Application of new techniques in the calibration of the TROPOMI-SWIR instrument (Conference Presentation)

Abstract

The Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on-board the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite is an Earth-observing spectrometer with bands in the ultraviolet, visible, near infrared and short-wave infrared (SWIR). It provides daily global coverage of atmospheric trace gases relevant for tropospheric air quality and climate research. Three new techniques will be presented that are unique for the TROPOMI-SWIR spectrometer. The retrieval of methane and CO columns from the data of the SWIR band requires for each detector pixel an accurate instrument spectral response function (ISRF), i.e. the normalized signal as a function of wavelength. A new determination method for Earth-observing instruments has been used in the on-ground calibration, based on measurements with a SWIR optical parametric oscillator (OPO) that was scanned over the whole TROPOMI-SWIR spectral range. The calibration algorithm derives the ISRF without needing the absolute wavelength during the measurement. The same OPO has also been used to determine the two-dimensional stray-light distribution for each SWIR pixel with a dynamic range of 7 orders. This was achieved by combining measurements at several exposure times and taking saturation into account. The correction algorithm and data are designed to remove the mean stray-light distribution and a reflection that moves relative to the direct image, within the strict constraints of the available time for the L01b processing. A third new technique is an alternative calibration of the SWIR absolute radiance and irradiance using a black body at the temperature of melting silver. Unlike a standard FEL lamp, this source does not have to be calibrated itself, because the temperature is very stable and well known. Measurement methods, data analyses, correction algorithms and limitations of the new techniques will be presented.