CSPP Geo AIT Framework Version 2.1.0 Production Software Release

[jbraun]

Dear Colleagues,

The CSPP Geo Team is pleased to announce the release of Version 2.1.0 of the AIT Framework software package. This is a production software release which adds science updates and numerous other improvements over an earlier beta release.

Capabilities

The AIT Framework software processes data from the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) onboard the GOES-R series of satellites (GOES-16, GOES-17 and GOES-18), generating Level 2 retrieved geophysical products.

The software is intended to be run in near real-time on Level 1B data in mission-standard format, as generated by the CSPP Geo GRB software running on the GOES Rebroadcast (GRB) data stream. However, ABI Level 1B data obtained from NOAA Open Data Dissemination (NODD), CLASS or PDA can also be processed.

The following products are supported:

• Aerosol Detection: Smoke and Dust (GOES-16 only)
• Aerosol Optical Depth (GOES-16 only)
• Clear Sky Masks
• Cloud and Moisture Imagery
• Cloud Optical Depth (day/night) (GOES-16 only)
• Cloud Particle Size Distribution (day/night) (GOES-16 only)
• Cloud Top Height
• Cloud Top Phase
• Cloud Top Pressure
• Cloud Top Temperature
• Land Surface Temperature (GOES-16 only)
• Low Cloud and Fog (GOES-16 only)
• Derived Motion Winds

This package uses research versions of the NOAA enterprise product algorithms. While the algorithm theoretical basis is shared with the operational GOES-R product software, users should expect differences in products due to the different implementations. Products that have not yet been transitioned to the enterprise versions in the GOES-R ground system are marked as "preliminary, non-operational".

What's New

The following changes are included, relative to the previous beta release (v2.1b1):

• Significant updates to the NOAA science algorithms and core processing software, incorporating changes since May 2022.
• Significant changes to CSPP Geo logic affecting the Low Cloud and Fog products and file format. This includes product quality improvements due to use of Rapid Refresh (RAP) forecast data.
• Multiple bug fixes and robustness improvements, resulting from beta tester feedback and internal testing.
• Quicklooks image plotting improvements.
• Changes to downloading and management of dynamic ancillary data, including automatic failover to a secondary, off-site ancillary server to allow continued product generation if the primary server is offline or has not been updated.
• Changes to caching and use of temporal data (products from previous timesteps used to improve product quality).
• Changes to maintain sync with the operational products from the GOES-R ground system.
• Improvements to logging and error messages.

An important caveat with this release is that changes have been made to the cloud algorithms that help improve the downstream Derived Motion Winds product for use in NWP modeling, but also result in Cloud Top Height and Cloud Top Pressure values that are no longer optimally tuned. This is expected to be addressed in a future science update.

A more detailed list of changes is in the Software Users' Guide, as well as a full description of supported capabilities.

We would like to thank users who tested the earlier beta software for your valuable feedback, which has been used to improve this release.

Production Software

This is a production software release. Production software has been well-tested on a variety of cases, and in general is more stable than beta software, with better handling of edge cases and fewer known issues.

History and Attribution

The product algorithms are developed and maintained by the GOES-R Algorithm Working Group, which is composed of product teams located at NOAA, CIMSS and other institutions. The core processing software is developed and maintained by the ASSISTT group at NOAA NESDIS. CSPP Geo software is developed at CIMSS at the University of Wisconsin under NOAA / GOES-R funding.

References

For information on the science algorithms and product formats, refer to:

• GOES-R Product Algorithm Theoretical Basis Documents (ATBDs)
• GOES-R Series Product Definition and Users’ Guide (PUG)

System Compatibility

The software runs on Rocky 8 Linux, and has also been successfully tested on CentOS 7 and Rocky 9. Please note that CentOS 7 support will be dropped for releases after June 2024, when CentOS 7 reaches end of life.

The minimum hardware requirements for the Version 2.1 software are available on the CSPP Geo website and in the user documentation. Note that legacy systems matching Version 1 requirements can still be used, however they will not be capable of generating the full, expanded set of Version 2.1 products in forward processing.

Software Download and Installation

To obtain the software, system requirements, test data and documentation, please visit the CSPP Geo website (free registration required for downloads). The software package is self-contained; installation of additional third-party software is not required. Refer to the CSPP Geo AIT Framework Software Users' Guide for instructions on installing and running the software.

Contact

We welcome feedback from users on this software and the products, as well as any future improvements people would like to see. Please direct any feedback or questions to csppgeo.issues@ssec.wisc.edu.