On June 25, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched GOES-U, the fourth and final satellite of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES)-R program. This launch continues and extends the program’s mission to serve as the Western Hemisphere’s most advanced system for observing weather and monitoring the environment, as endorsed by the World Meteorological Organization.

Since the first GOES-R satellite launch in November 2016, these satellites have equipped NOAA with sophisticated imagery and atmospheric measurements, real-time lightning activity mapping, space weather observations, and other critical data collected by an array of sensors and imagers.

Rogue waves, those unexpectedly massive ridges of water that can ambush ships and beachgoers, are now more predictable thanks to a new artificial intelligence model. Mechanical engineers Thomas Breunung and Balakumar Balachandran from the University of Maryland in College Park report their findings in the July 18 issue of Scientific Reports.

These waves, which crest more than twice as high as surrounding swells, can form where converging waves amplify a single ridge or where ocean currents compress swells into powerful billows. Despite recognizing certain patterns preceding these surges, researchers had not yet developed an effective forecasting tool (SN: 6/8/15). Such a tool could be lifesaving, given that from 2011 to 2018, rogue waves were responsible for 386 deaths and the sinking of 24 ships.