Measuring internal solitary wave parameters based on VIIRS/DNB data

The day/night band (DNB) mounted on the National Polar-Orbiting Partnership has powerful environmental detection capabilities. It can be used to observe internal solitary waves (ISWs) using sunglint during the day and moonglint at night. In this article, the two-dimensional Stockwell transform method was introduced into the ISW observation from single DNB images to determine the horizontal wavelength and propagation direction distribution of ISWs. This allowed us to achieve quantitative measurements of ISW parameters under both day and night conditions. In addition, by using paired images of daytime and night-time ISWs near Dongsha Atoll, Taiwan, China, ISW information contained in the two images could be coupled, allowing us to track ISW propagation. The displacements of the paired ISWs were measured, and thus, the average propagation speeds were calculated to be 1.70, 2.25, and 2.49 m s ^–1 , respectively.