Quantifying the relationship between the measurement precision and specifications of a UV/visible sensor on a geostationary satellite

Hitoshi Irie, Hironobu Iwabuchi, Katsuyuki Noguchi, Yasuko Kasai, Kazuyuki Kita, Hajime Akimoto

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

To investigate the feasibility of new satellite observations, including air quality (AQ) observations from geostationary (GEO) orbit, it is essential to link the measurement precision () with sensor specifications in advance. The present study attempts to formulate the linkage between and specifications of a UV/visible sensor (signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the slit function, and sampling ratio (SR)) on a GEO satellite. A sophisticated radiative transfer model (JACOSPAR) is used to calculate synthetic radiance spectra that would be measured by a UV/visible sensor observing the atmosphere over Tokyo (35.7°N, 139.7°E) from GEO orbit at 120°E longitude. The spectra, modified according to given sensor specifications, are analyzed by the differential optical absorption spectroscopy technique to estimate the for slant column densities of O 3 and NO 2 . We find clear relationships: for example, the of the O 3 slant column density (molecules cm -2 ) and SNR at 330 nm are linked by the equation log() = -1.06 · log(SNR) + 20.71 in the UV region, and the of the NO 2 slant column density and SNR at 450 nm are linked by log() = -0.98 · log(SNR) + 18.00, at a FWHM = 0.6 nm (for the Gaussian slit function) and SR = 4. The relationships are mostly independent of other specifications (e.g.; horizontal and temporal resolutions), as they affect primarily through SNR, providing constraints in determining the optimal SNR (and alternatively FWHM and SR) for similar UV/visible sensors dedicated for AQ studies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1743-1749
Number of pages7
JournalAdvances in Space Research
Volume49
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012 Jun 15

Keywords

  • Air quality
  • Feasibility study
  • Geostationary satellite
  • Ozone
  • UV/visible

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Geophysics
  • Atmospheric Science
  • Space and Planetary Science
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)

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