Toward an Advanced Sounder on GOES?
Jeff Braun
New Training Session from COMET!
Satellite imagery and soundings have been an integral tool in the weathercaster tool belt over the past four decades and continue critical support for operational meteorology and monitoring of our ever changing weather patterns. Some products however, particularly those from today’s geostationary sounders are under-utilized in the forecasting community. This new module asks members of the meteorological community why that is.
In addition, the future of geostationary sounder technology is clearly hyperspectral observation. Current sounders have 18 infrared spectral bands to detect the vertical structure of the atmosphere and we have seen how forecasters feel about this instrument. Hyperspectral observations from a geostationary infrared sounder would mean more than a thousand spectral bands on a single instrument for increasing vertical resolution. The module answers the question, “Why do we need a HES on boeard the next GOES series?”
A few additional points to ponder: 1. The first and likely second in the next generation of GOES satellites will not carry a sounder. 2. The GOES-R ABI will provide a continuity of legacy sounder products. 3. Without a geostationary sounder, there will be an increased dependence on NWP to create legacy products. 4. A hyperspectral sounder would allow for the next major step forward.
To take this session in its entirety, please follow this link: http://www.meted.ucar.edu/goes_r/geo_sounding/
Also, for more thoughts concerning this topic from this blog, click here.