Application of VIIRS DNB Data for Monitoring Surface PM2.5 and Fire: From Radiative Transfer Calculations to Case Studies

By measuring visible light at night from space, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite Day/Night Band (VIIRS DNB) sensor onboard the NPP and JPSS-1 satellites provide the research and operational communities the capability to study nighttime properties of atmospheric aerosol and fires. To quantitatively use the data from DNB for nighttime remote sensing, we developed a nighttime radiative transfer model for DNB based on Unified Linearized Vector Radiative Transfer Model (UNL-VRTM; http://www.unl-vrtm.com). With the new development, UNL-VRTM can simulate light transfer at night with careful consideration of surface light spectra from various types of artificial light sources, gas flares, and wildfires, as well as moonlight and DNB Relative Sensor Response function (RSR). In this presentation, I will highlight the application of this new capability for mapping surface PM2.5 and nighttime fire phase (smoldering vs. flaming) from VIIRS.