FORT COLLINS, Colo. — GOES-R is taking weather from black and white to high definition color. And researchers at Colorado State University are deeply involved.
Several researchers led by Steve Miller at CSU are already working on how to interpret the data from GOES-R, maximize its usefulness, and reduce weather risk around the world.
The researchers are part of the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) and the Department of Atmospheric Science at CSU.
Some of the researchers and what they’re working on are:
- Steve Miller: High definition images of the planet.
- John Knaff: Lightning frequency and intensity inside tropical storms.
- Dan Lindsey: Blending observations from GOES-R into weather forecast models.
- Don Hillger: Remote sensing.
- Bernie Connell: Training programs on how to use GOES-R products.
- Andrea Schumacher: Hurricane forecasting.
- Jim Purdom: Visualizing the data.
The payoff of all this work is expected to be two-fold: More accurate real-time data and more accurate forecasts. One obvious area for improvement is with tropical storms and hurricanes.
“Hurricanes spend the majority of their lifetimes over the open ocean, making geostationary satellite data a crucial data source for forecasters,” Schumacher said.
“The improvements and enhancements provided by GOES-R are going to give forecasters an unprecedented view of the tropical oceans, which is expected to improve their ability to monitor and predict these powerful storms.”
GOES-R (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, R series) is the most recent GOES weather satellite in the 40-year program.
It’s scheduled to be launched into Space from Cape Canaveral on Saturday. It’s a joint venture between NASA and NOAA.
GOES-R is designed and built by Colorado-based Lockheed Martin. It is building all four of the new GOES satellites (R, S, T and U).
To watch the launch live: https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public