The ABI (Advanced Baseline Imager) on GOES-R

The next generation geostationary satellite series will offer a continuation of current product and services and enable improved and new capabilities. The Advanced Baseline Imager on GOES-R, planned for launch in the 2012 timeframe, has been designed to meet user requirements covering a wide range of phenomena. As with the current GOES Imager, the ABI will be used for a wide range of weather, oceanographic, climate, and environmental applications. The ABI will improve upon the current GOES Imager with more spectral bands, faster imaging, higher spatial resolution, better navigation, and more accurate calibration. The ABI expands from five spectral bands on the current GOES imagers to 16 spectral bands in the visible, near-infrared and infrared spectral regions. There will be an increase of the coverage rate leading to full disk scans at least every 15 minutes. ABI spatial resolution will be 2 km for the infrared bands and 0.5 km for the 0.64 ƒÝm visible band. ABI will improve every product from the current GOES Imager and will introduce a host of new products. For example, ABI will provide cloud-top phase/particle size information and much improved aerosol and smoke detection for air quality monitoring and forecasts.

ABI will not be operating alone; several products can be improved when using high spatial resolution imager data with co-located measurements from the Hyperspectral Environmental Suite (HES) and the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM). HES offers hemispheric sounding with improved vertical resolution and coastal zone imaging of water leaving radiances. GLM detects total lightning strikes (in cloud, cloud to cloud, and cloud to ground) complementing today's land based systems that only measures cloud to ground. The combination of ABI, HES, and GLM offers opportunities for improved water, weather, climate, and hazard applications.