Using the Gaofen-4 geostationary satellite to retrieve aerosols with high spatiotemporal resolution

Abstract

GaoFen-4 (GF-4) is China’s first optical remote sensing geostationary satellite, which observes the Earth’s surface every 20 s. GF-4 has a gaze camera with a ground resolution of 50 m in the visible spectral bands that are sensitive to aerosol optical depth (AOD). AOD retrieval was completed using initial prior surface reflectance in ground-atmosphere decoupling. Surface reflectance was then updated using satellite measurements. The algorithm used in this study was based on two time-adjacent images of GF-4 (which have a constant viewing angle in the same area) and on the following two assumptions: (1) AOD varies quickly with time, but slowly with location and (2) surface reflectance varies quickly with location, but slowly with time. AOD retrieval was then accomplished using a lookup table strategy. The data from June 2016, in the North China Plain were selected for the AOD retrieval test. GF-4-derived AOD was validated using ground measurements from the aerosol robotic network and Sun–Sky radiometer network with a correlation coefficient of R = 0.794. The derived results agreed reasonably well with the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer collection 6.0 aerosol product, with a correlation coefficient of R = 0.893. The atmospheric distribution and changes in some parts of the North China Plain were analyzed using the aerosol products of GF-4. The results showed that it is feasible to use the time-series imaging method to conduct high spatiotemporal resolution aerosol inversion using GF-4’s data, which can be used for detecting changes in air pollution.