Impact of Satellite Sounding Data on Virtual Visible Imagery Generation Using Conditional Generative Adversarial Network

The visible band of satellite sensors is of limited use during the night due to a lack of solar reflection. This study presents an improved conditional generative adversarial networks (CGANs) model to generate virtual nighttime visible imagery using infrared (IR) multiband satellite observations and the brightness temperature difference between the two IR bands in the communication, ocean, and meteorological satellite. For the summer daytime case study with visible band imagery, our multiband CGAN model showed better statistical results [correlation coefficient (CC) = 0.952, bias = -1.752 (in a digital number (DN) unit from 0 to 255, converted from reflectance from 0 to 1), and root-mean-square-error (RMSE) = 26.851 DN] than the single-band CGAN model using a pair of visible and IR bands (CC = 0.916, bias = -4.073 DN, and RMSE = 35.349 DN). The proposed multiband CGAN model performed better than the single-band CGAN model, particularly, in convective clouds and typhoons, because of the sounding effects from the water vapor band. In addition, our multiband CGAN model provided detailed patterns for clouds and typhoons at twilight. Therefore, our results could be used for visible-based nighttime weather analysis of convective clouds and typhoons, using data from next-generation geostationary meteorological satellites.