Recent Progress on Cross-Comparison of Terra and Aqua MODIS Calibration Using Dome C

摘要

For the past few years, the MODIS Characterization Support Team (MCST) at NASA/GSFC has continued and extended its effort to monitor the Terra and Aqua MODIS calibration long-term stability and to examine their calibration consistency using observations made over the Dome Concordia, Antarctica. Early results from Dome C observations show that the calibration of bands 1 and 2 (0.65 and 0.86 micron) has been consistent within 1-2% and bands 31 and 32 (11 and 12 micron) differences are less than a few tenths of Kelvin, demonstrating that this site can provide a useful calibration reference for a wide range of Earth-observing sensors in the spectral region from visible (VIS) to long-wave infrared (LWIR). Recently, several locations at the Dome C area have been endorsed by the CEOS as radiometric reference sites for sensor cross-comparison. This, as a result, has led to an invitation to the broad earth-observing community to participate in a CEOS comparison of top-of-atmosphere (TOA) spectral radiance/reflectance over the Dome C sites. In this paper, we provide a brief description of the methodologies applied in our study and report recent progress on cross-comparison of Terra and Aqua MODIS spectral bands using observations over the Dome C area, including data provided in support of the upcoming CEOS sensor cross-comparison.