Satellite & Space Missions

Satellite Radiance

Satellite Radiance is the radiant flux emitted, reflected, transmitted or received by a given surface, per unit solid angle per unit projected area. Assimilation of satellite radiance data in limited-area, rapidly updating weather model/assimilation systems poses unique challenges compared to those for global model systems. Principal among these is the severe data restriction posed by the short data cut-off time. Also, the limited extent of the model domain reduces the spatial extent of satellite data coverage and the lower model top of regional models reduces the spectral usage of radiance data especially for infrared data. These three factors impact the quality of the feedback to the bias correction procedures, making the procedures potentially less effective.