Overview of NPP CrIS Post-launch Calibration and Sensor Data Record Product

The Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) is a Fourier transform Michelson interferometer instrument on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Satellite (NPP), the first in a series of next generation weather satellites in the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). The NPP CrIS instrument measures the interferograms of the scene radiance in the three Infrared bands: the Long Wave (LW) band from 650 to 1095 cm-1, Middle Wave band from 1210 to 1750 cm-1 and Short Wave band from 2155 to 2550 cm-1. The raw interferograms are transformed into calibrated radiance spectra by the CrIS Sensor Data Record (SDR) software with the resolutions of 0.625 (LW), 1.25 (MW) and 2.5 cm-1 (SW), respectively. NPP was launched on October 28, 2011. Since the power up of the CrIS instrument on January 18, 2012, the CrIS SDR team has been performing in-orbit instrument and SDR calibration and validation (CalVal). The CalVal projects include instrument checkout and tuning, SDR algorithm and software validation, radiometric and spectral calibration parameter validation and tuning, and geolocation calibration. The CrIS SDR product is provided to the public at three stages of maturity level: the Beta, Provisional and Validated. The product was declared to have reached Beta maturity level on May 15th, 2012, and was planned to be declared Provisional in October 2012. In this presentation, we will provide an overview of NPP CrIS post-launch calibration and validation results and the SDR product.