Dust Detection using IR channels of Himawari-8

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) launched Himawari-8 in 2014. The Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) has 16 channels including the 8.6 µm, 10.4 µm, 11.2 µm, and 12.4 µm longwave IR channels which are sensitive to the presence of airborne dust. Using IR channels for dust detection allows for the monitoring of dust during day and night. AHI is a significant enhancement compared to its predecessor (MTSAT-2), which provided only 2 of the AHI dust-sensitive channels. This paper explores the improvement of these channels for Asian Dust detection. In this study, three dust events in the vicinity of Japan that occurred on March 22nd, April 17th, and May 6th in 2015 are chosen as sample cases. The results of dust detection for Himawari-8 and MTSAT-2 will be compared.