Intercalibration of FY-2C/D/E Infrared Channels Using AIRS

Abstract

The Fengyun (FY)-2 series satellites are the first-generation geosynchronous (GEO) Earth observation satellites operated by the National Satellite Meteorological Center (NSMC), China Meteorological Administration (CMA). The FY-2 satellites' main payload is a multispectral imager. The radiances from the FY-2C/D/E imagers were compared to the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), which is in low Earth orbit (LEO) on Aqua, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration satellite. The intercalibration of FY-2C/D/E infrared (IR) channels using AIRS was carried out based on the Global Space-based Inter-Calibration System (GSICS) GEO-LEO intercalibration algorithm. All the FY-2C/D/E data archived at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA, were processed and compared with their operational calibrations. Select comparisons and longer term analyses between the new intercalibrated results and the operational calibrations of FY-2C/D/E's IR channels were demonstrated. The results show that the current operational calibration for FY-2C/D/E does not compare favorably based on the FY-AIRS intercalibration. The future operational calibration of FY-2D and FY-2E could be revised using GSICS corrections from the intercalibration with AIRS. The historical FY-2C/D/E data could be recalibrated with the GSICS GEO-LEO intercalibration algorithm at NSMC/CMA.