CrIS Sensor Cal-Val Readiness for NPP Satellite Mission

The Cross-Track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) was delivered to the National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft in June, 2010, and is undergoing test and integration as the first payload proof-in-concept supporting the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). The JPSS series of spacecraft will provide the PM polar orbit supporting environmental remote sensing for the NOAA/NASA climate research and operational weather programs. The CrIS radiometrically and spectrally calibrated radiance products are used in conjunction with the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) remapped calibrated radiances to provide retrieved profiles of atmospheric temperature and moisture under clear and cloudy conditions. The sounding community that includes government, academia and industry experts is preparing for on-orbit validation of the CrIS radiance (SDR) and environmental (EDR) data products, and assimilation of those products into the numerical weather prediction centers. The verification of the sensor pre-launch calibration and the ability to tune the SDR and EDR algorithms to achieve optimal performance are key components of the validation process. This presentation describes cal-val tools, products and tuning methods for updating the instrument calibration parameters and SDR and EDR algorithms in support of CrIS cal-val readiness. Instrument thermal vacuum test data, synthetic CrIS data with NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) and EUMETSAT's MetOp proxy CrIS data demonstrate sensor trending, match-up and analysis products derived from the native instrument format (RDR-CCSDS) as well as the NPP mission formats (SDR/EDR-HDF5).