The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is an Earth-observing satellite sensor. VIIRS data are used to generate about 30 products (see Ref. 3) for Earth studies and weather forecasting. Out of the 22 VIIRS spectral bands, 14 are the reflective solar bands (RSBs). Earth views from some of these RSBs onboard the NOAA-20 (N20) satellite show unexpected striping. Our investigation shows that the striping for the N20 VIIRS visible and near-infrared (VisNIR) bands comes from three sources: first, for bands M1 (412 nm) and M2 (445 nm), an obvious dependence on the sides of the half-angle-mirror (HAM), a result of a likely error in the HAM’s reflectivity extrapolated to the telescope solar diffuser (SD) view angle; second, a gradual increase in the striping over time for band M1, resulting from not accounting for the positional dependence of the SD reflectance; and finally, a small (~0.3%) but universal amount of time invariant striping for all the VisNIR bands, possibly coming from a small amount of positional dependence in the prelaunch measured SD reflectance. Here, we apply appropriate methods to resolve the unwanted striping for the N20 VIIRS VisNIR bands. The de-striping algorithms have been applied in the NASA N20 VIIRS Collection 2.1 L1B products, with the first delivery of the forward L1B F-factor LUTs (version v3.1.1.7) in November 2023.
Inaccurate solar vector orientation knowledge can considerably deteriorate calibration results for the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). We develop a methodology to use the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) VIIRS solar diffuser stability monitor (SDSM) sun view data to assess the knowledge accuracy of the solar angles that reside in the onboard calibrator intermediate product (OBCIP) files used for on-orbit radiometric calibration. We applied an initial version of this methodology in 2013 and found that the solar declination angle had a relative error that varied between ∼0 deg to 0.17 deg. The relative error is referenced to the error at the SNPP satellite yaw maneuver time that occurred on February 15 to 16, 2012. Our mission long results from the current methodology show that the solar vector angular knowledge error occurred from the early mission until mission day 1129 (November 30, 2014). The error undulates yearly with the largest error in the solar declination angle increasing from ∼0.17 deg in the first year to 0.19 deg in the third year, agreeing with the solar vector error root cause understanding realized in early 2014. With the reprocessed OBCIP files, we find the solar vector declination and azimuth angular knowledge errors have near zero biases. The detection limit of this methodology strongly depends on how finely the solar angle is sampled by the SDSM detectors. With the SDSM sun view data collected when the SDSM operated once per day, this methodology yields detection standard deviations of 0.013 deg and 0.024 deg for the solar declination and azimuth angles. With a 3-sigma criterion, at the detection limits, the solar orientation errors result in a calibration error of 0.088%. This method can be applied to other Earth-orbiting sensors.
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument is currently operating onboard the NOAA-21 (or JPSS-2) satellite, which was launched successfully from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on November 10, 2022. This is the third VIIRS instrument flying on a series of Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) satellites, including S-NPP and NOAA-20 (or JPSS-1), along with other Earth observing instruments on board. The measurements collected by VIIRS are used for weather forecasting and environmental science research. Among 22 spectral bands of VIIRS, there are seven mid- and long-wave infrared Thermal Emissive Bands (TEB) ranging from 3.7 to 12.2 microns at two different spatial resolutions; imagery resolution bands (I-bands) I4 and I5 are 375 m per pixel at nadir, and moderate resolution bands (M-bands) M12 - M16 are 750 m. The VIIRS TEB detectors are calibrated by an On-Board Calibrator (OBC) blackbody (BB) at controlled temperatures with a deep Space View (SV) for background signal measurement. Prior to launch, the TEB went through rigorous pre-launch calibration and characterization tests in ambient and thermal vacuum environments. During the initial post-launch testing (PLT) period, a comprehensive set of tests and spacecraft maneuvers were performed to ensure the health of the satellite and all sensors. The PLT results help the understanding of instrument response and performance, and to bridge the calibrations between pre-launch and post-launch for traceability. This paper provides an overview of NOAA-21 VIIRS TEB PLTs with their results and follow-on on-orbit performance. Comparisons with NOAA-20 and S-NPP VIIRS TEB are also made in various categories including noise characterization, blackbody stability, and detectors response.
The NOAA-21 VIIRS yaw maneuver operation was carried out in March 2023 over 15 scheduled orbits to characterize the three required input functions for the standard on-orbit RSB calibration pipeline. The characterization functions of the product of the bidirectional reflectance factors (BRFs) of the solar diffuser (SD) with the vignetting function (VF) of the SD screen (SDS) are derived for the two required outgoing directions from the SD to the RSBs and from the SD to the SDSM. The VFs for the attenuation screen placed in front of the Sun-view port are also derived with the yaw measurements.
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is a key instrument on the recently launched NOAA-21 (previously JPSS-2) satellite. The VIIRS, like its predecessors on the SNPP and NOAA-20 satellites, provides daily global coverage in 22 spectral bands from 0.41 to 12.0 micrometers. The geometrically and radiometrically calibrated observations are the basis for numerous operational applications and scientific research studies. Fourteen of the 22 bands are reflective solar bands (RSBs), covering wavelengths from 0.41 to 2.25 micrometers. The RSBs were radiometrically calibrated prelaunch and are regularly calibrated on orbit through the onboard solar diffuser (SD) and scheduled lunar observations. The on-orbit SD’s reflectance change is determined by the onboard solar diffuser stability monitor (SDSM). Here, we report our findings on the early mission NOAA-21 VIIRS RSB radiometric performance, and the performance of the SD and the SDSM.
The two VIIRS instruments onboard the Suomi NPP and NOAA-20 spacecraft collect data in 22 spectral bands from 0.4 μm to 12.5 μm. Both instruments have exhibited a known artifact in the behavior of the capacitive transimpedance amplifier (CTIA) that manifests in a double-valued (rollover) response in the Earth view imagery. This behavior was identified and well characterized prelaunch and is predominant for the single-gain band M6. The rollover phenomenon is also observed in the low-gain stages of the dual-gain reflective solar bands and thermal bands M12 and I4. The NASA VIIRS L1B processing currently has a rollover flagging scheme that is based on fixed thresholds in the digital numbers (DN) that approximately correspond to the designed maximum radiance of the band. In this work, we briefly review the prelaunch results, current on-orbit flagging methodology, and propose improvements for future implementation in the NASA Level 1B products. Results indicate significant improvement via more accurate flagging for the rollover pixels in band M6 as well as other RSB. The methodologies developed in this work could also be applicable to future VIIRS instruments to be launched aboard the JPSS-2-4 spacecrafts.
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instruments onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) and NOAA-20 (N20) satellites have been operational since their launch on October 28, 2011 and November 18, 2017, respectively. VIIRS has 22 spectral bands with wavelengths ranging from visible (VIS) to long-wave infrared (LWIR). Observations from both the SNPP and N20 VIIRS sensors have been used to develop a wide range of data products that have benefited a number of studies of the Earth’s atmosphere, land, and oceans. Among these 22 VIIRS bands, the day/night band (DNB) is a visible/near-infrared panchromatic band. It has three gain stages: low-gain stage (LGS), medium-gain stage (MGS), and high-gain stage (HGS), which allows us to study the Earth at any time of day or night. With its HGS, the DNB can also observe reflected lunar radiances at night. This research uses numerous daily observations of the reflected lunar radiances at night from Dome-C to investigate the long-term calibration stability of the DNB and the calibration consistency between the two VIIRS sensors. The VIIRS DNB measured lunar radiances are compared to those predicted by the GIRO (GSICS Implementation of the ROLO) model.
In part I (Lei et al., J. Appl. Remote Sens., Vol. 14, Issue 4), we gave detailed reviews of the algorithms Version 2.0 used for the on-orbit radiometric calibration of the reflective solar bands (RSBs) of the first Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument. These algorithms improve the accuracy of the measured on-orbit change factor of the solar diffuser bidirectional reflectance distribution function, the H-factor, and reveal that the H-factor is angle dependent. With the help of lunar observations and the improved H-factor, the algorithms give more accurate values for the RSB detector on-orbit F-factor changes (F-factor is a correction factor to the initially retrieved scene spectral radiance). We review the RSB radiometric calibration performances. We show the H-factor temporal trend, the estimated uncertainty of the retrieved H-factor, and the F-factor temporal trend. Additionally, we show the detector signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the estimated uncertainty of the top-of-the-atmosphere solar spectral reflectance, the reflectance temporal trend for the Libya 4 desert, and the differences in the reflectances among the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) and the NOAA-20 VIIRS and the Aqua Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Our results show that, although the SNRs trend downward, they exceed the requirements by large margins. The reflectances from the Libya 4 desert show that the SNPP VIIRS’ reflectance is higher than those of the Aqua MODIS and the NOAA-20 VIIRS.
The first VIIRS instrument is aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite. The instrument has 14 reflective solar bands (RSBs) to passively collect photons reflected from the Earth surface in the design wavelengths from 412 to 2250 nm. The instrument uses a solar diffuser (SD) to radiometrically calibrate its RSBs. When lit by the Sun through an attenuation screen (the SD screen), the SD diffusely reflects off the incident sunlight to act as a radiance source for the calibration. An onboard solar diffuser stability monitor (SDSM) yields the on-orbit change of the SD bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) by comparing the signal strength from the SD with that from the Sun attenuated by another attenuation screen (the SDSM screen). Complications arise due to the discovery that the on-orbit change of the BRDF is angle dependent. Additionally, the SDSM does not cover the wavelengths for the short-wave infrared bands in the RSBs. Furthermore, satellite yaw maneuvers were performed in the early mission to yield data for refining the prelaunch SDSM screen relative effective transmittance and the relative product of the SD screen transmittance and the BRDF at the mission start. But the yaw maneuver data are coarse in the solar azimuth angles and thus are unable to yield accurate values between the measurement angles. Over the years of performing on-orbit radiometric calibration through the SD for the VIIRS RSBs, we have developed several highly effective calibration algorithms to address the issues mentioned above. We review these algorithms.
The S-NPP and N20 VIIRS Day-Night band (DNB) and M bands top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiance and reflectance are calculated and a kernel-driven Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) correction model is used to correct the surface and atmosphere combined BRDF influence. Due to degradation in the DNB modulated Relative Spectral Response (RSR), the S-NPP VIIRS observed TOA DNB reflectance indicates a decrease of 1.89% and the SCIAMACHY spectra derived TOA DNB reflectance has a decrease of 1.63% for the past 8.5 years. The N20 VIIRS TOA DNB reflectance decreased 0.50% in the past 2.5 years. The DNB radiance is also compared with the integral of the M bands radiance from M4, M5, and M7. The fitting trends of DNB to the integral of M bands ratios indicate a 0.48% decrease for S-NPP VIIRS and 0.14% increase for N20 VIIRS. The N20 VIIRS DNB to integral M bands ratios are closer to 1 than the S-NPP VIIRS data. The BRDF corrected reflectance comparisons show that the N20 VIIRS data is slightly lower than those of S-NPP VIIRS. The averages of the linear fit values of the N20 to S-NPP VIIRS from 2018 to 2020 June are - 1.97%, -4.99%, -3.36%, and -0.85% for M4, M5, M7, and DNB, respectively. Our results indicate that the S-NPP and N20 VIIRS DNB and M bands calibration have been stable. The cross-sensor differences in DNB and M bands are generally consistent with other independent studies using similar and different approaches.
The NOAA-20 (N20) satellite, previously the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 satellite, was launched on November 18, 2017. One of the five major scientific instruments aboard the satellite is the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). VIIRS scans the Earth’s surface in 22 spectral bands, 14 of which are the reflective solar bands (RSBs) with band center wavelengths from 0.412 to 2.25 μm. VIIRS regularly performs on-orbit radiometric calibration of its RSBs, primarily through the observations of the onboard solar diffuser (SD). The on-orbit change of the SD’s bidirectional reflectance distribution function, known as the H-factor, is determined by the onboard SD stability monitor (SDSM). Since the Hfactor exhibits angular dependence, obtaining the H-factor along the SD to the telescope direction is a challenge for the NOAA-20 VIIRS. Recently, Collection 2.0 of the NASA Land Science Investigator-led Processing Systems (SIPS) products were released. As a part of this reprocessing effort, we made two major improvements in the N20 VIIRS RSB radiometric calibration. One is the improved SD and SDSM attenuation screen transmittance functions, obtained by using calibration data collected during both the yaw maneuver and a small portion of regular orbits, resulting in a higher quality H-factor for the SDSM view. Another is the use of the H-factor for the telescope view, derived from the H-factor for the SDSM view, by using the results for the SNPP VIIRS. In June 2019, we delivered a set of mission-long N20 VIIRS Collection 2.0 RSB radiometric calibration look-up-tables. These tables have been employed by the NASA Land SIPS group to reprocess the entire time series of the NOAA-20 VIIRS products. In this paper, we discuss the Collection 2.0 NOAA-20 VIIRS RSB calibration algorithms and results.
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is a passive scanning Earth observing satellite radiometer. The VIIRS has 22 spectral bands with design center wavelengths from 0.41 to 12.01 m, providing data to generate more than 20 Earth’s biogeophysical parameters. Fourteen of the 22 VIIRS bands are the reflective solar bands (RSBs), detecting Earth reflected sunlight. To ensure data quality, regular on-orbit radiometric calibrations of the RSBs are performed, mainly through observations of an onboard solar diffuser (SD). The spectral radiance provided by the sunlit SD depends on the SD screen transmittance which is a function of the solar vector orientation. Additionally, on orbit the SD’s bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) changes its value due to solar bombardment. The BRDF change is derived from the SD stability monitor (SDSM) measurements. The SDSM views the Sun through a screen with through holes (the SDSM screen) and the SD at almost the same time. The time series of the ratio of the signal strengths is a measure of the SD BRDF on-orbit change. Hence the measurements of the on-orbit SD BRDF change depends on the SDSM screen relative transmittance which is also solar vector orientation dependent. In this paper for both the SNPP and the NOAA-20 VIIRS instruments we examine the solar vector orientation knowledge error through matching the SDSM screen relative effective transmittances derived from the calibration data collected on the yaw maneuver and the regular orbits.
The S-NPP and N20 satellites have successfully operated since their launches on October 28, 2011 and November 18, 2017, respectively. This paper provides an assessment of the detector calibration stability for the reflective solar bands (RSBs) observed from both S-NPP and N20 VIIRS. Top-of-atmosphere radiances from near-nadir observations over the homogeneous Libya 4 desert site are extracted from the S-NPP VIIRS Collection 1 and N20 Collection 2 Level-1B products. The radiances from individual detectors per Half‐angle Mirror side are studied. The comparisons of the normalized radiance to all detector average values indicate that the detector calibration differences are wavelength dependent. The S-NPP detector differences have been slowly increasing in the past 8.5 years and bands M1-M4 have 1.3%- 2.2% detector differences in 2019. N20 detector differences are stable and small in the past two years except SWIR M bands. N20 M10 and M11 have 1.3% and 2.1% detector differences, respectively. S-NPP DNB detector differences are about 0.8% and N20 DNB detector differences are about 0.5%. Most bands HAM side differences are less than 0.25% in the past years except N20 VIIRS M1 HAM side differences are 0.57% in 2018 and 0.54% in 2019. The Libya 4 images have small but noticeable striping in S-NPP M1-M4 data as well as in N20 M1, M8, M10, and M11 data. These study results have been applied in the S-NPP Collection 2 new algorithm to remove the detector differences. This research help scientists and VIIRS users better understand detector calibration differences in different version VIIRS products.
The Earth-observing Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA-20 satellite (formerly the Joint Polar Satellite System-1) is the follow-on sensor to the early launched VIIRS on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite. The on-orbit radiometric calibration of its reflective solar bands (RSBs) is regularly performed primarily through observations of an onboard sunlit solar diffuser (SD). The on-orbit change of the SD bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) value, denoted as the H-factor, is determined by an onboard solar diffuser stability monitor (SDSM). The scene spectral radiance is calculated by a quadratic polynomial of the background subtracted detector digital number for most of the RSBs and a cubic polynomial for the M8-11 bands. A numerical factor, denoted as the F-factor, provides an on-orbit adjustment to the prelaunch polynomial coefficients through observations of the sunlit SD. The accuracy and change in the F-factor directly affect the sensor radiometric performance. The accuracy of the F-factor is proportionally affected by the accuracy in the H-factor. In this paper, we show the time trends of the Hand F-factors and the SDSM detector gain, and also compare the trends with those for the previous VIIRS instrument on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite. We derive the Earth view signal-to-noise ratio at the typical spectral radiance level and estimate the calibration bias between the two VIIRS instruments through observations of the Moon and pseudo-invariant Earth sites.
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the S-NPP satellite has been in successful operation for more than six years. One of the key performance parameters of the instrument detectors is the saturation of their digital counts (DN). For VIIRS, when the scene spectral radiance level is high enough, before reaching the digital maximum that can be accommodated by the number of bits, the DN for the detector stops increasing and often decreases with increasing scene radiance. Consequently, for some high scene radiances, the pixel spectral radiance calculated from the DN does not accurately reflect the true radiance. To inform the data product user that the calculated pixel radiance may not be accurate, a quality flag is used to indicate that the pixel may be inaccurate. In the current S-NPP VIIRS L1B product, the DN saturation flag is turned on once the DN exceeds a fixed threshold level. In this study, the VIIRS Reflective Solar Band (RSB) detectors’ true threshold levels are characterized by studying their responses to high radiance scenes. The long-term trending of these true threshold levels for each detector is analyzed to examine whether the threshold levels are time dependent. Some saturation effects that may be amenable to correction are also investigated, resulting in more useful data. The results from this study will improve data quality with more accurate DN saturation flags.
Near-nadir observations of the Libya 4 site from the S-NPP VIIRS Day-Night Band (DNB) and Moderate resolution Bands (M bands) are used to assess the detector calibration stability and half-angle mirror (HAM) side differences. Almost seven years of Sensor Data Records products are extracted from the Libya 4 site center over an area of 32×32 pixels. The mean values of the radiance from individual detectors per HAM side are computed separately. The comparison of the normalized radiance between detectors indicates that the detector calibration differences are wavelength dependent and the differences have been slowly increasing with time for short wavelength bands, especially for M1-M4. The maximum annual average differences between DNB detectors are 0.77% in 2017 at HAM-A. For the M bands, the maximum detector differences in 2017 are 1.7% for M1, 1.8% for M2, 1.3% for M3, 1.2% for M4, 0.67% for M5, 0.75% for M7, 0.57% for M8, 13% for M9, 0.63% for M10, and 0.66% for M11. The average HAM side A to B difference in 2017 are 0.00% for DNB, 0.22% for M1, 0.17% for M2, 0.15% for M3, 0.09% for M4, -0.07% for M5, 0.02% for M7, 0.01% for M8, 1.4% for M9, 0.01% for M10, and 0.03% for M11. Results for M6 are not available due to the signal saturation and M9 results are not accurate because of the low reflectance from the desert site and the strong atmospheric absorption in this channel. The results in this study help scientists better understand each detector’s performance and HAM side characteristics. Additionally, they provide evidence and motivation for future VIIRS calibration improvements.
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP)
satellite is a passive scanning radiometer and an imager. The VIIRS regularly performs on-orbit radiometric calibration of
its reflective solar bands (RSBs) through observing an onboard sunlit solar diffuser (SD). The reflectance of the SD changes
over time and the change is denoted as the SD bidirectional reflectance distribution function degradation factor. The
degradation factor, measured by an onboard solar diffuser stability monitor, has been shown to be both incident sunlight and
outgoing direction dependent. In this Proceeding, we investigate the factor’s dependence on SD position. We develop a
model to relate the SD degradation factor with the amount of solar exposure. We use Earth measurements to evaluate the
effectiveness of the model.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is a key scientific instrument that was launched into
Earth orbit by NASA in 1999 on board the Terra (EOS AM) satellite and in 2002 on board the Aqua (EOS PM) satellite.
Terra and Aqua MODIS collect the entire Earth’s images every 1 to 2 days in 36 spectral bands. MODIS band 1 (0.620-
0.670 μm) and band 2 (0.841-0.876 μm) have nadir spatial resolution of 250 m and their measurements are crucial to
derive key land surface products. This study evaluates the performance of the Collection 6 (C6, and C6.1) L1B of both
Terra and Aqua MODIS bands 1 and 2 using Simultaneous Nadir Overpass (SNO) data to compare with AVHRR/3
sensors. We examine the relative stability between Terra and Aqua MODIS in reference to NOAA N15 and N19 the
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR/3). The comparisons for MODIS to AVHRR/3 are over a fifteenyear
period from 2002 to 2017. Results from this study provide a quantitative assessment of Terra and Aqua MODIS
band 1 and band 2 calibration stability and the relative differences through the NOAA N15 and N19 AVHRR/3 sensors.
The Suomi national polar-orbiting partnership Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument has successfully operated since its launch in October 2011. The VIIRS day–night band (DNB) is a panchromatic channel covering wavelengths from 0.5 to 0.9 μm that is capable of observing Earth scenes during both daytime and nighttime at a spatial resolution of 750 m. To cover the large dynamic range, the DNB operates at low-, middle-, and high-gain stages, and it uses an on-board solar diffuser (SD) for its low-gain stage calibration. The SD observations also provide a means to compute the gain ratios of low-to-middle and middle-to-high gain stages. This paper describes the DNB on-orbit calibration methodology used by the VIIRS characterization support team in supporting the NASA Earth science community with consistent VIIRS sensor data records made available by the land science investigator-led processing systems. It provides an assessment and update of the DNB on-orbit performance, including the SD degradation in the DNB spectral range, detector gain and gain ratio trending, and stray-light contamination and its correction. Also presented in this paper are performance validations based on Earth scenes and lunar observations, and comparisons to the calibration methodology used by the operational interface data processing segment.
The S-NPP VIIRS instrument has successfully operated since its launch in October 2011. The VIIRS Day-Night Band (DNB) is a panchromatic channel covering wavelengths from 0.5 to 0.9 μm that is capable of observing Earth scenes during both day and nighttime orbits at a spatial resolution of 750 m. To cover the large dynamic range, the DNB operates at low, mid, or high gain stages, and it uses an onboard solar diffuser (SD) for its low gain stage calibration. The SD observations also provide a means to compute gain ratios of low-to-mid and mid-to-high gain stages. This paper describes the DNB on-orbit calibration methodologies used by the VIIRS Characterization Support Team (VCST) in supporting the NASA earth science community with consistent VIIRS sensor data records (SDRs) made available by the Land Science Investigator-led Processing Systems (SIPS). It provides an assessment and update of DNB on-orbit performance, including the SD degradation in the DNB spectral range, detector gain and gain ratio trending, stray light contamination and its correction. Also presented in this paper are performance validations based on earth scenes and lunar observations.
This paper provides methodologies developed and implemented by the NASA VIIRS Calibration Support Team (VCST) to validate the S-NPP VIIRS Day-Night band (DNB) and M bands calibration performance. The Sensor Data Records produced by the Interface Data Processing Segment (IDPS) and NASA Land Product Evaluation and Algorithm Testing Element (PEATE) are acquired nearly nadir overpass for Libya 4 desert and Dome C snow surfaces. In the past 3.5 years, the modulated relative spectral responses (RSR) change with time and lead to 3.8% increase on the DNB sensed solar irradiance and 0.1% or less increases on the M4-M7 bands. After excluding data before April 5th, 2013, IDPS DNB radiance and reflectance data are consistent with Land PEATE data with 0.6% or less difference for Libya 4 site and 2% or less difference for Dome C site. These difference are caused by inconsistent LUTs and algorithms used in calibration. In Libya 4 site, the SCIAMACHY spectral and modulated RSR derived top of atmosphere (TOA) reflectance are compared with Land PEATE TOA reflectance and they indicate a decrease of 1.2% and 1.3%, respectively. The radiance of Land PEATE DNB are compared with the simulated radiance from aggregated M bands (M4, M5, and M7). These data trends match well with 2% or less difference for Libya 4 site and 4% or less difference for Dome C. This study demonstrate the consistent quality of DNB and M bands calibration for Land PEATE products during operational period and for IDPS products after April 5th, 2013.
MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) is a key sensor aboard the Terra (EOS AM) and Aqua (EOS PM) satellites. MODIS collects data in 36 spectral bands and generates over 40 data products for land, atmosphere, cryosphere and oceans. MODIS bands 1 and 2 have nadir spatial resolution of 250 m, compared with 500 m for bands 3 to 7 and 1000 m for all the remaining bands, and their measurements are crucial to derive key land surface products. This study evaluates the calibration performance of the Collection-6 L1B for both Terra and Aqua MODIS bands 1 and 2 using three vicarious approaches. The first and second approaches focus on stability assessment using data collected from two pseudo-invariant sites, Libya 4 desert and Antarctic Dome C snow surface. The third approach examines the relative stability between Terra and Aqua in reference to a third sensor from a series of NOAA 15-19 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). The comparison is based on measurements from MODIS and AVHRR Simultaneous Nadir Overpasses (SNO) over a thirteen-year period from 2002 to 2015. Results from this study provide a quantitative assessment of Terra and Aqua MODIS bands 1 and 2 calibration stability and the relative calibration differences between the two sensors.
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite carries out radiometric calibration of its reflective solar bands primarily through observing a sunlit onboard solar diffuser (SD). The SD bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) degrades over time. The degradation factor is determined by an onboard solar diffuser stability monitor (SDSM) which observes the Sun through a pinhole screen and the sunlit SD. The transmittance of the SDSM pinhole screen over a range of solar angles was determined prelaunch and used initially to determine the BRDF degradation factor. The degradation factor versus time curves were found to have a number of very large unphysical undulations likely due to the inaccuracies in the prelaunch determined SDSM screen transmittance. To validate and if necessary to refine both the SD and the SDSM screen transmittances, satellite yaw maneuvers were carried out. With the yaw maneuver data determined SDSM screen transmittance, the computed BRDF degradation factor curves still have large unphysical ripples, indicating that the projected solar horizontal angular step size in the yaw maneuver data is too large to resolve the transmittance at a fine angular scale. We develop a methodology to use both the yaw maneuver and regular on-orbit data to determine the SDSM screen transmittance at a fine angular scale with a relative error standard deviation from 0.00029 (672 nm; detector 5) to 0.00074 (926 nm; detector 8). With the newly determined SDSM screen transmittance, the computed BRDF degradation factor behaves much more smoothly over time.
The VIIRS instrument on Suomi-NPP performs its primary radiometric calibration using the Solar Diffuser, which degrades with exposure to UV light. The Solar Diffuser is monitored by the Solar Diffuser Stability Monitor. In this paper, we evaluate potential improvements to the algorithms that generate the resulting H-factors, including updates to the screen transmission functions and new methodologies to increase the amount of useful data. We also track the on-orbit degradation of the SDSM detectors and predict the long-term performance of the sensors.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.