Four years of Aqua MODIS on-orbit radiometric calibration

摘要

MODIS is currently onboard NASA's EOS Terra and Aqua spacecraft launched in December 1999 and May 2002, respectively. Together, Terra and Aqua MODIS have generated over 10 years of global observations for the study of changes in the Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. Each sensor produces more than 40 science data products using measurements from 36 spectral bands with wavelengths ranging from 0.41 to 14.4μm. MODIS on-orbit radiometric calibration is performed using a solar diffuser (SD) and a solar diffuser stability monitor (SDSM) for the reflective solar bands (RSB) and a blackbody (BB) for the thermal emissive bands (TEB). In addition, regularly scheduled lunar observations are used to track RSB radiometric calibration stability. This paper discusses Aqua MODIS radiometric calibration performance using four-years of on-orbit calibration data. Results include detector noise characterization (SNR for the RSB and NEdT for the TEB), short- and long-term radiometric stability, and optics (scan mirror and solar diffuser) degradation.