The purpose of the Atmospheric Research ORS Lab is to monitor and investigate the optical properties of the atmosphere. This is accomplished with remotely-sensed data, received from operational and research satellites, and stationary instruments deployed at observation sites.
An important component of The City College of New York's Urban Dispersion Program (UDP) is the design and installation of a permanent meteorological observing network for the New York City (NYC) region to help characterize conditions affecting dispersion in and around the city. A critical result of this effort is providing real-time meteorological data to first responders and emergency response centers such as the NYC Office of Emergency Management and the DHS Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Analysis Center (IMAAC). The NYCMetNet website is result of this effort.
With the addition of several building-top observation stations, SODARs, and a radar profiler, the NYCMetNet network enhances existing meteorological networks in and around NYC. This website, which is used to display the observations, is integrated with several other publicly and privately available observation networks enumerated on the Documentation » User Agreement and Data Sources page.
Observations from these networks are obtained through NOAA's Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS) and through the NYCMetNet system of observation stations. In addition, the NYCMetNet website provides detailed weather forecasts and weather hazard warnings for the metropolitan NYC area using the NWS National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD) and, in part, the GRIB2 system. The seamless integration of meteorological observations and forecasts aids in emergency response planning and decision making.
NYCMetNet was developed by The Optical Remote Sensing Laboratory (ORSL) of The City College of New York (CCNY).
Visit NYCMetNet (nycmetnet.ccny.cuny.edu)
