Introduction

The Indian Ocean Data Coverage (IODC) service was originally established to support INDOEX by providing Meteosat imagery for the Indian Ocean area for the duration of this experiment. The relocation of Meteosat-5 to the 63°E position was initiated on 14 January and finished on 18 May 1998. The operational service from this position started on 1 July 1998. At the request of Member States and other users in the Indian Ocean region, the service was continued and is currently planned to remain operational until end 2013. On 6 February 2007, Meteosat-7 (located at 57.5°E), replaced Meteosat-5 as the operational IODC satellite.

Service Description

The IODC service is provided by a first generation Meteosat satellite. The current configuration is as follows:

• The IODC Meteosat satellite is located at a position of 57.5°E (rectified to 57°E).
• Direct Dissemination reception via a Primary Data User Station (PDUS) is possible from about 135°E to 4°W.
• Due to the high orbit inclination of the Meteosat satellite providing the service, users may require a special PDUS set-up for Direct Dissemination:
  • Use of a smaller diameter antenna or
  • Defocusing of the antenna feed or
  • Making use of a tracking antenna system or
  • Using two separate antennas pointing in slightly different directions.
• Direct Dissemination users will require two separate reception systems for direct reception of image data from 0° and 57°E simultaneously.
• All IODC HRI data and Meteorological Products are available to order from the.
• The IODC dissemination schedule can be viewed.

Data Calibration

Calibration information for the water vapour (WV) and infrared (IR) channels is providedin the image headers to allow conversion from digital counts into radiances. The provides information on how to transform digital counts into temperatures. HistoricalMeteosat calibration coefficients can also be found here.

Service Monitoring

The performance of the IODC services is monitored by EUMETSAT. Any planned or unplanned outages are announced to the user community via the web pages and email alert messages. For further information see .

Service Registration

To access the service provided by the IODC, users are required to register with the User Service Helpdesk, see . With regard to HRI data, EUMETSAT's standard data policy is applicable and the same access conditions as for the apply.

The Indian Ocean Experiment

The Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) was an international field experiment with participation from United Kingdom, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the USA. The three main objectives were:

• Assess the significance of aerosols for global radiative forcing,
• Assess the magnitude of the solar absorption at the surface and in the troposphere including the ITCZ cloud systems,
• Assess the role of the ITCZ in the transport of trace species and pollutants and their resultant, radiative forcing.

Long-term observations started in January 1998 along with the first intensive field phase, which took place between January and May of 1999. For more details please check the .