Morain S.A., Budge A.M. (Eds.) Post-launch calibration of satellite sensors

Taylor & Francis Group. A.A. Balkema Publishers, 2004. — 185 p.The need for consistency in sensor calibration terminology, and the definitions for these terms, has been an issue in the Earth observing community for more than two decades. With this volume, it is gratifying to see progress in this direction; more so because ISPRS has taken a leadership role in its production. In 1998, the Committee on Earth Observing Satellites (CEOS) passed a Resolution requested by the terrain mapping subcommittee of the Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV) to form a Joint WGCV/ISPRS Task Force on Radiometric and Geometric Calibration. For its part, Dr. George Joseph (then President of ISPRS Commission-I, 1996–2000) drafted a white paper outlining why confusion arises among various calibration terms used to measure spatial, radiometric, and temporal resolution of sensors. He also suggested definitions for several of these terms. His white paper is published here as the lead article. After passing the presidency of Commission-I to Dr. Stan Morain for the 2000–2004 Congress quadrennium, a profile of perceived expertise was created by ISPRS prior to organizing the first meeting of the Joint Task Force. A founding group of some fifteen people convened at the Commission-I midterm symposium in 2002, one of the outcomes of which was to schedule an International Workshop on Radiometric and Geometric Calibration. Over 80 experts from seven countries met for four days in December 2003 to discuss issues and methods for post launch calibration of infrared and visible optical scanners (IVOS) onboard commercial and government satellites. Their discussions also touched upon digital aerial cameras, characterization of image quality, and design of field calibration sites and test ranges. This volume is a collection of presentations forming the technical program for that workshop. The volume addresses only a fraction of the complexity of calibration terms and definitions. In the 2004–2008 Congress quadrennium, it is hoped that Commission-I will continue this important work through incremental improvements, and perhaps by expanding the Task Force’s scope to include the full range of sensors.