New study confirms decommissioned microsat Diwata-1 can measure cloud-top height

MANILA, Philippines – Diwata-1, the Philippines’ first microsatellite which was officially decommissioned last March, has been found capable of measuring cloud-top heights which can be essential in estimating cloudiness rates and predicting where torrential rains would fall.

A study from the open-source international journal Scientific Reports – shared on Tuesday by the Space Technology and Applications Mastery, Innovation and Advancement (STAMINA4Space) Program which handled Diwata-1 – said this is due to the microsatellite’s ability to lock targets or take photos of cloud bands in various angles as it moves around the earth.

Initially, it was thought that remote-sensing earth-observation satellites can only provide a bird’s-eye view of the clouds, as they can use cameras facing the earth while on low earth orbit.  However, the target-locking mode which captures cloud images at a fast speed of 200 milliseconds can create three-dimensional images of clouds.

“Monitoring the height of a cloud top, which is the distance between the top-most visible portion of a cloud and the Earth’s surface, is important in estimating the vertical growth of clouds, whose fast rate often indicates severe weather phenomena such as torrential rainfall and thunderstorms,” STAMINA4Space said.

“Using data from DIWATA-1, the study constructs three-dimensional cloud models at higher spatial and temporal resolutions than those previously reported. DIWATA-1, with its target-locking capability, captures images of a cloud at 200-ms interval, which is 750 times faster than conventional satellites,” they added.

According to STAMINA4Space, estimating cloud-top heights can give an insight in the development of thunderstorms, and is highly essential during the Philippines’ dry months as it can help predict the amount of rainfall that would be generated after the summer season.

“Estimating the cloud-top height directly contributes to the capability to monitor the vertical growth of clouds. This, in return, gives a hint of the atmospheric activities associated with the development of thunderstorms that may bring about isolated and torrential downpours,” the organization explained.

“Monitoring the cloud-top height is essential especially during the dry months of April until before the onset of wet months in June in the Philippines. In these months, the intense heat experienced during the day contributes to an increase in the convective activity of the atmosphere,” they added.

Diwata-1, a 50-kilogram microsatellite, was decommissioned last April 7, 2020, after it eventually lost altitude and re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere.  Still, Diwata-1 exceeded its initial slated lifespan of 18 months, feeding scientists with data for almost four years.

During its lifetime, Diwata-1 covered at least 114,087 km. sq. of the Philippines’ land, or roughly 38.0% of the country’s area.  Diwata-1 also orbited approximately 22,643 times around the Earth and passed by the Philippines roughly 4,800 times.

STAMINA4Space said Diwata-1 served as a blueprint for other satellite releases including the Maya-1, the nanocube satellite launched in August 2018 tasked to help scientists create geohazard maps.

Dr. Gay Jane Perez, Program Leader of STAMINA4Space and one of the paper’s authors explained further that microsatellites are a cheaper option to conventional satellites and are easier to build, especially if complicated tasks like measuring cloud-top height are possible.

“This is crucial for monitoring and understanding the development of thunderstorms and related severe weather events,” Perez said.

“Since microsatellites are much cheaper to build and can be developed faster, the realization of its operational use for weather forecasting can be achieved with a constellation of microsatellites and denser ground receiving stations,” she added.