Use of GOES-R Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) Proxy Data to Assess the Performance of the GOES-R Winds Algorithm

A new Atmospheric Motion Vector (AMV) nested tracking algorithm has been developed for the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) to be flown on NOAA’s future GOES-R satellite which is scheduled to be launched in November 2016. GOES-N/O/P, Meteosat SEVERI, and NPP/VIIRS  imagery have served as GOES-R ABI proxy data sources for the continued development, testing, and validation of the GOES-R AMV algorithms.  Himawari-8 was successfully launched October 7, 2014 and carries the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) which is an almost identical instrument to the ABI. The availability of AHI datasets brings an unprecedented opportunity to exercise and test the GOES-R AMV algorithm.

This talk will focus on the outcome of our work to assess the performance of the nested tracking algorithm using H-8/AHI imagery as well as the other proxy data sources noted above. We will share what we have learned since developing the baseline algorithm and discuss algorithm  improvements we have made and tested. Finally, we will highlight some of the AMV user readiness activities we are involved in to help prepare our user community for GOES-R.