SNPP VIIRS Reflective Solar Bands On-Orbit Calibration Using the Moon

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on board the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite has been on orbit for more than eight years since its launch on October 28, 2011. The VIIRS has 22 spectral bands, among which 14 are reflective solar bands (RSBs) covering a spectral range from 0.41 to 2.25 mu m. The VIIRS RSBs are primarily calibrated on-orbit by an on board solar diffuser (SD) panel and an SD stability monitor (SDSM). Besides the SD and SDSM calibration, the RSBs are scheduled to view the Moon approximately monthly through the instrument's space view (SV). The lunar observations have also been used to calibrate the RSBs on-orbit since early mission. Due to the nonuniformity of the SD degradation, the calibration coefficients that are derived from the SD/SDSM calibration have long-term biases, especially at short wavelengths. In addition, the SDSM has no capability to monitor the SD degradation beyond 0.935 mu m, resulting in long-term bias in the short-wave infrared bands, about 0.72% for band M8 (1.238 mu m). These biases induce significant errors and long-term drifts in the VIIRS sensor data records (SDRs) and consequently in the environmental data records (EDRs). Unlike the SD, the Moon is a known stable target and any temporal drifts observed while viewing the Moon can be attributed to the sensor's degradation. Thus, the VIIRS lunar calibration is used to track the RSB on-orbit changes, especially to provide an accurate long-term baseline. Due to the nonuniformity of the lunar surface, the lunar irradiance, instead of the lunar radiance, is used to calibrate the RSBs. The lunar irradiance strongly depends on lunar view geometry and it is still a challenge to accurately characterize the geometric effects associated with the lunar measurements and any residual errors can induce seasonal oscillations in the derived calibration coefficients. The errors of the geometric dependence correction induce seasonal oscillations in the derived RSB lunar calibration coefficients. In this article, the algorithms for the view geometric effect correction are significantly improved, resulting in a significant reduction in the seasonal oscillations observed in the calibration coefficient time series. The lunar and SD/SDSM calibration results are properly incorporated to generate a set of hybrid calibration coefficients and implementation of these coefficients is shown to significantly improve the long-term stability of the VIIRS SDR. This is of fundamental importance in making accurate Earth observations from which reliable and high-quality science products are generated. The consequent improvements in Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) VIIRS RSB SDRs and EDRs are shown and discussed. The lunar calibration methodology can be directly applied to follow-on VIIRS instruments.