Sounder SIPS: Suomi NPP CrIS/ATMS Level-1B Calibration Subsets

Suomi NPP's CrIS instrument provides 1305 infrared sounding channels across longwave, midwave, and shortwave spectral regions, while ATMS provides 22 microwave channels. Daily calibration subsets extract key Level-1B brightness temperature data to facilitate instrument calibration assessment, performance monitoring under various atmospheric conditions, and trend evaluation relative to climate signals. The data supports comparison with other sounders like AIRS.

Use Cases

• Evaluating absolute instrument calibration using daily subset files.
• Assessing sensor performance under clear, cloudy, and extreme temperature conditions.
• Monitoring instrument trends for significance relative to climate change signals.
• Comparing infrared sounder data from CrIS with equivalent AIRS data subsets.

Strengths

• Data originates from the Suomi NPP satellite, a key platform for Earth observation.
• The CrIS instrument provides high spectral resolution with 1305 distinct infrared channels.
• Subsets are designed for specific, critical tasks like calibration and trend analysis.

Limitations

• Column names and specific data structure are not provided in the available metadata.
• Dataset size, row count, and exact file formats beyond a generic list are unknown.
• Conflicting license information exists between platforms (other-license-specified vs. null).

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected by the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) and Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) instruments aboard the Suomi NPP satellite.

Time Range

Observations are selected from nominal 24-hour periods, suggesting a daily time series.

Freshness

Last updated metadata indicates 2026-04-09.

Geography

Global coverage from the polar-orbiting Suomi NPP platform.