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NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) I-M and N-P Series Sounder Data

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: April 12, 2026 at 09:24 PM | Dataset Last Updated: August 31, 1994 at 12:00 AM
The NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) series provides continuous measurements of the atmosphere and surface over the Western Hemisphere. The GOES satellites circle the Earth in a geosynchronous orbit, which means they orbit the equatorial plane of the Earth at a speed matching the Earth's rotation. This orbit allows them to hover continuously over one position on the surface of the Earth. The geosynchronous plane is about 35,800 km (22,300 miles) above the Earth, high enough to allow the satellites a full-disc view of the Earth. The GOES-East satellite is positioned over the equator at 75 degrees West longitude, and the GOES-West satellite is positioned at 135 degrees West longitude. The GOES Sounder measures emitted radiation in 18 thermal infrared bands that are sensitive to temperature, moisture, ozone, and reflected solar radiation in one visible band. The spatial resolution is 8 km with 13 bit data transmitted to the GOES receiving facilities. GOES data are used by researchers for understanding interactions between land, ocean, atmosphere, and climate. GOES Variable (GVAR) format is the data transmission format used to broadcast environmental data measured by the independent GOES Imager and Sounder instruments, beginning with GOES-8 launched in 1994. Data distribution formats available to users are raw, AREA, NetCDF, GIF, and JPEG.

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Earth Science > Spectral/Engineering > Infrared Wavelengths > Brightness Temperatures Earth Science > Spectral/Engineering > Infrared Wavelengths > Infrared Radiance Earth Science > Spectral/Engineering > Visible Wavelengths Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Radiation > Albedo Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Radiation > Longwave Radiation Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Radiation > Shortwave Radiation Geographic Region > Equatorial Geographic Region > Mid-Latitude

Complete Metadata
@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel non-public
contactPoint 
                                            {
  "fn": "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
  "hasEmail": "mailto:ncei.sat.info@noaa.gov"
}
describedByType application/octet-steam
description The NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) series provides continuous measurements of the atmosphere and surface over the Western Hemisphere. The GOES satellites circle the Earth in a geosynchronous orbit, which means they orbit the equatorial plane of the Earth at a speed matching the Earth's rotation. This orbit allows them to hover continuously over one position on the surface of the Earth. The geosynchronous plane is about 35,800 km (22,300 miles) above the Earth, high enough to allow the satellites a full-disc view of the Earth. The GOES-East satellite is positioned over the equator at 75 degrees West longitude, and the GOES-West satellite is positioned at 135 degrees West longitude. The GOES Sounder measures emitted radiation in 18 thermal infrared bands that are sensitive to temperature, moisture, ozone, and reflected solar radiation in one visible band. The spatial resolution is 8 km with 13 bit data transmitted to the GOES receiving facilities. GOES data are used by researchers for understanding interactions between land, ocean, atmosphere, and climate. GOES Variable (GVAR) format is the data transmission format used to broadcast environmental data measured by the independent GOES Imager and Sounder instruments, beginning with GOES-8 launched in 1994. Data distribution formats available to users are raw, AREA, NetCDF, GIF, and JPEG.
distribution 
                                            [
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "NCEI Dataset Landing Page",
    "accessURL": "https://doi.org/10.25921/PHT7-ZF83",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Landing page for the dataset.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "NOAA CLASS: GOES Satellite Data - Sounder",
    "accessURL": "http://www.class.noaa.gov/saa/products/search?datatype_family=GVAR_SND",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "User interface to search and order datasets.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "GOES N-P DataBook",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "description": "A summary and technical overview of the GOES N-P system, its satellites, subsystems, sensor suite, and associated ground communication and data handling subsystems.",
    "downloadURL": "https://goes.gsfc.nasa.gov/text/GOES-N_Databook/databook.pdf",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "GOES I-M DataBook",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "description": "A summary and technical overview of the GOES I-M system, its satellites, subsystems, sensor suite, and associated ground communication and data handling subsystems.",
    "downloadURL": "https://goes.gsfc.nasa.gov/text/databook/databook.pdf",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "NOAA Technical Report NESDIS 82",
    "format": "PDF",
    "mediaType": "application/pdf",
    "description": "The purpose of this document is to acquaint users with the characteristics of the processed instrument data that are available from the new series of GOES satellites.",
    "downloadURL": "https://noaasis.noaa.gov/NOAASIS/pubs/nesdis82.PDF",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Keywords",
    "accessURL": "https://earthdata.nasa.gov/about/gcmd/global-change-master-directory-gcmd-keywords",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "The information provided on this page seeks to define how the GCMD Keywords are structured, used and accessed. It also provides information on how users can participate in the further development of the keywords.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)",
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identifier https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/aim/iso/xml/C01593.xml
issued 1994-08-31T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
                                            [
  "Earth Science > Spectral/Engineering > Infrared Wavelengths > Brightness Temperatures",
  "Earth Science > Spectral/Engineering > Infrared Wavelengths > Infrared Radiance",
  "Earth Science > Spectral/Engineering > Visible Wavelengths",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Radiation > Albedo",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Radiation > Longwave Radiation",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Radiation > Shortwave Radiation",
  "Geographic Region > Equatorial",
  "Geographic Region > Mid-Latitude",
  "Geographic Region > Northern Hemisphere",
  "Geographic Region > Southern Hemisphere",
  "Geographic Region > Tropics",
  "Geographic Region > Western Hemisphere",
  "Continent > North America > United States Of America",
  "Ocean > Atlantic Ocean",
  "Ocean > Pacific Ocean",
  "Conus Scan Sector",
  "Full Disk Scan Sector",
  "Northern Hemisphere Scan Sector",
  "Northern Hemisphere Extended Scan Sector",
  "Southern Hemisphere Scan Sector",
  "Southern Hemisphere Small Sector",
  "Super Rapid Scan Operations (maryland) Scan Sector",
  "Pacus Scan Sector",
  "Sub-conus Scan Sector",
  "Super Rapid Scan Operations Scan Sector",
  "GOES I-M Sounder",
  "GOES N-P Sounder",
  "GOES-08 > Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 08",
  "GOES-09 > Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 09",
  "GOES-10 > Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 10",
  "GOES-11 > Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 11",
  "GOES-12 > Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 12",
  "GOES-13 > Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 13",
  "GOES-14 > Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 14",
  "GOES-15 > Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 15",
  "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC > National Climatic Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/OSPO > Office of Satellite and Product Operations, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "gov.noaa.class:GVAR_SND"
]
language 
                                            []
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 1994-08-31T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher 
                                            {
  "name": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
references 
                                            [
  "https://noaasis.noaa.gov/NOAASIS/pubs/nesdis82.PDF"
]
rights otherRestrictions
spatial -5.0,-85.0,-180.0,85.0
temporal 1994-08-31T00:00:00+00:00/1994-08-31T00:00:00+00:00
title NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) I-M and N-P Series Sounder Data

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