Tracking Atmospheric Motions for Obtaining Wind Estimates Using Satellite Observations - From 2D to 3D
Suivi des mouvements atmosphériques pour l'estimation du vent à partir d'observations satellitaires - De la 2D à la 3D
Li, Jun ; Santek, David ; Li, Zhenglong ; Lim, Agnes ; Di, Di ; Min, Min ; Velden, Christopher ; Menzel, W. Paul
Weather satellites provide not only atmospheric thermodynamic and hydrometric information but also important dynamic information when high temporal data are used. Atmospheric motion vectors (AMVs) have been routinely derived from global geostationary satellite imagers over tropical and midlatitude regions and polar-orbiting satellite imagers over high-latitude regions since the 1990s and have been widely used in numerical weather prediction (NWP). These AMVs result from tracking clouds and moisture primarily from the infrared and visible bands. While the coverage is good where there are clouds and moisture targets, AMVs can only provide winds for a few tropospheric layers and thus lack vertical information. Recently, active remote sensing technologies have been developed for vertical wind profiling from satellites. Those wind estimates have good accuracy but limited spatial coverage. Expanding wind estimates from two-dimensional (2D) to three-dimensional (3D) over expansive domains is important for improving nowcasting and NWP applications. Hyperspectral infrared sounder observations from polar-orbiting satellites have been used for 3D wind exploration but lack the temporal resolution needed for 3D winds over tropical and midlatitude regions. The feasibility of 3D winds using geostationary hyperspectral infrared sounders has also been demonstrated and validated using 15-min Geostationary Interferometric Infrared Sounder observations. Tropospheric 3D winds will be better achieved through combining both active and passive observations in the future. This paper provides an overview on tracking features from satellites for obtaining tropospheric winds and the evolution from 2D to 3D coverage, along with their potential applications, challenges, and future perspectives.</p>
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