In-flight interband calibration on AVHRR data by a cloud-viewing technique

A significant degradation in the responsivity of the AVHRR radiometers aboard the NOAA satellite series, affects the index vegetation (NDVI), which is an important source of information for monitoring vegetation conditions on regional and global scales. Many studies have been carried out which use the viewing Earth calibration approach in order to provide accurate calibration correction coefficients for the computation of the vegetation index using the visible and near-infrared spectral channels 1 and 2 of AVHRR. This study deals with the interband calibration of AVHRR visible and near-infrared data by means of an cloud-viewing technique. This technique is simple to implement and can be used in real-time. It is also well-suited to the processing of large time-series of data. Results are presented for various NOAA satellites and are in full agreement with the calibration degradation model proposed by NOAA and various authors.

[1]  R. Saunders,et al.  An improved method for detecting clear sky and cloudy radiances from AVHRR data , 1988 .

[2]  R. Saunders,et al.  An automated scheme for the removal of cloud contamination from AVHRR radiances over western Europe , 1986 .

[4]  Lucien Wald,et al.  A method for an accurate in-flight calibration of AVHRR data for vegetation index calculation , 1992 .

[5]  Peter Abel.  Report of the Workshop on Radiometric Calibration of Satellite Sensors of Reflected Solar Radiation, March 27-28, 1990, Camp Springs, Maryland , 1990 .

[6]  C. Justus,et al.  A cloudy-sky radiative transfer model suitable for calibration of satellite sensors , 1988 .

[7]  C.R.N. Rao,et al.  Calibration and characterization of the post-launch performance of the visible and near-infrared channels of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on board the NOAA-7, -9, and -11 spacecraft , 1995, 1995 International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, IGARSS '95. Quantitative Remote Sensing for Science and Applications.

[8]  M. S. Moran,et al.  Three methods for the absolute calibration of the NOAA AVHRR sensors in-flight , 1990 .

[9]  Michael D. King,et al.  Determination of the Spectral Absorption of Solar Radiation by Marine Stratocumulus Clouds from Airborne Measurements within Clouds , 1990 .

[10]  M. King.  Determination of the Scaled Optical Thickness of Clouds from Reflected Solar Radiation Measurements , 1987 .

[11]  B. Holben,et al.  Calibration of the AVHRR visible and near-IR bands by atmospheric scattering, ocean glint and desert reflection , 1993 .

[12]  C. Rao,et al.  Degradation of the visible and near-infrared channels of the advanced very high resolution radiometer on the NOAA-9 spacecraft : assessment and recommendations for corrections , 1993 .

[13]  E. Vermote,et al.  Absolute calibration of AVHRR visible and near-infrared channels using ocean and cloud views , 1995 .