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The calibration accuracy of the Moderate resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) on Terra near its one year anniversary of first light has been assessed using ER-2 aircraft underflights during the Terra eXperiment (TX-2001) in the spring, 2001. The ER-2, equipped with the MAS and SHIS instruments, underflew Terra several times viewing clear sky earth scenes of the Gulf of Mexico. MAS and SHIS form a powerful tandem, combining high spatial resolution imaging with high spectral resolution sampling in the midwave to longwave infrared region. The assessment is based on co-located MODIS and MAS fields of view with matching viewing geometry and removes spatial and spectral dependencies. The MAS L1B calibration accuracy is improved by transferring the SHIS calibration accuracy (conservatively 0.5 K) to MAS. The early results of two days from TX-2001 indicate that MODIS bands are performing well, but not optimally. The MODIS MWIR window bands appear to be close to the 0.75 - 1% radiometric accuracy specification for the uniform warm, low reflectance scenes assessed, perhaps suggesting that known electronic crosstalk in MODIS SWIR and MWIR bands is small for such scenes. MODIS LWIR window bands show residuals of about 0.5 K to 0.6 K, larger than the 0.5% radiometric accuracy specification. However with the 0.5 K (window bands) to 1 K (atmospheric bands) uncertainties associated with the current assessment, it is not possible to definitively state whether these MODIS bands are or are not within specification. MODIS LWIR atmospheric CO2 bands appear to perform near the 1% accuracy specification with the exception of bands 35 and 36, the upper tropospheric CO2 bands at 13.9micrometers and 14.1micrometers . Different MODIS viewing geometry on the two days seems to suggest that scan mirror reflectance dependence on mirror angles may be influencing the MODIS L1B calibration for some bands, most notably the 8.6micrometers and LWIR CO2 bands; however this assessment is dependent upon the accuracy of the spectral correction (a function of atmospheric conditions), which will be further investigated in coming months. It was surprising to find large MODIS residuals for several bands when the mirror angle to the earth scene closely matched that of when MODIS views its onboard blackbody.
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