Paper
19 August 1993 Comparison of colocated SSM/T-2 and MIR measurements: results from the calibration study
John D. Pickle, Ronald G. Isaacs, Michael K. Griffin, Vincent J. Falcone, James F. Morrissey, Ramesh K. Kakar, James R. Wang
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
A study was undertaken to determine the accuracy of DMSP SSM/T-2 water vapor sounder brightness temperature measurements by independent comparison with co-located aircraft measurements. Five underflights of the SSM/T-2 were made by NASA ER-2 research aircraft which carried the MIR, an instrument with similar channels and scan characteristics to the SSM/T-2 and a stated accuracy of 1 K. The flights occurred on both coasts of the U.S. with both water and land surfaces targeted for measurements. Comparisons of the SSM/T-2 and MIR 183 GHz measurements over water fields of view (FOVs), which provide the most accurate estimate of the true instrument bias, display RMS differences of 0.9 to 1.6 K, roughly within the accuracy limits of the calibrating MIR instrument. Larger differences occur for regions where surface emissivity variations are significant (up to 11 K for coast and land FOVs). The overall conclusion is that the SSM/T-2 suffers no significant bias in its calibration.
© (1993) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
John D. Pickle, Ronald G. Isaacs, Michael K. Griffin, Vincent J. Falcone, James F. Morrissey, Ramesh K. Kakar, and James R. Wang "Comparison of colocated SSM/T-2 and MIR measurements: results from the calibration study", Proc. SPIE 1935, Microwave Instrumentation for Remote Sensing of the Earth, (19 August 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.152592
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KEYWORDS
Calibration

Terbium

Radiative transfer

Sensors

Temperature metrology

Clouds

Satellites

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