GOES-R¶

High-frequency geostationary satellite observations from NOAA’s GOES-R series, providing continuous multispectral imagery for monitoring atmospheric and surface processes.

Overview¶

GOES-R refers to the latest generation of NOAA geostationary operational environmental satellites, including GOES-16, GOES-17, and GOES-18. The series carries the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), which provides rapid-refresh, multispectral observations over the Americas.

GOES-R data are widely used for real-time monitoring of weather systems, smoke and fire evolution, and early wildfire detection, particularly where high temporal resolution is critical.

Data Characteristics¶

Spatial coverage: Western Hemisphere (geostationary view)
Spatial resolution: ~0.5–2 km (band-dependent)
Temporal resolution: 1–15 minutes (mode-dependent)
Data structure: Gridded satellite imagery (raster time series)
Data format: NetCDF
Coordinate system: Geostationary projection (with latitude–longitude products available)

Variables¶

GOES-R ABI products include multiple spectral bands and derived fields, such as:

Visible and infrared radiance and brightness temperature
Cloud and atmospheric motion indicators
Fire-related thermal anomalies and contextual imagery
Smoke, aerosol, and atmospheric structure diagnostics

Typical Use Cases¶

Early detection and monitoring of wildfire ignition and growth
Analysis of fire and smoke evolution at high temporal resolution
Integration with ground-truth fire records and reanalysis data
Real-time and near-real-time hazard situational awareness

Access¶

GOES-R data are distributed by NOAA through multiple access points:

Reference¶

Schmit, T. J., Griffith, P., Gunshor, M. M., et al. (2017). A closer look at the ABI on the GOES-R series. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 98(4), 681–698. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-15-00230.1