Validation of GOES-N imager data and products during the GOES-N science test

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imagers have provided quality radiances and derived products for approximately 10 years. Some of the products derived from these imagers include: retrieved Atmospheric Motion Vectors (AMVs), Quantitative Precipitation Estimates (QPEs), cloud parameters, clear-sky radiances, and surface (skin) temperature; and detection of fires, volcanic ash, and fog. The GOES-N imager will continue this mission. The GOES-N/O/P instruments will be similar to the GOES-8/12 instruments, but will be placed on a different, but improved, spacecraft bus. The new spacecraft bus is expected to bring improvements to navigation and registration, as well as improved radiometry. The first satellite of this new series, GOES-N, will be launched in late summer of 2005.

As with other GOES post-launch checkouts, a science test schedule will be integrated within the overall GOES-13 Post Launch Test (PLT) schedule that will allow NOAA/NESDIS to monitor the quality of instrument data as well as products generated from these data. Special scanning schedules may also allow for the generation of special products not typically generated under operational settings. As with other GOES science tests, three primary goals have been established for the GOES-13 (N) Science Test. The first goal is to assess the quality of the GOES-13 radiance data. This will be accomplished by comparisons with other satellite measurements, investigating the consistency with forward model calculations, and by calculating the signal-to-noise ratio. The second goal will be to produce products from the GOES-13 imager data stream and compare them to products produced from other satellites as well as other ground-based observations. The third goal is to investigate and measure the impact that the new satellite bus will have on instrument performance and product quality, and to evaluate the relative contributions to this impact from the expected improvements in navigation, calibration, and data availability during satellite eclipse periods.