BackForwardInstrument:  SOUNDER 

Instrument details
Acronym SOUNDER
Full name GOES Sounder
Purpose Atmospheric temperature/humidity sounding
Short description 19 channels (including one VIS) [see detailed characteristics below]
Background Follow-on of VAS flown on GOES 4 to 7, sepating the imaging from the sounding function
Scanning Technique Mechanical, bi-axial, 3-axis stabilised satellite, step-and-dwell
Resolution 8.0 km
Coverage / Cycle Full disk in 8 h, 3000 x 3000 km2 in 42 min, 1000 x 1000 km2 in 5 min
Mass 152 kg Power 93 W Data Rate 40 kbps

 

Providing Agency NOAA
Instrument Maturity Flown on operational programme
Utilization Period: 1994 to 2027
Last update: 2022-07-26
Detailed characteristics
Wavelength Wave number Bandwidth SNR or NEΔT @ specified input
14.71 µm 680 cm-1 13 cm-1 1.24 K @ 290 K
14.37 µm 696 cm-1 13 cm-1 0.79 K @ 290 K
14.06 µm 711 cm-1 13 cm-1 0.68 K @ 290 K
13.64 µm 733 cm-1 16 cm-1 0.55 K @ 290 K
13.37 µm 748 cm-1 16 cm-1 0.49 K @ 290 K
12.66 µm 790 cm-1 30 cm-1 0.23 K @ 290 K
12.02 µm 832 cm-1 50 cm-1 0.14 K @ 290 K
11.03 µm 907 cm-1 50 cm-1 0.10 K @ 290 K
9.71 µm 1030 cm-1 25 cm-1 0.12 K @ 290 K
7.43 µm 1345 cm-1 55 cm-1 0.06 K @ 290 K
7.02 µm 1425 cm-1 80 cm-1 0.06 K @ 290 K
6.51 µm 1535 cm-1 60 cm-1 0.15 K @ 290 K
4.57 µm 2188 cm-1 23 cm-1 0.20 K @ 290 K
4.52 µm 2210 cm-1 23 cm-1 0.17 K @ 290 K
4.45 µm 2248 cm-1 23 cm-1 0.20 K @ 290 K
4.13 µm 2420 cm-1 40 cm-1 0.14 K @ 290 K
3.98 µm 2513 cm-1 40 cm-1 0.22 K @ 290 K
3.74 µm 2671 cm-1 100 cm-1 0.14 K @ 290 K
0.70 µm N/A 0.05 µm 1000 @ 100 % albedo
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Earth observation instrument
  • Passive optical radiometer or spectrometer
  • Cross-nadir infrared sounder, possibly including VIS channels
WIGOS Subcomponents No WIGOS subcomponents have been defined.
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Atmospheric temperature
  • Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)
  • Specific humidity
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Atmospheric temperature*3 - highCloud sensitive.. Coarse vertical resolution.Several MWIR and TIR channels in the 4.3 and 15 micrometer bands. Frequent sampling (GEO) enables monitoring instability onset
Cloud cover4 - fairDiscontinuous coverage.MWIR and TIR channels
Cloud top height2 - very highDiscontinuous coverage.TIR channels in window and water vapour band (for emissivity) for temperature; and in CO2 band for atmospheric column above cloud top
Cloud top temperature2 - very highDiscontinuous coverage.TIR channels in window and water vapour band (for emissivity)
Cloud type4 - fairDiscontinuous coverage.MWIR and TIR channels
Downward long-wave irradiance at Earth surface3 - highCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.MWIR and TIR channels including water vapour and CO2 bands
Land surface temperature3 - highCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.MWIR and TIR channels in windows and absorption bands for atmospheric corrections
O3 Total Column5 - marginalCloud sensitive.TIR channel(s). Ozone lines in band around 9.7 micrometers. Frequent sampling (GEO) enables monitoring diurnal variations
Sea surface temperature2 - very highCloud sensitive.MWIR and TIR window channels (cloud impact reduction, water vapour correction)
Specific humidity*3 - highCloud sensitive.. Very coarse vertical resolution.. Middle troposphere only.TIR channels in the water vapour band around 6.3 micrometers
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)*3 - highCloud sensitive.. Inaccurate in high troposphere.TIR channels around 6.3 micrometers and in the 11 micrometers split window
Upward long-wave irradiance at TOA4 - fairSpectral interpolation needed.MWIR and TIR channels in windows around 3.7 and 11 micrometers, and in water vapour and CO2 bands around 4,3, 6.3 and 15 micrometers
Upward long-wave irradiance at Earth surface3 - highCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.MWIR and TIR channels in windows around 3.7 and 11 micrometers, and in water vapour and CO2 bands around 4,3, 6.3 and 15 micrometers