Updates of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on-orbit calibration uncertainty assessments

Xiong, Xiaoxiong; Angal, Amit; Barnes, William; Chen, Hongda; Chiang, Vincent; Geng, Xu; Li, Yonghong; Twedt, Kevin A.; Wang, Zhipeng; Wilson, Truman; Wu, Aisheng

doi:10.1117/1.jrs.12.034001

Cited by 42 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…It has operated successfully on-board for the last 19 years. For Terra MODIS TOA reflectance products, a calibration uncertainty of approximately ±2% has been estimated [3,25]. The MODIS instrument acquires data at three spatial resolutions-250 m, 500 m and 1 km, which are coarser than the other sensors used in the study.…”

Section: Satellite Sensor Overview: Landsat-8 Oli Landsat-7 Etm+ Sementioning

confidence: 99%

New Approach for Temporal Stability Evaluation of Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Sites (PICS)

et al. 2019

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Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Sites (PICS) are one of the most popular methods for in-flight vicarious radiometric calibration of Earth remote sensing satellites. The fundamental question of PICS temporal stability has not been adequately addressed. However, the main purpose of this work is to evaluate the temporal stability of a few PICS using a new approach. The analysis was performed over six PICS (Libya 1, Libya 4, Niger 1, Niger 2, Egypt 1 and Sudan 1). The concept of a “Virtual Constellation” was developed to provide greater temporal coverage and also to overcome the dependence limitation of any specific characteristic derived from one particular sensor. TOA reflectance data from four sensors consistently demonstrating “stable” calibration to within 5%—the Landsat 7 ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus), Landsat 8 OLI (Operational Land Imager), Terra MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and Sentinel-2A MSI (Multispectral Instrument)–were merged into a seamless dataset. Instead of using the traditional method of trend analysis (Student’s T test), a nonparametric Seasonal Mann-Kendall test was used for determining the PICS stability. The analysis results indicate that Libya 4 and Egypt 1 do not exhibit any monotonic trend in six reflective solar bands common to all of the studied sensors, indicating temporal stability. A decreasing monotonic trend was statistically detected in all bands, except SWIR 2, for Sudan 1 and the Green and Red bands for Niger 1. An increasing trend was detected in the Blue band for Niger 2 and the NIR band for Libya 1. These results do not suggest abandoning PICS as a viable calibration source. Rather, they indicate that PICS temporal stability cannot be assumed and should be regularly monitored as part of the sensor calibration process.

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Section: Satellite Sensor Overview: Landsat-8 Oli Landsat-7 Etm+ Sementioning

confidence: 99%

New Approach for Temporal Stability Evaluation of Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Sites (PICS)

et al. 2019

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“…The calibration performance across all wavelengths is also monitored routinely using vicarious measurements of pseudo invariant ground targets as well as cross-calibration with other instruments. The MODIS and VIIRS on-orbit calibration uncertainties have also been assessed and details of these analyses can be found in a number of references [53][54][55].…”

Section: On-orbit Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

MODIS and VIIRS Calibration and Characterization in Support of Producing Long-Term High-Quality Data Products

et al. 2020

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Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) have successfully operated since their launches in 1999 and 2002, respectively, and generated various data products to support the Earth remote sensing disciplines and users worldwide for their research activities and applications, including studies of the Earth system, and its changes over time and geographic regions. The MODIS data have also significantly contributed to the continuity of multi-decadal satellite data records and led to major advances in the Earth remote sensing field. The long-term data records from MODIS observations have been and will continue to be extended by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instruments, currently operated aboard the Suomi-National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (NPP) and NOAA-20 satellites. The data quality of satellite instruments strongly depends on their calibration accuracy and stability. In order to help scientists and users gain a better understanding of MODIS and VIIRS data quality, this paper provides an overview of their on-orbit calibration methodologies, approaches, and results derived from instrument on-board calibrators and lunar observations, as well as select Earth view targets. What is also discussed is the calibration consistency between MODIS and VIIRS and its potential impact on producing multi-sensor long-term data records. As illustrated, the overall performance of both MODIS and VIIRS continues to meet their design requirements.

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“…For RSB, it includes the uncertainties of SD BRDF and on-orbit degradation, detector gain (calibration coefficients), RVS, and SNR (at the pixel signal level). For the TEB, key contributors include uncertainties of the BB emissivity and temperature, detector gains and NEdT, and RVS [59]. Figure 16 shows the on-orbit calibration uncertainties in reflectance (k = 1) for Aqua MODIS RSB at nadir AOI and typical radiance levels.…”

Section: Challenges and Future Improvementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

MODIS and VIIRS Calibration History and Future Outlook

Xiong

Butler

2020

Remote Sensing

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The MODIS is a key instrument for NASA’s EOS program, currently operated onboard the Terra and Aqua spacecraft launched in 1999 and 2002, respectively. The VIIRS is a MODIS follow-on instrument for the JPSS program. Adding to the ones operated onboard the S-NPP and NOAA-20 satellites launched in 2011 and 2017, respectively, three nearly identical VIIRS instruments will also be launched. This will enable the data records from MODIS and VIIRS to be extended beyond 2040. In addition to various applications and scientific studies of the Earth’s system, long-term data records from MODIS and VIIRS observations will greatly benefit the space-based climate observing system. This is attributed to the high-quality measurements and extensive calibration efforts, from pre-launch to post-launch. This paper provides an overview of MODIS and VIIRS calibration history and approaches applied to establish and maintain sensor calibration traceability and accuracy. It illustrates calibration and performance issues through different phases of the mission using examples derived from ground testing equipment, on-board calibrators, and other calibration targets. Moreover, discussed in this paper are outstanding challenges and future efforts to maintain and improve sensor calibration stability and long-term data quality, and to better support the space-based climate observing system.

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Updates of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on-orbit calibration uncertainty assessments

Cited by 42 publications

References 28 publications

New Approach for Temporal Stability Evaluation of Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Sites (PICS)

New Approach for Temporal Stability Evaluation of Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Sites (PICS)

MODIS and VIIRS Calibration and Characterization in Support of Producing Long-Term High-Quality Data Products

MODIS and VIIRS Calibration History and Future Outlook

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