Sensor Intercalibration Over Dome C for the ESA GlobAlbedo Project

The response of a variety of Earth observation satellite sensors from multiple platforms, as well as different sensors on the same platform, were cross-compared over Dome C in Antarctica. A single unified methodology was employed to remove geometric, temporal, and atmospheric biases between different sensors with a range of spatial resolutions, bandwidths, and overpass times. The result assumes no “correct” baseline value, only relative responses. The resulting responses of the sensors, namely, AATSR, MERIS, and VEGETATION 2, are here presented and, where overlap occurs, compared with the results from other groups. In addition to applying the Quality Assurance for Earth Observation protocols for the quality assurance of environmental monitoring satellites, this paper discusses the intercalibration of several sensors used to establish the technical basis of the ESA GlobAlbedo project.