Mathew M. Gunshor

INTRODUCING THE NEXT-GENERATION ADVANCED BASELINE IMAGER ON GOES-R

Abstract The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), designated to be one of the instruments on a future Geo-stationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) series, will introduce a new era for U.S. geostationary environmental remote sensing. ABI is slated to be launched on GOES-R in 2012 and will be used for a wide range of weather, oceanographic, climate, and environmental applications. ABI will have more spectral bands (16), faster imaging (enabling more geographical areas to be scanned), and higher spatial resolution (2 km in the infrared and 1–0.5 km in the visible) than the current GOES Imager. The purposes of the selected spectral bands are summarized in this paper. There will also be improved performance with regard to radiometrics and image navigation/registration. ABI will improve all current GOES Imager products and introduce a host of new products. New capabilities will include detecting upper-level SO2 plumes, monitoring plant health on a diurnal time scale, inferring cloud-top phase and partic...

Intercalibration of the Infrared Window and Water Vapor Channels on Operational Geostationary Environmental Satellites Using a Single Polar-Orbiting Satellite

Abstract The Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) has been intercalibrating radiometers on five geostationary satellites (GOES-8, -10, Meteosat-5, -7, and GMS-5) using a single polar-orbiting or low-earth orbiting satellite [NOAA-14 High-Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)] as a reference on a routine basis using temporally and spatially collocated measurements. This is being done for the 11-μm infrared window (IRW) channels as well as the 6.7-μm water vapor (WV) channels. IRW results between AVHRR or HIRS and all five geostationary instruments show relatively small differences, with all geostationary instruments vicariously comparing to within 0.6 K. The WV results between HIRS and all five geostationary instruments show larger differences, with geostationary instruments separating into two groups: GOES-8, -10, and GMS-5 comparing within 1 K; Meteosat-5 and -7 comparing within 0.1 K; and the two groups comparing w...

A Closer Look at the ABI on the GOES-R Series

AbstractThe Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on board the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R) is America’s next-generation geostationary advanced imager. GOES-R launched on 19 November 2016. The ABI is a state-of-the-art 16-band radiometer, with spectral bands covering the visible, near-infrared, and infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Many attributes of the ABI—such as spectral, spatial, and temporal resolution; radiometrics; and image navigation/registration—are much improved from the current series of GOES imagers. This paper highlights and discusses the expected improvements of each of these attributes. From ABI data many higher-level-derived products can be generated and used in a large number of environmental applications. The ABI’s design allows rapid-scan and contiguous U.S. imaging automatically interleaved with full-disk scanning. In this paper the expected instrument attributes are covered, as they relate to signal-to-noise ratio, image navigation and regis...

Intercalibration of Broadband Geostationary Imagers Using AIRS

Abstract Geostationary simultaneous nadir observations (GSNOs) are collected for Earth Observing System (EOS) Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on board Aqua and a global array of geostationary imagers. The imagers compared in this study are on (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites) GOES-10, GOES-11, GOES-12, (Meteorological Satellites) Meteosat-8, Meteosat-9, Multifunctional Transport Satellite-IR (MTSAT-IR), and Fenguyun-2C (FY-2C). It has been shown that a single polar-orbiting satellite can be used to intercalibrate any number of geostationary imagers. Using a high-spectral-resolution infrared sensor, in this case AIRS, brings this method closer to an absolute reckoning of imager calibration accuracy based on laboratory measurements of the instrument’s spectral response. An intercalibration method is presented here, including a method of compensating for AIRS’ spectral gaps, along with results for approximately 22 months of comparisons. The method appears to work very well for most ban...

Rapid Refresh Information of Significant Events: Preparing Users for the Next Generation of Geostationary Operational Satellites

AbstractThe Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-14 (GOES-14) imager was operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in an experimental rapid scan 1-min mode during parts of the summers of 2012 and 2013. This scan mode, known as the super rapid scan operations for GOES-R (SRSOR), emulates the high-temporal-resolution sampling of the mesoscale region scanning of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on the next-generation GOES-R series. This paper both introduces these unique datasets and highlights future satellite imager capabilities. Many phenomena were observed from GOES-14, including fog, clouds, severe storms, fires and smoke (including the California Rim Fire), and several tropical cyclones. In 2012 over 6 days of SRSOR data of Hurricane Sandy were acquired. In 2013, the first two days of SRSOR in June observed the propagation and evolution of a mid-Atlantic derecho. The data from August 2013 were unique in that the GOES imager operated in nearly continuous 1-min...

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-14 super rapid scan operations to prepare for GOES-R

Abstract Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-14 imager was operated by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in an experimental rapid scan 1-min mode that emulates the high-temporal resolution sampling of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on the next generation GOES-R series. Imagery with a refresh rate of 1 min of many phenomena were acquired, including clouds, convection, fires, smoke, and hurricanes, including 6 days of Hurricane Sandy through landfall. NOAA had never before operated a GOES in a nearly continuous 1-min mode for such an extended period of time, thereby making these unique datasets to explore the future capabilities possible with GOES-R. The next generation GOES-R imager will be able to routinely take mesoscale ( 1000     km × 1000     km ) images every 30 s (or two separate locations every minute). These images can be acquired even while scanning continental United States and full disk images. These high time-resolution images from the GOES-14 imager are being used to prepare for the GOES-R era and its advanced imager. This includes both the imagery and quantitative derived products such as cloud-top cooling. Several animations are included to showcase the rapid change of the many phenomena observed during super rapid scan operations for GOES-R (SRSOR).

A Sight for Sore Eyes: The Return of True Color to Geostationary Satellites

AbstractIn 1967, at the dawn of the satellite era, the Applications Technology Satellite 3 (ATS-3) provided the first full-disk “true color” images of Earth. With its depiction of blue oceans, golden deserts, and green forestlands beneath white clouds, the imagery captured the iconic Blue Marble in a way that resonates strongly with human perception. After ATS-3, the standard fare of geostationary satellites entailed a single visible band with additional infrared spectral channels. While single-band visible satisfied the basic user requirements of daytime imagery, the loss of true-color capability and its inherent capability to distinguish myriad atmospheric and surface features via coloration left a notable void. Nearly half a century later, with the launch of Japan’s Himawari-8 in October 2014, there is once again a geostationary sensor—the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI)—containing the multispectral visible bands required notionally for true color. However, it soon became apparent that AHI’s “green” ban...

In-flight performance of the Japanese Advanced Meteorological Imager

The Japanese Advanced Meteorological Imager (JAMI) was developed by Raytheon and delivered to Space Systems/Loral as the Imager Subsystem for Japans MTSAT-1R satellite. MTSAT-1R was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on 2005 February 26 and became formally operational on 2005 June 28. This paper compares in-flight performance of JAMI with predictions made before launch. The performance areas discussed include radiometric sensitivity (NEDT and SNR) versus spectral channel, calibration accuracy versus spectral channel derived from comparisons of JAMI and AIRS measurements and image navigation and registration.

2006 update on baseline instruments for the GOES-R series

In order to meet the requirements, documented by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) user communities, the instruments designated for the GOES-R notional baseline include an Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), a Hyperspectral Environmental Suite (HES), a Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), and advanced space and solar observing instruments including the Solar Imaging Suite (SIS) and the Space Environment In-Situ Suite (SEISS). These instruments will monitor a wide range of phenomena, including applications relating to: weather, climate, ocean, coastal zones, land, hazards, solar and space.

Errata: 10.35 μm: an atmospheric window on the GOES-R Advanced Baseline Imager with less moisture attenuation

Abstract. With the launch of GOES-R expected in 2015, research is currently under way to fully understand the characteristics of every channel on its Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI). The ABI will have two infrared (IR) window bands centered near 10.35 and 11.2 μm. Since no broad-band space-borne sensor has a channel near 10.35 μm, radiative transfer model simulations are used to study the clear-sky gaseous absorption properties in this wavelength range. It is shown that water vapor preferentially absorbs radiation at 11.2 μm compared to 10.35 μm, making the 10.35 μm a “cleaner” window IR band.