MODIS instrument characteristics, performance, and data for climate studies

Abstract

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is an instrument designed for comprehensive studies of land, ocean, and atmosphere processes and trends. The first MODIS was launched on the NASA Terra spacecraft in December 1999 into a sun-synchronous orbit with an equator crossing time at 10:30 a.m. The second MODIS was launched on the NASA Aqua spacecraft in May 2002 into a sun-synchronous orbit with an equator crossing time at 1:30 p.m. This chapter describes the procedures leading to carefully calibrated, characterized, and consistent Level 1B observations that are subsequently being confidently used to produce higher-level products contributing to studies of climate change. Illustrative results achieved to date over the 10-12 years that MODIS has been operating are provided. With the successful launch and operation of a very similar instrument called the Visible and Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on October 28, 2011 on the Suomi NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership) satellite, there is a firm commitment to obtain observations consistent with MODIS for the foreseeable future.