Data collected by Taiwan’s first indigenously produced weather satellite, Triton (Formosat-7R), was recently released, underscoring government efforts to advance the country’s meteorological observation capabilities, according to the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) July 12.
Launched last October, Triton, also known as Wind-Hunter, gathers between 30,000 and 40,000 reflections from navigation satellites over sea surfaces daily, resulting in 7,000 to 8,000 wind speed products, the TASA said. Such data helps fill gaps in radar data near the Earth’s surface and significantly improves heavy rainfall forecast accuracy, it added.
The agency made the remarks during a press briefing at the National Science and Technology Council headquarters in Taipei City.
During the event, Triton program leader Lin Chen-zong further detailed how the wind speed products capture speeds below 20 meters per second and are validated against atmospheric reanalysis data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts to ensure their accuracy. The observations currently focus on the low-latitude regions of the Atlantic, Indian and Western Pacific Oceans, where typhoons commonly form, he said.
Chen Zong-quan, then-deputy minister of the NSTC, said Triton demonstrates Taiwan’s robust satellite and payload manufacturing capabilities. Its data provides valuable information for disaster warnings as well as a reliable scientific foundation for climate research, environmental protection projects and relevant government policies, he added.
Following his remarks, TASA Director General Wu Jong-shinn said that Triton’s Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry data processing system was also independently developed by the TASA in collaboration with the Central Weather Administration and domestic research institutions. The agency will seek international cooperation opportunities on high wind speed data processing and applications while working to include GNSS-R and GNSS radio occultation payloads in future satellite missions, he added.
According to the TASA, Triton’s observation data is progressively updated at the Taiwan Analysis Center for COSMIC, which was jointly established by the agency and the CWA. (YCH-E)
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