Progress in Operational Application of FengYun Meteorological Satellites for Atmospheric Environment

Since the second-generation polar-orbiting meteorological satellite FY-3A was successfully launched into space in 2008, China has for the first time obtained the capability to conduct daily global monitoring of the atmospheric environment using its own satellites. The Medium Resolution Spectral Imager (MERSI), Total Ozone Unit (TOU), and Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Sounder (SBUS) onboard have enabled the production of aerosol optical properties, total column O₃, and O₃ vertical profiles, filling the gap in this field in China. FY-3A and the subsequently launched FY-3B, FY-3C, FY-3D, FY-3E, FY-3F, and FY-3H have together provided over 15 a of global atmospheric composition datasets from Chinese satellites. Among them, the Hyperspectral Infrared Atmospheric Sounder (HIRAS) onboard FY-3D, FY-3E, FY-3F, and FY-3H is featured with global detection capability for trace gases such as CO and NH₃; the Greenhouse-gases Absorption Spectrometer (GAS) carried by FY-3D and FY-3H enables the monitoring of CO₂ concentration around the globe and in key regions; and the newly developed Nadir-viewing and Limb-viewing Ozone Monitoring Suite (OMS-N and OMS-L) onboard FY-3F have enhanced detection capabilities for trace gases in the stratosphere and troposphere. The new-generation geostationary meteorological satellite FY-4A, which was launched at the end of 2016, and the subsequently launched FY-4B and FY-4C have achieved large-scale continuous monitoring of aerosols. As the world's first geostationary orbit Geostationary Interferometric Infrared Sounder (GIIRS), the GIIRS onboard FY-4A is characterized by 24-h non-stop detection capability, through which high-temporal-resolution monitoring of gases such as O₃, CO, NH₃, and HCOOH have been realized.