Calibration Of Long Term Data Sets From Operational Satellites Using The Space Shuttle

Ernest Hilsenrath; Donald Williams; John Frederick

doi:10.1117/12.945689

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12 October 1988 Calibration Of Long Term Data Sets From Operational Satellites Using The Space Shuttle

Ernest Hilsenrath, Donald Williams, John Frederick

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Proceedings Volume 0924, Recent Advances in Sensors, Radiometry, and Data Processing for Remote Sensing; (1988) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.945689
Event: 1988 Technical Symposium on Optics, Electro-Optics, and Sensors, 1988, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

Drifts in satellite observations hinder the detection of trends in climate parameters measured from space. This problem has become particularly acute in the search for trends in atmospheric ozone. Satellite instrument performance can not be uniquely characterized from ground based observations since these and observations from space are not directly comparable. The Space Shuttle will however, provide an opportunity to assess satellite instrument performance by direct comparison of measurables. An instrument nearly identical to the SBUV/2 ozone sounder flying on the NOAA operational satellites will be flown periodically on the Space Shuttle. The engineering model to the SBUV/2 series of Instruments has been modified for Shuttle compatibility and employs dedicated power, data, and command systems. An in-flight radiometric calibration system, solar and nadir aspect sensors, and a transmission diffuser have been added making the Shuttle SBUV (SSBUV) a stand alone experiment for solar irradiance and albedo observations in the ultraviolet. A model has been developed which demonstrates that with regular SSBUV observations, the long term ozone record from the NOAA satellite series can be stabilized with sufficient precision to detect the predicted ozone trend. The model takes into account instrument precision, laboratory calibration repeatability over the long term, flight frequency, atmospheric variability, and the monitoring period.

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Ernest Hilsenrath, Donald Williams, and John Frederick "Calibration Of Long Term Data Sets From Operational Satellites Using The Space Shuttle", Proc. SPIE 0924, Recent Advances in Sensors, Radiometry, and Data Processing for Remote Sensing, (12 October 1988); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.945689

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