Acronyms
3DVAR – Three-Dimensional Variational Data Assimilation
4DVAR – Four-Dimensional Variational Data Assimilation
ACMAD - African Centre of Meteorological Application for Development
AEJ - African Easterly Jet
AEW - African Easterly Wave
AIRS - Atmospheric Infrared Sounder
AMDAR - Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay
AMMA - African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis
AMO - Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation
AMS - American Meteorological Society
AMSR-E - EOS Advanced Scanning Microwave Radiometer
AMSU-B - Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit B
ASAR - European Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar
ASTER - Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer
AVHRR - Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer
ARPEGE - Action de Recherche Petite Echelle Grande Echelle ( Météo-France model)
AWIPS - Advanced Weather Interactive Processing Systems
BOM - Bureau of Meteorology (Australian)
BWER - Bounded Weak Echo Region
CALIPSO - Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation
CCN - Cloud Condensation Nuclei
CDO - Central Dense Overcast
CERES - Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System instrument
CIMSS - Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies
CISK - Conditional Instability of the Second Kind
CLIPER - CLImatology and PERsistence model
CMAP - CPC Merged Analysis of Precipitation
CMORPH - CPC Morphing technique
COSMIC - Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate
CPC - NWS Climate Prediction Center
CPS - Cyclone Phase Space
DFR - Dual Frequency Radar
DMSP - Defense Meteorological Satellite Program
EAR - Equatorial Atmosphere Radar
ECMWF - European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
ELDORA - Electra Doppler Radar
EMEX - Equatorial Mesoscale Experiment
EnKF - Ensemble Kalman Filter
ENSO - El Niño - Southern Oscillation
EOS - NASA Earth Observing System
E-P - Evaporation minus Precipitation
ER - Equatorial Rossby (wave)
ET - Evapotranspiration
ET - Extratropical Transition
EUMETSAT - European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites
FORTE - Fast On-orbit Recording of Transient Events
FPAR - Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation
GARP - Global Atmospheric Research Program
GATE - GARP Atlantic Tropical Experiment
GEM - Global Environmental Multiscale (Canadian Meteorological Centre Model)
GFDL - Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (NOAA)
GFS - Global Forecast System (NOAA/NCEP model)
GHCN - Global Historical Climatology Network
GHz - Giga Hertz
GMS - Geostationary Meteorological Satellite
GOES - Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite
GPCP - Global Precipitation Climatology Project
GHz - Giga Hertz
GOES - Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite
GOS - Global Observing System
GPM - Global Precipitation Mission
GPS - Global Positioning System
HYSPLIT HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory
IR - Infrared
IRI - International Research Institute for Climate and Society, Columbia University
ITCZ - Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone
IWTC - International Workshop on Tropical Cyclones (of the WMO)
JAXA - Japanese Space Agency
JMA - Japan Meteorological Agency
JPSS - Joint Polar Satellite System (formerly NPOESS)
JTWC - Joint Typhoon Warning Center
LAI - Leaf Area Index
LEO - Low Earth Orbit
LIS - Lightning Imaging Sensor
MCS - Mesoscale Convective System
MDR - Main Development Region (North Atlantic tropical cyclones)
METEOSAT - EUMETSAT geostationary platform
MIMIC - Morphed Integrated Microwave Imagery at CIMSS
MISR - Multi-angle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer
MJO - Madden-Julian Oscillation
MODIS - EOS MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
MOPITT - Measurements Of Pollution in The Troposphere
MPI - Maximum Potential Intensity
MRG - Mixed Rossby-gravity (wave)
NAO - North Atlantic Oscillation
NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NCEP - National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NOAA)
NESDIS - National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service
NETWC - Near Equatorial Trade Wind Convergence
NHC - National Hurricane Center (NOAA/NWS/NCEP)
NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOGAPS - Navy's Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System
NRL - Naval Research Laboratory
NWP - Numerical Weather Prediction
NWS - National Weather Service
OLR - Outgoing Longwave Radiation
OLS - DMSP Operational Linescan System
OMI - Ozone Monitoring Instrument
PALSAR - Japanese Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar
PDO - Pacific Decadal Oscillation
PI - Potential Intensity
PPI - Plan Position Indicator
PR - TRMM Precipitation Radar
PV - Potential Vorticity
QBO - Quasi-Biennial Oscillation
RHI - Range Height Indicator
RSMC - Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre
SACZ - South Atlantic Convergence Zone
SAL - Saharan Air Layer
SALLJEX - South American Low-Level Jet Experiment
SAR - Synthetic Aperture Radar
SHIPS - Statistical Hurricane Intensity Prediction Scheme
SLP - Sea Level Pressure
SMONEX - Summer Monsoon Experiment
SOI - Southern Oscillation Index
SPCZ - South Pacific Convergence Zone
SSM/I - Special Sensor Microwave/Imager
SSM/IS - Special Sensor Microwave/Imager Sounder
SST - Sea Surface Temperature
TAMEX - Taiwan Mesoscale Experiment
TC - Tropical Cyclone
TCSP - Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes
TCWC - Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre
TMI - TRMM Microwave Imager
TOGA COARE - Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment
TOMS - Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer
TRMM - Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
TTT - Tropical-Temperate Trough
TUTT - Tropical Upper-Tropospheric Trough
TWPICE - Tropical Warm Pool International Cloud Experiment
UKMO - United Kingdom Meteorological Office
UTC - Universal Time Coordinated
VAAC - Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers
VAD - Velocity Azimuth Display
VHF - Very High Frequency
WISHE - Wind-Induced Surface Heat Exchange
WMO - World Meteorological Organization
WRF - Weather Research and Forecasting Model