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An Operational Precipitable Water Vapor Retrieval Algorithm for Fengyun-2F/VLSSR Using a Modified Three-Band Physical Split-Window Method

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Abstract

The Visible and Infrared Spin-Scan Radiometer (VISSR) onboard the Fengyun-2 (FY-2) satellite can provide valuable thermal infrared observations to help create a precipitable water vapor (PWV) product with high spatial and temporal resolutions. The current FY-2/VISSR PWV product in operation is produced by using a traditional two-band physical split-window (PSW) method, which produces low quality results under dry atmospheric conditions. Based on the sensitivity characteristics of FY-2F/VISSR water vapor channel and two split-window channels to atmospheric water vapor, this study developed a new, robust operational PWV retrieval algorithm for FY-2F to improve the operational precision of the current PWV product. The algorithm uses a modified three-band PSW method, which adds a scale for the water vapor channel in the improved three-band PSW method. Integrated PWV products from the radiosonde data in 2016 are used here to validate the precision of the PWV retrieved by the modified three-band and traditional two-band PSW methods. The mean bias, root mean square error (RMSE), and correlation coefficient of the PWV retrieved by the modified three-band PSW method are 0.28 mm, 4.53 mm, and 0.969, respectively. The accuracy is much better than the PWV retrieved by the two-band method, whose mean bias, RMSE, and correlation coefficient are 12.67 mm, 29.35 mm, and 0.23. Especially, in mid- or high-latitude regions, the RMSE of the PWV is improved from 10 to 2 mm by changing the inversion in the two-band method to the modified three-band PSW method. Furthermore, the modified three-band PSW results show a better consistency with the radiosonde PWV at any zonal belt and season than the two-band PSW results. This new algorithm could significantly improve the quality of the current FY-2F/VISSR PWV product, especially at sites where the actual PWV are lower than 15 mm.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the University of Wyoming for providing the radiosonde data. We also thank the anonymous reviewers for thoughtful suggestions and comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Radiometric Calibration and Validation for Environmental Satellites, National Satellite Meteorological Center, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing, 100081, China

    Juyang Hu, Shihao Tang & Min Min

  2. Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Sounding, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu, 610225, China

    Hailei Liu

Authors
  1. Juyang Hu
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  2. Shihao Tang
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  4. Min Min
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shihao Tang.

Additional information

Supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China ( 2016YFA0600101 and 2018YFA0605502), China Meteorological Administration Special Public Welfare Research Fund (GYHY201406001), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (41571348).

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Hu, J., Tang, S., Liu, H. et al. An Operational Precipitable Water Vapor Retrieval Algorithm for Fengyun-2F/VLSSR Using a Modified Three-Band Physical Split-Window Method. J Meteorol Res 33, 276–288 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-019-8111-4

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