Characterization of Suomi-NPP VIIRS reflective solar bands dual
gain anomaly

Shihyan Lee; Jeff McIntire; Hassan Oudrari

doi:10.1117/12.930468

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15 October 2012 Characterization of Suomi-NPP VIIRS reflective solar bands dual gain anomaly

Shihyan Lee, Jeff McIntire, Hassan Oudrari

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Proceedings Volume 8510, Earth Observing Systems XVII; 851017 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.930468
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2012, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) contains six dual gain bands in the reflective solar spectrum. The dual gain bands are designed to switch gain mode at pre-defined thresholds to achieve high resolution at low radiances while maintaining the required dynamic range for science. During pre-launch testing, an anomaly in the electronic response before transitioning from high to low gain was discovered and was characterized. This anomaly has been confirmed using MODIS data collected during Simultaneous Nadir Overpasses (SNOs). The analysis of the Earth scene data shows that this dual gain anomaly can be characterized using sensor earth-view observations. To help understand this dual gain artifact, the anomaly region and electronic offsets were tracked during the first 8 months of VIIRS operation. The temporal analysis shows the anomaly region can drift ~20 DN and is impacted by a detector’s DC Restore. The estimated anomaly flagging regions cover ~2.5 % of the high gain dynamic range and are consistent with prelaunch analysis and the on-orbit flagging LookUp Table. The prelaunch results had a smaller anomaly range, likely due to more stable electronics over a shorter data collection time. Finally, this study suggests future calibration efforts to focus on the anomaly’s impact on science products and a possible correction method to reduce uncertainties.

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Shihyan Lee, Jeff McIntire, and Hassan Oudrari "Characterization of Suomi-NPP VIIRS reflective solar bands dual gain anomaly", Proc. SPIE 8510, Earth Observing Systems XVII, 851017 (15 October 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.930468

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