Application of SSULI ground calibration methods to retrieval of spectral emissions on flight instruments

P. W. Walker; S. A. Budzien; S. E. Thonnard; A. C. Nicholas; K. F. Dymond

doi:10.1117/12.734135

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5 October 2007 Application of SSULI ground calibration methods to retrieval of spectral emissions on flight instruments

P. W. Walker, S. A. Budzien, S. E. Thonnard, A. C. Nicholas, K. F. Dymond

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Proceedings Volume 6677, Earth Observing Systems XII; 667702 (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.734135
Event: Optical Engineering + Applications, 2007, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The SSULI (Special Sensor Ultraviolet Limb Imager) is a low-resolution hyperspectral far- and extreme-ultraviolet limb-scanning imager designed to monitor ionospheric and thermospheric airglow. SSULI has a spectral range from 80 to 170 nm, and a nominal resolution of 2.1 nm (at 147 nm). The instrument is scheduled to fly aboard all DMSP Block 5D3 weather satellites. The first SSULI instrument was launched in fall 2003, aboard DMSP F16, and has been collecting data since December 2003. The second SSULI flight aboard DMSP F17 began in fall 2006. On the ground, the SSULI instruments are calibrated using a monochromator to isolate single emission features of interest produced by a gas discharge lamp, whereas the flight spectra consists of numerous overlapping emissions. The determination of individual emission feature contribution against the entire airglow spectrum is determined using the multiple linear regression technique with basis functions defining each observable emission. The accuracy of the emission extraction depends primarily on the ability to model the characteristics of the instrument line-shape, encompassing both optical and electronic effects. In the course of developing the ground calibration algorithms, we are now able to produce line-shapes much more faithful to the observed calibration features, as well as model instrument characteristics such as scattered light and detector background components. This improved instrument characterization can then be passed to the operational orbital emission extraction software to increase the fidelity of retrieved altitude profiles for observed ultraviolet emissions. In addition, the techniques used with the ground calibration can monitor deviations in line-shape and instrument sensitivity as a function of observed count rate, and these modified line-shapes can also be passed to the ground analysis software. Validation of this method using SSULI 003 and 004 ground calibration data will be presented.

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P. W. Walker, S. A. Budzien, S. E. Thonnard, A. C. Nicholas, and K. F. Dymond "Application of SSULI ground calibration methods to retrieval of spectral emissions on flight instruments", Proc. SPIE 6677, Earth Observing Systems XII, 667702 (5 October 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.734135

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