The first data users’ workshop for the Taiwan-US weather satellite constellation Formosat-7/COSMIC2 opened virtually yesterday, hosted by the Hsinchu Science Park-based National Space Organization (NSPO).
The three-day event, also called the 5th International Conference on GPS Radio Occultation, has drawn 285 participants from 33 nations, including US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Neil Jacobs.
The six-satellite constellation was launched in June last year, and opened its data to public use in March.
Photo: CNA
The NSPO received 68 research papers for the workshop, highlighting findings about the atmosphere, space weather and ionospheric changes, Formosat-7 project head in Taiwan Vicky Chu (朱崇惠) said at the opening ceremony at NSPO headquarters,.
The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) in July started analyzing the data transmitted by Formosat-7 and found it helpful for improving forecasts for tropical areas, Chu said.
CWB’s analysis showed that the precision of temperature forecasts 6km from the ground in tropical areas within five days has improved 4 percent, she said.
While the NSPO has said that Formosat-7 data would improve weather forecast by 10 percent, that estimate was based on simulation models, and the levels of improvement would vary among different statistical bases, CWB Deputy Director-General Mark Cheng (程家平) said.
Workshop participants are also marking the decommissioning of the Formosat-7’s predecessor, the Formosat-3/COSMIC constellation, which was launched in 2006.
Designed to last five years, it was used for 14 years until its formal decommissioning on May 1.
The forum had been scheduled for May, but was postponed and changed into a virtual event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant that Jacobs had to cancel his plans to visit Taiwan.
Addressing yesterday’s opening, Jacobs said that the wide use of radio occultation (RO) by weather prediction centers worldwide was largely due to the successful demonstration of the technology achieved in the COSMIC-1/Formosat-3 program.
COSMIC-2/Formosat-7 features advanced technology and its data are being used by the US National Weather Service and other weather centers globally, he said.
“These data provided a powerful new resource to address the current Atlantic hurricane season,” he said. “We highly value our partnership with NSPO and look forward to sharing the benefits of the advanced RO capabilities that COSMIC-2/FORMOSAT-7 brings.”
Formosat-3 had greatly elevated Taiwan’s status and brought about more collaboration opportunities, former National Science Council deputy minister Tsay Ching-yen (蔡清彥) said.
The NSPO also honored former directors, partner scientists and engineers for their contributions to the development of Formosat-3.
NSPO Director-General Lin Chun-liang (林俊良) presented a model of Formosat-3 for Jacobs to American Institute in Taiwan Science and Technology Officer Rhiannon Bramer.
Jacobs is also to deliver a keynote speech today.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
A Taiwanese woman on Sunday was injured by a small piece of masonry that fell from the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican during a visit to the church. The tourist, identified as Hsu Yun-chen (許芸禎), was struck on the forehead while she and her tour group were near Michelangelo’s sculpture Pieta. Hsu was rushed to a hospital, the group’s guide to the church, Fu Jing, said yesterday. Hsu was found not to have serious injuries and was able to continue her tour as scheduled, Fu added. Mathew Lee (李世明), Taiwan’s recently retired ambassador to the Holy See, said he met
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
RSS