Suomi NPP VIIRS Striping Analysis using Radiative Transfer Model Calculations

Abstract:

Modern satellite radiometers such as VIIRS have many detectors with slightly different relative spectral response (RSR). These differences can introduce artifacts such as striping in the imagery. In recent studies we have analyzed the striping pattern related to the detector level RSR difference in VIIRS Thermal Emissive Bands (TEB) M15 and M16, which includes line-by-line radiative transfer model (LBLRTM) detector level response study and onboard detector stability evaluation using the solar diffuser. Now we extend these analysis to the Reflective Solar Bands (RSB) using MODTRAN atmospheric radiative transfer model (RTM) for detector level radiance simulation. Previous studies analyzed the striping pattern in the images of VIIRS ocean color and reflectance in RSB, further studies about the root cause for striping are still needed. In this study, we will use the MODTRAN model at spectral resolution of 1 cm^-1 under different atmospheric conditions for VIIRS RSB, for example band M1 centered at 410nm which is used for Ocean Color product retrieval. The impact of detector level RSR difference, atmospheric dependency, and solar geometry on the striping in VIIRS SDR imagery will be investigated. The cumulative histogram method used successfully for the TEB striping analysis will be used to quantify the striping. These analysis help S-NPP and J1 to better understand the root cause for VIIRS image artifacts and reduce the uncertainties in geophysical retrievals to meet the user needs.