利用热带降雨测量卫星的微波成像仪观测资料反演陆地降水

利用热带降雨测量卫星的微波成像仪资料，结合淮河流域试验加密观测期的阜阳地面天 气雷达雨量资料，建立了以散射指数和极化订正温度为主要参数的降水反演算法。对文 中所做反演试验与日本ＮＡＳＤＡ用微波成像仪和星载测雨雷达反演的雨强进行了比较。结果表明 ，文中所用的方法在反演陆地下垫面的降雨强度的分布和降雨区域的确定是比较成功的。     

Active and passive remote sensing of precipitating storms during CaPE. Part II: Intercomparison of precipitation retrievals over land from AMPR radiometer and CP-2 radar

Summary One of the recent campaigns devoted to precipitation studies using both active and passive microwave remote sensing systems was the Convection and Precipitation/Electrification Experiment (CaPE), which took place in central Florida during the summer of 1991. During CaPE, the airborne Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer (AMPR), having four channels at 10.7, 19.35, 37.1 and 85.5 GHz and the National Center for Atmospheric Research CP-2 multiparameter radar at S-band (3 GHz) and X-band (10 GHz) were operated simultaneously. In this paper, we compare estimated hydrometeor liquid/ice water contents and surface rainrates, both retrieved from the AMPR radiometer and CP-2 radar measurements, for a case study consisting of a heavy precipitating storm over land near Cape Canaveral on August 12, 1991. The multi-frequency radiometer-based retrieval scheme uses a cloud-precipitation dataset generated from a cloud model and extended by a physically-constrained Monte Carlo procedure, along with a discrete-ordinate radiative transfer model and a principal component statistical technique to help formulate non-linear regression equations for the sought-after hydrometeor quantities. By applying linear discriminant analysis, the algorithm is used to estimate column integrated liquid/ice water contents, as well as the vertical profiles of these quantities to within a specified accuracy. Rainfall rates are estimated either by non-linear regression or by a suitable fallout model. The analysis has confined itself to along-track nadir-looking AMPR measuremets to avoid complications with variable polarization mixing and geometric distortion for off-nadir observations. Considering the different model assumptions used in the two types of retrieval algorithms and the diverse geophysical information content within the two types of measurements, substantial agreement between the radar- and radiometer-derived retrievals has been achieved for the columnar liquid/ice water contents and rainrates.With 19 FiguresThe National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Validating infrared-based rainfall retrieval algorithms with 1-minute spatially dense raingage measurements over Korean peninsula

Summary ?This study compares and contrasts six infrared-based satellite rain estimation techniques and their validation during a 2-month period from June 20–August 20, 1998 over the Korean peninsula. Two probability matching techniques (PMM1, PMM2), a look-up table technique (LUT), a convective-stratiform technique (CST), the Negri-Adler-Wetzel technique (NAWT), and the Arkin technique (ARKT) are applied to hourly infrared GMS imagery. Retrieved rainrates are compared against one-minute reporting raingage observations from the dense Automated Weather Station (AWS) network of Korea. The high spatial resolution and fine temporal resolution of the AWS measurements provide a unique and effective means to validate rain estimates derived from instantaneous space measurements, which is a main scientific focus of this study. Validation results indicate that all techniques exhibit better performance for more evenly spread rain events while exhibiting lesser performance for weak and sporadic rains for which validation sampling becomes more of a problem. Validation statistics show that climatologically-local techniques such as the PMM and LUT algorithms perform better than techniques developed in climatologically different regimes, indicating the well-known dependence of rain physics on the immediate environment. Nevertheless, the validation results suggest how the rain determination parameters including attributed rain and threshold brightness temperature could be optimized locally before application. As others have found, the most difficult problem with satellite infrared techniques is in the detection and quantification of heavy rainfall events arising from uncertainties in discriminating non-precipitating anvil clouds from convective clouds. However, for the set of algorithms under examination here, given the sharp resolution of the validation measurements, it is evident that the CST algorithm exhibits superior performance in differentiating between non-precipitating anvil and heavy rain. Received January 4, 2002; revised March 11, 2002     

Passive microwave and infrared structure of mesoscale convective systems

Summary The precipitation structure of mature Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCS) is examined in both the midlatitudes and the tropics using SSM/I microwave measurements, geostationary satellite observations, and ground-based radar observations. Discussion includes qualitative comparisons between midlatitude and tropical MCS cases, with particular emphasis on the delineation of convective and stratiform regions and the characterization of microwave polarization difference temperatures in the MCSs. Implications are given regarding the importance of the vertical precipitation structure on top of the atmosphere (TOA) microwave temperatures and for rain retrieval algorithms using measurements from space.Some of the principle findings include the ability of passive microwave brightness temperature measurements to distinguish stratiform and convective regions of MCSs for both tropical and midlatitude cases and over land and ocean backgrounds. Convective regions typically had low differences between the vertical and horizontal brightness temperatures while the stratiform regions have larger differences, and these differences are likely related to the spatial microphysical variations in the upper levels of the precipitation region. Several cases were found in midlatitudes and one case in the tropics where the lowest infrared (IR) brightness temperatures were displaced into the anvil region and were not colocated with the coldest microwave temperatures. Life cycle dependence of the displacement is suggested, but the SSM/I measurements with a maximum of twice daily coverage over the same location were inadequate to answer this question.With 10 Figures     

微波辐射计温湿廓线反演方法改进试验

为提升地基微波辐射计在不同天气条件下, 特别是云天条件下温湿廓线的反演精度, 利用2011年1月—2016年12月中国气象局北京国家综合气象观测试验基地探空数据, 在微波辐射计反演温湿度廓线的过程中通过区分晴天和云天条件并引入全固态Ka波段测云仪云高及云厚信息, 对反演输入亮温进行质量控制和偏差订正, 建立BP神经网络模型, 采用2017年1月—2018年3月微波辐射计探测数据评估检验, 结果表明:在亮温订正前提下, 晴天温度模型、云天温度模型、晴天相对湿度模型和云天相对湿度模型反演结果与探空的相关系数分别为0.99, 0.99, 0.80和0.78, 均方根误差为2.3℃, 2.3℃, 9%和16%, 较微波辐射计自带产品（LV2产品）减小约0.4℃, 0.3℃, 11%和9%, 准确性提升约30%, 28%, 64%和45%;温度模型偏差在±2℃以内、湿度模型偏差在±20%以内的占比分别为68%, 70%和95%, 78%, 较LV2产品分别提高了7%, 5%和27%, 23%, 其中相对湿度改善明显。可见亮温订正、区分天气类型训练反演模型有利于改善地基微波辐射温湿廓线反演精度。     

Retrieval of Liquid Water Path Inside Nonprecipitating Clouds Using TMI Measurements

Quantitative estimates of liquid water path （LWP） in clouds using satellite measurements are critical to understanding of cloud properties and the assessment of global climate change. In this paper, the relationship between microwave brightness temperature （TB） and LWP in the nonprecipitating clouds is studied by using satellite microwave measurements from the TRMM Microwave Imager （TMI） onboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission （TRMM）, together with a radiative transfer model for microwave radiance calculations. Radiative transfer modeling shows that the sensitivity is higher at both 37.0- and 85.5-GHz horizontal polarization channels for the LWP retrievals. Also, the differences between the retrieved values responding to TBs of various channels and the theoretical values are displayed by the model. Based upon above simulations, with taking into account the factor of resolution and retrieval bias for a single,channel, a nonprecipitating cloud LWP in the summer subtropical marine environment retrieval algorithm is formulated by the combination of the two TMI horizontal polarization channels, 37.0 and 85.5 GHz. Moreover,by using TMI measurements （1Bll）, this algorithm is applied to retrieving respectively LWPs for clear sky, nonprecipitating clouds, and typhoon precipitating clouds. In the clear sky case, the LWP cl~anges from -1 to 1 g m-2, and its mean value is about 10^-5 g m^-2. It indicates that, using this combination retrieval algorithm, there are no obvious systemic deviations when the LWP is low enough. The LWP values varying from 0 to 1000 g m^-2 in nonprecipitating clouds are reasonable, and its distribution pattern is very similar to the detected results in the visible channel of Visible and Infrared Scanner （VIRS） on the TRMM. In typhoon precipitating clouds, there is much more proportion of high LWP in the mature phase than the early stage. When surface rainfall rate is lower than 5 mm h^-1, the LWP increases with increasing rainfall rate.     

南海中尺度大气海浪耦合模式及其对该区一次强台风过程的模拟研究

利用中尺度大气模式MM5(V3)和第3代海浪模式WWATCH建立考虑大气-海浪相互作用的风浪耦合模式.在耦合模式中引入考虑波浪影响的海表粗糙度参数化方案,大气模式分量提供海面10 m风场驱动海浪模式分量运行,并利用海浪模式分量反馈的波龄参数计算海表粗糙度.利用耦合模式模拟南海的一次台风过程,通过3组对比试验,检验耦合模式对台风过程的模拟效果并研究大气-海浪相互作用对台风过程的影响.结果表明:耦合模式能够较好地模拟南海的台风过程,与非耦合大气模式相比,其模拟的台风强度略有增强,路径变化不大;耦合模式对台风过程中海表热通量及降水影响显著,在台风充分发展过程中,耦合模式模拟的海表热通量增强,台风螺旋雨带上尤其是台风路径的右侧,耦合模式模拟的降水强于非耦合模式;耦合模式较好地模拟了台风过程海浪场的分布和演变,与非耦合模式相比,其模拟的海浪场增强,与实际更为接近;考虑了海表粗糙度对波浪的依赖关系后,海浪场同时影响海表的动力过程和热力过程,从本次个例看,在台风发展初期,海浪对海表动力作用影响显著,其反馈作用使台风系统减弱,但在台风充分发展后,耦合系统中海表热通量增加,热力作用显著增强,海浪的反馈作用有利于台风系统的发展和维持.     

A scattering-based over-land rainfall retrieval algorithm for South Korea using GCOM-W1/AMSR-2 data

Heavy summer rainfall is a primary natural disaster affecting lives and properties in the Korean Peninsula. This study presents a satellite-based rainfall rate retrieval algorithm for the South Korea combining polarization-corrected temperature (PCT) and scattering index (SI) data from the 36.5 and 89.0 GHz channels of the Advanced microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR-2) onboard the Global Change Observation Mission (GCOM)-W1 satellite. The coefficients for the algorithm were obtained from spatial and temporal collocation data from the AMSR-2 and groundbased automatic weather station rain gauges from 1 July - 30 August during the years, 2012-2015. There were time delays of about 25 minutes between the AMSR-2 observations and the ground raingauge measurements. A new linearly-combined rainfall retrieval algorithm focused on heavy rain for the PCT and SI was validated using ground-based rainfall observations for the South Korea from 1 July - 30 August, 2016. The validation presented PCT and SI methods showed slightly improved results for rainfall > 5 mm h^-1 compared to the current ASMR-2 level 2 data. The best bias and root mean square error (RMSE) for the PCT method at AMSR-2 36.5 GHz were 2.09 mm h^-1 and 7.29 mm h^-1, respectively, while the current official AMSR-2 rainfall rates show a larger bias and RMSE (4.80 mm h^-1 and 9.35 mm h^-1, respectively). This study provides a scatteringbased over-land rainfall retrieval algorithm for South Korea affected by stationary front rain and typhoons with the advantages of the previous PCT and SI methods to be applied to a variety of spaceborne passive microwave radiometers.     

地基微波辐射计探测大气边界层高度方法

采用2013年中国科学院大气物理研究所香河大气综合观测试验站的地基微波辐射计和激光雷达观测数据,以激光雷达探测的大气边界层高度为参考,分别利用非线性神经网络和多元线性回归方法建立微波亮温直接反演大气边界层高度的算法,并对比两种方法的反演能力, 同时分析非线性神经网络算法在不同时段及不同天气状况下反演结果的差异。结果表明:非线性神经网络算法的反演能力优于多元线性回归算法,其反演结果与激光雷达探测的大气边界层高度有较好一致性,冬、春季的相关系数达到0.83,反演精度比线性回归算法约高26%;对于不同时段和不同天气条件,春季的反演结果最好,晴空的反演结果好于云天; 四季和不同天气状况的划分也有利于提高反演精度。     

Rain rate estimation from a synergetic use of SSM/I, AVHRR and meso-scale numerical model data

Summary In this paper a retrieval technique for estimating rainfall rates is introduced. The novel feature of this technique is the combination of two satellite radiometers — the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) and the Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) — with mesoscale weather prediction model data. This offers an adjustment of the model atmospheres to reality which is necessary for calculating brightness temperatures that can be compared with microwave satellite measurements.In sensitivity studies it was found that the estimation of precipitation is determined to a high degree by the particle size distribution of rain and snow, especially by the size distribution of solid hydrometeors. These studies also reveal the influence of the knowledge of the correct cloud coverage inside a SSM/I pixel and the importance of using a realistic temperature profile instead of using standard atmospheres.The retrieval technique is based on radiative transfer calculations using the model of Kummerow et al. (1989). The algorithm consists of two parts: First Guess (FG) brightness temperatures for the SSM/I frequencies are generated as a function of the cloud top height and the cloud coverage, derived from AVHRR data and predictions from a meso-scale model. The rainfall rate of different types of clouds containing raindrops, ice particles and coexisting ice and water hydrometeors is then calculated as a function of the cloud top height. As an example, a strong convective rain event over the western part of Europe and over the Alps is taken to evaluate the performance of this technique. Good agreement with radar data from the German Weather Service was achieved. Compared to statistical rainfall algorithms, the current algorithm shows a better performance of detecting rainfall areas.With 12 Figures     

天气雷达定量降水估测不同校准方法的比较与应用

利用天气雷达联合地面雨量计定量降水估测的局地平均校准法和局地分级平均校准法,分布估计2012年7月21日20:00至22日01:00 BT重庆市荣昌县及附近的降水。结果表明,局地分级平均校准法较局地平均校准法对强降水的估测效果好,同时两种方法的降水估测效果均与所取的局地校准半径大小有关。对降水分布及洪水灾情的分析表明,降水分布与河网的结合是进行中小河流洪水气象风险预报的重要着眼点。     

Assessment of GEWEX/SRB version 3.0 monthly global radiation dataset over China

NASA/GEWEX (National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment) Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) has released its latest radiation dataset, version 3.0. We examine the accuracy of the monthly mean global radiation in China using surface-observed radiation (SOR) data at 42 stations during the period 1984?C2004. Overall comparison shows a general overestimation of satellite retrieval radiation data with a bias of 14.6?W?m^?2 and a root mean square error of 25.9?W?m^?2. Differences at individual stations suggested satellite data are consistently higher than surface measurements over eastern China (110°E), but occasional underestimation occurs in Western China, especially Southwest China. Intra-annual variation analysis indicates that SRB satellite radiation can capture the annual cycle well. For trend of global radiations, there are evident discrepancies between satellite retrievals and surface measurements for both the entire period and segmental terms. For the entire period from 1984 to 2004, most stations show a positive trend based on surface measurements, while the majority of collocated pixels show a negative trend. Segmental trends demonstrated that the principal difference occurred during the first period of 1981?C1994. After 1994, the two datasets change similarly. Therefore, trend analysis in terms of detecting global dimming/brightening remains very difficult as surface measurements and satellite products do not agree yet. In addition, some proposals are made towards better understanding of the bias of satellite products and to improve further the satellite retrieval algorithm with better representation of both cloud and aerosol properties.     

星载双频风场雷达热带气旋降雨区测风模拟

基于大气辐射传输理论分别建立Ku波段和C波段的降雨模型,模拟热带气旋降雨区洋面的雷达回波并反演了洋面10 m风场,用于研究降雨对测风的影响以及风云三号双频风场雷达 (WFR) 的测风能力。分析表明:回波的衰减或增强取决于降雨衰减项和后向散射项的相对大小;热带气旋的降雨使反演风速偏小,风向精度降低,Ku波段相对于C波段更易受影响,在高风速 (超过30 m·s-1) 条件下,可达5~20 m·s-1的负风速偏差。反演结果表明:双频反演的新方法能够结合Ku波段与C波段的优势,双频最大似然估计 (MLE) 方法在分辨率上优于C波段单频反演,相对Ku单频反演能降低降雨对测风的衰减作用,结合双频MLE方法和C波段单频反演优势的分区反演方法可以显著减小降雨偏差,提高风速反演精度,在有风云三号湿度计同步观测的条件下,是提高热带气旋降雨区测风精度的有效手段。     

一次对流云团合并的卫星等综合观测分析

利用FY2C卫星观测反演得到的云物理特征参数,结合雷达、微波辐射计和地面雨量等资料,综合分析了2008年7月17日中国安徽一次强降水过程的云合并特征。结果表明：对流云团发展合并是这次强降水发生的主要原因,同一区域内FY2C卫星反演的云光学厚度、雷达回波以及地面降水的分布演变具有较好的一致性,强降水落区与云光学厚度大值区以及雷达强回波区基本对应;对流云团中的液水分布不均匀,以团块状结构为主,对流云团合并时,常先有云体上部（云顶）的合并,一旦云中不均匀的液水合并,合并部位的云光学厚度迅速增加,地面微波辐射计观测的整层液水含量跃增,地面将会出现强降水;一般降水增强之前云顶抬升,光学厚度增大;若云顶高但光学厚度较小时,地面降水一般不明显,光学厚度与降水的关系更密切;对流云团合并初期,云底由小粒子组成,T-re图上表现为深厚的凝结增长区域,合并时整层云粒子的有效半径增长明显,粒子相态达到混合相态区和冻结层的温度不断升高。     

A multisource scheme based on NWP and MSG data to correct non-precipitating weather radar echoes

Weather radar quantitative precipitation estimates (QPE) are one of the usual tools to monitor rainfall intensity remotely by forecasters on duty or by automatic systems such as hydrological models. Derivation of radar QPE requires a set of robust quality control procedures to address a number of different factors. In particular, significant departures from the standard temperature and moisture atmospheric vertical profiles may increase dramatically the refraction of the radar beam. This anomalous propagation (AP or anaprop) of the microwave radar energy may therefore increase the number of spurious echoes due to ground clutter and contribute, with non-realistic rainfall, to the estimated precipitation field. Based on previous experience of geostationary satellite imagery usage to depict cloud-free areas in precipitation analysis systems, a methodology to incorporate Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) observations and NWP data in the quality control of weather radar QPE was implemented considering two different algorithms. They were validated with two different verification data sets, built with manually edited radar data and rain gauge observations using HKS, PC and FAR scores. The evaluation of the scores was performed for weak (<15 dBZ), stronger and all echoes and for day, night and day and night conditions. One of the methods dealing with weak echoes at night improved PC from 80 to 97% and decreased FAR from 0.32 to 0.19. The results obtained indicate that the technique shows potential for operational application complementing other existing methodologies designed to improve the quality of weather radar precipitation estimates.     

GPM卫星和地面雷达对江苏盐城龙卷风强降水估测的对比

为综合评估卫星和天气雷达在2016年6月23日盐城龙卷风期间的强降水过程的降水估测精度,以国家级雨量站观测数据为基准,结合相关系数(CC)、相对误差(RB)、均方根误差(RMSE)以及分级评分指标,利用S波段的天气雷达定量降雨估测产品(RQPE)和全球降水观测计划多卫星融合产品(IMERG_FRCal,IMERG_FRUncal,IMERG_ERCal)进行比较。结果表明,雷达和卫星的累积降水量与雨量站的空间相关性很强(相关系数大于0.9),基本上能捕捉到整个降水过程的空间分布。降水主要分布在江苏省北部,但卫星高估了江苏省东北部强降水中心的降水量;对于小时时序区域平均降水,卫星高估了降水,而雷达低估了累积降水量。综合降水中心区域分析,IMERG的强降水区域降水量与雨量站的时间序列的偏差显著;RQPE在降水峰值达到之前及峰值之后与地面雨量站的变化趋势基本一致,但对降雨量峰值有明显的偏低。RQPE能较为准确地在时间上捕捉到降雨强度的变化趋势,但对于大雨及暴雨的估测能力不佳;RQPE的POD、SCI值都远远高于IMERG, FAR也较小。IMERG几乎未能监测到强降水的发生。总体上,RQPE对此次龙卷风强降水量的估测表现优于3种IMERG产品,特别是在捕捉强降水区域的空间分布方面,但对于强降水的估测能力仍需进一步改善。     

The First Global Carbon Dioxide Flux Map Derived from TanSat Measurements

Space-borne measurements of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations provide global observation constraints for top-down estimates of surface carbon flux.Here,the first estimates of the global distribution of carbon surface fluxes inferred from dry-air CO_2 column (XCO_2) measurements by the Chinese Global Carbon Dioxide Monitoring Scientific Experimental Satellite (Tan Sat) are presented.An ensemble transform Kalman filter (ETKF) data assimilation system coupled with the GEOS-Chem global chemistry transport model is used to optimally fit model simulations with the Tan Sat XCO_2 observations,which were retrieved using the Institute of Atmospheric Physics Carbon dioxide retrieval Algorithm for Satellite remote sensing (IAPCAS).High posterior error reduction (30%–50%) compared with a priori fluxes indicates that assimilating satellite XCO_2 measurements provides highly effective constraints on global carbon flux estimation.Their impacts are also highlighted by significant spatiotemporal shifts in flux patterns over regions critical to the global carbon budget,such as tropical South America and China.An integrated global land carbon net flux of 6.71±0.76 Gt C yr~(-1) over12 months (May 2017–April 2018) is estimated from the Tan Sat XCO_2 data,which is generally consistent with other inversions based on satellite data,such as the JAXA GOSAT and NASA OCO-2 XCO_2 retrievals.However,discrepancies were found in some regional flux estimates,particularly over the Southern Hemisphere,where there may still be uncorrected bias between satellite measurements due to the lack of independent reference observations.The results of this study provide the groundwork for further studies using current or future Tan Sat XCO_2 data together with other surfacebased and space-borne measurements to quantify biosphere–atmosphere carbon exchange.     

Physical retrievals of over-ocean rain rate from multichannel microwave imagery. Part II: Algorithm implementation

Summary A new physical inversion-based algorithm for retrieving rain rate over the ocean with the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) is described. In a departure from other rain rate retrieval algorithms, the satellite observables inverted in the present algorithm are not the raw brightness temperatures but rather normalized polarizations for 19.35, 37.0, and 85.5 GHz, plus an 85.5 GHz scattering index which is sensitive primarily to ice particles aloft. The normalized polarizations are interpreted as footprint-averages of theoretically derived analytic functions of the column optical depth associated primarily with liquid water. The effective vertical depth of the rain layer is specified as a function of the SSM/I estimated column water vapor.The retrieval algorithm performs an iterative search for a high resolution (12.5 km) rain field which is simultaneously consistent with the 19.35 and 37.0 GHz normalized polarizations. The first-guess rain rate field is supplied by the 85.5 GHz scattering index. At gridpoints for which the rain column optical depth exceeds the dynamic range of the attenuation-based indices, the first-guess field is left essentially unmodified; elsewhere, the required consistency with the 19 and 37 GHz indices usually results in significant modification of the scattering-based rain rate estimates.The algorithm as described here is a prototype implementation which was developed with reference only to idealized theoretical models; empirical improvements to the numerical scheme and the model coefficients will be made in the future as results from the first Precipitation [algorithm] Intercomparison Project 1 (PIP-1) and the second phase of the GPCP (Global Precipitation Climatology Project) algorithm Intercomparison Project (AIP/2) are analyzed, as well as data from individual validation efforts. Although the algorithm is physically based and uses all SSM/I channels, it is computationally much less demanding than cloud/radiative transfer model-based inversion algorithms published else-where.With 9 Figures     

Study on the Algorithm to Retrieve Precipitation with X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar

In order to obtain the global precipitation distribution data,this paper investigates the precipitation distribution model,the normalized radar cross-section model,and the retrieval algorithm with X-band synthetic aperture radar (X-SAR).A new retrieval algorithm based on the surface-scattering reference attenuation is developed to retrieve the rain rate above the ground surface.This new algorithm needs no statistical work load and has more extensive applications.Calculations using the new algorithm for thre...     

Derivation of regression coefficients for sea surface temperature retrieval over East Asia

Among the regression-based algorithms for deriving SST from satellite measurements, regionally optimized algorithms normally perform better than the corresponding global algorithm. In this paper,three algorithms are considered for SST retrieval over the East Asia region (15°-55°N, 105°-170°E),including the multi-channel algorithm (MCSST), the quadratic algorithm (QSST), and the Pathfinder algorithm (PFSST). All algorithms are derived and validated using collocated buoy and Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (GMS-5) observations from 1997 to 2001. An important part of the derivation and validation of the algorithms is the quality control procedure for the buoy SST data and an improved cloud screening method for the satellite brightness temperature measurements. The regionally optimized MCSST algorithm shows an overall improvement over the global algorithm, removing the bias of about -0.13℃ and reducing the root-mean-square difference (rmsd) from 1.36℃ to 1.26℃. The QSST is only slightly better than the MCSST. For both algorithms, a seasonal dependence of the remaining error statistics is still evident. The Pathfinder approach for deriving a season-specific set of coefficients, one for August to October and one for the rest of the year, provides the smallest rmsd overall that is also stable over time.