Comparison of ultraviolet bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) measurements of diffusers used in the calibration of the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS)

Abstract

The measurement and long-term monitoring of global total ozone by ultraviolet albedo measuring satellite instruments require accurate and precise determination of the Bi-directional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) of laboratory-based diffusers used in the pre-launch calibration of those instruments. To assess the ability of laboratories to provide accurate UltraViolet (UV) diffuse BRDF measurements, a BRDF measurement comparison was initiated by the NASA Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) Project. From December 1998 to September 1999, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), TPD TNO (formerly the TNO Institute of Applied Physics), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) made BRDF measurements on four Spectralon diffusers used in the pre-launch calibration of three TOMS instruments. The diffusers were measured at the six TOMS wavelengths and at the incident and scatter angles used in the TOMS pre-launch calibration. The participation of GSFC, TPD TNO, and NIST in the comparison establishes a link between the diffuser calibrations of the on-orbit TOMS instruments, the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), and a national standards laboratory. The results of the comparison show that all of the BRDF measurements on the four diffusers agreed within +0.85 % to -1.10 % of the average BRDF and were well within the combined measurement uncertainties of the participating laboratories.