The United States Satellite Analysis Branch, part of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

)'s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service's

Satellite Services Division A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

, is the operational focal point for real-time imagery products within NESDIS. It is also responsible for doing Dvorak technique intensity fixes on tropical cyclones. Its roots lie in the establishment of the Meteorological Satellite Section by January 1959. Its primary mission is to "operate new proof of concept satellite analysis techniques needed to support disaster mitigation and warning services" for the U.S. government and its agencies. It also distributes real-time satellite imagery from geostationary satellites. The SAB also produces graphics for

Tropical Rainfall Potential The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

forecasts for all tropical systems in the Western Hemisphere and many in the

Eastern Hemisphere The Eastern Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth which is east of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and west of the antimeridian (which crosses the Pacific Ocean and relatively little land from pole to pol ...

. Away from tropical cyclones, the SAB functions as the Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center, having been designated as such by the International Civil Aviation Organization in 1997. It also does snow and ice analysis, and has done so, along with its parent organizations NESDIS and SSD, since 1966.IMS Daily Northern Hemisphere Snow and Ice Analysis at 4 km and 24 km Resolution
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References

External links

SSD page for current geostationary satellite imagery
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration {{Climate-stub