Abstract
Japanese geostationary meteorological satellite, Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT, Himawari-6) was launched in 2005. The sensor specifications of MTSAT have been improved compared to that of the previous Japanese geostationary satellite GMS-5. The sensor upgrade enabled us to utilize MTSAT data for terrestrial monitoring. High-frequency observation of MTSAT can detect hourly land-surface changes such as land surface temperature, snow cover, forest fire and so on. However, since optical sensor images are highly contaminated with clouds, we must find cloud-free images to observe land surface conditions. It is time-consuming and unrealistic task to find cloud-free images by visual interpretations, because MTSAT provides images at hourly intervals. In this study, we developed a data search system to find cloud-free images easily. This web-based system allows us to find cloud-free MTSAT images over Japan through the interactive GUI on the Web.
