Sensor · Spaceborne

Advanced Baseline Imager

Missions → GOES-17 (Operational) , GOES-16 (Operational) , GOES-19 (Operational) , GOES-18 (Operational)

GOES-R Series multi-channel passive imaging radiometer for Earth weather, ocean, atmosphere, cloud, smoke, and surface observations.

Sensor

The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) is a 16-band passive optical radiometer built by L3Harris Technologies (Fort Wayne, IN) for NOAA's GOES-R satellite series. It covers visible, near-infrared, and infrared wavelengths, providing continuous imagery from geostationary orbit over the Western Hemisphere.^[1]^[2]

ABI offers spatial resolution ranging from 500 m at nadir to 2 km depending on spectral band, with 16 spectral bands spanning approximately 0.47 to 13.3 micrometres.^[2] The instrument produces routine full-disk scans, with faster mesoscale sector coverage available during severe weather events.^[1]

Flown on GOES-16, GOES-17, GOES-18, and GOES-19, ABI supports a wide range of operational products including atmospheric motion vectors, sea surface temperature, fire detection, precipitation estimation, and land surface temperature.^[3]

Operator pricing

Pricing not publicly listed by operator

Supply chain position

carried by GOES-17

carried by GOES-16

carried by GOES-19

carried by GOES-18

Methods this sensor implements

Demonstrated

Atmospheric motion vectors (AMV)via GOES-16
ABI imagery supports atmospheric motion vector products.
Sea-surface temperature retrievalvia GOES-16
ABI thermal infrared bands support sea-surface temperature products.
Thermal anomaly detectionvia GOES-16
ABI supports fire detection and intensity estimation products.
Multispectral optical imaging
[goes-r-abi-tech] 16-band imager spanning 0.47 to 13.3 um with visible and near-infrared bands at 500 m to 2 km; edge covers its reflective bands only.
Thermal infrared imaging
[goes-r-abi-tech] 16 bands from 0.47 to 13.3 um; edge covers its infrared channels.

Capable, undemonstrated

None on record.

Topics this relates to

Atmospheric Wind Observation Atmospheric motion vectors (AMV)(demonstrated)well suited

Weather nowcasting Atmospheric motion vectors (AMV)(demonstrated)well suited

Snow cover Multispectral optical imaging(demonstrated)well suited

Cloud properties Multispectral optical imaging(demonstrated)adequate

Coastal erosion Multispectral optical imaging(demonstrated)adequate

Crop-type mapping Multispectral optical imaging(demonstrated)adequate

Deforestation Multispectral optical imaging(demonstrated)adequate

Flooding Multispectral optical imaging(demonstrated)adequate

Illegal construction Multispectral optical imaging(demonstrated)adequate

Land cover change Multispectral optical imaging(demonstrated)adequate

Terrain elevation Multispectral optical imaging(demonstrated)adequate

Urban change Multispectral optical imaging(demonstrated)adequate

Crop phenology Multispectral optical imaging(demonstrated)marginal

Crop stress and yield Multispectral optical imaging(demonstrated)marginal

Inland water Multispectral optical imaging(demonstrated)marginal

Mineral exploration Multispectral optical imaging(demonstrated)marginal

Pasture and grazing Multispectral optical imaging(demonstrated)marginal

Sea surface temperature Sea-surface temperature retrieval(demonstrated)well suited

Ocean heat content Sea-surface temperature retrieval(demonstrated)marginal

Industrial emissions Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)well suited

Wildfire Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)well suited

Geology and geohazards Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)adequate

Air quality Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

Building thermal performance Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

CO2 Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

Disaster damage assessment Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

Economic activity intelligence Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

Illegal and unregulated fishing Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

Oil spills Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

Pipeline integrity Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

Shipping emissions Thermal anomaly detection(demonstrated)marginal

Urban heat island Thermal infrared imaging(demonstrated)well suited

Sources

[1]GOES-R Series Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) - NOAAagency doc2026-06-15
[2]ABI Technical Summary - GOES-R, NOAAagency doc2026-06-15
[3]GOES-R Series data products overviewagency doc2026-06-15
[4]GOES-R mission description - eoPortalcommunity2026-06-15

Cite https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/abi Markdown twin → Field definitions → Suggest a correction →

How to cite this page

Plain text

Advanced Baseline Imager. EO-Atlas, SpectraWorks B.V. https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/abi (CC BY 4.0)

BibTeX

@misc{eoatlas:products:sensor:abi,
  title = {Advanced Baseline Imager},
  author = {{EO-Atlas}},
  publisher = {SpectraWorks B.V.},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
  url = {https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/abi}
}