Ten Years of VIIRS EDR Imagery Validation and User Interactions

Abstract

Over ten years of Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Environmental Data Records (EDR) Imagery Team activities have included primarily imagery validation, but also product generation and display and user interactions. VIIRS imagery validation starts with pre-launch preparations leading up to producing first-light imagery shortly after the launch of each Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) satellite. Imagery quality is scrutinized for typical imagery visualization problems, as well as the overall ability to utilize VIIRS imagery for analysis and forecasting purposes. Then, long-term monitoring of imagery continues through the lifetime of each VIIRS instrument. The VIIRS EDR Imagery Team has undertaken four major ground system code changes. The first of these code changes was needed in 2013 when Near Constant Contrast (NCC) Imagery at night was not routinely being generated from the Day-Night Band (DNB) due to incorrect sensitivity limits. The second applied Terrain Correction to the VIIRS EDR Imagery in 2020. The third, in 2021, was needed to fix an imagery banding anomaly in the NCC, which was masked for years by the natural variability of most NCC Imagery. The fourth was the increase from 6 M-band EDRs to all 16 M-band EDRs in 2021, allowing for the display of true-color and other multi-band imagery products from VIIRS Imagery EDRs. Here, we summarize the efforts of the VIIRS EDR Imagery Team which have resulted in a valuable suite of quality-controlled imagery products for the user community.