Degradation Correction of TSIS SIM

Abstract

An understanding of solar variability over a broad spectral range and broad range of timescales is needed by scientists studying Earth’s climate. The Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS) Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM), is designed to measure solar spectral irradiance (SSI) with unprecedented accuracy from 200 nm to 2400 nm. SIM started daily observations in March 2018. To maintain its accuracy over the course of its anticipated 5-year mission and beyond, TSIS SIM needs to be corrected for optical degradation, common for solar viewing instruments. The differing long-term trends of various independent solar-irradiance records attest to the challenge at hand. The correction of TSIS SIM for optical degradation is based on piecewise linear fits that bring the three instrument channels into agreement. It is fundamentally different to the correction applied to the TSIS SIM predecessor on SORCE. The correction facilitates reproducibility, uncertainty estimation and is measurement-based. Corrected, integrated TSIS SIM SSI agrees with independent observations of total solar irradiance to within 45 ppm as well as various solar-irradiance models. TSIS SIM SSI is available at: http://lasp.colorado.edu/lisird/ .