The flight sensors for the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) are now undergoing their final pre-launch characterization and calibration. The NPOESS Integrated Program Office (IPO) Data Products Division (NDPD) has generated the performance assessments for the Cloud Environmental Data Records (EDRs) of the Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). The VIIRS Cloud EDRs include the Cloud Optical Thickness (COT), Cloud Effective Particle Size Parameter (CEPS), Cloud Top Pressure (CTP), Cloud Top Height (CTH), Cloud Top Temperature (CTT), Cloud Cover/Layers (CCL), and Cloud Base Height (CBH). The EDR Assessments were developed by the NDPD in consultation with subject matter experts from government labs and universities to collect and track algorithm development status and expected performance against contractual specifications and applicability to user missions.

This poster summarizes the cloud assessments and provides an overview of the NPP cloud data products. For each algorithm, the current best estimate, performance drivers, watch items, and mitigation strategies are presented. The NPP EDR Assessments are used to capture and communicate algorithm issues and expected performance to the Program stakeholders and will be updated as sensor testing and algorithm development progress. We predict that the VIIRS cloud products will approach equivalent quality as is currently obtained with the MODIS cloud products since the spectral, spatial, and radiometric characteristics of the VIIRS and MODIS are similar. Some of the variations arise from the different Radiative Transfer Models (RTMs) used for the two algorithmic approaches.