Impacts of VIIRS polarization sensitivity on non-ocean scenes

Timothy S. Wilkinson

doi:10.1117/12.2188636

8 September 2015 Impacts of VIIRS polarization sensitivity on non-ocean scenes

Timothy S. Wilkinson

Proceedings Volume 9607, Earth Observing Systems XX; 960714 (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2188636
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2015, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The Visible and Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) collects Earth science data continually in a sun-synchronous orbit. VIIRS raw data records (RDRs) are processed by ground software to generate a variety of environmental data records (EDRs). Over open ocean, ground software produces measurements of chlorophyll concentration based on subsurface reflectance estimates. Considering that about 90% of the top of the atmosphere (TOA) radiance reaching a sensor over open ocean can be attributed to atmosphere or surface reflectance, it is possible to introduce large chlorophyll estimate errors by ignoring ordinarily small contributions due to polarization sensitivity. For chlorophyll determination, instrument polarization sensitivity measurements are used in combination with atmospheric models to compensate for polarization phenomenon. VIIRS ground software does not compensate for polarization phenomenon when processing land scenes. It is therefore natural to consider the impacts of ignoring VIIRS polarization phenomenon for land surface reflectance estimates. In this work, pre-flight polarization sensitivity characterization data is used in conjunction with a polarized atmospheric propagation model to analyze potential impacts on retrieved TOA reflectance. Impacts are analyzed across several collection conditions, including ground surface type, atmospheric visibility, general atmospheric profile and collection geometry. Actual pre-flight characterization data is used for both NPP and J1 VIIRS.

Citation Download Citation

Timothy S. Wilkinson "Impacts of VIIRS polarization sensitivity on non-ocean scenes", Proc. SPIE 9607, Earth Observing Systems XX, 960714 (8 September 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2188636

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