ABI Data Reprocessing Investigation

Current operational geostationary imagers provide real-time weather and environmental observations of diurnal processes at high temporal resolution with the spectral and spatial fidelity that rival the low-Earth orbit sensors, such as MODIS and VIIRS, enabling new insights into Earth system science across land, surface, atmospheric and water studies. Due to their weather-oriented primary purpose, the calibration of these geostationary sensors is routinely updated to improve on its real-time products but not necessarily optimized for producing a consistent long-term Earth science data record. Consequently, the long-term data records of these sensors have numerous artifacts over time, some known radiometric and geometric calibration issues, and other issues yet to be explored in their long-term trends. Potentially, a Geostationary Imager Support Team (GIST), similar in function to the NASAs MODIS Characterization Support Team (MCST) and VIIRS Characterization Support Team (VCST), could be formed to guide or manage re-processing of ABI data, and potentially other geostationary-based imager data, and thoroughly validate L1b-equivalent data records via continuous monitoring, calibration improvements, and extensive validation to enable higher-level data product generation for the Earth science community. To demonstrate an initial capability for the potential formation of a GIST, a small team was formed to address this problem by developing improved radiometric and geometric calibration algorithms and associated instrument parameters for re-processing Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) -16 and -17 Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) L1b data. The short-term goal of this team is to produce a temporal subset of reprocessed ABI L1b data and provide it to other science teams for their higher-level product generation and evaluation. It is hoped that this example of radiometrically and geometrically consistent re-processing of ABI data will demonstrate the value and need for a dedicated GIST to operate in partnership with the polar-orbiting sensors teams and the Earth science community.