Proving Ground

The Proving Ground is a collaborative effort between the GOES-R series Program Office, NOAA Cooperative Institutes, a NASA center, NWS Weather Forecast Offices, NCEP National Centers, and NOAA testbeds across the country.

The Proving Ground is a project in which simulated GOES-R products can be tested and evaluated before the GOES-R satellite is launched.

The simulated GOES-R products are generated using combinations of currently available GOES data, along with higher resolution data provided by instruments on polar-orbiting satellites such as MODIS on NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellites as well as model synthetic satellite data.

The Proving Ground was established to realize the benefits of the GOES-R series system as soon as the satellites are launched and operational. GOES-R will mark the first major technological advances in geostationary observations since 1994. The advances include improvements upon existing data such as increased spatial, temporal, and spectral resolutions for Earth monitoring and improved space weather observations and initiation of new operational observations such as lightning mapping.

Many of the GOES-R series products will be aimed at monitoring severe weather and helping forecasters issue earlier, more accurate severe weather warnings. In order to create the most useful severe weather tools possible, the GOES-R Proving Ground is working closely with the Experimental Forecast Program and the Experimental Warning Program of the NOAA Hazardous Weather testbed, developing and utilizing experimental GOES-R products to determine their utility in monitoring and forecasting severe convective weather.

Proving Ground Mission Statement

The GOES-R Proving Ground program was initiated to facilitate research-to-operations with the principal focus being on the forecaster/AWIPS-II environment; to prepare for GOES-R information, to get real-world experience by leveraging existing resources, and to evaluate product tailoring. The GOES-R Proving Ground engages the National Weather Service (NWS), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and other operational environments in pre-operational demonstrations of selected capabilities of next generation GOES with the objective to bridge the gap between research and operations by:

• Utilizing current systems (satellite, terrestrial, or model/synthetic data) to emulate future GOES-R capabilities;
• Infusing GOES-R-like products and techniques into NWS operations with emphasis on AWIPS and transitioning to AWIPS-II;
• Engaging in a dialogue to provide feedback between developers and users.

The Proving Ground project engages the NWS forecast and warning community in preoperational demonstrations of selected capabilities anticipated from the next generation of NOAA geostationary Earth-observing systems.

The goals of the Proving Ground are: training forecasters to use new products, identifying different utilities of each product, identifying weaknesses or errors with each product, and user-feedback development.

Intended outcomes are: day-1 readiness and maximum utilization for both the developers and users of GOES-R products, and an effective transition to operations.

How does the Proving Ground work?

The Proving Ground works through providers and consumers:

Providers consist of NOAA Cooperative Institutes, a NASA Center, and NCEP National Centers under the direction of an Algorithm Working Group Team Lead. They prepare the product algorithm for implementation to the consumers.

Consumers consist of one or more NWS Weather Forecast Offices, NOAA testbeds, and/or NWS Regional Headquarters. They test, demonstrate, and prepare reports on the products designed by the providers.

The flow chart to the right shows this activity.

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