Radiometric Cross-Calibration of Tiangong-2 MWI Visible/NIR Channels over Aquatic Environments using MODIS

The Moderate-Resolution Wide-Wavelength Imager (MWI), onboard the Tiangong-2 (TG-2) Space Lab, is an experimental satellite sensor designed for the next-generation Chinese ocean color satellites. The MWI imagery is not sufficiently radiometrically calibrated, and therefore, the cross-calibration is urgently needed to provide high quality ocean color products for MWI observations. We proposed a simple and effective cross-calibration scheme for MWI data using well calibrated Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery over aquatic environments. The path radiance of the MWI was estimated using the quasi-synchronized MODIS images as well as the MODIS Rayleigh and aerosol look up tables (LUTs) from SeaWiFS Data Analysis System 7.4 (SeaDAS 7.4). The results showed that the coefficients of determination (R2) of the calibration coefficients were larger than 0.97, with sufficient matched areas to perform cross-calibration for MWI. Compared with the simulated Top of Atmosphere (TOA) radiance using synchronized MODIS images, all errors calculated with the calibration coefficients retrieved in this paper were less than 5.2%, and lower than the lab calibrated coefficients. The Rayleigh-corrected reflectance (ρrc), remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) and total suspended matter (TSM) products of MWI, MODIS and the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) images for Taihu Lake in China were compared. The distribution of ρrc of MWI, MODIS and GOCI agreed well, except for band 667 nm of MODIS, which might have been saturated in relatively turbid waters. Besides, the Rrs used to retrieve TSM among MWI, MODIS and GOCI was also consistent. The root mean square errors (RMSE), mean biases (MB) and mean ratios (MR) between MWI Rrs and MODIS Rrs (or GOCI Rrs) were less than 0.20 sr−1, 5.52% and within 1 ± 0.023, respectively. In addition, the derived TSM from MWI and GOCI also agreed with a R2 of 0.90, MB of 13.75%, MR of 0.97 and RMSE of 9.43 mg/L. Cross-calibration coefficients retrieved in this paper will contribute to quantitative applications of MWI. This method can be extended easily to other similar ocean color satellite missions