Post-launch calibration of the advanced very high resolution radiometer for the Pathfinder project

The in-orbit degradation of channels 1 (visible; ≈0.63 µm) and 2 (near infrared; ≈0.83 µm) of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) onboard the NOAA polar orbiting satellites has been evaluated as part of the NOAA/NASA Pathfinder project, a component of the national climate and global change research program. The southeastern part of the Libyan desert has been used as the calibration target site in the implementation of the Staylor1 calibration technique. Examples of the application of the degradation rates to rehabilitate remotely sensed operational products, such as columnar aerosol amount and normalized vegetation index, will be given.