Monitoring the Terra and Aqua MODIS RSB calibration using the scattered light from the nadir-port

Amit Angal; Xiaoxiong Xiong; Xu Geng; Junqiang Sun

doi:10.1117/12.2061358

26 September 2014 Monitoring the Terra and Aqua MODIS RSB calibration using scattered light from the Nadir-port

Amit Angal, Xiaoxiong Xiong, Xu Geng, Junqiang Sun

Proceedings Volume 9218, Earth Observing Systems XIX; 92181J (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2061358
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2014, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

MODIS is currently onboard NASA’s EOS Terra and Aqua spacecraft launched on December 18, 1999 and May 4, 2002, respectively. MODIS reflective solar bands (RSB) are calibrated on-orbit using solar illumination reflected from its onboard solar diffuser (SD). The solar diffuser stability monitor (SDSM) is designed to track the on-orbit degradation of the SD via alternate observations of the Sun and SD. A wavelength-dependent degradation pattern is observed for both MODIS instruments with a faster degradation rate observed at shorter wavelengths. The UV exposure of the SD to sunlight and the scattered light (the sunlight reflected from top of the atmosphere) through the instrument nadir port contributes to its reflectance degradation. The scatter off the diffuser onto the scan mirror is in the forward direction, whereas the scatter off the diffuser onto the SDSM scan mirror is in the backward direction. Since the outgoing angles (viewed by MODIS detectors) are the same as the scheduled SD calibration, the gain derived from scattering light facilitates monitoring the dependence on SD degradation on incident angles. A methodology is formulated to track the MODIS SD degradation using scattered light through the nadir-port and comparing the result with the SD degradation as measured by the SDSM. In this study, multiple orbits from a given day of each month are processed to obtain a SD response to the nadir-port illumination. Results show that a reasonable agreement is observed between the SD degradation estimates derived from both view-angles.

Citation Download Citation

Amit Angal, Xiaoxiong Xiong, Xu Geng, and Junqiang Sun "Monitoring the Terra and Aqua MODIS RSB calibration using scattered light from the Nadir-port", Proc. SPIE 9218, Earth Observing Systems XIX, 92181J (26 September 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2061358

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