Retrieving precipitable water vapor based on FY-3A near-IR data

Comparison of Satellite-Derived Precipitable Water Vapor Through Near-Infrared Remote Sensing Channels

“…The GPS PWV used as reference data are provided by NOAA National center for Environmental Information (NCEI), USA. Products obtained from MODIS operated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), USA [15], [21], Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) [30], and Medium Resolution Spectral Imager (MERSI) operated by the China Meteorological Administration/ National Satellite Meteorological Center (CMA/NSMC) [22] are analyzed against the standard reference GPS PWV dataset.…”

“…The MERSI onboard China's second generation of polar-orbit meteorological satellites is a MODIS-like sensor. It has 20 bands in both visible and NIR channels with a resolution from 250 to 1,000 m. It also has 5 NIR water vapor related channels [22]. Similar to MODIS, only clear areas and extended ocean areas with sun glint can produce PWV retrieval results.…”

“…MERSI onboard of the Chinese FY-3A satellite has20 channels, in which five NIR channels are used for atmospheric water vapor observation [22]. Two channels centered at 865 nm and 1030 nm are window channels, and three channels centered at 905 nm, 940 nm, and 980 nm are water vapor absorption channels.…”

“…Scientists initially retrieved water vapor through IR channels [20], [21]. The NIR observation has been the most popular technique over the past few decades [15], [22], [23]. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) from Terra and Aqua satellites [15], POLDER from ADEOS [24] and AVHRR from NOAA satellites [25] are all NIR sensors used for precipitable water vapor retrieval globally.…”

Water vapor retrieval from MERSI NIR channels of Fengyun-3B satellite using ground-based GPS data

“…Medium Resolution Spectral Imager (MERSI) onboard the FY-3 series, is a MODIS-like sensor with 20 bands in both visible and NIR channels with resolutions from 250 to 1000 m. Similar to MODIS NIR channels, MERSI also has 5 NIR water vapor related channels, including two window channels centered at 865 nm and 1030 nm, and three water vapor absorption channels centered at 905 nm, 940 nm, and 980 nm (Wang et al, 2012). Therefore, the MERSI NIR bands are suitable for water vapor observation over land in the daytime, under cloud-free conditions.…”