Reflectance-based radiometric calibration of multispectral Earth-observation sensors using an automated test site at Railroad Valley, Nevada

Ground-based vicarious radiometric calibration is used as an independent source to monitor the temporal changes in Earth-observing sensors. The Remote Sensing Group at the University of Arizona uses the reflectance-based approach, which requires in-situ measurements of surface reflectance and atmospheric properties during a sensor overpass. The group has expanded its capabilities by developing the Radiometric Calibration Test Site (RadCaTS), which operates in the absence of ground personnel at Railroad Valley, Nevada. It is comprised of ground-viewing radiometers, which are used to determine the surface reflectance, and a Cimel Sun photometer, which is used to make atmospheric measurements. The radiative transfer code MODTRAN5 is used to determine the top-of-atmosphere spectral radiance for a given overpass. This work presents radiometric calibration results for MODIS, MISR, ASTER, and Landsat 7 ETM+, which were obtained using RadCaTS. The automated results are also compared to those obtained using in-situ techniques.