Monday, 7 January 2019
Hall 4 (Phoenix Convention Center - West and North Buildings)
The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) is NOAA’s next generation of polar-orbiting environmental satellites launched in November 2017. Soon after the launch of JPSS, the onboard Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) has been successfully in operation which measures atmospheric temperature and humidity. Assessing the sensor performance is of the key priority in the early stage. Since JPSS ATMS is a successor of Suomi NPP ATMS with almost the identical hardware and configuration, it is vital to compare the two sensors for calibration and validation.
The JPSS ATMS has been compared with Suomi NPP ATMS by collocation, direct measurement comparison, RTM simulation, and inter-calibration. A special and useful dataset emerged soon after JPSS implemented orbit maneuver and became very close to Suomi NPP, when they have almost the identical orbit and swath with time difference within a few minutes. The dataset allows for the direct comparison of measured ATMS brightness temperature (TB) without using any RTM simulation. The two sensors exhibit consistent TBs. The cross-track TB difference is very flat, indicating the same scan dependent characteristics of the sensors. The inter-sensor difference has no dependence on TB, showing the consistent sensor behavior regardless of the scene variability. After continuous orbit maneuver, JPSS gradually departed from Suomi NPP and eventually shifted by half an orbit. We then implement the standard inter-calibration procedures through collocating the sensor footprints, performing RTM simulation, and calculating the inter-sensor biases. The results agree well the direct TB comparison of the special dataset in terms of the average TB difference, cross-track characteristics, and inter-sensor biases dependence on TB.
In summary, JPSS ATMS exhibits satisfactory performance and meets mission requirements. Its measurements are consistent with that of Suomi NPP ATMS. Future investigation includes examining temporal stability and further reducing the measurement differences.
The JPSS ATMS has been compared with Suomi NPP ATMS by collocation, direct measurement comparison, RTM simulation, and inter-calibration. A special and useful dataset emerged soon after JPSS implemented orbit maneuver and became very close to Suomi NPP, when they have almost the identical orbit and swath with time difference within a few minutes. The dataset allows for the direct comparison of measured ATMS brightness temperature (TB) without using any RTM simulation. The two sensors exhibit consistent TBs. The cross-track TB difference is very flat, indicating the same scan dependent characteristics of the sensors. The inter-sensor difference has no dependence on TB, showing the consistent sensor behavior regardless of the scene variability. After continuous orbit maneuver, JPSS gradually departed from Suomi NPP and eventually shifted by half an orbit. We then implement the standard inter-calibration procedures through collocating the sensor footprints, performing RTM simulation, and calculating the inter-sensor biases. The results agree well the direct TB comparison of the special dataset in terms of the average TB difference, cross-track characteristics, and inter-sensor biases dependence on TB.
In summary, JPSS ATMS exhibits satisfactory performance and meets mission requirements. Its measurements are consistent with that of Suomi NPP ATMS. Future investigation includes examining temporal stability and further reducing the measurement differences.
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