The detection of supercooled water clouds (SWCs) is essential for artificial rain enhancement, the prevention of aircraft ice accretion, and better understanding of radiative energy balance. However, it is challenging to identify SWCs using only passive satellite measurements. We adopt measurements from the Advanced Himawari Imager, which is onboard the new‐generation, high temporal, spatial, and spectral resolution geostationary Himawari‐8 satellite, to develop a time‐continuous Himawari‐8 SWC (HSWC) algorithm. The HSWC algorithm includes a group of tests using comprehensive cloud properties (e.g., cloud phase [CPH], cloud top temperature, cloud optical thickness, and cloud effective radius [CER]). Unlike previous SWC detection algorithms, which are based on cloud top temperature and cloud optical thickness properties, we introduce CER and CPH information into the HSWC algorithm because the distribution of SWCs is sensitive to CER values, and SWCs may appear in mixed‐phase clouds identified by satellites. Our analyses indicate that the additions of the CER and CPH tests could improve the performance of SWC detection by 15.07% and 4.75%, respectively. The full disk SWC detection results identified by the HSWC algorithm in January, May, August, and October of 2017 are validated using lidar measurements. The hit rate and false alarm rate are 93.52% and 25.27%, respectively. Our study provides potential SWC regions for the implementation of artificial rain enhancement.

In recent years, remote sensing data have revealed considerable potential in unraveling crucial information regarding water balance dynamics due to their unique spatiotemporal distribution characteristics, thereby advancing multi-objective optimization algorithms in hydrological model parameter calibration. However, existing optimization frameworks based on the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) primarily focus on single-objective or multiple-objective (i.e., two or three objective functions), lacking an open, efficient, and flexible framework to integrate many-objective (i.e., four or more objective functions) optimization algorithms to satisfy the growing demands of complex hydrological systems. This study addresses this gap by designing and implementing a multi-objective optimization framework, Py-SWAT-U-NSGA-III, which integrates the Unified Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm III (U-NSGA-III). Built on the SWAT model, this framework supports a broad range of optimization problems, from single- to many-objective. Developed within a Python environment, the SWAT model modules are integrated with the Pymoo library to construct a U-NSGA-III algorithm-based optimization framework. This framework accommodates various calibration schemes, including multi-site, multi-variable, and multi-objective functions. Additionally, it incorporates sensitivity analysis and post-processing modules to shed insights into model behavior and evaluate optimization results. The framework supports multi-core parallel processing to enhance efficiency. The framework was tested in the Meijiang River Basin in southern China, using daily streamflow data and Penman–Monteith–Leuning Version 2 (PML-V2(China)) remote sensing evapotranspiration (ET) data for sensitivity analysis and parallel efficiency evaluation. Three case studies demonstrated its effectiveness in optimizing complex hydrological models, with multi-core processing achieving a speedup of up to 8.95 despite I/O bottlenecks. Py-SWAT-U-NSGA-III provides an open, efficient, and flexible tool for the hydrological community that strives to facilitate the application and advancement of multi-objective optimization in hydrological modeling.

Global warming caused by the increase in the atmospheric CO₂ content has become a focal environmental issue of common concern to the international community. As a key resource support for achieving the “dual carbon” goals in Western China, Sichuan Province requires a deep analysis of its carbon sources, carbon sinks, and its characteristics in terms of atmospheric environmental capacity, which is of great significance for formulating effective regional sustainable development strategies and responding to global climate change. In view of the unique geographical and climatic conditions in Sichuan Province and the current situation of a low and uneven distribution of atmospheric environmental capacity, this paper uses three forms of multi-source satellite data, OCO-2, OCO-3, and GOSAT, combined with other auxiliary data, to generate a daily XCO₂ concentration dataset with a spatial resolution of a 1km grid in Sichuan Province from 2015 to 2022. Based on the Optuna optimization method with 10-fold cross-validation, the optimal hyperparameter configuration of the four base learners of Stacking, random forest, gradient boosting decision tree, extreme gradient boosting, and the K nearest neighbor algorithm is searched for; finally, the logistic regression algorithm is used as the second-layer meta-learner to effectively improve the prediction accuracy and generalization ability of the Stacking ensemble learning model. According to the comparison of the performance of each model by cross-validation and TCCON site verification, the Stacking model significantly improved in accuracy, with an R², RMSE, and MAE of 0.983, 0.87 ppm and 0.19 ppm, respectively, which is better than those of traditional models such as RF, KNN, XGBoost, and GBRT. The accuracy verification of the atmospheric XCO₂ data estimated by the model based on the observation data of the two TCCON stations in Xianghe and Hefei showed that the correlation coefficients were 0.96 and 0.98, and the MAEs were 0.657 ppm and 0.639 ppm, respectively, further verifying the high accuracy and reliability of the model. At the same time, the fusion of multi-source satellite data significantly improved the spatial coverage of XCO₂ concentration data in Sichuan Province, effectively filling the gap in single satellite observation data. Based on the reconstructed XCO₂ dataset of Sichuan Province, the study revealed that there are significant regional and seasonal differences in the XCO₂ concentrations in the region, showing seasonal variation characteristics of being higher in spring and winter and lower in summer and autumn; in terms of the spatial distribution, the overall spatial distribution characteristics are high in the east and low in the west. This study helps to deepen our understanding of the carbon cycle and climate change, and can provide a scientific basis and risk assessment methods for policy formulation, effect evaluation, and international cooperation.

Hourly Himawari-8 Advanced Himawari Imager Level 3 Ocean Color (L3 OC) products have been recently released. However, a thorough evaluation and uncertainty analysis of L3 OC data spanning full disk as well as applicability to studies on photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) have not yet been conducted. This study evaluates the accuracy of L3 OC products, including normalized water-leaving radiance (Lwn) at 470, 510, and 640 nm, Chlorophyll-a concentration (Chlor-a), aerosol optical thickness (AOT) at 510 nm, and Ångström Exponent (AE), by comparing them to ground-based measurements obtained from AERONET-OC. Our results demonstrate a general agreement with the ground-based measurements, especially Lwn510. Chlor-a and AOT510 also demonstrate an overall consistency, whereas AE shows a larger discrepancy. Uncertainty analysis shows that Lwn remained accurate under different conditions, although increased uncertainties were observed in turbid water and periods of severe air pollution. Spatial analysis revealed that the distribution of L3 OC and Aqua-MODIS L2 OC products were strongly correlated. Lwn and Chlor-a in the Yellow and Bohai Seas exhibit seasonal variations, with both parameters decreasing in summer and increasing in winter. The impact of aerosols and Chlor-a on PAR calculations was investigated by developing a sophisticated algorithm for estimating PAR under clear-sky conditions using a coupled radiative transfer model. An analysis of the May 2021 dust event in the Southern Yellow Sea, which exhibited an AOT of 0.82, showed a notable increase in Chlor-a levels 1-2 days later, while the average daytime PAR forcing was -42.469 W/m ² under clear-sky conditions.