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Narrator: Like GOES-R, GeoXO will continue NOAA’s five decades of

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critical Earth observing data. 

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However, GeoXO will have new technology onboard.

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One of the new instruments will be an infrared sounder, which will allow

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weather forecasters to see the atmosphere in extremely fine detail.

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Pam Sullivan: It really looks at very fine slices of the atmosphere

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across a wide area, so that it builds up sort of a 3-D view of what

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 the atmosphere looks like. And forecasters could use that information

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to be very precise about their forecasts, where a storm is going to be,

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how severe a storm is going to be, they can even do predictions of what the

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precipitation levels are going to be.

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Narrator: The sounder will also help detect quickly changing wind speeds 

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and direction. Which will assist in everything from hurricane prediction

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to aviation forecasts.

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Ken Graham: It’s a big part of the National Weather Service’s mission is

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to forecast for aviation. For safety, and also looking at that fuel economy.

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Um, looking at that, detecting the direction of the wind.

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So that capability is just going to be absolutely amazing for aviation and

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earlier detection, a quicker detection of tropical systems when it comes to

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rapid intensification.

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Narrator: There will be two other new instruments on GeoXO as well.

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One will be an air quality instrument that will monitor and track harmful

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air pollutants - including wildfire smoke, and volcanic gasses.

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It will provide continuous observations and measurements of atmospheric

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composition which will help improve air quality forecasts and alerts across the U.S.

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Another instrument will measure ocean color, which helps detect and track

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threats to our lakes and ocean, such as harmful algal blooms and oil spills.

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Perhaps most critically, NOAA’s GeoXO will also meet new needs for the

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data-user community, including forecasters, researchers and others, who

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depend on receiving crucial environmental information

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across the Western Hemisphere. 

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Pam Sullivan: These user’s are looking for advanced capabilities.

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And they’ve told us what they want to see in this next generation, which is

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going to start observing in the 2030s, but continue into the 2050s.

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And with the changes on our planet and with society’s increased reliance

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on environmental information, it’s really important to be able to serve this

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wider variety of needs.