Calibration procedures for evaluation of in-flight radiometry performance of thermal infrared satellite sensors

John R. Schott; Timothy W. Gallagher; Julia A. Barsi

doi:10.1117/12.298095

31 December 1997 Calibration procedures for evaluation of in-flight radiometry performance of thermal infrared satellite sensors

John R. Schott, Timothy W. Gallagher, Julia A. Barsi

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 3221, Sensors, Systems, and Next-Generation Satellites; (1997) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.298095
Event: Aerospace Remote Sensing '97, 1997, London, United Kingdom

Abstract

With the impending launch of several new satellite sensors with thermal channels, there is a renewed interest in evaluating the in-flight calibration of these sensors using ground truth or under flight validation techniques. The relatively rapid temporal variation of surface temperatures, coupled with the increased calibration requirements levied by some of the science applications, place a considerable burden on the calibration team. This paper addresses procedures under development to ensure the rigorous in-flight calibration of satellite sensors in the thermal region. These efforts are directed at Landsat 7, but are intended for use with any thermal sensor and particularly address sensors with multiple spectral channels. The paper addresses laboratory calibration techniques for calibration of transfer radiometers, laboratory calibration of reference blackbodies for use in field or under flight applications, calibration of under flight instrumentation and under flight (vicarious) methods for calibration of space-based instrumentation. The methods are presented in the context of the more limited procedures that were used for under flight calibration of the HCMM and Landsat 4 and 5 sensors. A particular emphasis is placed on the importance of spectral structure in the calibration process which is critical for multi-wavelength or narrow wavelength sensors. The calibration facility at RIT for calibration of the modular imaging spectrometer instrument that will under fly Landsat 7 is described in detail, along with full calibration procedures. Issues associated with selection of target surfaces (size, emissivity, and temporal stability) for vicarious calibration also are discussed, along with our approach for addressing these issues to evaluate the in-flight performance of Landsat 7. Previous efforts have demonstrated that calibration using similar approaches could achieve expected errors of approximately 1 K. This paper addresses refinements designed to significantly reduce the residual errors in the calibration process.

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John R. Schott, Timothy W. Gallagher, and Julia A. Barsi "Calibration procedures for evaluation of in-flight radiometry performance of thermal infrared satellite sensors", Proc. SPIE 3221, Sensors, Systems, and Next-Generation Satellites, (31 December 1997); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.298095

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