American Meteorological Society Certification Remote Sensing and Atmospheric Observation 3

Question 1

GPS radio occultation provides which type of atmospheric data?

Accepted Answer

Temperature and humidity profiles from GPS signal refraction

Answer

GPS radio occultation measures bending of GPS signals through the atmosphere to retrieve temperature, humidity, and pressure profiles globally.

Question 2

What is quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) from radar?

Accepted Answer

Estimation of rainfall rates and totals from radar reflectivity using Z-R relationships

Answer

QPE uses Z-R relationships (reflectivity to rain rate) to convert radar reflectivity values into estimates of actual precipitation amounts.

Question 3

Lightning detection networks like the US NLDN measure what properties of lightning strokes?

Accepted Answer

Location, time, polarity, and peak current of lightning strikes

Answer

The National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) uses time-of-arrival techniques to detect and locate cloud-to-ground lightning, measuring peak current, polarity, and time.

Question 4

What advantage do LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellites have over GEO satellites for atmospheric sounding?

Accepted Answer

Higher spatial resolution and better coverage of polar regions

Answer

LEO satellites provide higher spatial resolution and full global coverage including polar regions, though with less frequent revisit times than GEO satellites.

Question 5

What is the primary meteorological use of the GOES-R Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI)?

Accepted Answer

Multi-band visible, near-IR, and IR imaging for cloud, moisture, and fire detection

Answer

The ABI on GOES-R provides 16-band imagery from visible to thermal infrared for monitoring clouds, moisture, severe storms, fires, and other phenomena.

American Meteorological Society Certification Practice Test

American Meteorological Society Certification Practice Test

American Meteorological Society Certification Remote Sensing and Atmospheric Observation 3