The first quantitative joint observation of typhoon by Chinese GF-3 SAR and HY-2A microwave scatterometer

The typhoon, as a mature tropical cyclone that develops in the western part of the North Pacific Ocean with high wind speed and heavy rainfall, is one of the most lethal and costly of natural disasters for the densely populated countries of East Asia. It can be easily detected by space-borne sensors operated at microwave, visible or infrared bands （Liu et al., 2014）. Synthetic Aperture Radar （SAR） is a kind of active imaging radar, which can detect the targets with high resolution at one-meter level. SARs can be used to extract the sea surface wind and the eyes of typhoons or hurricanes （Friedman and Li, 2000; Zhang and Perrie, 2012; Li, 2015; Jin et al., 2014; Liu et al., 2014）. As a pioneer project of Haiyang-3 （HY-3）, the Chinese C-band SAR satellite of Gaofen-3 （GF-3） was launched in August 2016 under China High-resolution Earth Observation System （CEOS）. GF-3 carries a multi-polarized C-band SAR with a highest spatial resolution of one meter, the most imaging modes in the word of twelve and a long designed lifespan of 8 years. Haiyang-2A （HY-2A）, which was launched in August 2011, is the first Chinese marine dynamic environment satellite with a main payload of Ku-band microwave scatterometer （Jiang et al., 2012; Ye et al., 2015）. One of the objectives of HY-2A scatterometer （HY-2A SCAT） is monitoring sea surface wind field of global ocean.

The First Global Map of Atmospheric Ammonia(NH_(3)) as Observed by the HIRAS/FY-3D Satellite

Atmospheric ammonia(NH_(3)) is a chemically active trace gas that plays an important role in the atmospheric environment and climate change. Satellite remote sensing is a powerful technique to monitor NH_(3) concentration based on the absorption lines of NH_(3) in the thermal infrared region. In this study, we establish a retrieval algorithm to derive the NH_(3)column from the Hyperspectral Infrared Atmospheric Sounder(HIRAS) onboard the Chinese Feng Yun(FY)-3D satellite and present the first atmospheric NH_(3) column global map observed by the HIRAS instrument. The HIRAS observations can well capture NH_(3) hotspots around the world, e.g., India, West Africa, and East China, where large NH_(3) emissions exist. The HIRAS NH_(3) columns are also compared to the space-based Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer(IASI)measurements, and we find that the two instruments observe a consistent NH_(3) global distribution, with correlation coefficient(R) values of 0.28–0.73. Finally, some remaining issues about the HIRAS NH_(3) retrieval are discussed.

MODELING AND QUANTITATIVE RETRIEVAL OF FINITE FIELD FOR THE TROPICAL SEA SURFACE WIND SPEED OF THE FY-3B MICROWAVE IMAGER

The purpose of this study is to select a suitable sea wind retrieval method for FY-3B(MWRI). Based on the traditional empirical model of retrieving sea surface wind speed, and in the case of small sample size of FY-3B satellite load regression analysis, this paper analyzes the channel differences between the FY-3B satellite microwave radiation imager(MWRI) and TMI onboard the TRMM. The paper also analyzes the influence of these differences on the channel in terms of receiving temperature, including channel frequency, sensitivity and scaling precision. Then, the limited range of new model coefficient regression analysis is determined(in which the channel range settings include the information and features of channel differences), the regression methods of the finite field are proposed, and the empirical model of wind speed retrieval applicable to MWRI is obtained, which achieves robust results. Compared to the TAO buoy data, the mean deviation of the new model is 0.4 m/s, and the standard deviation is 1.2 m/s. In addition,the schematic diagram of the tropical sea surface wind speed retrieval is provided.

FY-3A SATELLITE MICROWAVE DATA ASSIMILATION EXPERIMENTS IN TROPICAL CYCLONE FORECAST

China's new generation of polar-orbiting meteorological satellite FY-3A was successfully launched on May 26,2008,carrying microwave sounding devices which had similar performance to ATOVS of NOAA series.In order to study the application of microwave sounding data in numerical prediction of typhoons and to improve typhoon forecasting,we assimilated data directly for numerical forecasting of the track and intensity of the 2009 typhoon Morakot(0908)based on the WRF-3DVar system.Results showed that the initial fields of the numerical model due to direct assimilation of FY-3A microwave sounding data was improved much more than that due to assimilation of conventional observations alone,and the improvement was especially significant over the ocean,which is always without conventional observations.The model initial fields were more reasonable in reflecting the initial situation of typhoon circulation as well as temperature and humidity conditions,and typhoon central position at sea was also adjusted.Through direct 3DVar assimilation of FY-3A microwave data,the regional mesoscale model improves the forecasting of typhoon track.Therefore,the FY-3A microwave data could efficiently improve the numerical prediction of typhoons.

RETRIEVAL OF CLEAR SKY MOISTURE PROFILES IN THE PACIFIC USING MEASUREMENTS OF MICROWAVE HUMIDITY SOUNDER FROM FY-3A SATELLITE

An improved Smith iterative method, which generally applies to microwave bands, is described. The moisture profiles retrieved from the brightness temperature data of microwave humidity sounder onboard FY-3A satellite, pertaining to clear sky, are shown over western North Pacific by using a vector-discrete ordination radiative transfer model. The retrieved profiles are compared with those from MODIS products, and the results of single point show that they are in good agreement with the results for lower layers. The distribution of retrieved humidity at 500 hPa is basically consistent with the actual situation, and the values are lower than that of the MODIS products. Compared with MODIS products, RMS is within 5.76g/kg at every single level separately.

Assimilation of Feng-Yun-3B Satellite Microwave Humidity Sounder Data over Land

The ECMWF has been assimilating Feng-Yun-3B （FY-3B） satellite microwave humidity sounder （MWHS） data over ocean in an operational forecasting system since 24 September 2014, It is more difficult, however, to assimilate microwave observations over land and sea ice than over the open ocean due to higher uncertainties in land surface temperature, surface emissivity and less effective cloud screening. We compare approaches in which the emissivity is retrieved dynamically from MWHS channel l [150 GHz （vertical polarization）] with the use of an evolving emissivity atlas from 89 GHz observations from the MWHS onboard NOAA and EUMETSAT satellites. The assimilation of the additional data over land improves the fit of short-range forecasts to other observations, notably ATMS （Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder） humidity channels, and the forecast impacts are mainly neutral to slightly positive over the first five days. The forecast impacts are better in boreal summer and the Southern Hemisphere. These results suggest that the techniques tested allow for effective assimilation of MWHS/FY-3B data over land.

MWHS/FY-3资料同化在四川盆地暴雨预报中的应用研究

为了研究同化风云三号B星(FY-3B)和C星(FY-3C)的微波湿度计(MWHS及MWHS-2)观测资料在四川暴雨数值预报中的影响,本文基于Weather Research and Forecasting Model(WRF)及其三维变分同化系统Weather Research Forecast Variatinal Data Assimilation System(WRFDA),实现了对MWHS/FY-3B和MWHS-2/FY-3C观测资料的直接同化。针对2018年7月的一次四川盆地区域性暴雨过程的同化试验结果表明:同化风云三号系列卫星的微波湿度计观测资料对试验开始时刻均有改善,对相对湿度和矢量风场等物理量场有一定的正向调整作用,尤其是同化MWHS-2/FY-3C资料对风场的调整较为明显。同化试验对龙门山北部降水有较明显的改善作用,改善了降水的分布与落区,其中同化MWHS/FY-3B对盆地中部到东北部的降水量级的预报更接近实况,雨区更为连续。同化试验证明了同化风云三号系列卫星的微波湿度计观测资料对于四川盆地暴雨数值预报有一定的业务应用价值。

STUDY ON THE MULTIVARIATE STATISTICAL ESTIMATION OF TROPICAL CYCLONE INTENSITY USING FY-3 MWRI BRIGHTNESS TEMPERATURE DATA

A technique for estimating tropical cyclone(TC) intensity over the Western North Pacific utilizing FY-3Microwave Imager(MWRI) data is developed. As a first step, we investigated the relationship between the FY-3 MWRI brightness temperature(TB) parameters, which are computed in concentric circles or annuli of different radius in different MWRI frequencies, and the TC maximum wind speed(Vmax) from the TC best track data. We found that the parameters of lower frequency channels' minimum TB, mean TB and ratio of pixels over the threshold TB with a radius of 1.0 or 1.5 degrees from the center give higher correlation. Then by applying principal components analysis(PCA)and multiple regression method, we established an estimation model and evaluated it using independent verification data, with the RMSE being 13 kt. The estimated Vmax is always stronger in the early stages of development, but slightly weaker toward the mature stage, and a reversal of positive and negative bias takes place with a boundary of around 70 kt. For the TC that has a larger error, we found that they are often with less organized and asymmetric cloud pattern, so the classification of TC cloud pattern will help improve the acuracy of the estimated TC intensity, and with the increase of statistical samples the accuracy of the estimated TC intensity will also be improved.

Assimilation of FY-3D MWTS-Ⅱ Radiance with 3D Precipitation Detection and the Impacts on Typhoon Forecasts

Precipitation detection is an essential step in radiance assimilation because the uncertainties in precipitation would affect the radiative transfer calculation and observation errors.The traditional precipitation detection method for microwave only detects clouds and precipitation horizontally,without considering the three-dimensional distribution of clouds.Extending precipitation detection from 2D to 3D is expected to bring more useful information to the data assimilation without using the all-sky approach.In this study,the 3D precipitation detection method is adopted to assimilate Microwave Temperature Sounder-2(MWTS-Ⅱ)onboard the Fengyun-3D,which can dynamically detect the channels above precipitating clouds by considering the near-real-time cloud parameters.Cycling data assimilation and forecasting experiments for Typhoons Lekima(2019)and Mitag(2019)are carried out.Compared with the control experiment,the quantity of assimilated data with the 3D precipitation detection increases by approximately 23%.The quality of the additional MWTS-Ⅱradiance data is close to the clear-sky data.The case studies show that the average root-mean-square errors(RMSE)of prognostic variables are reduced by 1.7%in the upper troposphere,leading to an average reduction of4.53%in typhoon track forecasts.The detailed diagnoses of Typhoon Lekima(2019)further show that the additional MWTS-Ⅱradiances brought by the 3D precipitation detection facilitate portraying a more reasonable circulation situation,thus providing more precise structures.This paper preliminarily proves that 3D precipitation detection has potential added value for increasing satellite data utilization and improving typhoon forecasts.

Retrieval of snow depth on Antarctic sea ice from the FY-3D MWRI data

The snow depth on sea ice is an extremely critical part of the cryosphere.Monitoring and understanding changes of snow depth on Antarctic sea ice is beneficial for research on sea ice and global climate change.The Microwave Radiation Imager(MWRI)sensor aboard the Chinese FengYun-3D(FY-3D)satellite has great potential for obtaining information of the spatial and temporal distribution of snow depth on the sea ice.By comparing in-situ snow depth measurements during the 35th Chinese Antarctic Research Expedition(CHINARE-35),we took advantage of the combination of multiple gradient ratio(GR(36V,10V)and GR(36V,18V))derived from the measured brightness temperature of FY-3D MWRI to estimate the snow depth.This method could simultaneously introduce the advantages of high and low GR in the snow depth retrieval model and perform well in both deep and shallow snow layers.Based on this,we constructed a novel model to retrieve the FY-3D MWRI snow depth on Antarctic sea ice.The new model validated by the ship-based observational snow depth data from CHINARE-35 and the snow depth measured by snow buoys from the Alfred Wegener Institute(AWI)suggest that the model proposed in this study performs better than traditional models,with root mean square deviations(RMSDs)of 8.59 cm and 7.71 cm,respectively.A comparison with the snow depth measured from Operation IceBridge(OIB)project indicates that FY-3D MWRI snow depth was more accurate than the released snow depth product from the U.S.National Snow and Ice Data Center(NSIDC)and the National Tibetan Plateau Data Center(NTPDC).The spatial distribution of the snow depth from FY-3D MWRI agrees basically with that from ICESat-2;this demonstrates its reliability for estimating Antarctic snow depth,and thus has great potential for understanding snow depth variations on Antarctic sea ice in the context of global climate change.

Precipitation Detection and Retrieving Based on FY-3C MWHTS

The paper develops a passive sub-millimeter precipitation retrievals algorithm for Microwave Humidity and Temperature Sounder(MWHTS)onboard the Chinese Feng Yun 3C(FY-3C)satellite.The retrieval algorithm employs a number of neural network estimators trained and evaluated using the validated global reference physical model NCEP/WRF/ARTS,and works for seawater.NCEP data per 6 hours are downloaded to run the Weather Research and Forecast model WRF,and derive the typical precipitation data from the whole world.The Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Simulator ARTS is feasible for performing simulations of atmospheric radiative transfer.Rain detection algorithm has been used to generate level 2 products.Retrievals are reliable for surface precipitation rate higher than 0.1 mm/h at 15km resolution,which is in good agreement with those retrieved using the Precipitation retrieval algorithm version 1(ATMP-1)for Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder(ATMS)aboard Suomi NPP satellite.

Retrieval of Oceanic Total Precipitable Water Vapor and Cloud Liquid Water from Fengyun-3D Microwave Sounding Instruments

Fengyun-3 D(FY-3 D) satellite is the latest polar-orbiting meteorological satellite launched by China and carries 10 instruments onboard. Its microwave temperature sounder(MWTS) and microwave humidity sounder(MWHS) can acquire a total of 28 channels of brightness temperatures, providing rich information for profiling atmospheric temperature and moisture. However, due to a lack of two important frequencies at 23.8 and 31.4 GHz, it is difficult to retrieve the total precipitable water vapor(TPW) and cloud liquid water path(CLW) from FY-3 D microwave sounder data as commonly done for other microwave sounding instruments. Using the channel similarity between Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership(NPP) advanced technology microwave sounder(ATMS) and FY-3 D microwave sounding instruments, a machine learning(ML) technique is used to generate the two missing low-frequency channels of MWTS and MWHS. Then, a new dataset named as combined microwave sounder(CMWS) is obtained,which has the same channel setting as ATMS but the spatial resolution is consistent with MWTS. A statistical inversion method is adopted to retrieve TPW and CLW over oceans from the FY-3 D CMWS. The intercomparison between different satellites shows that the inversion products of FY-3 D CMWS and Suomi NPP ATMS have good consistency in magnitude and distribution. The correlation coefficients of retrieved TPW and CLW between CMWS and ATMS can reach 0.95 and 0.85, respectively.

In-Orbit Calibration Uncertainty of the Microwave Radiation Imager on board Fengyun-3C

This study evaluates the in-orbit calibration uncertainty(CU)for the microwave radiation imager(MWRI)on board the Chinese polar-orbiting meteorological satellite Fengyun-3 C(FY-3 C).Uncertainty analysis of the MWRI provides a direct link to the calibration system of the sensor and quantifies the calibration confidence based on the prelaunch and postlaunch measurements.The unique design of the sensor makes the uncertainty in the calibration of the sensor highly correlate to the uncertainty in the brightness temperature(TB)measured at the hot view,while the cold view has negligible impacts on the calibration confidence.Lack of knowledge on the emission of the hot-load reflector hampers the MWRI calibration accuracy significantly in the descending passes of the orbits when the hotload reflector is heated nonuniformly by the solar illumination.Radiance contamination originating from the satellite and in-orbit environments could enter the primary reflector via the hot view and further impinge on the CU,especially at the 10.65-GHz channels where the main-beam width is much broader than that of higher-frequency channels.The monthly-mean CU is lower than 2 K at all channels,depending on the observed earth scenes and in-orbit environments,and the month-to-month variation of CU is also noticed for all channels.Due to the uncertainty in the emissive hot-load reflector,CU in the descending passes is generally larger than that in the ascending orbits.Moreover,up to 1-K CU difference between the ocean and land scenes is found for the 10.65-GHz channels,while this difference is less than 0.1 K at the 89-GHz channels.

基于卫星和地面观测的中国典型城市群对流层内臭氧时空变化特征

为了探明近年来中国典型城市群(京津冀城市群、长三角城市群和珠三角城市群)臭氧(O_(3))污染的发生规律,利用2005—2020年OMI-MLS(臭氧监测仪-微波临边探测器)对流层O_(3)柱总量探测数据以及2015—2020年地面O_(3)浓度监测数据分析我国三大城市群O_(3)的时空分布特征及其演变趋势,结果表明:①对流层O_(3)柱总量月峰值和年均值均呈京津冀城市群>长三角城市群>珠三角城市群的特征,京津冀和长三角城市群对流层O_(3)柱总量均在夏季〔分别为50.0和44.4 DU(dobson unit)〕最高,而珠三角城市群在春季(42.2 DU)最高.②三大城市群对流层O_(3)柱总量在空间分布上具有不同的特征,京津冀城市群对流层O_(3)柱总量呈东南高于西北的特征,长三角城市群对流层O_(3)柱总量随纬度升高而增大,珠三角城市群对流层O_(3)柱总量南北局地差异较小;海拔对对流层O_(3)柱总量的空间分布有一定影响,海拔越高,对流层O_(3)柱总量越低.③京津冀、长三角和珠三角城市群对流层O_(3)柱总量均呈逐年显著升高的趋势,年均增长量分别为0.25、0.28和0.27 DU,其中,京津冀城市群在对流层O_(3)柱总量较低的秋冬季年均增长(0.29 DU)最快,而长三角和珠三角城市群分别在对流层O_(3)柱总量最高的夏季和春季增长最快,均为0.39 DU.④卫星探测的对流层O_(3)柱总量与地面监测的O_(3)日最大8 h滑动平均浓度(简称“O_(3)-8 h浓度”)在京津冀和长三角城市群相关性明显,而在珠三角城市群相关性较差.⑤O_(3)-8 h浓度呈京津冀城市群>长三角城市群>珠三角城市群的特征,其中,京津冀城市群O_(3)-8 h浓度在2018年(110.9μg/m^(3))最高,空间上由2016年之前的北高南低转变为南高北低,多数城市O_(3)污染较重且达标率较低;长三角城市群2017年O_(3)-8 h浓度(106.7μg/m^(3))最高,2016年起O_(3)-8 h高浓度中心由东北逐渐向西部内陆迁移,沿海城市达标率增加;珠三角城市群O_(3)污染程度最轻,达标城市较多,但O_(3)-8 h浓度呈逐年上升趋势,并在2019年达最高值(100.4μg/m^(3)),且中心城市上升速率远大于外围城市.研究显示,中国三大城市群对流层O_(3)柱总量和O_(3)-8 h浓度的时空分布特征存在显著差异,造成差异的因素也不同.

Impact of FY-3D MWRI Radiance Assimilation in GRAPES 4DVar on Forecasts of Typhoon Shanshan

In this study, Fengyun-3 D(FY-3 D) Micro Wave Radiation Imager(MWRI) radiance data were directly assimilated into the Global/Regional Assimilation and Pr Ediction System(GRAPES) four-dimensional variational(4 DVar) system. Quality control procedures were developed for MWRI applications by using algorithms from similar microwave instruments. Compared with the FY-3 C MWRI, the bias of FY-3 D MWRI observations did not show a clear node-dependent difference from the numerical weather prediction background simulation. A conventional bias correction approach can therefore be used to remove systematic biases before the assimilation of data. After assimilating the MWRI radiance data into GRAPES, the geopotential height and humidity analysis fields were improved relative to the control experiment. There was a positive impact on the location of the subtropical high, which led to improvements in forecasts of the track of Typhoon Shanshan.

Estimation of Terrestrial Net Primary Productivity in China from Fengyun-3D Satellite Data

Currently,the satellite data used to estimate terrestrial net primary productivity(NPP)in China are predominantly from foreign satellites,and very few studies have based their estimates on data from China’s Fengyun satellites.Moreover,despite their importance,the influence of land cover types and the normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI)on NPP estimation has not been clarified.This study employs the Carnegie–Ames–Stanford approach(CASA)model to compute the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation and the maximum light use efficiency suitable for the main vegetation types in China in accordance with the finer resolution observation and monitoring-global land cover(FROM-GLC)classification product.Then,the NPP is estimated from the Fengyun-3D(FY-3D)data and compared with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS)NPP product.The FY-3D NPP is also validated with existing research results and historical field-measured NPP data.In addition,the effects of land cover types and the NDVI on NPP estimation are analyzed.The results show that the CASA model and the FY-3D satellite data estimate an average NPP of 441.2 g C m^(−2) yr^(−1) in 2019 for China’s terrestrial vegetation,while the total NPP is 3.19 Pg C yr^(−1).Compared with the MODIS NPP,the FY-3D NPP is overestimated in areas of low vegetation productivity and is underestimated in high-productivity areas.These discrepancies are largely due to the differences between the FY-3D NDVI and MODIS NDVI.Compared with historical field-measured data,the FY-3D NPP estimation results outperformed the MODIS NPP results,although the deviation between the FY-3D NPP estimate and the in-situ measurement was large and may exceed 20%at the pixel scale.The land cover types and the NDVI significantly affected the spatial distribution of NPP and accounted for NPP deviations of 17.0%and 18.1%,respectively.Additionally,the total deviation resulting from the two factors reached 29.5%.These results show that accurate NDVI products and land cover types are important prerequisites for NPP estimation.

Cross-calibration between MWRI and AMSR2 to improve consistency of snow depth products

The Microwave Radiation Imager(MWRI),boarded on the FY-3 series satellites:FY-3B,FY-3C,and FY-3D,is the first satellite-based microwave radiometer in China,commencing passive microwave brightness temperature data acquisition since 2010.The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2(AMSR2) boarded on the Global Change Observation Mission 1st-Water(GCOM-W1),has been operational since 2012.Despite the FY-3 series satellites are equipped with the same MWRI and all MWRIs sharing comparable parameters and configurations as AMSR2,disparities in observation times and satellite platforms result in inconsistencies in the data obtained by different satellites,which further impacting the consistency of retrieved geophysical parameters.To improve the consistency of brightness temperatures from FY-3B,FY-3C,FY-3D/MWRI,and GCOM-W1/AMSR2,cross-calibrations were conducted among brightness temperatures at ten-channel from above four platforms.The consistency of derived snow depth from MWRIs and AMSR2 in China before and after the calibration were also analyzed.The results show that the correlation coefficients of brightness temperatures at all channels between sensors exceed0.98.After cross-calibration,the RMSEs and biases of brightness temperatures at all frequencies and snow depth in China derived from them reduce to varying degrees.The consistencies in both brightness temperatures and snow depth of FY-3B/MWRI,FY-3D/MWRI,and AMSR2 are higher than those of FY-3C and others.These findings advocate for the utilization of cross-calibrated brightness temperatures from FY-3B/MWRI,FY-3D/MWRI,and AMSR2,which share similar satellite overpass time,to derived a long-term snow depth dataset.