Performance of the LDCM Thermal Infrared Sensor for Evapotranspiration Measurement
Abstract
Evapotranspiration (ET) rate measurements are being made at the scale of individual farm fields with data from the Landsat satellites. A new instrument, the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), has been built and tested for launch aboard the next Landsat satellite, the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), scheduled for launch on February 11, 2013. TIRS performance requirements were specified to ensure that the LDCM will provide the thermal infrared data necessary to continue measuring field scale ET rates. The presentation will compare the prelaunch performance of TIRS to specifications and to requirements for ET rate measurements. The comparisons will be made in terms of noise equivalent change in radiance and temperature, cross-track uniformity of spectral and radiometric response, spatial resolution and sharpness, and other specified characteristics. Performance was measured while TIRS was operated in a thermal vacuum chamber to simulate the space environment and while illuminated by a calibrated source of thermal infrared radiation. Results indicate that TIRS will perform better than earlier Landsat sensors with respect to radiometric requirements for accurately measuring ET rates.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AGUFM.H13F1419I
- Keywords:
-
- 0402 BIOGEOSCIENCES / Agricultural systems;
- 1694 GLOBAL CHANGE / Instruments and techniques;
- 1818 HYDROLOGY / Evapotranspiration;
- 9805 GENERAL OR MISCELLANEOUS / Instruments useful in three or more fields