GOES-R: Improved Data to Better Visualize the Earth

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) series provides the continuity for the existing GOES system currently operating over the Western Hemisphere. The planned Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R series of imagers is much improved compared to the current GOES-13/15 GOES imagers. These improvements are in the areas of temporal, spectral, and spatial. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operated GOES-14 in an experimental rapid scan 1-minute mode during parts of spring and summer 2014. This experimental scan mode is called Super Rapid Scan Operations for GOES-R (SRSOR) and emulates the high temporal resolution sampling of the mesoscale region scanning of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on the next generation GOES-R series. These data are helping better prepare users for the next generation imager which will be able to routinely acquire mesoscale (nominally 1,000 km x 1,000 km) images every 30 seconds (or two separate locations every minute). These data offer a glimpse into the future and the improved measurements of the ABI on GOES-R. The improved spectral resolution will be demonstrated by simulated ABI imagery, along with the expected ABI scan patterns. The improved spatial resolutions with the ABI will be showcased compare current higher resolution imagery. A recently developed Educational WebApp will be introduced to demonstrate high-time resolution imagery for a number of phenomena. The improved spectral resolution will be demonstrated by simulated ABI imagery, along with other imagery. Due to these improvements and other improvements, such as the spectral bands, the ABI will offer much improved imagery. For example, while there is no ‘green' spectral band on the ABI, a natural color image will still be possible. Another earth-viewing instrument on the GOES-R series, the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) represents an advancement over current GOES by providing an entirely new capability for total lightning detection (cloud and cloud-to-ground flashes) The GLM will map total lightning continuously day and night with near-uniform spatial resolution of 8 km with a product latency of less than 20 sec over the Americas and adjacent oceanic regions. When used together, the combined information from the ABI and GLM will offer many new opportunities to visualize the earth-atmosphere system.