Inflight Validation of AVIRIS Calibration in 1996 and 1997

The Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) measures spectral radiance in the solar reflected spectrum from 400 to 2500 nm. Spectra are measured through 224 spectral channels with nominally 10-nm sampling and 10-nm full width at half maximum (FWHM). From a NASA ER-2 aircraft flying at 20,000 m altitude, these spectra are acquired as images with an 11-km width by up to 800-km length. The spatial sampling is 17 m, and the instantaneous field of view (IFOV) 20 m. The objective of AVIRIS is to acquire calibrated spectra that are used to derive properties of the Earth's land, water, and atmosphere for scientific research and environmental applications. To achieve this objective, the AVIRIS spectra must be calibrated. The AVIRIS sensor is calibrated in the laboratory before and after each flight season, however, the spectra acquired by AVIRIS for science investigators are acquired in the Q-bay of the ER-2 at 20 km altitude. The objective of the AVIRIS inflight calibration experiment is to validate the calibration of AVIRIS spectral images in the low pressure, low temperature operating environment of the ER-2. Inflight calibration experiments have been orchestrated for AVIRIS in every year of flight operations.