Comparison of two methodologies for calibrating satellite instruments in the visible and near-infrared.

Traditionally, satellite instruments that measure Earth-reflected solar radiation in the visible and near infrared wavelength regions have been calibrated for radiance responsivity in a two-step method. In the first step, the relative spectral response (RSR) of the instrument is determined using a nearly monochromatic light source such as a lamp-illuminated monochromator. These sources do not typically fill the field of view of the instrument nor act as calibrated sources of light. Consequently, they only provide a relative (not absolute) spectral response for the instrument. In the second step, the instrument views a calibrated source of broadband light, such as a lamp-illuminated integrating sphere. The RSR and the sphere's absolute spectral radiance are combined to determine the absolute spectral radiance responsivity (ASR) of the instrument. More recently, a full-aperture absolute calibration approach using widely tunable monochromatic lasers has been developed. Using these sources, the ASR of an instrument can be determined in a single step on a wavelength-by-wavelength basis. From these monochromatic ASRs, the responses of the instrument bands to broadband radiance sources can be calculated directly, eliminating the need for calibrated broadband light sources such as lamp-illuminated integrating spheres. In this work, the traditional broadband source-based calibration of the Suomi National Preparatory Project Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite sensor is compared with the laser-based calibration of the sensor. Finally, the impact of the new full-aperture laser-based calibration approach on the on-orbit performance of the sensor is considered.

Results of aperture area comparisons for exo-atmospheric total solar irradiance measurements.

Exo-atmospheric solar irradiance measurements made by the solar irradiance community since 1978 have incorporated limiting apertures with diameters measured by a number of metrology laboratories using a variety of techniques. Knowledge of the aperture area is a critical component in the conversion of radiant flux measurements to solar irradiance. A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Observing System (EOS) sponsored international comparison of aperture area measurements of limiting apertures provided by solar irradiance researchers was performed, the effort being executed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in coordination with the EOS Project Science Office. Apertures that had institutional heritage with historical solar irradiance measurements were measured using the absolute aperture measurement facility at NIST. The measurement technique employed noncontact video microscopy using high-accuracy translation stages. We have quantified the differences between the participating institutions' aperture area measurements and find no evidence to support the hypothesis that preflight aperture area measurements were the root cause of discrepancies in long-term total solar irradiance satellite measurements. Another result is the assessment of uncertainties assigned to methods used by participants. We find that uncertainties assigned to a participant's values may be underestimated.

On-orbit calibration of SeaWiFS.

Ocean color climate data records (CDRs) require water-leaving radiances with 5% absolute and 1% relative accuracies as input. Because of the amplification of any sensor calibration errors by the atmospheric correction, the 1% relative accuracy requirement translates into a 0.1% long-term radiometric stability requirement for top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) radiances. The rigorous prelaunch and on-orbit calibration program developed and implemented for Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) by the NASA Ocean Biology Processing Group (OBPG) has led to the incorporation of significant changes into the on-orbit calibration methodology over the 13-year lifetime of the instrument. Evolving instrument performance and ongoing algorithm refinement have resulted in updates to approaches for the lunar, solar, and vicarious calibration of SeaWiFS. The uncertainties in the calibrated TOA radiances are addressed in terms of accuracy (biases in the measurements), precision (scatter in the measurements), and stability (repeatability of the measurements). The biases are 2%-3% from lunar calibration and 1%-2% from vicarious calibration. The precision is 0.16% from solar signal-to-noise ratios, 0.13% from lunar residuals, and 0.10% from vicarious gains. The long-term stability of the TOA radiances, derived from the lunar time series, is 0.13%. The stability of the vicariously calibrated TOA radiances, incorporating the uncertainties of the in situ measurements and the atmospheric correction, is 0.30%. This stability of the radiometric calibration of SeaWiFS over its 13-year on-orbit lifetime has allowed the OBPG to produce CDRs from the ocean color data set.

Radiometric Measurement Comparison on the Integrating Sphere Source Used to Calibrate the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+).

As part of a continuing effort to validate the radiometric scales assigned to integrating sphere sources used in the calibration of Earth Observing System (EOS) instruments, a radiometric measurement comparison was held in May 1998 at Raytheon/Santa Barbara Remote Sensing (SBRS). This comparison was conducted in support of the calibration of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) instruments. The radiometric scale assigned to the Spherical Integrating Source (SIS100) by SBRS was validated through a comparison with radiometric measurements made by a number of stable, well-characterized transfer radiometers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA's GSFC), and the University of Arizona Optical Sciences Center (UA). The measured radiances from the radiometers differed by ±3 % in the visible to near infrared when compared to the SBRS calibration of the sphere, and the overall agreement was within the combined uncertainties of the individual measurements. In general, the transfer radiometers gave higher values than the SBRS calibration in the near infrared and lower values in the blue. The measurements of the radiometers differed by ±4 % from 800 nm to 1800 nm compared to the SBRS calibration of the sphere, and the overall agreement was within the combined uncertainties of the individual measurements for wavelengths less than 2200 nm. The results of the radiometric measurement comparison presented here supplement the results of previous measurement comparisons on the integrating sphere sources used to calibrate the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA and the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) at NEC Corporation, Yokohama, Japan.

SeaWiFS long-term solar diffuser reflectance and sensor noise analyses.

The NASA Ocean Biology Processing Group's Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) team has undertaken an analysis of the mission-long Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) solar calibration time series to assess the long-term degradation of the solar diffuser reflectance over 9 years on orbit. The SeaWiFS diffuser is an aluminum plate coated with YB71 paint. The bidirectional reflectance distribution function of the diffuser was not fully characterized before launch, so the Cal/Val team has implemented a regression of the solar incidence angles and the drift in the node of the satellite's orbit against the diffuser time series to correct for solar incidence angle effects. An exponential function with a time constant of 200 days yields the best fit to the diffuser time series. The decrease in diffuser reflectance over the mission is wavelength dependent, ranging from 9% in the blue (412 nm) to 5% in the red and near infrared (670-865 nm). The Cal/Val team has developed a methodology for computing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for SeaWiFS on orbit from the diffuser time series corrected for both the varying solar incidence angles and the diffuser reflectance degradation. A sensor noise model is used to compare on-orbit SNRs computed for radiances reflected from the diffuser with prelaunch SNRs measured at typical radiances specified for the instrument. To within the uncertainties in the measurements, the SNRs for SeaWiFS have not changed over the mission. The on-orbit performance of the SeaWiFS solar diffuser should offer insight into the long-term on-orbit performance of solar diffusers on other instruments, such as the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer [currently flying on the Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra and Aqua satellites], the Visible and Infrared Radiometer Suite [scheduled to fly on the NASA National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) and NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) satellites] and the Advanced Baseline Imager [scheduled to fly on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Geostationary Environmental Operational Satellite Series R (GOES-R) satellites].

Radiometric validation of NASA's Ames Research Center's Sensor Calibration Laboratory.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Ames Research Center's Airborne Sensor Facility (ASF) is responsible for the calibration of several airborne Earth-viewing sensor systems in support of NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) investigations. The primary artifact used to calibrate these sensors in the reflective solar region from 400 to 2500 nm is a lamp-illuminated integrating sphere source. In September 1999, a measurement comparison was made at the Ames ASF Sensor Calibration Facility to validate the radiometric scale, establish the uncertainties assigned to the radiance of this source, and examine its day-to-day repeatability. The comparison was one of a series of validation activities overseen by the EOS Calibration Program to ensure the radiometric calibration accuracy of sensors used in long-term, global, remote-sensing studies. Results of the comparison, including an evaluation of the Ames Sensor Calibration Laboratory (SCL) measurement procedures and assigned radiometric uncertainties, provide a validation of their radiometric scale at the time of the comparison. Additionally, the maintenance of the radiance scale was evaluated by use of independent, long-term, multiyear radiance validation measurements of the Ames sphere source. This series of measurements provided an independent assessment of the radiance values assigned to integrating sphere sources by the Ames SCF. Together, the measurements validate the SCF radiometric scale and assigned uncertainties over the time period from September 1999 through July 2003.

Reflectance-based calibration of SeaWiFS. I. Calibration coefficients.

We present a calibration approach for the Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) based on the reflectance properties of the instrument's onboard diffuser. This technique uses SeaWiFS as a reflectometer, measuring the reflected solar irradiance from the Earth and from the onboard diffuser. Because the Sun is the common source of light for both measurements, the ratio of the SeaWiFS-measured radiances from the Earth and the diffuser provide the ratio for the reflectances of the two samples. The reflectance characterization of the onboard diffuser is the calibration reference for this approach. Knowledge of the value of the solar irradiance is not required for these measurements because it falls out of the ratio. Knowledge of the absolute calibration coefficient for the SeaWiFS measurements of each of the two samples is not required either. Instead, the result of the ratioing technique is based on the linearity of the instrument's response to the intensity of the input light. The calibration requires knowledge, however, of the reflectance of the onboard diffuser at the start of the SeaWiFS mission and the response of the instrument bands, in digital numbers, for measurements of the diffuser at that time.

Reflectance-based calibration of SeaWiFS. II. Conversion to radiance.

For instruments that carry onboard solar diffusers to orbit, such as the Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS), it is possible to convert the instrument's reflectance measurements to radiance measurements by knowledge of the solar irradiance. This process, which generally requires the application of a solar irradiance model, is described. The application of the irradiance model is separate from the measurements by the instrument and from the instrument's reflectance calibration. In addition, SeaWiFS was calibrated twice before launch for radiance response by use of radiance sources with calibrations traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. With the inclusion of the at-launch diffuser-based radiance calibration, SeaWiFS has three possible radiance calibrations forthe start of on-orbit operations. The combination of these three into a single calibration requires changes of 4% or less for the current at-launch radiance calibration of the instrument. Finally, this process requires changes of 4% or less for the reflectance calibration coefficients to provide consistency among the radiance calibration, the reflectance calibration, and the solar irradiance.

Comparison of SeaWiFS measurements of the Moon with the U.S. Geological Survey lunar model.

The Sea-Viewing Wide-Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) has made monthly observations of the Moon since 1997. Using 66 monthly measurements, the SeaWiFS calibration team has developed a correction for the instrument's on-orbit response changes. Concurrently, a lunar irradiance model has been developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from extensive Earth-based observations of the Moon. The lunar irradiances measured by SeaWiFS are compared with the USGS model. The comparison shows essentially identical response histories for SeaWiFS, with differences from the model of less than 0.05% per thousand days in the long-term trends. From the SeaWiFS experience we have learned that it is important to view the entire lunar image at a constant phase angle from measurement to measurement and to understand, as best as possible, the size of each lunar image. However, a constant phase angle is not required for using the USGS model. With a long-term satellite lunar data set it is possible to determine instrument changes at a quality level approximating that from the USGS lunar model. However, early in a mission, when the dependence on factors such as phase and libration cannot be adequately determined from satellite measurements alone, the USGS model is critical to an understanding of trends in instruments that use the Moon for calibration. This is the case for SeaWiFS.