Independent validation of the advanced baseline imager (ABI) on NOAA's GOES-16: post-launch ABI airborne science field campaign results.

A primary objective of the GOES-16 post-launch airborne science field campaign was to provide an independent validation of the SI traceability of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) spectral radiance observations for all detectors post-launch. The GOES-16 field campaign conducted sixteen validation missions (March to May 2017), three of which served as the primary ABI validation missions and are the focus of this work. These validation missions were conducted over ideal Earth targets with an integrated set of well characterized hyperspectral reference sensors aboard a high-altitude NASA ER-2 aircraft. These missions required ABI special collections (to scan all detectors over the earth targets), unique aircraft maneuvers, coordinated ground validation teams, and a diplomatic flight clearance with the Mexican Government. This effort presents a detector-level deep-dive analysis of data from the targeted sites using novel geospatial database and image abstraction techniques to select and process matching pixels between ABI and reference instruments. The ABI reflective solar band performance (ABI bands 1-3 & 5-6) was found to have biases within 5 % radiance for all bands, except band 2; and the ABI thermal emissive band performance was found to have biases within 1 K for all bands. Additional inter comparison results using targeted ABI special collections with the Low Earth Orbit reference sensor S-NPP/VIIRS will also be discussed. The reference data collected from the campaign has demonstrated that the ABI SI traceability has been validated post-launch and established a new performance benchmark for NOAA's next generation geostationary Earth observing instrument products.