MODIS thermal emissive bands calibration uncertainty analysis

Kwo-Fu Chiang; Xiaoxiong Xiong; Aisheng Wu; William L. Barnes

doi:10.1117/12.558072

26 October 2004 MODIS thermal emissive bands calibration uncertainty analysis

Kwo-Fu Chiang, Xiaoxiong Xiong, Aisheng Wu, William L. Barnes

Proceedings Volume 5542, Earth Observing Systems IX; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.558072
Event: Optical Science and Technology, the SPIE 49th Annual Meeting, 2004, Denver, Colorado, United States

Abstract

A key instrument for the NASA EOS mission, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is currently operating on-board the Terra and Aqua spacecrafts. The MODIS has 16 Thermal Emissive Bands (TEB), with each having 10 detectors, covering the wavelengths from 3.7 to 14.4 mm. On-orbit each detector is calibrated by an on-board calibrator (OBC) blackbody (BB). Except for the low gain band used for fire detection, the thermal emissive bands use a quadratic algorithm in the Level 1B (L1B) code for calibration and for retrieval of top of the atmosphere (TOA) scene radiance. The specified calibration uncertainty of 1% applies to most of the TEB at their typical scene radiance levels and for scene-viewing angles inside a ±45° range (relative to instrument nadir). The requirements for two Sea Surface Temperature (SST) bands at 11 mm and 12 mm and for a low gain fire band are 0.5% and 10% respectively. The uncertainty requirements are twice as large at other non-typical radiance levels or at viewing angles outside the ±45º range. This paper reviews the MODIS TEB calibration algorithms and presents the calibration uncertainty analysis, including the methodology and results. Discussions will be focused on the key contributors to the uncertainty computation in the L1B. Results of the estimated uncertainties with the specifications at typical radiance level and at instrument nadir will be provided. A separate paper in this proceeding gives similar analysis for the MODIS Reflective Solar Bands (RSB).

Citation Download Citation

Kwo-Fu Chiang, Xiaoxiong Xiong, Aisheng Wu, and William L. Barnes "MODIS thermal emissive bands calibration uncertainty analysis", Proc. SPIE 5542, Earth Observing Systems IX, (26 October 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.558072

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