Linear-array apertures for in-flight dynamic solar calibration of radiometric channels for Earth radiation-budget applications.

The zero-frequency gain of nonimaging radiometers used in Earth radiation-budget applications is usually verified by a procedure that allows the instrument to view the Sun through an appropriate attenuating aperture and then equates its response to the known attenuated solar constant. However, channel intercomparison often requires that data from a low-resolution, relatively slow instrument such as an active-cavity radiometer be compared with data from a high-resolution, fast instrument such as a scanning thermistor-bolometer radiometer. In such a case, consideration of the difference in the dynamic responses of the two channels may be important. A novel technique for in-flight measurement of the radiometric transfer function of such instruments is described and then demonstrated through the use of a high-order dynamic model of the total, wide-field-of-view, nonscanning channel of NASA's Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE).

Comparison of the measured and predicted response of the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment active cavity radiometer during solar observations.

The Earth Radiation Budget Experiment consists of an array of radiometric instruments placed in earth orbit by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to monitor the longwave and visible components of the earth's radiation budget. Presented is a dynamic electrothermal model of the active cavity radiometer used to measure the earth's total radiative exitance. Radiative exchange is modeled using the Monte Carlo method and transient conduction is treated using the finite element method. Also included is the feedback circuit which controls electrical substitution heating of the cavity. The model is shown to accurately predict the dynamic response of the instrument during solar calibration.