{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,15]],"date-time":"2026-01-15T23:28:02Z","timestamp":1768519682157,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":16,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2017,9,21]],"date-time":"2017-09-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1505952000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Long-term time series analysis requires consistent data records from satellites. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard the Suomi National Polar orbiting Partner (S-NPP) satellite launched in 2011 requires a major effort to produce consistently calibrated sensor data records (SDR). Accurate VIIRS geolocation products are critical to other VIIRS products and products from other instruments on the S-NPP satellite. This paper presents methods for assessing major improvements to the VIIRS geolocation products in the ongoing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)\/Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR) reprocessing that incorporates all corrections in calibration parameters and SDR algorithms since launch to present. In this study, we analyzed the history of VIIRS geometric calibration parameter updates to identify optimal parameters to account for geolocation errors in the early days of the mission. A sample area located in North Western Africa was selected for validation purposes after analyzing global VIIRS and Landsat control point matching results. Geolocation products over the study region were reprocessed and I-bands\/M-bands geolocation improvements were characterized by comparing geolocation errors before and after the reprocessing. Our results indicate that all short-term geolocation anomalies before the latest operational geometric calibration parameter update on 22 August 2013 were effectively minimized after reprocessing, with geolocation errors reduced from \u221247.1 \u00b1 83.8 m to \u221223.3 \u00b1 51.1 m (along scan) and from \u221215.6 \u00b1 43.6 m to \u22125.9 \u00b1 37.7 m (along track). Terrain correction for the VIIRS Day-Night-Band (DNB) was not implemented in the NOAA operational processing until 22 May 2015. In the reprocessing, it will be implemented to the entire DNB geolocation data record. DNB reprocessing improvement due to this implementation was evaluated using nighttime observations over point sources at sea level and over high altitude. Our results show that the implementation of terrain correction will reduce DNB geolocation errors at off-nadir high elevation locations from up to 9 km to ~0.5 pixel (0.375 km), comparable to those at sea level site. The reprocessed geolocation dataset will be distributed online for end-users to access.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs9100974","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,9,21]],"date-time":"2017-09-21T12:17:40Z","timestamp":1505996260000},"page":"974","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":30,"title":["Assessment of the NOAA S-NPP VIIRS Geolocation Reprocessing Improvements"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9782-5337","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wenhui","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Earth Resource Technology, Inc., NCWCP, E\/RA2 5830 University Research Ct., Suite 2664, College Park, MD 20740, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3572-6525","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Changyong","family":"Cao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)\/NESDIS (National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service)\/STAR (Center for Satellite Applications and Research), NCWCP, E\/RA2, 5830 University Research Ct., Suite 2838, College Park, MD 20740, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yan","family":"Bai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CICS (Cooperative Institute for Climate & Satellites-Maryland)\/ESSIC (Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center), University of Maryland, 5825 University Research Court, Suite 4001, College Park, MD 20740, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Slawomir","family":"Blonski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Earth Resource Technology, Inc., NCWCP, E\/RA2 5830 University Research Ct., Suite 2664, College Park, MD 20740, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mitchell","family":"Schull","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CICS (Cooperative Institute for Climate & Satellites-Maryland)\/ESSIC (Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center), University of Maryland, 5825 University Research Court, Suite 4001, College Park, MD 20740, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,9,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1142","DOI":"10.1109\/TGRS.2013.2247768","article-title":"Early on-orbit performance of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite onboard the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite","volume":"52","author":"Cao","year":"2014","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cao, C., Xiong, J., Blonski, S., Liu, Q., Uprety, S., Shao, X., Bai, Y., and Weng, F. (2013). Suomi NPP VIIRS sensor data record verification, validation, and long-term performance monitoring. J. Geophys. Res.","DOI":"10.1002\/2013JD020418"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5285","DOI":"10.1002\/2017JD026590","article-title":"Radiometric traceability diagnosis and bias correction for the Suomi NPP VIIRS long-wave infrared channels during blackbody unsteady states","volume":"122","author":"Cao","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15823","DOI":"10.3390\/rs71215823","article-title":"Suomi NPP VIIRS Reflective Solar Bands Operational Calibration Reprocessing","volume":"7","author":"Blonski","year":"2015","journal-title":"Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"Wang, W., Cao, C., Zhang, B., and Wang, L. (2017, January 21\u201323). Operational Correction and Validation of the VIIRS TEB Longwave Infrared Band Calibration Bias during Blackbody Temperature Changes. Proceedings of the SPIE, San Diego, CA, USA."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Choi, T.J., Sun, J., Zhang, B., Wang, Z., Cao, C., Weng, F., and Wang, M. (2017, January 21\u201323). Suomi-NPP VIIRS initial reprocessing improvements and validations in the reflective solar bands. Proceedings of the SPIE, San Diego, CA, USA.","DOI":"10.1117\/12.2274081"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"12690","DOI":"10.1002\/2013JD020376","article-title":"Geolocation assessment for CrIS sensor data records","volume":"118","author":"Wang","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"Cao, C., Xiong, X.J., Wolfe, R., DeLuccia, F., Liu, Q.M., Blonski, S., Lin, G.G., Nishihama, M., Pogorzala, D., and Oudrari, H. (2013). 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Res., 118.","DOI":"10.1002\/2013JD020475"},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Wolfe, R.E., Lin, G., Yin, Z., Nishihama, M., Tan, B., and Tilton, J.C. (2014, January 12\u201316). Suomi NPP VIIRS geolocation performance and improvements. Proceedings of the JPSS 2014 Annual Science Team Meeting, College Park, MD, USA."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"31","DOI":"10.1016\/S0034-4257(02)00085-8","article-title":"Achieving sub-pixel geolocation accuracy in support of MODIS land science","volume":"83","author":"Wolfe","year":"2002","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_15","unstructured":"Lin, G., Wolfe, R.E., Dellomo, J., Yin, Z., Tan, B., and Tilton, J.C. (2016, January 8\u201312). VIIRS geospatial calibration for SNPP, J1 and beyond. Proceedings of the NOAA STAR JPSS Annual Science Team Meeting, College Park, MD, USA."},{"key":"ref_16","unstructured":"Lin, G. Personal communication."}],"container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/9\/10\/974\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T18:45:33Z","timestamp":1760208333000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/9\/10\/974"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2017,9,21]]},"references-count":16,"journal-issue":{"issue":"10","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,10]]}},"alternative-id":["rs9100974"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/rs9100974","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-4292"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2072-4292","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2017,9,21]]}}}