An Evaluation of the Nonlinearity Correction Applied to Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) Data Collected by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program

Abstract

Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT) detectors provide excellent sensitivity to infrared radiation and are used in passive infrared remote sensors such as the Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI). However, MCT detectors have a nonlinear response and thus this nonlinearity must be characterized and corrected to provide accurate infrared radiance observations. This paper discusses the significance of the nonlinearity correction applied to AERI data and its impacts on the parameters retrieved from the AERI spectra. It also evaluates the accuracy of the scheme used to determine the nonlinearity of the MCT detectors used in the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program’s AERIs.