THE PATHFINDER AVHRR LAND DATA SET - AN IMPROVED COARSE RESOLUTION DATA SET FOR TERRESTRIAL MONITORING

A reprocessing of 12 years of global data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometers on board the afternoon-viewing NOAA series satellites (NOAA-7, 9, and 11) is taking place as part of the NASA/NOAA Pathfinder project. A Pathfinder AVHRR land data set is being produced which is composed of global, 8 km NDVI with associated reflectances, brightness temperatures, solar and scan geometry, and cloud estimation. This data set is being processed using the best available methods in order to produce a consistent time series of data of unprecedented quality. Methods used in processing include a cross-satellite calibration, navigation using an orbital model and updated ephemerides, and correction for Rayleigh scattering. The data will be available to the community as both daily and composite data and analysis of this long time series is expected to provide insight into terrestrial processes, seasonal and annual variability, and methods for handling large volume data sets.