Preparing for the Next Generation of Hyperspectral Infrared Sounders

Hyperspectral infrared (IR) sounders, or advanced IR sounders, such as the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on Aqua, the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) on Metop series, and the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) on Suomi-NPP (SNPP) and Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) series, provide high vertical resolution atmospheric sounding information that can improve the forecast skill in numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. However, these high quality measurements are only available in sun synchronous orbits. Enabling such measurements in geostationary (GEO) orbits would greatly enhance the current forecast capability. Several meteorological and space agencies have either launched or plan to launch hyperspectral IR sounders in GEO orbit over the next few years and NOAA is conducting formulation studies to determine the requirements, and assess cost and technical readiness for a future instrument. To this end, a hyperspectral geostationary data is being simulated that combines high sounder imaging cadence (15- to 30-minute full disk refresh) with moderate spatial resolution (in the 3-5km nadir range). Based on experience gained by developing operational processing systems for processing hyperspectral data in low Earth orbit, a prototype ground processing system will be developed to model the computing requirements in a GEO orbit. This paper will highlight the findings from this study.