The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is used to obtain measurements of the Earth’s oceans, land surface and atmosphere to make a wide range of Environmental Data Records (EDR’s). These standard products, which have been defined in the Integrated Operational Requirements Document (IORD) (JARG, 2005), are listed in Table 11.1. VIIRS is designed to provide global coverage at least once per day, with moderate (better than 1 km) spatial resolution. This combination of spatial and temporal scales has been chosen to provide needed input to operational weather and environmental models while sampling the natural variability of biological processes on the land surface and in the oceans. It has very high radiometric and geometric fidelity, enabling its use in the acquisition of long-term data records suitable for the study of climate and climate change as well as being a powerful tool for studies designed to increase our understanding of specific geophysical processes such as the interaction of the biological and physical mechanisms in ocean plankton blooms.