A Study on Height Reassignment for the AMV Products of the FY-2C Satellite

A method for using height reassignment to improve the quality of satellite-derived atmospheric motion vectors (AMVs) is presented. The rationale underlying height reassignment is explored, and the technical details are studied by applying three height reassignment schemes that use NCEP reanalysis winds. The quality of the AMVs is generally improved following reassignment, although the magnitude of the improvement differs according to the scheme applied. Scheme 3 provides the best quality and stability, followed by Scheme 1 and Scheme 2. The negative biases in the zonal components of the AMVs decrease from –5, –4 m s?1 to <–1 m s?1 following reassignment. The meridional components also improve. The AMVs derived from the infrared and water vapor channels improve by 58.7% and 25%, respectively. The feasibility of using Scheme 3 in the operational derivation of AMVs is studied by incorporating the forecast wind field predicted by a T511 medium-range numerical weather prediction (NWP) system. Incorporating the 12-h forecast reduces the negative biases in zonal winds and positive biases in meridional winds retrieved from the water vapor channel, improving the overall quality of the AMVs by 26.7%. Extending the validity period of the forecast field linearly reduces the improvement in retrieved AMVs, but the magnitude of this reduction is small. Incorporating the 120-h forecast field still results in a 13% improvement, although it may eliminate a larger number of AMVs of good quality.