7. Future products

The high-resolution multispectral nature of GOES I-M imagery will lead to a variety of advanced products through the development of algorithms that combine and compare the various spectral bands. Signal to noise for the 3.9-µm band approaches that at 10.7 µm at warm temperatures; this should foster the development of a number of improved products for analyzing earth surface characteristics and cloud-top properties. On GOES I-M, the 12.0-µm band covers a broader spectral width than GOES-VAS; the resulting signal-to-noise improvement should lead to the development of improved low-level moisture and sea surface temperature (SST) products during daytime. At night, an improved SST should be realized by adding information from 3.9 µm because of less diffraction at that wavelength . Also, because differences in phase, droplet size, and droplet distribution lead to different radiative properties [e.g., albedo, diffuse transmission, radiative flux divergence (heating rates), radiance] of clouds at the different wavelengths, a number of advanced products for areas as diverse as nowcasting and climate change should be possible. The potential for an advanced image product portraying cloud reflectivity as well as emissivity at 3.9 µm is shown in Fig. 14d, which should be compared to Figs. 14a-c.

The GOES I-M imager offers exciting possibilities for the development and implementation of improved precipitation products. The present IFFA will benefit from the improved infrared resolution of the GOES I-M. The convective stratiform technique (Adler and Negri 1988), an automated precipitation estimation program, will be used to monitor all convective systems over the United States and to provide hourly rainfall estimates for mesoscale models.

The GOES I-M imager will be able to monitor trends in biomass burning; recent work has demonstrated the advantage of using the constant surveillance of GOES to sense fires as they burn (Prins and Menzel 1992). The diurnal nature of the burning often causes polarorbiting estimates to be in error. Using the longwave and shortwave infrared window radiance measurements of burning regions, the areal extent and temperature of the fires can be estimated. The GOES-I improved spatial resolution and enhanced signal to noise in the infrared bands will improve this capability already demonstrated with the GOES-VAS.

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FIG.14. Simulated GOES-I visible and infrared window images of Hurricane Andrew on the afternoon of 24 August 1992. The visible image is displayed in (a) and the corresponding 10.7-µm infrared image is displayed in (b) using a color enhancement table.

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FIG. 14. Simulated GOES-I 3.9-µm imagery (c) (displayed as reflectivity) and a simulated GOES-I image product (d) made by subtracting the brightness temperature at 10.7 µm from that at 3.9 µm. The difference image (displayed as reflectivity) shows reflected radiation at 3.9 µm plus the difference due to emissivity times the Planck function at the respective wavelength intervals

The GOES I-M sounder has the capability to depict boundary-layer properties that may be influencing the development of convective activity. The shortwave bands will provide improved surface skin temperature and lower-layer moisture determinations. The net flux divergence and the inferred cooling rate will be determined on the mesoscale; these can be used to describe the radiative processes over terrain inhomogeneities surrounding atmospheric instabilities.

The ozone band on the sounder offers the opportunity to monitor total atmospheric ozone seasonal ends as well as diurnal fluctuations. The 9.7-µm band can be combined with the stratospheric bands of the sounder to estimate total integrated ozone (Ma et al. 1984). The carbon dioxide bands on the sounder will allow continuation of an 8-year study of the fluctuations in diurnal and seasonal cirrus cloud cover over North America (Menzel et al. 1992).