Scientists around the world were able to gather a substantial amount of data during a period of deadly floods in India in late 2015. Through the use of satellites and their onboard radiometers, the space agency collected vast amounts of information regarding the storms that caused the flooding.

Did you realize that the sea surface temperature affects the Earth’s atmosphere? Not only can ocean temperatures contribute to the study of global warming, but they also can influence the formation of major storm events. Interestingly, a lot of what we know about how our oceans change comes from information gathered by satellites in our planet’s orbit. These satellites collect data on the amount of light the oceans emit and reflect to keep track of surface temperatures through ocean-color radiometry. And as you likely would expect, propercalibration services, including the detection equipment, is crucial.

The enormous amount of data involved is delivered from multiple satellite sensors over decades of time to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Optical Buoy (MOBY), an automated radiometric system bobbing in the waters of the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii.

Of course, the instruments and data-collection system on MOBY itself has to be thoroughly characterized and calibrated, a complicated job for many reasons. Radiometric cross checks help provide robust traceability to the International System of Units (SI). What’s more, a three-month-long rotation of duplicate systems makes it possible to perform scheduled maintenance and repairs on MOBY.

While MOBY has long exceeded its expected lifespan, it continues to provide critical data and is expected to keep doing so for the foreseeable future. The fact that it still can provide accurate data is due to the rigorous calibration efforts employed by the buoy’s caretakers.

Calibration is of vital importance when dealing with your sensitive data. Therefore, it makes sense to ensure your technology is properly calibrated. With more than four decades of experience in photonics system design and manufacturing, Gooch & Housego has a global reputation as the expert in spectroradiometry for both instrumentation and calibration services, measurements from 200 nm to 30 µm in particular. They offer full product engineering, design, and manufacturing quick-turn capabilities, with specialized expertise in opto-mechanics and photonics systems. Gooch & Housego’s staff of expert engineers have many years of experience with demanding commercial product delivery, as well as custom-designed and OEM solutions. Call 光傲科技 today at 400-921-9858 to talk about your needs for calibration services.

NASA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are using multi-spectral imaging from orbiting satellites to provide detailed observations of the Earth, such as how our planet reacts to otherwise imperceptible changes in the Sun’s output. The data derived can help scientists create better climate models, which, in turn, can help us better manage our planetary resources.

The Earth’s Radiation Budget

DSCOVR (the Deep Space Climate Observer), launched in 2015 in a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA and the U.S. Air Force, features the NIST Advanced Radiometer. The NISTAR systematically measures whether the Earth keeps more radiation that it sends back into space.

Calibrating an EPIC Camera for Accuracy

NISTAR is certainly impressive, tracking the total amount of energy the sunlit side of Earth reflects and emits between the wavelengths of 0.2 and 100 micrometers, which goes from visible light to a significant portion of the infrared and ultraviolet bands. The NISTAR readings were used to help calibrate the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), and now NISTAR has topped the mission-mandated 1.5 percent absolute accuracy level.

Next up for NIST

Next up for NIST is the task of calibrating the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor on a polar-orbiting weather satellite. Scientists hope that NIST will be successful in making it possible to measure three overlapping wavelength bands in order to distinguish the Earth’s radiant power from reflected solar energy. Once this is accomplished, climatologists will have much better data to study and from which to draw climate-impact conclusions. The first launch in the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), weather satellite series is slated for November 2016.

Spectral Imaging Innovations

The use of spectral imaging to improve image analysis, and specifically to allow discrimination between visually identical objects, is steadily growing. Gooch & Housego is proud to contribute to valuable research being done through multi-spectral and hyperspectral imaging, and can partner with you in your spectral imaging endeavors.