Retrieval of Reflected Shortwave Radiation at the Top of the Atmosphere Using Himawari-8/AHI Data

This study developed a retrieval algorithm for reflected shortwave radiation at the top of the atmosphere (RSR). This algorithm is based on Himawari-8/AHI (Advanced Himawari Imager) whose sensor characteristics and observation area are similar to the next-generation Geostationary Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite/Advanced Meteorological Imager (GK-2A/AMI). This algorithm converts the radiance into reflectance for six shortwave channels and retrieves the RSR with a regression coefficient look-up-table according to geometry of the solar-viewing (solar zenith angle, viewing zenith angle, and relative azimuth angle) and atmospheric conditions (surface type and absence/presence of clouds), and removed sun glint with high uncertainty. The regression coefficients were calculated using numerical experiments from the radiative transfer model (SBDART), and ridge regression for broadband albedo at the top of the atmosphere (TOA albedo) and narrowband reflectance considering anisotropy. The retrieved RSR were validated using Terra, Aqua, and S-NPP/CERES data on the 15th day of every month from July 2015 to February 2017. The coefficient of determination (R2) between AHI and CERES for scene analysis was higher than 0.867 and the Bias and root mean square error (RMSE) were −21.34–5.52 and 51.74–59.28 Wm−2. The R2, Bias, and RMSE for the all cases were 0.903, −2.34, and 52.12 Wm−2, respectively.