Calibration of the SMAP Radiometer for Ocean Applications

Abstract

We present and discuss the details of the SMAP radiometer calibration that is used in the NASA/RSS ocean surface salinity algorithm. The values for antenna spillover, noise diode and reflector emissivity are fine-tuned to give accurate antenna and brightness temperature values for the global ocean and the Amazon rain forest. The calibration is dynamically adjusted to account for small calibration drifts over time. An adjustment of the thermal model for the reflector temperature is necessary in order to mitigate biases that occur when the SMAP spacecraft goes in and out of solar eclipse. An important test of the reflector emission is an analysis of SMAP brightness temperature differences between ascending and descending swaths. The radiometric calibration accuracy of the NASA/RSS SMAP salinity data set is better than 0.1 Kelvin, which is necessary for accurate ocean surface salinity retrievals.