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Polarization signature from the FengYun-3 Microwave Humidity Sounder

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Abstract

Microwave Humidity Sounders (MHS) onboard NOAA-15, -16, -17, -18, -19, and EUMETSAT MetOp-A/B satellites provide radiance measurements at a single polarization state at any of five observed frequencies. The Microwave Humidity Sounder (MWHS) onboard the FengYun-3 (FY-3) satellite has a unique instrument design that provides dual polarization measurements at 150 GHz. In this study, the MWHS polarization signal was investigated using observed and modeled data. It is shown that the quasi-polarization brightness temperatures at 150 GHz display a scan angle dependent bias. Under calm ocean conditions, the polarization difference at 150 GHz becomes non-negligible when the scan angle varies from 10° to 45° and reaches a maximum when the scan angle is about 30°. Also, the polarization state is sensitive to surface parameters such as surface wind speed. Under clear-sky conditions, the differences between horizontal and vertical polarization states at 150 GHz increase with decreasing surface wind speed. Therefore, the polarization signals from the cross-track scanning microwave measurements at window channels contain useful information about surface parameters. In addition, the availability of dual polarization measurements allows a one-to-one conversion from antenna brightness temperature to sensor brightness temperature if a cross-polarization spill-over exists.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Data Assimilation for Research and Application, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Xiaolei Zou & Xu Chen

  2. Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA

    Xu Chen

  3. National Environmental Satellite, Data & Information Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, College Park, MD, 20740, USA

    Fuzhong Weng

Authors
  1. Xiaolei Zou
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  2. Xu Chen
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  3. Fuzhong Weng
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Correspondence to Xiaolei Zou.

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Zou, X., Chen, X. & Weng, F. Polarization signature from the FengYun-3 Microwave Humidity Sounder. Front. Earth Sci. 8, 625–633 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-014-0479-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-014-0479-y

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