Evaluation on penetration rate of cloud for incoming solar radiation using geostationary satellite data

Solar surface insolation (SSI) represents how much solar radiance reaches the Earth??s surface in a specified area and is an important parameter in various fields such as surface energy research, meteorology, and climate change. This study calculates insolation using Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT-1R) data with a simplified cloud factor over Northeast Asia. For SSI retrieval from the geostationary satellite data, the physical model of Kawamura is modified to improve insolation estimation by considering various atmospheric constituents, such as Rayleigh scattering, water vapor, ozone, aerosols, and clouds. For more accurate atmospheric parameterization, satellite-based atmospheric constituents are used instead of constant values when estimating insolation. Cloud effects are a key problem in insolation estimation because of their complicated optical characteristics and high temporal and spatial variation. The accuracy of insolation data from satellites depends on how well cloud attenuation as a function of geostationary channels and angle can be inferred. This study uses a simplified cloud factor that depends on the reflectance and solar zenith angle. Empirical criteria to select reference data for fitting to the ground station data are applied to suggest simplified cloud factor methods. Insolation estimated using the cloud factor is compared with results of the unmodified physical model and with observations by ground-based pyranometers located in the Korean peninsula. The modified model results show far better agreement with ground truth data compared to estimates using the conventional method under overcast conditions.     

Convective and Stratiform Cloud Rainfall Estimation from Geostationary Satellite Data

The Bayes Decision (BD) method was used to distinguish the corrective and stratiform components of cloud sys-tems from GMS-4 satellite data. A technique originally developed by Adler and Negri (1988, hereafter abbreviated AN) was improved for estimating the convective and stratiform cloud precipitation areas and rates of cloud systems from GMS satellite imagery. It has been applied to a tropical cyclonic cloud cluster observed over east coast area of China on September 23, 1992, which brought about flood disaster in that region. Overlaid 6-hour surface rainfall ob-servations show that the rainfall areas and amounts match with results from improved AN technique. The successful application of the Adler and Negri’s technique to convective and stratiform clouds provides encouragement for the use of this method over large region of mid-latitude China where radar data are not fully covered.     

On accurate detection of oceanic features from satellite IR data using ICSED method

ICSED (Improved Cluster Shade Edge Detection) algorithm and other various methods to accurately and efficiently detect edges on satellite data are presented. Error rate criterion is used to statistically evaluate the perform-ances of these methods in detecting oceanic features for both noise free and noise contaminated AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) IR image with Kuroshio. Also, practical experiments in detecting the eddy of Kuroshio with these methods are carried out for comparison. Results show that the ICSED algorithm has more advantages than other methods in detecting mesoscale features of ocean. Finally, the effectiveness of window size of ICSED method to oceanic features detection is quantitatively discussed.     

A method of cloud detection from satellite data

The main results of the development and testing of the cloud detection method are presented. The main purpose of the method is the identification and classification of clouds in satellite images with the subsequent retrieval of quantitative characteristics. The method provides digital datasets in the form of maps of cloud classes, cloud top height, and cloud top temperature. The consecutive stages of cloud detection are considered, and the conditions and basic results of the method testing are presented.     

Study of tropical cyclogenesis using satellite data

Summary Satellite data are used to study the cloud development and water vapor supply during the genesis of Typhoon Nina (November 1987). Using satellite microwave and infrared data, the following physical parameters are retrieved and analyzed: water vapor path, surface wind, sea surface evaporation, precipitation, and cloud type.During the week prior to the genesis of Nina, several cloud clusters were observed in the region of the subsequent genesis (near 5° N, 170° E). Cloud type studies showed that several clusters had similar structures. By examining the sea surface evaporation and precipitation in the cloud clusters, we found that the precipitation exceeded evaporation by several times in the precipitating areas of the cluster that evolved into a tropical storm, indicating that local evaporation alone could not supply enough water vapor, and that horizontal transfer of water vapor from surrounding areas is required for the tropical cyclogenesis. Surface wind fields indicated that there was a constant increase of cyclonic wind in the area of the cloud cluster that finally led to the tropical storm, while no apparent increase of wind was found in the other cloud clusters. In addition, water vapor amount did not decrease for several days until the disturbance was upgraded to a tropical storm, while it was found to decrease after the mature stage for the other cloud clusters that did not evolve into tropical storms.From consideration of the water vapor balance, the cyclogenesis can be interpreted as a transition from an unbalanced cluster to a balanced cluster. Horizontal transfer of water vapor in a water vapor-unbalanced cloud cluster is not large enough to overcome the deficit caused by precipitation over evaporation. The shortage of water vapor in the unbalanced cluster results in a short-lived cloud cluster. When the sum of evaporation and horizontal transfer can provide enough water vapor supply to balance the removal by precipitation (balanced cluster), the precipitation does not dry up the atmosphere. This is the necessary condition for the cyclogenesis. The increase in horizontal transfer of water vapor is found in this study to be associated with the increase of the surface cyclonic wind.With 5 Figures     

Alpine cloud climatology using long-term NOAA-AVHRR satellite data

Summary  Three different climates have been identified by our evaluation of AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) data using APOLLO (AVHRR Processing scheme Over Land, Clouds and Ocean) for a five-years cloud climatology of the Alpine region. The cloud cover data from four layers were spatially averaged in boxes of 15 km by 14 km. The study area only covers 540 km by 560 km, but contains regions with moderate, Alpine and Mediterranean climate. Data from the period July 1989 until December 1996 have been considered. The temporal resolution is one scene per day, the early afternoon pass, yielding monthly means of satellite derived cloud coverages 5% to 10% above the daily mean compared to conventional surface observation. At non-vegetated sites the cloudiness is sometimes significantly overestimated. Averaging high resolution cloud data seems to be superior to low resolution measurements of cloud properties and averaging is favourable in topographical homogeneous regions only. The annual course of cloud cover reveals typical regional features as foehn or temporal singularities as the so-called Christmas thaw. The cloud cover maps in spatially high resolution show local luff/lee features which outline the orography. Less cloud cover is found over the Alps than over the forelands in winter, an accumulation of thick cirrus is found over the High Alps and an accumulation of thin cirrus north of the Alps. Received December 17, 1999 Revised July 18, 2000     

A New Algorithm for Sea Fog／Stratus Detection Using GMS-5 IR Data

A new algorithm for the detection of fog/stratus over the ocean from the GMS-5 infrared (IR) channel data is presented. The new algorithm uses a clear-sky radiance composite map (CSCM) to compare the hourly observations of the IR radiance. The feasibility of the simple comparison is justified by the theoretical simulations of the fog effect on the measured radiance using a radiative transfer model. The simulation results show that the presence of fog can be detected provided the visibility is worse than 1 km and the background clear-sky radiances are accurate enough with known uncertainties. For the current study, an accurate CSCM is constructed using a modified spatial and temporal coherence method, which takes advantage of the high temporal resolution of the GMS-5 observations. The new algorithm is applied for the period of 10-12 May 1999, when heavy sea fog formed near the southwest coast of the Korean Peninsula. Comparisons of the fog/stratus index, defined as the difference between the measured and clear-sky brightness temperature, from the new algorithm to the results from other methods, such as the dual channel difference of NOAA/AVHRR and the earth albedo method, show a good agreement. The fog/stratus index also compares favorably with the ground observations of visibility and relative humidity. The general characteristics of the fog/stratus index and visibility are relatively well matched, although the relationship among the absolute values, the fog/stratus index, visibility, and relative humidity, varies with time. This variation is thought to be due to the variation of the atmospheric conditions and the characteristics of fog/stratus, which affect the derived fog/stratus index.     

On the estimation of surface radiation using satellite data

Summary Model calculations are used to investigate the uncertainties in the surface radiative flux empirically derived from satellite radiation measurements and theoretically calculated from radiation models using satellite-inferred cloud parameters. The empirical approach depends upon how well the satellite-measured radiances (represented here by the top-of-the-atmosphere flux) correlate with the net flux at the surface. The model calculations show that while the TOA flux and the net surface flux are correlated with respect to changes in optical thickness, they are not correlated with respect to changes in cloud height and negatively correlated with respect to changes in water vapor content. It is also found that the solar zenith angle has a strong effect on these relationships. It is, therefore, important to correct for the effects of atmospheric water vapor content and the solar zenith angle in the empirical estimation of surface radiative flux.The theoretical approach depends upon the net effect of the uncertainty in satellite-inferred cloud parameters. In the solar spectral region, the effects of the uncertainty in satellite retrieval of could cover and optical thickness on the net downward surface flux are systematically in opposite directions, so that the combined effects is typically small (< 7 Wm^–2). In the thermal infrared region, an error of 7 Wm^–2 could be induced by an uncertainty of 100 mb in the cloud-base height or an uncertainty of 0.1 in the fractional cloud cover. As opposed to what is commonly perceived, the error in the surface flux is likely to be larger in the IR region than in the solar spectral region.

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Zusammenfassung In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden mit Hilfe von Modellberechnungen die Unsicherheiten in den durch Satellitenmessungen empirisch gewonnenen Strahlungsflüssen an der Oberfläche und jene, die bei der Benützung von Strahlungsmodellen, die auf mit Satelliten abgeleiteten Wolkenparametern beruhen, verglichen. Die Gültigkeit des empirischen Näherungsverfahren ist davon abhängig, wie sehr die vom Satelliten gemessene Strahlung (im weiteren als top-of-the-atmosphere flux — TOA — bezeichnet) mit dem Nettostrahlungsfluß an der Oberfläche korreliert. Die Modellberechnungen zeigen, daß TOA-Fluß und Nettostrahlungsfluß an der Oberfläche zwar in bezug auf Änderungen der optischen Dicke, nicht aber in bezug auf Änderungen der Wolkenhöhe korreliert sind, während sie in bezug auf Veränderungen des Wasserdampfgehalts negativ korreliert sind. Es zeigt sich weiters, daß der Zenithwinkel der Sonne einen wesentlichen Einfluß auf diese Zusammenhänge hat. Daher ist es wichtig, die Auswirkungen des atmosphärischen Wasserdampfgehalts und des Sonnenzenithwinkels in den empirischen Berechnungen des Strahlungsflusses an der Oberfläche zu korrigieren.Der theroretische Ansatz ist abhängig vom Einfluß der Unsicherheiten der satellitenermittelten Wolkenparameter. Im solaren Spektralbereich wird der zur Oberfläche gerichtete Nettofluß durch die Unsicherheiten in der satellitenermittelten Wolkendecke und der optischen Dicke systematisch in entgegengesetzter Richtung beeinflußt, so daß der gemeinsame Effekt im allgemeinen gering bleibt (< 7 Wm^–2). Im thermischen Infrarotbereich kann ein Fehler von 7 Wm^–2 durch eine Unsicherheit von 100 mb in der Wolkenbasishöhe oder von 0.1 in der Bedeckung hervorgerufen werden. Im Gegensatz zur weitverbreiteten Ansicht ist also der Fehler bei Berechnungen des Flusses an der Oberfläche im thermischen Infrarotbereich aller Wahrscheinlichkeit nach größer als im solaren Spektrum.

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With 11 Figures     

Winds derived from geostationary satellite moisture channel observations: Applications and impact on numerical weather prediction

Summary Tropospheric motions deduced from sequential water vapor imagery provided by geostationary meteorological satellites can be utilized to infer wind fields. Temporal tracking of moisture features yields spatially coherent vector fields in both cloudy and cloud-free regimes. These observations can be employed to augment existing operationally-available data in order to provide improved upper-tropospheric wind analyses over meteorological scales ranging from sub-synoptic to global. It is demonstrated through assimilation of these data into numerical weather prediction systems that modest forecast improvements can be realized. Forecast impact experiments yield small but positive results in: 1) hurricane track forecasts, 2) regional-scale prediction, and 3) global-scale prediction. Ongoing research and future prospects are discussed.With 6 Figures     

梅雨锋上中尺度涡旋与高低层流型演变的关系

利用MODIS卫星、多普勒天气雷达和地面观测资料,对2013年6月30日四川遂宁一次特大暴雨天气过程中涡旋暴雨云团的演变特征进行了详细分析。主要结论是：(1)涡旋暴雨云团与其北侧的积云云团呈前倾结构,说明暴雨云团经历了先由弱积云发展为深对流云、再到云毡的逐步发展成熟过程;(2)涡旋暴雨云团从南到北围绕低涡中心东侧最多时有6条降水云带,其中南部的降水云带碰并增长带(-1~-10 ℃层)厚度大于凝结增长带(3~-1 ℃层)厚度,北部降水云带刚好相反,表明南部以碰并增长过程为优势物理过程,利于较快拓宽云滴谱,使得云滴迅速长大形成雨滴降落下来;(3)涡旋暴雨云团中最强降水云带位于其南部的资阳至遂宁一带,分析雷达回波垂直剖面图发现有8个对流单体分布在云带中,且不断有新生单体移向遂宁,并从南至北依次增强,形成“列车效应”,其成熟阶段-10 ℃高度以下碰并增长很充分,厚度为6 km左右,-10 ℃高度以上存在一个深厚的冰相增长带,厚度5~8 km,发展到成熟阶段碰并增长和冰相过程均为优势微物理过程,云中碰并增长和冰化增长过程向下传递明显,这些特点利于快速形成降水,导致当日10—17时遂宁站连续出现强降水。

     

应用卫星资料分析苏州夏季城市热岛效应

利用苏州2004-2007年自动气象站资料以及购自中国科学院对地观测与数字地球科学中心的Landsat 5卫星(25 m分辨率)资料,分析研究苏州地区城市热岛总体特点以及分布规律,并对可能变化做一些探讨.分析认为,由于城市热岛效应,苏州地区气温呈中间高两侧低的分布特征,气温高值中心呈西北-东南走向,沿太湖及沿江地区气温相对较低;苏州城市地表温度呈明显的放射型分布,以市区中心向四周呈放射状分布.     

Developing the science product algorithm testbed for Chinese next-generation geostationary meteorological satellites: Fengyun-4 series

Fengyun-4A (FY-4A), the first of the Chinese next-generation geostationary meteorological satellites, launched in 2016, offers several advances over the FY-2: more spectral bands, faster imaging, and infrared hyperspectral measurements. To support the major objective of developing the prototypes of FY-4 science algorithms, two science product algorithm testbeds for imagers and sounders have been developed by the scientists in the FY-4 Algorithm Working Group (AWG). Both testbeds, written in FORTRAN and C programming languages for Linux or UNIX systems, have been tested successfully by using Intel/g compilers. Some important FY-4 science products, including cloud mask, cloud properties, and temperature profiles, have been retrieved successfully through using a proxy imager, Himawari-8/Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI), and sounder data, obtained from the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder, thus demonstrating their robustness. In addition, in early 2016, the FY-4 AWG was developed based on the imager testbed—a near real-time processing system for Himawari-8/AHI data for use by Chinese weather forecasters. Consequently, robust and flexible science product algorithm testbeds have provided essential and productive tools for popularizing FY-4 data and developing substantial improvements in FY-4 products.     

Ocean Data Assimilation Using Intermittent Analyses and Continuous Model Error Correction

A new data insertion approach is applied to the Derber and Rosati ocean data assimilation(ODA) system,a system that uses a variational scheme to analyze ocean temperature and provide ocean model corrections continuously.Utilizing the same analysis component as the original system,the new approach conducts analyses to derive model corrections intermittently at once-daily intervals.A technique similar to the Incremental Analysis Update(IAU) method of Bloom et al.is applied to incorporate the corrections into the model gradually and continuously.This approach is computationally more economical than the original.A 13-year global ocean analysis from 1986 to 1998 is produced using this new approach and compared with an analysis based on the original one.An examination of both analyses in the tropical Pacific Ocean shows that they have qualitatively similar annual and interannual temperature variability.Howerver,the new approach produces smoother monthly analyses.Moreover,compared to the independent observations from current meters,the new equatorial currents are significantly better than the original analyses,not only in maintaining the mean state but also in capturing the annual and interannual variations.     

Classifying convective and stratiform rain using multispectral infrared Meteosat Second Generation satellite data

This paper investigates the potential for developing schemes that classify convective and stratiform precipitation areas using the high infrared spectral resolution of the Meteosat Second Generation—Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (MSG-SEVIRI). Two different classification schemes were proposed that use the brightness temperature (BT) Τ _10.8 along with the brightness temperature differences (BTDs) Τ _10.8–Τ _12.1, Τ _8.7–Τ _10.8, and Τ _6.2–Τ _10.8 as spectral parameters, which provide information about cloud parameters. The first is a common multispectral thresholding scheme used to partition the space of the spectral cloud parameters and the second is an algorithm based on the probability of convective rain (PCR) for each pixel of the satellite data. Both schemes were calibrated using as a reference convectivestratiform rain classification fields derived from 87 stations in Greece for six rainy days with high convective activity. As a result, one single infrared technique (TB₁₀) and two multidimensional techniques (BTD_all and PCR) were constructed and evaluated against an independent sample of rain gauge data for four daily convective precipitation events. It was found that the introduction of BTDs as additional information to a technique works in improving the discrimination of convective from stratiform rainy pixels compared to the single infrared technique BT₁₀. During the training phase, BTD_all performed slightly better than BT₁₀ while PCR technique outperformed both threshold techniques. All techniques clearly overestimate the convective rain occurrences detected by the rain gauge network. When evaluating against the independent dataset, both threshold techniques exhibited the same performance with that of the dependent dataset whereas the PCR technique showed a notable skill degradation. As a result, BTD_all performed best followed at a short distance by PCR and BT₁₀. These findings showed that it is possible to apply a convective/stratiform rain classification algorithm based on the enhanced infrared spectral resolution of MSG-SEVIRI, for nowcasting or climate purposes, despite the highly variable nature of convective precipitation.     

Retrieval of aerosol optical depth for Chongqing using the HJ-1 satellite data

Aerosol optical depth (AOD) is a common indicator applied in monitoring aerosols in the atmosphere. The hilly landscape and rapid economic growth of the megacity Chongqing have facilitated increased aerosol concentration, and it is meaningful to accurately retrieve AOD over Chongqing. The HJ-1A/B satellite of China carries a sensor/camera called the Charge Coupled Device (CCD), the spatial resolution of which meets the requirement for retrieving high resolution AOD. In this paper, analysis of the AOD retrievals from different methods using the HJ-1 satellite data revealed the most suitable algorithm. Through comparison with the AOD product of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the AOD retrieval results using enhanced vegetation index (EVI) to estimate dark pixels showed the highest correlation. The continental aerosol model was used to build a lookup table that was able to facilitate a good AOD retrieval for both city and rural areas. Finally, the algorithm that combined dark pixels, buffer areas, and the deep blue algorithm was found to be most suitable for AOD retrieval. The AOD retrieval results based on the HJ-1 data were consistent with MODIS products, and our algorithm yields reasonable results in most cases. The results were also compared with ground-based PM₁₀ measurements synchronized with the overpass time of the HJ-1 satellite, and high correlation was found. The findings are relevant to other Chinese satellite data used for retrieving AOD on the same channels.     

Geostatistical improvements of evapotranspiration spatial information using satellite land surface and weather stations data

The objective of the present study was to use the simple cokriging methodology to characterize the spatial variability of Penman–Monteith reference evapotranspiration and Thornthwaite potential evapotranspiration methods based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spetroradiometer (MODIS) global evapotranspiration products and high-resolution surfaces of WordClim temperature and precipitation data. The climatic element data referred to 39 National Institute of Meteorology climatic stations located in Minas Gerais state, Brazil and surrounding states. The use of geostatistics and simple cokriging technique enabled the characterization of the spatial variability of the evapotranspiration providing uncertainty information on the spatial prediction pattern. Evapotranspiration and precipitation surfaces were implemented for the climatic classification in Minas Gerais. Multivariate geostatistical determined improvements of evapotranspiration spatial information. The regions in the south of Minas Gerais derived from the moisture index estimated with the MODIS evapotranspiration (2000–2010), presented divergence of humid conditions when compared to the moisture index derived from the simple kriged and cokriged evapotranspiration (1961–1990), indicating climate change in this region. There was stronger pattern of crossed covariance between evapotranspiration and precipitation rather than temperature, indicating that trends in precipitation could be one of the main external drivers of the evapotranspiration in Minas Gerais state, Brazil.     

Economic development and natural disasters: A satellite data analysis

In this study we examine the impact of large-scale natural disasters on economic development. A major obstacle in exploring this relationship is the poor data quality on GDP per capita in low-income countries, while at the same time more than 90% of all disasters that happen worldwide occur in these particular countries. To overcome this problem, we use data based on satellite images of the night-time light intensity in a specific country or region which is shown to be highly correlated with income per capita. After testing for the sensitivity of the results, our main findings suggest that natural disasters reduce the amount of lights visible from outer space significantly in the short run. To be more precise, we demonstrate that climatic and hydrological disasters cause a large drop in the luminosity in developing and emerging market countries, while geophysical and meteorological disasters decrease light intensity more in industrialized countries. It turns out that using reported real GDP per capita figures underestimates the true impact. Besides, a large part of the economic consequences of the natural events is explained by their regional impact. However, in the long run most of the disaster effect has disappeared. Finally, the impact of a disaster depends partly on the size and scope of the natural catastrophe, the geographical location, the degree of financial development of a country and the quality of the political institutions present.