About VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer)
The VIIRS instrument on board the Joint Polar Satellite System(JPSS) provides continuity in operational Earth observations at moderate resolution following the heritage sensors. It supports studies of the physical and biological properties of land and ocean surfaces, and of cloud and aerosol properties. VIIRS is designed to provide moderate-resolution, radiometrically accurate images of the entire Earth twice daily. It is a wide-swath (3,040 km) instrument with spatial resolutions of 370 m and 740 m at nadir. Its 22 bands span the spectrum between 0.412 um and 11.5 um.
Heritage
VIIRS builds on an extremely long heritage of operational and research-grade sensors, whose origins extend back several decades, including:
- Advanced Very-high Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), on NOAA's Polar-orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES)
- Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), on NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS)
- Operational Linescan System (OLS), on DoD's Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)
Products
VIIRS will provide data for producing a large number of Environmental Data Records (EDRs), including:
Aerosols: Aerosol optical thickness, Aerosol particle size parameter, Suspended matter
Imagery and Clouds: Imagery, Cloud mask, Cloud optical thickness, Cloud effective particle size parameter, Cloud top parameters, Cloud base height, Cloud cover/layers
Land: Active Fires, Land surface Albedo, Land surface temperature, Ice surface temperature, Snow ice characterization, Snow cover/depth, Vegetation index, Surface type
Ocean: Sea surface temperature, Ocean color
