User Readiness Issues for GOES-R

In order to meet the requirements, documented by the GOES user communities, the instruments designated for the GOES-R notional baseline include an Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), a Hyperspectral Environmental Suite (HES), a Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), a Solar Instrument Suite (SIS), and a Space Environment in-situ Suite (SEISS). These instruments will provide data at a rate 50 times faster than the current GOES satellites with greatly improved radiometric accuracy, and spectral, spatial, and temporal resolution. This great amount of information will offer both a continuation of current products and services along with a multitude of new or improved capabilities. Just a few examples of anticipated improvements include, better satellite derived winds; aerosol detection for air quality and slant range visibility; cloud properties such as particle size and phase; improved quantitative precipitation forecasts; improved volcanic ash detection; improved monitoring of coastal ecosystems; improved detection of atmospheric water vapor flux, providing the capability of forecasting individual thunderstorm cells; and an estimate of the total lightning over most of the western hemisphere.

Before we can reap the benefits of the GOES-R series, we first face the challenge to ensure that the user communities are ready to receive and use the information immediately following the start of operations. Issues to be resolved include: the processing and distribution of vast amounts of data and products; algorithm development and refinement for producing and analyzing products; development of automated decision aids to help users sort through the vast amount of information available for each specific analysis or forecast problem; user education on the use of data and products much more complex than from the current GOES series; and data and product archiving.

NOAA has begun exploring the path to user readiness through the GOES-R User Conferences. The most recent user conference was held in May of 2004 in Broomfield Colorado. The more than 300 participants provided numerous valuable recommendations on how to ensure that the user communities will be ready at the start of GOES-R operations. One recurring recommendation is for the development of at least three GOES-R Proving Grounds at National Weather Service Forecast Offices (WFOs). NOAA's Satellite and Information Service plans to follow through with this recommendation by providing experts at each of these (to be determined) sites to test and apply algorithms and decision aid tools for Hyperspectral polar data (or simulated GOES-R data), and for both present generation GOES products, and Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) products. Algorithms will be tested in real time and post event, with data from available operational and research satellites. Input will be provided by the WFO staffs to refine requirements for algorithms, decision aids, display techniques, and concept of operations. This presentation will describe the proving ground concept and additional plans to ensure GOES-R user readiness.

The next GOES-R Users Conference will be May 1-3, 2006 in Broomfield, CO. The main theme will be user readiness. More information can be found at: http://www.osd.noaa.gov/announcement/index.htm.