Cross-Calibration of HJ-1/CCD Over a Desert Site Using Landsat ETM Imagery and ASTER GDEM Product

The charge-coupled device (CCD) is visible to near-infrared imaging sensors onboard the Chinese Huan Jing 1 satellites. Like many sensors, the CCD lack onboard calibration capabilities, so alternative methods are required, e.g., cross-calibration. The wide field of view of the CCD sensors provides challenges for cross-calibration with narrow field of view sensors. We developed a technique to take advantage of a site with a uniform surface material and a natural topographic variation. Due to the topography, near-nadir Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (TM) Plus (ETM+) observations actually see the material at a wide range of illumination and viewing angles. These observations and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer global digital elevation model data were used to develop a model of this site´s bidirectional reflectance distribution function that covered most of the illumination and view angle range of the CCD data. We validated this model by comparing the simulations to actual ETM + and TM surface reflectances. The validated model was then used to calibrate the CCD instruments. The results were consistent to within 5 % of field intensive vicarious calibration data.