NPOESS Preparatory Project Validation Program for the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite

The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Program, in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), will launch the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP), a risk reduction and data continuity mission, prior to the first operational NPOESS launch. The NPOESS Program, in partnership with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems (NGAS), will execute the NPP Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) program to ensure the data products comply with the requirements of the sponsoring agencies. The Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) consists of two telescopes feeding three detectors measuring solar radiance scattered by the Earth's atmosphere and solar irradiance by using diffusers. The measurements are used to generate estimates of total column ozone and vertical ozone profiles. The validation efforts will make use of external resources in the form of ground-based and satellite measurements for comparisons, and internal consistency methods developed for backscattered ultraviolet measurements over the last thirty years. This presentation will provide an overview of the comparative data, analysis techniques, and collaborative teamwork for the validation of the NPP OMPS environmental data products.