Hui Shao

About Hui Shao

NOAA/Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation

Posts by Hui Shao:

Aug 21 2026

Request community contributions to WGIII action item for IROWG

Dear IROWG colleagues,

At the latest Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS) plenary meeting (June 2026), IROWG was notified that CGMS Working Group III (WGIII) tasked IROWG with coordinating a scientific assessment of the impact of the decline in COSMIC-2 radio occultation (RO) observations expected as the constellation ages. The IROWG assessment is to inform the next WGIII Risk Assessment Workshop (24–26 February 2027). FYI, IROWG is under CGMS-WGII (Satellite data and products), while WGIII is the Working Group on Operational Continuity and Contingency Planning.

The action reads:

Action # Actionee AGN item Description Action feedback/closing document Deadline Status
54.01p_wgiii IROWG WGIII IROWG to assess the impact of the decline in COSMIC data availability, possibly distinguishing between the respective contributions of low- and medium-inclination orbit, and analysing the number of RO required to mitigate the risk 4 June 2026
– A follow-up call will be arranged to better understand how the action item supports agency priorities
– IROWG can help coordinate an assessment
– The timeline for completing the assessment depends on the detailed plan for conducting the assessment		 End of 2026

(9th WGIII RAWS: 24-26 Feb 2027)

 OPEN

WGIII has indicated that “we do not need IROWG to weigh in on the potential acquisitions strategies for data, but rather to provide information about what data is needed to maintain capabilities and/or mitigate loss of COSMIC-2.The purpose of the action is for IROWG to provide information to WGIII in advance of the next Risk Assessment to inform WGIII discussion/evaluation of risk posed by degradation/loss of COSMIC-2 and, if needed, discussion of potential contingencies to mitigate loss of COSMIC-2. The questions WGIII would like the IROWG to answer are:

  1. >From a scientific perspective, what is the minimum number of equatorial (low inclination) RO needed to maintain current performance of operational NWP
  2. Define what they mean by low inclination (clarify the orbital characteristics for low inclination so we can be sure we are all talking about the same thing)
  3. Identify if there are options to use increases in the number of non-low inclination RO to mitigate the loss of COSMIC 2 and if so, to be specific about how many additional occultations (be specific about number and distribution needed). “

The IROWG Co-Chairs will meet with WGIII shortly after IROWG-11 (September 2026) to provide an update on the community’s progress. Therefore, we would like to begin gathering relevant information before the workshop and continue the discussion during IROWG-11.

We would greatly appreciate hearing from anyone who has:

  • existing publications, reports, or presentations relevant to the impact of declining COSMIC-2 observations;
  • ongoing studies or planned work related to this topic;
  • operational or research experience that could help inform the scientific assessment.

We recognize that IROWG is an international scientific working group, and contributions are entirely voluntary. Existing analyses, ongoing work, and expert perspectives are all valuable.

If there is sufficient interest, the IROWG Co-Chairs would also be happy to organize an informal community discussion before IROWG-11 to exchange ideas and help facilitate discussion during the workshop.

If you have relevant material or would like to contribute to this assessment, please contact the IROWG Co-Chairs at your convenience.

Thank you in advance for your help and for supporting this community effort.

Best regards,

Hui Shao and Uli Foelsche, IROWG Co-Chairs

Tony Mannucci, IROWG Rapporteur

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Jul 6 2026

Polarimetric RO workshop summary report published online

We are pleased to announce that the summary report of the 3rd Polarimetric Radio Occultation (PRO) Workshop has now been published online in the Journal of the European Meteorological Society:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemets.2026.100045

The workshop materials, including presentations and additional information, are available through the following link:
https://irowg.org/gnss-pro-workshop-gnss-pro-3/

We thank all participants and contributors for their valuable discussions and continued efforts in advancing Polarimetric Radio Occultation science and applications.

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Jul 6 2026

IROWG-11 registration open

Please register for OPAC-IROWG 2026!

==============================================
Conference registration is open until July 31:
https://opacirowg2026.uni-graz.at/en/registration
==============================================

Remember: the registration includes lunch and dinner (except Sunday), Get-together party, drinks during the poster session, conference dinner, wine tasting (we don’t force you to drink wine – but it is included), …

Thanks to our sponsors:
https://opacirowg2026.uni-graz.at/en/sponsors/
we have been able to keep the registration fee in a reasonable range, and to reduce the fee for students to 250.- EUR

We are currently planning the detailed program, some key points are:

Wednesday, Sept. 9: arrival in Seggauberg, Dinner included
Thursday, Sept. 10: Workshop starts at 9:00.Get-together dinner in the evening.
Friday: Poster session (including drinks) in the evening.
Saturday: IROWG Subgroup-meetings, excursion and conference dinner.
Sunday is free – you can relax, or prepare your talk …
Monday: Guided wine cellar tour (incl. wine tasting)
Wednesday, Sept. 16: Workshop ends around noon, Lunch included

If there is urgent need for a side meeting (e.g. on the BUFR format …), this could happen on Tuesday evening.

Please check the workshop page for updates, e.g. regarding travel info:
https://opacirowg2026.uni-graz.at/en/info/

We are looking forward to seeing you in Austria in September!

Uli Foelsche, on behalf of the organizing committee.

U. Foelsche, J. Danzer, M. Schwärz, (WEGC & IPhys UniGraz, AT), OPAC Chairs
H. Shao (Naval Research Lab., USA), IROWG Co-Chair
A.J. Mannucci (JPL, Pasadena, USA), IROWG-CGMS Rapporteur

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Apr 2 2026

OPAC-IROWG 2026: 2nd Announcement & Call for Papers

================================================

2nd Announcement & Call for Papers,  March 31, 2026

We are pleased to announce:

OPAC-IROWG 2026
International Workshop on Occultations for Probing Atmosphere and Climate
Joint OPAC-8 & IROWG-11 Workshop
September 10-16, 2026, Seggau Castle,
Leibnitz near Graz, Austria
https://opacirowg2026.uni-graz.at/en/

****************************************************************************
An attractive forum for everybody interested in atmospheric remote
sensing by occultation methods and/or the use of occultation data
in atmospheric physics, meteorology, and climate.
****************************************************************************
Please forward also to colleagues who might be interested.
You are cordially invited to join OPAC-IROWG 2026 – Welcome!
Please submit your abstract before May 3, 2026 via
 
An earlier submission is, however, encouraged to ease your travel arrangements.
We have reserved a block of rooms in Seggau Castle (promotion code: OPAC2026). This block reservation is secured until May 31.

U. Foelsche, J. Danzer, M. Schwärz, (WEGC & IPhys UniGraz, AT), OPAC Chairs
H. Shao (JCSDA and UCAR, USA), IROWG Co-Chair
A.J. Mannucci (JPL, Pasadena, USA), IROWG-CGMS Rapporteur
==================================================

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Feb 5 2026

OPAC-IROWG 2026, September 10–16, Seggau Castle, Austria

Dear IROWG,

Date and venue have already been announced before – but just to make sure that you mark your calendar: IROWG-11 will be held together with the OPAC-8 Workshop from September 10–16 in Seggau Castle, Austria.

The workshop website will be: https://opacirowg2026.uni-graz.at

Julia Danzer and Marc Schwärz will join me as OPAC chairs, and Hui Shao and Tony Mannucci as IROWG WS chairs. The call for papers will follow in spring.

Meanwhile, also the AMT Special Issue from our 2022 workshop is (finally) complete: https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/special_issue1270.html

Uli Foelsche, on behalf of IROWG

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Nov 5 2025

PRO Workshop Nov 10–12, 2025: Agenda Available and Remote Registration Still Open

Dear IROWG,

The Polarimetric Radio Occultation (PRO) Workshop will be held next week, November 10–12, in Darmstadt, Germany with remote access. The workshop agenda is now available online .

If you still would like to participate in this workshop remotely, please register through the website.  The remote access information will be sent to you.

In case you have any question or require any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the organising team: events@eumetsat.int

Best regards,

Hui

on behalf of the PRO workshop organizing committee

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Aug 23 2025

Third GNSS-PRO Workshop in November 2025 – Registration is now open

Dear all,

The “3rd GNSS Polarimetric Radio Occultations Workshop” will take place 10-12 November 2025, at the EUMETSAT headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany.

Registration is now available at the workshop main page. Deadline is 25 Oct 2025. 

This third workshop follows on to the “2nd GNSS Polarimetric Radio Occultation workshop” from 2023. It represents a forum for addressing multiple uses and applications that have been studied in the seven years that polarimetric RO (PRO) data have been available, align the presentation of these results, and prepare recommendations for meteorological, space and research organizations (e.g., CGMS agencies, the EUMETSAT ROM SAF) and satellite data providers.

The workshop will feature presentations and discussions in the following areas:

  • Status of current and future polarimetric-capable RO observations
  • Precipitation, convection, extreme precipitation events
  • Use of PRO to evaluate model microphysical parameterization schemes
  • NWP and climate model evaluation
  • Assimilation of PRO observations
  • Simulations and comparisons between PRO and passive MW radiances
  • Recommendations to space agencies and data providers
  • ROM SAF consultation process

While the workshop will offer a hybrid attendance format, in-person attendance is encouraged. If you would like to present materials at the workshop, you can enter (even a tentative) title at the time of registration. An abstract is not required. Further information and an agenda will be provided after registration closes.

With kind regards,

Christian Marquardt on behalf of Estel Cardellach (IEEC) and Joe Turk (JPL)

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Jun 20 2025

Call for Papers: ROMEX Special Issue in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT)

Dear all,

I’m pleased to announce that the Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT) special issue titled
“The Radio Occultation Modeling EXperiment (ROMEX): observational quality, processing, and numerical weather prediction (NWP) applications”
is now open for submissions.

ROMEX, an IROWG-led initiative, aims to assess the impact of ~35,000 daily radio occultation (RO) profiles—collected from 13 missions during September–November 2022—on numerical weather prediction. This international campaign involves contributions from data providers, processing centers, and forecasting institutions across the global research and operational communities.

The special issue welcomes papers using ROMEX data on topics including, but not limited to:

  • RO data quality and processing

  • Evaluation and validation of RO datasets

  • Impact studies in NWP and other atmospheric applications

Submission is open from 1 May 2025 to 31 December 2026 (extensions possible).
🔗 Submit here: https://editor.copernicus.org/AMT/manuscript_registration
Please ensure the correct special issue title is selected during submission. Editorial assignment follows a first-come, first-served policy.

📄 A full description of the special issue is available at:
https://www.atmospheric-measurement-techniques.net/articles_and_preprints/scheduled_sis.html# (under 2025)

We look forward to your contributions!

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Mar 25 2025

CGMS-53 IROWG documents and presentations now available online

Dear IROWG,
This week marks the CGMS-53 Working Group meeting. Our IROWG documents and presentations – building on insights from IROWG-10 and the Second ROMEX Workshop – have been uploaded to the IROWG website: IROWG Documents (CGMS-53 Documents)

They are also available on the CGMS-53 website under the WGII tab: CGMS-53 Website

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the workshops, discussions, and recommendations! Your efforts are highly recognized and appreciated by the CGMS WGII leadership, underscoring the impact of our collective contributions. Looking forward to our next collaborative efforts!

Hui Shao

Co-chair of IROWG

UCAR/JCSDA

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Dec 17 2024

IROWG email list transition is complete

Dear All,

We have completed the transition of the IROWG email list. The previous address, irowglist@irowg.org, is now officially retired. Going forward, all IROWG announcements will be sent to the new email address. The IROWG website has also been updated with the latest contact information. Please help spread the word within your networks.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Christian Marquardt and EUMETSAT for their dedicated efforts during this transition and their ongoing support for the new email service. I also appreciate your prompt responses and continued support for the IROWG community.

Wishing everyone wonderful holidays ahead and a fantastic 2025!

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