"Thank you, GOES-8, for 9 years of service!"
Practical implications of GOES-8
improved (over GOES-7) observing capabilities for the Imager include:
higher quality imagery acquired more frequently, better cloud and
hurricane observations, better cloud drift and water vapor winds,
detection of fog, enhanced land and sea surface temperature monitoring,
improved detection of forest fires and biomass burning and polar
viewing capability greatly enhanced. Click
for more.
Practical implications of GOES-8 improved
(over GOES-7) observing capabilities for the Sounder include:
first operational geostationary sounder providing full time
coverage (no untimely gaps), improved Sounder imagery, better
depiction of changes in atmospheric moisture and stability,
hourly clouds to supplement cloud surface reports and regional
models, better depiction of boundary layer thermodynamics,
higher quality thermal gradient winds, and first ever continuous
monitoring of ozone. Click for
more.
Firsts (top)
First
Imager Image: 9 May 1994, 1630 UTC. Visible, Infrared, Water
Vapor, Near-IR bands.
First
Sounder Image : 6 June 1994, 1414 UTC. Infrared, Water
Vapor, CO2 bands.
Environment and Hazards (top)
Fires
(with ABBA): Louisiana and Texas on 5 September 2000. More
information on this event.
Fires
(with ABBA): Western US wildfires, week of 9 June 2002. More
information on this event.
Fires:
Florida on 19 April 1999, 2215 UTC. More
information on this event.
Smoke:
Smoke from Central American fires on 6 May 1998, 2245 UTC. More
information on atmospheric smoke detection.
Blowing
Dust: Northern Mexico and southwest US on 21 January 1999. Visible and Infrared. More
information on this event.
Blowing
Snow: Iowa on 21 December 2000. Visible and Infrared. More
information on this event.
Haze:
Haze and US smog drifting over Atlantic Ocean on 8 June 1999, 1945
UTC.
Volcanic
Ash Clouds: Soufriere Hills, Montserrat on 21 October 1997. More
information on volcanic ash detection and this event.
Snow:
Lake effect snow band on 11 January 1999, 1745 UTC. Movie: View
a Java animation of this event.
Ice:
Ice on Lake Erie on 12 February 2003, 1445 UTC. More
information on ice detection.
Atmosphere (top)
Fog:
Northeastern United States, river valley fog on 20 September 1994. Visible image.
Fog:
Midwestern United States on 8 February 2000, 1445 UTC.
Dryline:
Dryline over Texas on 20 May 1999, 2145 UTC. Visible and Infrared. More
information on this event.
(Movie) Severe
storms: Tornadic event in Texas on 5 May 2002. More
information on this event.
Severe
Storms: "Enhanced V" over Nebraska on 21 May 1998. More
information on this event.
Severe
Storms: Tornadic event in South Dakota on 31 May 1998, 0132
UTC.
Hurricanes:
Hurricane Mitch, 26 October 1998, 1745 UTC. More
information about GOES-8 and this event.
Hurricanes:
Hurricane Isabel, 12 September 2003, 1815 UTC. Visible and Montage.
Hurricanes:
Colorized image of Hurricane Fran, 4 September 1996, 1715 UTC. More
information and imagery on this event.
Hurricanes:
Colorized image of Hurricane Opal, 10 October 1995.
Hurricanes:
Montage of Hurricane Georges. 18-28 September 1998. More
information on this event.
Hurricanes: "Parade
of Storms." 24 August 1995, 1445 UTC.
Global Images (top)
Full
Disk: Earth from GOES-8 (RGB) on 2 September 1994, 1800
UTC. Similar
images.
Full
Disk: Animation of full disk Earth from 16-19 January 2001.
Global:
GOES-8 as part of the Global Observing System on 1 April 2003,
0600 UTC. Infrared
composite.
Derived Products (top)
Sounder
Atmospheric Stability: Lifted index: Movie.
Sounder
Atmospheric Stability: Lifted index over eastern United
States on 25 June 1998, 2346 UTC.
Winds:
Sounder-derived winds over the United States. Click
for Real-Time Wind page.
Winds:
Effect of satellite-derived winds on GFDL forecasts.
Sea
Surface Temperature: SST Composite in Gulf of Mexico on
12 July 2000.
Clouds:
Effect of sounder-derived clouds on RUC forecasts.
Ozone:
Retrieved ozone product on 8 June 2002, 2300 UTC. More
information on retrieved ozone and GOES-8.
Ozone:
Total Column Ozone product on 29 September 1999, 1200 UTC. More
information on total ozone.
Land Surface (top)
Land
Surface Temperature (derived): 6 May 1997, 2230 ETD. More
information on Land Surface Temperature.
Heat
Islands: Atlanta on 23 August 1995, 1401 UTC. More
information on remote sensing of Heat Islands.
Heat
Islands: Heat islands in the infrared over the eastern United
States on 5 July 1999, 2045 UTC.
Snow
Cover: 24-26 October 1997 winter storm. Visible, Movie,
and more
information on snow cover and low cloud detection.
Snow
Cover: Mid-Atlantic snow on 4 January 2002, 1645 UTC.
Space Environment Monitor (top)
Solar
X-Ray Sensor: 16 July 2000, 2359 UTC. More
information on the XRS.
Solar
X-Ray Flux: 1 November 1999. Location on the Earth where
solar x-rays are affecting the ionosphere (D-Region). It also
indicates the radio frequencies affected and the estimated time
until conditions return to normal. These high-frequency radio
transmissions are used for ground-to-ground and ground-to-air
communications by airlines and the military. More
about the D-Region Absorption Product.
Energetic
Particle Sensor: 16 July and 30 August 2000, 2359 UTC. Proton
Flux, Electron Flux. More
information on the EPS.
Magnetometer:
24 November 2001, 2359 UTC. More
information on the Magnetometer.
Data Collection System (top)
Data
Collection System: More
information on GOES-8 data collection.
Search and Rescue (top)
Search
and Rescue: More
information on search and rescue with GOES-8.
Miscellaneous (top)
GOES-8
vs. GOES-7: Visible, Infrared comparisons.
Shuttle
Launches: STS-71 (Atlantis) on 27 June 1995, 1934 UTC. More
information on observing shuttle launches.
The
Moon: Captured by GOES-8 in the Visible and full-disk
Infrared.
Solar
Eclipse: 10 May 1994, 1633 GMT.
Select References (top)
101 referred journal articles that deal
with GOES-8. The topics are varied and include (but not limited
to): calibration, navigation, derived products, fire detection
and characterization, satellite-derived winds, numerical modeling,
radiation, weather forecasting, SST, severe storms, retrievals,
dust, hurricanes, solar environment, clouds, volcanoes, aircraft
dissipation trails, clouds, ozone, precipitation, land temperatures
and fog.
Related Links (top)
Many GOES-8 related links.
Thank you GOES-8 for almost 8 years
of operational service -- June 9, 1995 to April 1, 2003! Thanks also
to all those who helped design, research, build, test, operate and
implement both the GOES-8 instruments and products. GOES-8 gave a
clearer picture of the atmosphere, land, ocean and space.
Acknowledgements: Kris Karnauskas, Tim Schmit
