NUCAPS Savvy
Tool Panel
Info Panel
The data selection panel can be found on the left sidebar under the collapsible/expandible dataset dropdown, where three additional dropdowns are to be found. Each of these corresponding dropdowns pertain to: the satellite to be selected, the domain to be selected, and the satellite pass to be selected. All three dropdowns must have a selected value. It is to be noted that there is a cascading effect on the options selected progressing from top to bottom. A selected satellite will display the domains it covers; and the selected domain will display the satellite passes that are available. The passes available will span for the past 48 hours. Upon selecting a satellite pass, the map overlay will display circle icons where each corresponds to the location where measurements were taken.
The image above displays the dropdowns for selecting data.
The data selection panel on mobile devices follow the same construct as that for desktop devices, the exception is, in order to access the data selection panel, the menu button on the upper right-hand corner needs to be clicked on.
On mobile devices, the menu button can be found in the top right corner of your screen.
Upon clicking on the menu button, a panel will expand showing all the tools available on the left sidebar on desktop devices.
We are now ready to provide more guidance on how to interact with the sounding displayed on the map overlay. Please select the "Map Overlay" option at the top of the How-To panel.
After selecting a pass from the dropdown, the map display will render icons which correspond to the sounding locations. The soundings are color coded with the following designations:
The image above displays the map overlay with the locations of the soundings.
The map overlay provides the following interactivity such as panning and zooming by respectively clicking, holding, and dragging the cursor on the map; and by using the scroll wheel or +/- control tools on the maps upper left corner. Alternatively, on mobile devices, the functionality to zoom or pan is similar to that as any web mapping service.
There are two features for interacting with the sounding icons. Hovering over the icon will populate the 'Sounding Info' card on the right sidebar. Clicking on the icon will fill the circular outline, indicating that a Skew-T Log-P plot should be generated for the selected sounding. There is a limit for four selected sounding.
The image above displays the Sounding Info card that is populated when hovering over an icon. Note, that the cursor was not captured in this screenshot. The Sounding Info card displays information for: datetime, latitude, longitude, elevation, and quality for a particular sounding.
Another feature of NUCAPS Savvy is the capability to filter soundings by the quality of the retrievals and the soundings that have been selected. These tools are located on the left sidebar under the 'Filter' option.
Image of map overlay filtered to display soundings that have a successful infrared and microwave retrieval. Note that the icons that have been 'filled' correspond to soundings that have been selected by the user.
Image of map overlay filtered to display selected soundings.
Once the soundings of interest have been selected, clicking on the 'Create Plots' button on the right sidebar will transition the dashboard to a new view and display Skew-T Log-P diagrams for the selected soundings. Users interested in using NUCAPS Savvy on mobile devices can continue reading below on how interacting with the map overlay changes. Otherwise, please continue to the next section, 'Skew-T Log-P Plots' by clicking on the bottom at the top of this 'How To' Panel.
On mobile devices, the way the user interact with the application is slightly different from desktop devices, but the functionality available is the same. To view the Sounding Info card, first you must select a sounding and then open the Tool Panel by clicking on the chevron on the Tool Panel bar at the bottom of the screen. This will allow you to see the Sounding Info card and have access to the Create Plots button.
Mobile view of map overlay with a selected sounding.
View of mobile screen with the tool panel expanding showing the sounding info card and the create plots button.
To filter out soundings based on sounding quality or selected sounding, the user can access the filtering tools by clicking on the menu button in the top right corner of the screen to access the filtering tools.
Mobile view of expanded menu showing filtering options.
View of mobile screen showing soundings that have been filtered.
You have reached the end of this section. Please scroll to the top and select the 'Skew-T Log-P Plots' button to learn more.
You are now in the Skew-T Log-P viewing area. Displayed in the center is the Skew-T Log-P plots, the toggle plots buttons and the 'Save as PNG button'. On the right sidebar, the stability indices have been tabulated. On the left sidebar, you will find the 'Return to Map' button which return you to the previous display showing the map overlay and the soundings that have been selected.
Dashboard showing a Skew-T Lop-P plot with its corresponding stability indices tabulated on the right sidebar.
An interactivity feature available with NUCAPS Savvy, is the ability to hover over the plotting area which displays the values for the temperature line, the dewpoint line, and the corresponding altitude on the y-axis; for the location where your cursor is hovering over the plot.
A Skew-T Log-P Plot displaying the temperature, dewpoint, and altitude for a given location on the plot.
To toggle between the Skew-T Log-P plots that have been generated for the soundings that have been selected, you simply click on the number buttons under the 'Toggle Plots' banner. The plot and tabulated stability indices will update accordingly. The plot title or the datetime stamp in the 'Thermodynamic Indices' card on the right sidebar can be used as a reference for the user to map the Skew-T Log-P diagram displayed and the selected sounding in the map when returning to the 'Map' view.
A different Skew-T Log-P diagram is displayed when alternating between the toggle plots button. The tabulated stability indices have been updated as well.
Finally, to save the plot that is currently being displayed, you can click on the 'Save as PNG' button which will save or prompt you to save the file - depending on your browser. It will generate as filename base on the satellite selected, domain, and the datetime of the satellite pass.
The dashboard's Skew-T Log-P viewing area behaves similarly on mobile devices as it does for desktop devices, except for how to access and view the 'Return to Map' button and the 'Thermodynamic Indices' card. To access the 'Return to Map' button, you can click on the menu button on the top right of the screen, which opens a panel with the button.
Mobile view of Skew-T Log-P diagram and interface.
View of mobile screen containing the menu panel showing the return to map button.
To access the Thermodynamic indices card, you must click on the chevron on the Info Panel bar at the bottom of the screen.
Mobile Skew-T Log-P view showing the expanded Info Panel bar containing the Thermodynamic Indices.
You have now reached the end of this 'How To' use the application tutorial. Please click on the close button to exit.
NUCAPS SAVvy or NOAA Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System (NUCAPS) Satellite Sounding Analysis and Visualization System (SAVvy) is a web-based application that allows the user to select atmospheric soundings overlayed on a map, and generate Skew-T Log-P plots from selected soundings. Accompanying the plots, are the Stability Indices for the profile that is displayed. Savvy (short for NUCAPS SAVvy) currently supports satellite data from AQUA and NOAA-20.
For more information, on NUCAPS, please visit the link below:
Link to NUCAPSTechnical Contact: Dr. Emily Berndt (emily.b.berndt@nasa.gov)
Responsible Official: Dr. Andrew Molthan (andrew.molthan@nasa.gov)
Page Curator: SPoRT Support (msfc-dl-sport-support@mail.nasa.gov)