GEO–GEO Stereo-Tracking of Atmospheric Motion Vectors (AMVs) from the Geostationary Ring

Abstract

Height assignment is an important problem for satellite measurements of atmospheric motion vectors (AMVs) that are interpreted as winds by forecast and assimilation systems. Stereo methods assign heights to AMVs from the parallax observed between observations from different vantage points in orbit while tracking cloud or moisture features. In this paper, we fully develop the stereo method to jointly retrieve wind vectors with their geometric heights from geostationary satellite pairs. Synchronization of observations between observing systems is not required. NASA and NOAA stereo-winds codes have implemented this method and we processed large datasets from GOES-16, -17, and Himawari-8. Our retrievals are validated against rawinsonde observations and demonstrate the potential to improve the forecast skill. Stereo winds also offer an important mitigation for the loop heat pipe anomaly on GOES-17 during times when warm focal plane temperatures cause infrared channels that are needed for operational height assignments to fail. We also examine several application areas, including deep convection in tropical cyclones, planetary boundary layer dynamics, and fire smoke plumes, where stereo methods provide insights into atmospheric processes. The stereo method is broadly applicable across the geostationary ring where systems offering similar image navigation and registration (INR) performance as GOES-R are deployed.

Geometric estimation of volcanic eruption column height from GOES-R near-limb imagery – Part 2: Case studies

“…As described in Sect. 3.4 of Part 1, the "3D Winds" algorithm performs stereo wind and height retrievals by combining near-simultaneous imagery from MODIS on one hand with that from GOES-17 or Himawari-8 on the other (Carr et al, 2019) -we note that a similar stereo method has previously been developed for Meteosat imagery by Zakšek et al (2013) and Dehnavi et al (2020). The GOES-17 near-limb imagery is unsuitable for automated image matching, although it can occasionally be used for stereo matching by a human observer as demonstrated in our study, but Himawari-8 imagery, characterized by less extreme view zenith angles over Raikoke, can be successfully combined with MODIS imagery.…”

Compact Midwave Imaging System: Results from an Airborne Demonstration

“…It is also within the coverage of both GOES-16 and -17. We use the stereo winds from GOES-16 and -17 [7] to set the a priori value of the AT wind for the CMIS retrievals and compare against Aeolus. The first pass (J1) was the most simultaneous to the Aeolus Mie wind retrievals.…”

Contemporaneous Monitoring of the Whole Dynamic Earth System from Space, Part I: System Simulation Study Using GEO and Molniya Orbits

“…A secondary GSD requirement is set by the potential to use such a constellation for stereoscopic imagery. Reference [39] have shown retrieval of Atmospheric Motion Vectors (AMV) from MODIS + GOES that stereo imagery is achievable at 500 m for visible and 2 km resolution for thermal IR; however, larger GSDs would result in significant errors in height assignment. This resolution of 2 km is therefore considered the cut-off for stereoscopic viability [39][40][41].…”

“…Figure 14 shows that for a combination of current GEO instruments, 50.72% of Earth's surface meets the conditions for stereo height analysis, including exceptional coverage over continental Europe, Africa and the Middle East, from the Meteosat-11 and 8 overlap. With [39] demonstrating the applicability of near simultaneous LEO+GEO stereo imagery with MODIS and GOES, consideration is given to how LEO can be used to further supplement the stereo of combined GEOs. Due to the convergence of the LEO orbital tracks towards the poles the polar regions are covered at much higher frequency than equatorial regions (i.e., within the ±60 • latitude band covered by GEO observations), therefore the repeat time for the entirety of this latitude band being covered by simultaneous GEO+LEO observations to build up stereo imagery is equal to the time for single view global coverage when just considering the LEO combined coverage (Figure 7).…”