Satellite infrared hyperspectral instruments provide atmospheric soundings with high spatial resolution. Already implemented aboard polar orbiting satellites, these instruments have provided data that are proving to improve greatly global Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP). When implemented aboard geostationary satellites as imaging spectrometers, even greater impacts on global NWP are expected from their capability to observe vertically resolved cloud and water vapor tracer winds. Possibly most important, geostationary imaging spectrometry will enable much improved mesoscale severe weather prediction because of the ability to observe atmospheric dynamics through nearcontinuous observation of the three dimensional water vapor and temperature distribution of the atmosphere. Furthermore, hyperspectral measurements of greenhouse and pollutant gas fluxes from geostationary orbit are expected to be an important ingredient for understanding climate change and producing timely air quality forecasts. In this paper, the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), recent improvements in the satellite observing system, and the importance and expected benefits of geostationary satellite imaging spectrometry for the GEOSS are discussed. Demonstration of a few of the expected measurement capabilities of these systems is provided from experimental aircraft and satellite measurements. Finally, the status of the development of the geostationary satellite imaging spectrometer is provided.

Date Published: 19 December 2008
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 7151, GEOSS, CEOS, and the Future Global Remote Sensing Space System for Societal Benefits, 715105 (19 December 2008); doi: 10.1117/12.814554

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7151:
GEOSS, CEOS, and the Future Global Remote Sensing Space System for Societal Benefits
Stephen A. Mango; Stephen P. Sandford; Ranganath R. Navalgund; Haruhisa Shimoda, Editor(s)