Routine Validation of the GOES-R Multi-Satellite Processing System Framework

The GOES-R Algorithm Working Group (AWG) is tasked to develop and test candidate environmental (Level 2) product algorithms in a scalable, pseudo-operational demonstration system, as well as develop validation and verification tools. In conjunction with NOAA/NESDIS/STAR, the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) at the University of Wisconsin - Madison has helped develop and validate algorithms in the AWG Product Processing System Framework. Routine verification and validation of the various products, as well as performance characterization of the reference implementations, are important parts of the software integration process. To ensure that the algorithms are correctly integrated into the GOES-R AWG Framework, tools were developed to compare datasets between several relevant product generation systems, independent of file format and convention, allowing for quick comparisons which verify that the algorithm was successfully integrated correctly, or quickly identify where issues occur. These same tools have been used to verify the implementation of the GOES-R AWG algorithms with the GOES-R Ground System as compared to output of the GOES-R AWG Framework and various AWG teams. Once the algorithm is integrated into the AWG Framework, a set of routine monitoring tools are used to visualize the products on a routine basis, as well as provide statistics over the course of time. These tools can alert when a given image produces unexpected results. The next step is routinely inter-comparing the products with truth datasets, such as the CALIOP lidar. Because the truth data are not in the same spatial and temporal step as the native satellite data, tools to collocate these data with satellite data and then validate the algorithms have been developed.

An overview and examples of these routine validation efforts for the GOES-R products produced by the AIT Framework and GOES-R Ground System, along with what tools are used, will be discussed.