A Geostationary Atmospheric Sounder for now-casting and short-range weather forecasting

Millimeter and sub-millimeter-wave imagers and sounders are considered for future meteorological and climate observation satellites. The Geostationary Atmospheric Sounder (GAS), is a development project for an imaging sounder at frequency bands around 53 GHz, 118 GHz, 183 GHz, and 380 GHz. These frequency bands are included to satisfy the user requirements for vertical profiles of temperature and humidity under all weather conditions. The primary advantage of a Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) for remote sensing, compared with a Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), is that continuous monitoring is possible over a large area of the Earth´s surface and atmosphere. This is desirable for nowcasting, and short range forecasting of rapidly evolving meteorological phenomena.