMO)

Third RGB Experts and Developers Workshop (organised by WMO)

7 to 9 November 2017 / Tokyo, Japan

The third RGB Experts and Developers Workshop, jointly organised by WMO, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), and EUMETSAT, hosted by JMA in Tokyo on 7-9 November 2017.

The arrival of the new generation of advanced GEO imagers on Himawari-8/9 and GOES-16 (and soon from FY-4A, GEO-KOMPSAT-2A and MTG-I) has brought exciting times for forecasters who use multi-channel satellite imagery.

RGB composites have proven to be an excellent way of visualising the unique features of imagery, in terms of sampling and information content. RGBs reduce the complexity of multi-channel imagery, and, thereby, foster utilisation of satellite data in weather forecasting, air quality, marine, land, and related environmental applications.

Expert workshops in Boulder (2007) and Seeheim (2012) were instrumental in agreeing a set of standard recipes for constructing RGB composites. The resulting standards, developed by EUMETSAT and recognised by WMO, have been reflected in product lines of new generation imagers, and have successfully guided applications, training and capacity building. They have also been valuable in scientific investigation, as well as in forecasting and operations.

During the 2017 workshop, the standard RGB recipes and their applications were revisited by the expert community, and the value of RGBs in context (NWP, products) was demonstrated. Also, new demonstration and training material was compiled and put online. Last but not least, new standards for RGB composites were explored and will be summarised in the final report (to be distributed by WMO).