Calibration of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer

Abstract

This thesis describes the first calibration of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on the NOAA-11 satellite. Two methods were used to perform the calibration. Both methods relied on calibrated data from a high resolution sensor that passed over the target site at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, on November 21, 1988. The first approach required ground reflectance and atmospheric optical depth data taken during overpass time. The second method relied on historical ground reflectance data and utilized standard atmospheric models. The calibration gains varied widely depending on which set of calibration offsets were used, but the agreement between the gains computed by the two methods was very close: approximately 1% in channel 1 and 2% in channel 2. This close agreement indicates that Method 2, which does not require the complexity and expense of field work, could be a viable option for future calibration efforts.