Atmospheric temporal variations in the pre-landfall environment of typhoon Nangka (2015) observed by the Himawari-8 AHI

Abstract

The next generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R series (GOES-R) Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) legacy atmospheric profile (LAP) retrieval algorithm is applied to the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) radiance measurements from the Himawari-8 satellite. Derived products included atmospheric temperature/moisture profiles, total precipitable water (TPW), and atmospheric stability indices. Since both AHI and ABI have 9 similar infrared bands, the GOES-R ABI LAP retrieval algorithm can be applied to the AHI measurements with minimal modifications. With the capability of frequent (10-min interval) full disk observations over the East Asia and Western Pacific regions, the AHI measurements are used to investigate the atmospheric temporal variation in the pre-landfall environment for typhoon Nangka (2015). Before its landfall over Japan, heavy rainfalls from Nangka occurred over the southern region of Honshu Island. During the pre-landfall period, the trends of the AHI LAP products indicated the development of the atmospheric environment favorable for heavy rainfall. Even though, the AHI LAP products are generated only in the clear skies, the 10-minute interval AHI measurements provide detailed information on the pre-landfall environment for typhoon Nangka. This study shows the capability of the AHI radiance measurements, together with the derived products, for depicting the detailed temporal features of the pre-landfall environment of a typhoon, which may also be possible for hurricanes and storms with ABI on the GOES-R satellite.