GOES-7 Satellite Imagery and Statistics from NOAA-NASA Pathfinder Project

GOES Pathfinder products consist of 8-km resolution multispectral images and 70-km resolution equal-area statistics derived from the GOES-7 satellite's VISSR/VAS sensors. The dataset was developed through a NOAA-NASA grant at the University of Wisconsin's Space Science Engineering Center, with the archive containing over 169 TB of data dating back to 1978.

Use Cases

• Analyze cloud physics by comparing 8-km resolution water vapor and infrared image data.
• Conduct first-level climate analysis using the 70-km resolution equal-area statistical product set.
• Perform calibration research for GOES VISSR solar channels to improve data utility for climate change studies.
• Study long-term atmospheric patterns using the 1-hour temporal resolution imagery spanning from 1978.

Strengths

• Archive contains over 169 TB of reconstructed data, indicating substantial volume.
• Data temporal coverage extends back to 1978, providing a long historical record.
• Products include both high-detail 8-km imagery and summarized 70-km statistics.

Limitations

• The 8-km and 70-km GOES Pathfinder products are explicitly stated as no longer available online.
• Specific sample sizes, row counts, and column details for the imagery and statistics are unknown.
• The last update date is 1988-11-30, indicating the metadata is temporally stale.

Provenance

Source

NOAA-NASA grant project at the University of Wisconsin's Space Science Engineering Center (SSEC).

Collection Method

Processed data streams from the VISSR/VAS sensors aboard the GOES-7 satellite.

Time Range

Data dates back to 1978.

Freshness

null

Geography

Coverage is from the GOES-7 satellite, likely encompassing its field of view (e.g., Americas).