Absolute-radiometric calibration of Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper and the proposed calibration of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer

The reflectance-based method is used to determine an absolute-radiometric calibration of Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper for the solar reflective portion of the spectrum. Results are given for data collected at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on 1993-08-15 and 1993-10-21. These results are compared to those obtained from applying an identical approach to data collected in 1984, 1985, and 1988. Results indicate sensor degradation in the first three bands with greatest degradation at the shortest wavelengths. The reflectance-based method is also to be used for the in-flight, absolute-radiometric calibration of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) to be launched on the Earth Observing System´s AM1 platform. The authors describe the anticipated improvements to the reflectance-based method and their application and impact on the calibration of ASTER. These improvements should allow the absolute calibration of ASTER at the 3% level