Inter-Calibration of Microwave Radiometers Using the Vicarious Cold Calibration Double Difference Method

The double difference method of inter-calibration between spaceborne microwave radiometers is combined with the vicarious cold calibration method for calibrating an individual radiometer. Vicarious cold calibration minimizes the effects of geophysical variability on radiative transfer models (RTMs) of the brightness temperature (TB) data and it accounts for frequency and incidence angle dissimilarity between radiometers. Double differencing reduces the sensitivity of the inter-calibration to RTM error and improper accounting for geophysical variables in the RTM. When combined together, the two methods significantly improve the confidence with which calibration differences can be identified and characterized. This paper analyzes the performance of the vicarious cold calibration double difference method for conical scanning microwave radiometers and quantifies the improvement this method provides compared to performing a simpler inter-calibration by direct comparison of radiometer measurements.