Abstract
Satellite visible imagery is intuitive in interpretation because visible remote sensing is the way by which human eyes observe the surrounding world. Our eyes are an optical device with a set of overlapping spectral filters that help us make sense out of the world through “colors”. RGB-composite satellite images visualize the entire earth that would be seen if we could fly out of the planet. Satellite visible/infrared imagers, however, are not designed just to mimic human vision. In the context of meteorological applications, the primary purposes include the quantitative evaluation of the cloud physical properties such as cloud optical depth and effective radius. This chapter is devoted to a review of the methodologies of visible/near-infrared cloud measurements from satellites with focus on their theoretical background. The chapter begins with the theory of scattering radiative transfer without thermal emission, followed by simulated infrared spectra to demonstrate the impacts of clouds on satellite measurements.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The Thomson scattering refers to the scattering by free electrons, while the Rayleigh scattering is brought about by bound electrons in an atom or a molecule. The Thomson and Rayleigh scatterings, although different in \(\sigma _{s,\nu }\), share the identical phase function.
References
Bohren CF, Huffman DR (1998) Absorption and scattering of light by small particles. Wiley-International Publication
Grosvenor DP, Sourdeval O, Zuidema P, Ackerman A, Alexandrov MD, Bennartz R, Boers R, Cairns B, Chiu JC, Christensen M, Deneke H, Diamond M, Feingold G, Fridlind A, Hünerbein A, Knist C, Kollias P, Marshak A, McCoy D, Merk D, Painemal D, Rausch J, Rosenfeld D, Russchenberg H, Seifert P, Sinclair K, Stier P, van Diedenhoven B, Wendisch M, Werner F, Wood R, Zhang Z, Quaas J (2018) Remote sensing of droplet number concentration in warm clouds: a review of the current state of knowledge and perspectives. Rev Geophys 56:409–453. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017RG000593
Hansen JE, Travis LD (1974) Light scattering in planetary atmospheres. Space Sci Rev 16:527–610. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00168069
Letu H, Ishimoto H, Riedi J, Nakajima TY, C-Labonnote L, Baran AJ, Nagao TM, Sekiguchi M (2016) Investigation of ice particle habits to be used for ice cloud remote sensing for the GCOM-C satellite mission. Atmos Chem Phys 16:12,287–12,303. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-12287-2016
Letu H, Nagao TM, Nakajima TY, Riedi J, Ishimoto H, Baran AJ, Shang H, Sekiguchi M, Kikuchi M (2019) Ice cloud properties from Himawari-8/AHI next-generation geostationary satellite: capability of the AHI to monitor the DC cloud generation process. IEEE Trans Geosci Remote Sens 57:3229–3239. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2018.2882803
Nakajima T, King MD (1990) Determination of the optical thickness and effective particle radius of clouds from reflected solar radiation measurements. Part i Theory J Atmos Sci 47:1878–1893. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1990)047<1878:DOTOTA>2.0.CO;2
Parol F, Buriez JC, Vanbauce C, Couvert P, Sèze G, Goloub P, Cheinet S (1999) First results of the POLDER “Earth Radiation Budget and Clouds’’ operational algorithm. IEEE Trans Geosci Remote Sens 37:1597–1612. https://doi.org/10.1109/36.763273
Platnick S, Meyer KG, King MD, Wind G, Amarasinghe N, Marchant B, Arnold GT, Zhang Z, Hubanks PA, Holz RE, Yang P, Ridgway WL, Riedi J (2017) The MODIS cloud optical and microphysical products: collection 6 updates and examples from Terra and Aqua. IEEE Trans Geosci Remote Sens 55:502–525. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2016.2610522
Szczodrak M, Austin PH, Krummel PB (2001) Variability of optical depth and effective radius in marine stratocumulus clouds. J Atmos Sci 58:2912–2926. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2001)058<2912:VOODAE>2.0.CO;2
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Masunaga, H. (2022). Visible/Near-Infrared Imaging. In: Satellite Measurements of Clouds and Precipitation. Springer Remote Sensing/Photogrammetry. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-2243-5_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-2243-5_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-19-2242-8
Online ISBN: 978-981-19-2243-5
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)