Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Sep 25;109(39):15706-11. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1207034109. Epub 2012 Sep 10.
Most environmental satellite radiometers use solar reflectance information when it is available during the day but must resort at night to emission signals from infrared bands, which offer poor sensitivity to low-level clouds and surface features. A few sensors can take advantage of moonlight, but the inconsistent availability of the lunar source limits measurement utility. Here we show that the Day/Night Band (DNB) low-light visible sensor on the recently launched Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite has the unique ability to image cloud and surface features by way of reflected airglow, starlight, and zodiacal light illumination. Examples collected during new moon reveal not only meteorological and surface features, but also the direct emission of airglow structures in the mesosphere, including expansive regions of diffuse glow and wave patterns forced by tropospheric convection. The ability to leverage diffuse illumination sources for nocturnal environmental sensing applications extends the advantages of visible-light information to moonless nights.
大多数环境卫星辐射计在白天有太阳反射率信息可用时使用该信息，但在夜间必须依靠来自红外波段的发射信号，后者对低云层和地表特征的灵敏度较差。一些传感器可以利用月光，但月球源的不一致可用性限制了测量的实用性。在这里，我们表明，最近发射的 Suomi 国家极地轨道伙伴关系（NPP）卫星上的日夜带（DNB）低光可见传感器具有通过反射气辉、星光和黄道光照明来成像云层和地表特征的独特能力。在新月期间收集的示例不仅揭示了气象和地表特征，还揭示了中高层大气气辉结构的直接发射，包括漫射辉光的广阔区域和由对流层对流强迫的波型。利用漫射照明源进行夜间环境感应应用的能力将可见光信息的优势扩展到无月的夜晚。
