Airborne hyperspectral radiometers provide the opportunity to obtain calibrated remote sensing data for simulation of the exact spatial and spectral resolutions of current and future satellite systems. This paper describes the use of the NASA advanced visible and infrared imaging spectrometer (AVIRIS) instrument, flown on an ER-2 jet in the lower stratosphere, to simulate shortwave radiances from the future AVHRR-K sensors on the NOAA polar-orbiting satellites. The high spatial resolution (20 m) and discrete 10 nm spectral channels of AVIRIS allow the spectral signatures of individual pixel types to be intercompared. Observations of multiple cloud types have been obtained using the AVIRIS instrument and were used in deriving estimates of cloud optical depth and particle size using visible and near-infrared spectral reflectances. These retrievals were then compared with similar retrievals from simulated AVHRR-K radiances, using spectral weighting and spatial averaging. Coincident cloud physical measurements provided verification of the cloud parameters. The analysis results are used to evaluate the impact of AVHRR pixel resolution and bandwidth on cloud retrievals.

Date Published: 21 December 1994
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 2318, Recent Advances in Remote Sensing and Hyperspectral Remote Sensing, (21 December 1994); doi: 10.1117/12.197233

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2318:
Recent Advances in Remote Sensing and Hyperspectral Remote Sensing
Pat S. Chavez Jr.; Carlo M. Marino; Robert A. Schowengerdt, Editor(s)