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[McIDAS #JGN-249914]: IMGMAKE

Hi Paul,

re:
> I am getting very concerned about the future of our website and the use of
> McIDAS for Satellite imagery with GOES-16. Information has been difficult
> to come by and am hoping you would be able to provide a few answers.

OK.

re:
> The most important is: will McIDAS be distributing single file imagery per
> band per sector or will we need to stitch together the various sectors?

What we are working on right now is a procedure for stitching together the
tiles being broadcast in the NOAAPort SBN into single scenes (images).  The
software that we are using to ingest the GOES-16 imagery directly from the
satellite already does this, so one option is to try and extract their
code and make it available to all.  The other option is to write something
ourselves and make that code available.  The idea is that the processing
of the NOAAPort GOES-R/S imagery will follow the same kind of work flow
as is being done for NEXRAD Level II data currently - write the pieces to
disk as they arrive, and then kick off a process that creates the full
scene from the pieces.

NB: we are _not_ expecting each site to figure out how to do this
themselves!

re:
> I know that we will have limited bands but will we be expecting true color
> capabilities?

McIDAS can produce true color/pseudo true color images by combining three
wavelength channels.  The output is not an image file (e.g., AREA, etc.);
it is a "picture" in JPEG or PPM format.

IDV and McIDAS-V can also easily create true color/pseudo true color images
by combining multiple bands.

re:
> I have spoken with some from the SSEC and they have been using IMGMAKE. Is
> it possible to get a binary of that command?

IMGMAKE is contained in the Unidata McIDAS distribution, but you need to build
it (and other, non-core routines) using:

<as 'mcidas'>
cd mcidas<ver>/src
make xrd
make install.xrd

re:
> I am sure that this is a large headache for all of you and it certainly is
> one for us too. 

We are working as fast as we can to provide the "stitching" capability to
Unidata community members.  I will then be working on creating an ADDE
server for the reassembled NOAAPort-broadcast images (they have a different
netCDF4 format than the ones coming down in the feed from GOES-16).  Lastly,
we will be standing up an data server access (ADDE and TDS) to the imagery
coming down from GOES-16.  You will have many options to choose from.

re:
> Information is so hard to come by!

We have taken the approach of not saying much of anything until a workable
processing pipeline has been developed.  It is always much harder, more
confusing and frustrating for end-users to be told something different
on follow-up announcements than to wait a bit for a workable solution to
be created and made available.

Please remember that the imagery that is currently coming down from GOES-16,
and the tiled segments being sent in NOAAPort is experimental.  Many changes
are being made by NOAA to get "things right", and this is to be expected
until the images are declared operational.  Rushing to put something one
a web site is problematic for two reasons:

- the images are not fully correct yet

- NOAA is directing everyone who wants to make the imagery available to
  label it as being experimental

  Sites who are not doing this are getting stern notifications by NOAA
  to either remove the images or properly label them as being
  experimental.

re:
> Thanks in advance

No worries.  My advice is to hang loose at the moment and not panic.  The
time line for GOES-16 products being of operational quality presented at
the Seattle AMS meeting was June 1.

Cheers,

Tom
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Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: JGN-249914
Department: Support McIDAS
Priority: Normal
Status: Closed
===================
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