With the launch of NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite in October 2011, a new generation of polar-orbiting weather satellites will have begun. The Visible and Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) will be the main imaging instrument with 5 Imager-resolution (375 m) bands, 16 medium-resolution (750 m) bands, and a Day-Night Band (DNB). NPP is the first of the operational Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) satellites, with JPSS-1 to be launched in the 2016 time frame. VIIRS Imagery is an Environmental Data Record (EDRs) derived by remapping the VIIRS Sensor Data Records (SDRs) to a Ground Track Mercator (GTM) grid. These data will be checked out by the JPSS Imagery and Visualization Team led by STAR, which will work in cooperation with the already-established calibration and validation team that was formed under the former Integrated Polar Office (IPO).

By the time of this conference, the first VIIRS images will have been captured and analyzed, and an initial analysis of these data will have been performed. The analysis of basic image characteristics such as noise levels and detector-to-detector striping will have been started, along with the assessment of many other imager characteristics related to calibration and navigation. The analyses will in many respects be similar to those that have been performed on each new Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) during many GOES Science Tests to date.

Certain image products will also be generated from the VIIRS data, as those products can give insight into the quality of VIIRS imagery. Often these products reveal the real quality of satellite imagery, when it is applied to the analysis of surface and cloud features. And, when image differences are performed and the signal-to-noise ratio is reduced as a result, the real quality of VIIRS will be manifest.

Initial results from the JPSS imagery and Visualization Team will be presented, but the analyses will continue for many months and years as VIIRS continues to send down continuous and worldwide data. Plans are for the Imagery Team to provide feedback on the quality of imagery data throughout the lifetime of NPP and VIIRS, leading up to and including operational JPSS data.

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and findings contained in this article are those of the authors and should not be construed as an official National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) or U.S. Government position, policy, or decision.