Indian Ocean Data Coverage (IODC)

Meteosat-7 provides the Indian Ocean Data Coverage (IODC) service which comprises level 1.5 image data, meteorological products and a data collection and retransmission service. The current near real-time data are rectified to 57deg E.

History of IODC

IODC was originally established to support INDOEX by providing Meteosat-5 imagery for the Indian Ocean area, for the duration of this experiment. 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.

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 to:

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

High Resolution Image (HRI) Data

The First Generation Meteosat in operation over the Indian Ocean provides image data 24 hours a day, from the three spectral channels of the main instrument, the Meteosat Visible and InfraRed Imager (MVIRI), every 30 minutes. The three channels are in the visible, infrared, and water vapour regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Calibration information for the water vapour (WV) and infrared (IR) channels is provided in the image headers, to allow conversion from digital counts into radiances. The Calibration pages provide information on how to transform digital counts into temperatures. Historical Meteosat calibration coefficients can also be found on those pages.

Meteorological Products

Products derived from the first generation Meteosat image data have many meteorological and research applications, enabling detailed monitoring of the state of the atmosphere. For further details on the list of products, consult the Product Navigator. 

Data Collection and Retransmission Service — Tsunami Support

Meteosat has 66 telecommunication channels used for the relay of environmental data from automatic or semi-automatic Data Collection Platforms (DCP). The current service is provided primarily in support of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Early Warning System.

Thirty-year Archive

A complete archive of all historical Meteosat HRI data and meteorological products is available from the EUMETSAT Data Centre. Spanning thirty years, these time-series data provide a valuable contribution to climate studies and research.

An archive of scanned polaroid images, covering the early years of Meteosat-1 and 2, are available on CD-ROM. These images, supplied by the ZDF, include all 0 degree images from the years 1978, 1979, 1981 and 1982. The Meteosat ZDF Image Archive webpage has more information, or contact our User Service Helpdesk to order your free copy.

Earlier 0 degree, Atlantic Data Coverage and Rapid Scan Services

Prior to providing the IODC Service, MFG satellites supported the prime 0 degree service providing image data; meteorological products; data collection and retransmission, and the Meteorological Data Distribution service comprising meteorological observations and charts containing both data analyses and forecasts.  These services are now being performed by the Meteosat Second Generation satellites.

In 1999 Meteosat-6 took part in the international Mesoscale Alpine Programme (MAP), aimed at improving knowledge of precipitation mechanisms and circulation patterns in mountainous regions. During an intensive observing period, from August to November 1999, the satellite scanned the alpine region at five-minute intervals, returning six images every half-hour. The Rapid Scanning Service (RSS) was established as an operational service, from September 2001, and continued until January 2007, when service was transferred to a Meteosat Second Generation satellite. Meteosat-6 was reorbited and retired on 15 April, 2011.

In order to bridge a gap in availability of GOES data from the western Atlantic Ocean from 1991 until 1995, Meteosat-3 was moved to the west, at first to 50° W and early in 1993 to 75° W. This temporary service, called Atlantic Data Coverage (ADC) and Extended-ADC (XADC) respectively, had the primary purpose of supporting the monitoring of severe weather events such as hurricanes.  Image data from this period are available from the EUMETSAT Data Centre archive.