GOES-R: ABI Mode and Mesoscale Domain Sector Request Process

GOES-R represents a leap forward in capabilities for the entire portfolio of GOES science products. GOES-R will provide enhanced spectral, temporal, and spatial information, and with the deployment of a new system with new capabilities such as the Geostationary Lightning Mapper, user readiness becomes an increasingly important activity. The GOES-R Product Readiness and Operations (PRO) team is tasked to work with our partners at the National Weather Service (NWS) and within NESDIS to ensure that the satellite products are ready for operations and the user community is ready to receive and disseminate the various products to serve their needs and requirements.

One new capability is the Flex Mode scanning strategy of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) that will produce mesoscale scans every 30 or 60 seconds. The PRO team worked with many partners in the NWS, NESDIS, and the GOES-R Ground Segment to develop a comprehensive process for determining how these Mesoscale Domain Sectors (MDS) will be placed in an efficient manner for operations. The ABI is very flexible when switching between Flex Mode and Continuous Full Disk mode. This  is another new capability, and added layer of complexity, that was accounted for in the process.

This presentation will detail the background information and reasoning behind the Mode and MDS request process. It will describe the MDS location process during three periods: launch until operations handover to the NESDIS/Office of Satellite and Product Operations, handover until satellite location assignment (East or West) when the satellite is located in its check-out position, and the period after satellite location assignment.