Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) experiments on board the NIMBUS 6 (ERB 6) and NIMBUS 7 (ERB 7) spacecraft hae measured wide-field-of-view (WFOV) total (0.2 to 50 μm), shortware (0.2 to 3.8 μm), and near-infrared (0.7 to 2.8 μm) terrestrial irradiance for a joint lifetime of over 8 years. Through the spectral characteristics of both experiments are nearly identical, instrument degradation and altitude differences introduce discrepancies between the two data sets. RB parameters from these two observing platforms may be combined into a scientifically meaningful data set only after these discrepancies are eliminated. To facilitate the creation of a long-term ERB data set, comparison of the ERB 6 experiment irradiances with, and calibrations adjustments with respect to, the correspondig ERB 7 irradiances have been performed. Two calibration methods were developed and applied to the irradiance data from 28 pairs of collocated orbit. The differential effects of altitude, illumination, albedo, and scene inhomogeneities were applied. The result is a set of calibration adjustments that adjust the ERB 6 data to match the ERB 7 data. |