EOS Validation Program

Institution: CNES/QTIS/GC
Phone: (33) 5 61 27 47 12
FAX: (33) 5 61 27 31 67
E-mail: Patrice.Henry@cnes.fr

F. Cabot, CNES/QTIS/GC
O. Hagolle, CNES/QTIS/GC
A. Meygret, CNES/QTIS/GC
P. Soule, CNES/QTIS/GC
T. Tremas, CNES/QTIS/GC
M. Dinguirard, CERT/DERO
X. Briottet, CERT/DERO

The objective of this document is to conduct studies regarding the assessment of the accuracy of the remote sensing measurements planned in the scope of the Earth Observing System missions. One of the main issues in this field is the consistency of the calibration of the different instruments, that is the possibility to confidently relate the digitally recorded signal to the physical value at the input of the instrument. Even more important is the coherence of the calibration between the different instruments that can be used in Earth environment studies. As a matter of fact, in this field of investigation, an uttermost importance is given to the long-term availability of consistent data sets. For evident reasons, this kind of archive cannot be acquired with one satellite or one sensor (even so, multitemporal consistency of the acquired data would have to be assessed). Hence, the calibration and intercalibration of different sensors onboard different platforms has to be achieved with the best possible accuracy.

CNES expertise in this field has been demonstrated in various occasions, and experience acquired through various sensors development would be valuable in the task of assessing the consistency of EOS sensors with independent sources. Even if this is not an absolute reference validation, it will give comprehensive indication on the accuracy that can be expected from both sides, providing the users with more comparable data sets and therefore being fruitful for many communities.