FY-3A Satellite Infrared Atmospheric Sounder Level 1 Data

56 pixels per scan line provide geolocated data from the FY-3A satellite's Infrared Atmospheric Sounder. The dataset contains raw digital counts, converted brightness temperature for 26 spectral channels, and associated geometric angles. It is a pre-processed Level 1 product from the SCIOPS organization.

Use Cases

• Convert raw digital counts to calibrated brightness temperature using provided lab and infrared channel calibration coefficients.
• Analyze atmospheric conditions by correlating brightness temperature from 26 spectral channels with surface elevation and land cover data.
• Perform geometric correction of observations using the provided geography latitude, longitude, satellite zenith, and satellite azimuth angles for each pixel.
• Filter data quality by applying the included quality flags of the processing to select valid observations for analysis.
• Study surface-atmosphere interactions by examining relationships between brightness temperature, solar zenith/azimuth angles, and land-sea mask.

Strengths

• Includes data for 26 distinct spectral channels enabling detailed atmospheric profiling.
• Provides per-pixel geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude) and geometric angles for 56 pixels per scan line.
• Contains both raw sensor data (digital counts) and derived physical measurements (brightness temperature).

Limitations

• Specific temporal coverage and total number of observation rows are unknown.
• Unknown sample size and spatial resolution limit assessment of statistical power for regional studies.
• Reliance on provided quality flags without raw error metrics may obscure specific data issues.

Provenance

Source

SCIOPS, via NASA Earthdata platform.

Collection Method

Pre-processed from Level 0 raw package data through quality control, earth navigation, and calibration.

Geography

Global coverage from the FY-3A satellite orbit.