{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]],"date-time":"2026-01-21T11:12:38Z","timestamp":1768993958869,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"24","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,8]],"date-time":"2021-12-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1638921600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Stereoscopic cloud-top height (CTH) retrieval from two geostationary (GEO) satellites is usually realized through a visible (VIS) band with a high horizontal resolution. A stereoscopic-based CTH retrieval algorithm (prototype dual-GEO CTH algorithm) proposed in our previous study also adopts this approach. Although this approach can retrieve accurate stereoscopic CTHs, the heights of optically thin upper clouds overlying the lower clouds are challenging to retrieve because the parallax difference between two GEOs is determined by the lower clouds owing to the low reflectance from the upper clouds. To address this problem, this paper proposes an improved stereoscopic CTH retrieval algorithm, named the improved dual-GEO CTH algorithm, for Himawari-8 and FengYun (FY)-4A GEOs. The proposed algorithm employs an infrared (IR) band in addition to a VIS band. A seamless image cloning technique is adopted to blend the VIS and IR images, which are then used to retrieve the stereoscopic CTHs. The retrieved CTHs are compared with the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) and Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) CTHs for three occasions involving upper clouds overlying lower clouds. Results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the prototype dual-GEO CTH algorithm in the case of upper clouds overlying lower clouds. Notably, although the proposed algorithm is intended for Himawari-8 and FY-4A GEOs, it can be easily extended to any combination of two GEOs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs13244993","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,8]],"date-time":"2021-12-08T23:30:00Z","timestamp":1639006200000},"page":"4993","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Algorithm for Improved Stereoscopic Cloud-Top Height Retrieval Based on Visible and Infrared Bands for Himawari-8 and FY-4A"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0503-4245","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jong-hyuk","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3936-5504","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dong-Bin","family":"Shin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105468","DOI":"10.1016\/j.atmosres.2021.105468","article-title":"Cloud top height retrieval over the Arctic Ocean using a cloud-shadow method based on MODIS","volume":"253","author":"Cheng","year":"2021","journal-title":"Atmos. Res."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"157","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0450(1981)020<0157:CRUISD>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"Cloud retrieval using infrared sounder data: Error analysis","volume":"20","author":"Wielicki","year":"1981","journal-title":"J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"377","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0450(1983)022<0377:ICMWVA>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"Improved cloud motion wind vector and altitude assignment using VAS","volume":"22","author":"Menzel","year":"1983","journal-title":"J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2839","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-7-2839-2014","article-title":"Remote sensing of cloud top pressure\/height from SEVIRI: Analysis of ten current retrieval algorithms","volume":"7","author":"Hamann","year":"2014","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2310","DOI":"10.1175\/2009JTECHA1281.1","article-title":"Overview of the CALIPSO mission and CALIOP data processing algorithms","volume":"26","author":"Winker","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1771","DOI":"10.1175\/BAMS-83-12-1771","article-title":"The CLOUDSAT Mission and the A-Train: A new dimension of space-based observations of clouds and precipitation","volume":"83","author":"Stephens","year":"2002","journal-title":"Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1109\/MAES.2005.1581095","article-title":"Cloud profiling radar for the CloudSat mission","volume":"20","author":"Im","year":"2005","journal-title":"IEEE Aerosp. Electron. Syst. Mag."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"D00A18","DOI":"10.1029\/2008JD009982","article-title":"CloudSat mission: Performance and early science after the first year of operation","volume":"113","author":"Stephens","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Atmos."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1921","DOI":"10.1080\/01431160601030975","article-title":"Stereo cloud-top heights and cloud fraction retrieval from ATSR-2","volume":"28","author":"Muller","year":"2007","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2589","DOI":"10.5194\/acp-13-2589-2013","article-title":"Monitoring volcanic ash cloud top height through simultaneous retrieval of optical data from polar orbiting and geostationary satellites","volume":"13","author":"Hort","year":"2013","journal-title":"Atmos. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"194","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0477(1981)062<0194:SOFGSA>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"Stereographic observations from geosynchronous satellites: An important new tool for the atmospheric sciences","volume":"62","author":"Hasler","year":"1981","journal-title":"Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"257","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0450(1991)030<0257:AAOSSI>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"Automatic analysis of stereoscopic satellite image pairs for determination of cloud-top height and structure","volume":"30","author":"Hasler","year":"1991","journal-title":"J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"405","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0450(1998)037<0405:CTHFGA>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"Cloud-top heights from GOES-8 and GOES-9 stereoscopic imagery","volume":"37","author":"Wylie","year":"1998","journal-title":"J. Appl. Meteorol."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1182","DOI":"10.1175\/JAM2532.1","article-title":"Multiview cloud-top height and wind retrieval with photogrammetric methods: Application to Meteosat-8 HRV observations","volume":"46","author":"Seiz","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Merucci, L., Zak\u0161ek, K., Carboni, E., and Corradini, S. (2016). Stereoscopic estimation of volcanic ash cloud-top height from two geostationary satellites. Remote Sens., 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs8030206"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lee, J., Shin, D.-B., Chung, C.-Y., and Kim, J. (2020). A cloud top-height retrieval algorithm using simultaneous observations from the Himawari-8 and FY-2E satellites. Remote Sens., 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs12121953"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Carr, J.L., Wu, D.L., Daniels, J., Friberg, M.D., Bresky, W., and Madani, H. (2020). GEO\u2013GEO stereo-tracking of atmospheric motion vectors (AMVs) from the geostationary ring. Remote Sens., 12.","DOI":"10.20944\/preprints202009.0629.v2"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Corradini, S., Montopoli, M., Guerrieri, L., Ricci, M., Scollo, S., Merucci, L., Marzano, F.S., Pugnaghi, S., Prestifilippo, M., and Ventress, L.J. (2016). A multi-sensor approach for volcanic ash cloud retrieval and eruption characterization: The 23 november 2013 Etna lava fountain. Remote Sens., 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs8010058"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Carr, J.L., Wu, D.L., Wolfe, R.E., Madani, H., Lin, G., and Tan, B. (2019). Joint 3D-wind retrievals with stereoscopic views from MODIS and GOES. Remote Sens., 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs11182100"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/S0034-4257(96)00071-5","article-title":"Cloud-top height determination using ATSR data","volume":"59","author":"Prata","year":"1997","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1532","DOI":"10.1109\/TGRS.2002.801150","article-title":"Operational retrieval of cloud-top heights using MISR data","volume":"40","author":"Moroney","year":"2002","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4593","DOI":"10.3390\/rs5094593","article-title":"Stereoscopic height and wind retrievals for aerosol plumes with the MISR INteractive eXplorer (MINX)","volume":"5","author":"Nelson","year":"2013","journal-title":"Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2437","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-7-2437-2014","article-title":"Ash plume top height estimation using AATSR","volume":"7","author":"Virtanen","year":"2014","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"909","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-9-909-2016","article-title":"Synergy of stereo cloud top height and ORAC optimal estimation cloud retrieval: Evaluation and application to AATSR","volume":"9","author":"Fisher","year":"2016","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7570","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-020-64274-z","article-title":"Determination of cloud-top height through three-dimensional cloud reconstruction using DIWATA-1 Data","volume":"10","author":"Castro","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"151","DOI":"10.2151\/jmsj.2016-009","article-title":"An introduction to Himawari-8\/9\u2014Japan\u2019s new-generation geostationary meteorological satellites","volume":"94","author":"Bessho","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Meteorol. Soc. Jpn. Ser. II"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yamamoto, Y., Ichii, K., Higuchi, A., and Takenaka, H. (2020). Geolocation accuracy assessment of Himawari-8\/AHI imagery for application to terrestrial monitoring. Remote Sens., 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs12091372"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Takenaka, H., Sakashita, T., Higuchi, A., and Nakajima, T. (2020). Geolocation correction for geostationary satellite observations by a phase-only correlation method using a visible channel. Remote Sens., 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs12152472"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1637","DOI":"10.1175\/BAMS-D-16-0065.1","article-title":"Introducing the new generation of Chinese geostationary weather satellites, Fengyun-4","volume":"98","author":"Yang","year":"2017","journal-title":"Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc."},{"key":"ref_30","unstructured":"Mace, G. (2007). Level 2 GEOPROF Product Process Description and Interface Control Document Algorithm Version 5.3, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4043","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0469(1995)052<4043:WADOCM>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"Wide-area determination of cloud microphysical properties from NOAA AVHRR measurements for FIRE and ASTEX regions","volume":"52","author":"Nakajima","year":"1995","journal-title":"J. Atmos. Sci."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3229","DOI":"10.1109\/TGRS.2018.2882803","article-title":"Ice cloud properties from Himawari-8\/AHI next-generation geostationary satellite: Capability of the AHI to monitor the DC cloud generation process","volume":"57","author":"Letu","year":"2018","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111583","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2019.111583","article-title":"High-resolution retrieval of cloud microphysical properties and surface solar radiation using Himawari-8\/AHI next-generation geostationary satellite","volume":"239","author":"Letu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6111","DOI":"10.1109\/TGRS.2017.2720664","article-title":"A fast cloud detection algorithm applicable to monitoring and nowcasting of daytime cloud systems","volume":"55","author":"Zhuge","year":"2017","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"313","DOI":"10.1145\/882262.882269","article-title":"Poisson image editing","volume":"22","author":"Perez","year":"2003","journal-title":"ACM Trans. Graph."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"L17811","DOI":"10.1029\/2007GL030676","article-title":"Comparison of AIRS, MODIS, CloudSat and CALIPSO cloud top height retrievals","volume":"34","author":"Weisz","year":"2007","journal-title":"Geophys. Res. Lett."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1175","DOI":"10.1175\/2007JAMC1705.1","article-title":"MODIS global cloud-top pressure and amount estimation: Algorithm description and results","volume":"47","author":"Menzel","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2327","DOI":"10.1175\/JTECH-D-18-0231.1","article-title":"Evaluating Himawari-8 cloud products using shipborne and CALIPSO observations: Cloud-top height and cloud-top temperature","volume":"36","author":"Huang","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1334","DOI":"10.1007\/s00376-021-0337-2","article-title":"Assessment of FY-4A and Himawari-8 cloud top height retrieval through comparison with ground-based millimeter radar at sites in Tibet and Beijing","volume":"38","author":"Liu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Adv. Atmos. Sci."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Li, Q., Sun, X., and Wang, X. (2021). Reliability evaluation of the joint observation of cloud top height by FY-4A and Himawari-8. Remote Sens., 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs13193851"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2019.02.024","article-title":"A multilayer cloud detection algorithm for the Suomi-NPP Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)","volume":"227","author":"Wang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e2020GL088941","DOI":"10.1029\/2020GL088941","article-title":"Retrieval of ice-over-water cloud microphysical and optical properties using passive radiometers","volume":"47","author":"Teng","year":"2020","journal-title":"Geophys. Res. Lett."}],"container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/13\/24\/4993\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T07:43:33Z","timestamp":1760168613000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/13\/24\/4993"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,8]]},"references-count":42,"journal-issue":{"issue":"24","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12]]}},"alternative-id":["rs13244993"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/rs13244993","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-4292"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2072-4292","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,8]]}}}