maximizing three DNDVI images.
(vi) Storing of the resulting MNDVI image in the database.
For processing of the NOAA AVHRR HRPT data at 1.1 km resolution, essentially the same sequence of
processing steps is followed. At present, this is not an automated programme and requires operator
intervention.
6. ARTEMIS Output Products for Supporting Food Security Early Warning and Desert Locust Monitoring
and Forecasting
Since August 1988, the ARTEMIS system produces the following products on a routine basis:
(i) Ten-day and monthly cold cloud duration (D/MCCD) maps for the continent of Africa and the
Near-East, based on hourly Meteosat data.
(ii) Ten-day and monthly estimated rainfall (D/MERF) maps for the Southern Sahara, Sahel,
Sudanian and tropical countries of West Africa, obtained through regression relationships
between CCD and ground observed rainfall.
(iii) Ten-day and monthly estimated number of rainfall day (D/MNRFD) maps for Africa and the
Near-East.
(iv) Ten-day and monthly NOAA AVHRR GAC based composite vegetation index (D/MNDVI) maps
for Africa, Southern Europe, the Near East and South-West Asia.
The above products all have a spatial resolution of 7.6 km and are available in both photographic and digital
IBM PC compatible formats.
(v) Ten-day NOAA AVHRR HRPT based composite vegetation index maps for the desert locust
recession area of West Africa.
The above product has a spatial resolution of approximate 1.1 km and has been operationally available from
mid-August 1989. Detailed information about the current ARTEMIS data bases is provided in Appendix I.
At present, in cooperation with NASA GSFC, the ARTEMIS vegetation index data coverage is being expanded
to cover the rest of Asia and Central and South America. Operational data product availability is expected
by the end of 1990.
7. ARTEMIS Product User Community
The following entities are currently receiving the ARTEMIS output products on a ten-daily and monthly basis.
A. At FAO Headquarters:
(i) The Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) on Food and Agriculture;
(ii) The Emergency Centre for Locust Operations (ECLO);
(iii) The Office for Special Relief Operations (OSRO);
(iv) The Agrometeorology Group of the FAO Remote Sensing Centre.
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