Validation of S-NPP VIIRS Day-Night band and M bands performance using ground reference targets of Libya 4 and Dome C

This paper provides methodologies developed and implemented by the NASA VIIRS Calibration Support Team (VCST) to validate the S-NPP VIIRS Day-Night band (DNB) and M bands calibration performance. The Sensor Data Records produced by the Interface Data Processing Segment (IDPS) and NASA Land Product Evaluation and Algorithm Testing Element (PEATE) are acquired nearly nadir overpass for Libya 4 desert and Dome C snow surfaces. In the past 3.5 years, the modulated relative spectral responses (RSR) change with time and lead to 3.8% increase on the DNB sensed solar irradiance and 0.1% or less increases on the M4-M7 bands. After excluding data before April 5th, 2013, IDPS DNB radiance and reflectance data are consistent with Land PEATE data with 0.6% or less difference for Libya 4 site and 2% or less difference for Dome C site. These difference are caused by inconsistent LUTs and algorithms used in calibration. In Libya 4 site, the SCIAMACHY spectral and modulated RSR derived top of atmosphere (TOA) reflectance are compared with Land PEATE TOA reflectance and they indicate a decrease of 1.2% and 1.3%, respectively. The radiance of Land PEATE DNB are compared with the simulated radiance from aggregated M bands (M4, M5, and M7). These data trends match well with 2% or less difference for Libya 4 site and 4% or less difference for Dome C. This study demonstrate the consistent quality of DNB and M bands calibration for Land PEATE products during operational period and for IDPS products after April 5^th, 2013.