Radiometric performance evaluation of ASTER VNIR, SWIR, and TIR

Radiometric performance of the Advanced Spectrometer for Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is characterized by using acquired imagery data. Noise-equivalent reflectance and temperature, sensitivity (gain), bias (offset), and modulation transfer function (MTF) are determined for the visible and near-infrared (VNIR), the shortwave infrared (SWIR), and the thermal infrared (TIR) radiometers that constitute ASTER. The responsivity evaluated from onboard calibration (OBC) and from instrumented scenes show similar trends for the VNIR: the OBC data yield 2.7% to 5.5% a year for the VNIR. The SWIR response changed less than 2% in the 3.5 years following launch. The zero-radiance offsets of most VNIR and SWIR bands have increased about 1/2 digital number per year. The in-orbit noise levels, calculated by the standard deviation of dark (VNIR and SWIR) or ocean (TIR) scenes, show that all bands are within specification. The MTF at Nyquist and 1/2 Nyquist frequencies was determined for all bands using the Moon (VNIR and SWIR) or terrestrial scenes with lines of sharp thermal contrast. In-orbit performance along-track and cross-track is better than prelaunch for the VNIR and SWIR bands in nearly all cases; the TIR effectively meets specification in-orbit.     

Vicarious calibration of ASTER thermal infrared bands

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on the Terra satellite has five bands in the thermal infrared (TIR) spectral region between 8-12 /spl mu/m. The TIR bands have been regularly validated in-flight using ground validation targets. Validation results are presented from 79 experiments conducted under clear sky conditions. Validation involved predicting the at-sensor radiance for each band using a radiative transfer model, driven by surface and atmospheric measurements from each experiment, and then comparing the predicted radiance with the ASTER measured radiance. The results indicate the average difference between the predicted and the ASTER measured radiances was no more than 0.5% or 0.4 K in any TIR band, demonstrating that the TIR bands have exceeded the preflight design accuracy of <1 K for an at-sensor brightness temperature range of 270-340 K. The predicted and the ASTER measured radiances were then used to assess how well the onboard calibration accounted for any changes in both the instrument gain and offset over time. The results indicate that the gain and offset were correctly determined using the onboard blackbody, and indicate a responsivity decline over the first 1400 days of the Terra mission.     

Design and preflight performance of ASTER instrument protoflightmodel

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is an advanced multispectral imager with high spatial, spectral, and radiometric resolution, built to fly on the EOS-AM1 spacecraft along with four other instruments, which will be launched in 1998. The ASTER instrument covers a wide spectral region, from visible to thermal infrared with 14 spectral bands. To meet the wide spectral coverage, optical sensing units of ASTER are separated into three subsystems: visible and near-infrared (VNIR) subsystem, shortwave infrared (SWIR) subsystem, and thermal infrared (TIR) subsystem. ASTER also has an along-track stereoscopic viewing capability using one of the near-infrared bands. To acquire the stereo data, the VNIR subsystem has two telescopes, one for nadir and another for backward viewing. Several new technologies are adopted as design challenges to realize high performance. Excellent observational performances are obtained by a pushbroom VNIR radiometer with a high spatial resolution of 15 m, a pushbroom SWIR radiometer with high spectral resolution, and a whiskbroom-type TIR radiometer with high spatial, spectral, and radiometric resolutions. The preflight performance is evaluated through a protoflight model (PFM)     

ASTER Level-1 data processing algorithm

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is an advanced multispectral imager with high spatial, spectral, and radiometric performance built for the EOS-AM1 polar orbiting spacecraft. ASTER covers a wide spectral region from visible to thermal infrared with 14 spectral bands. To meet this wide spectral coverage, ASTER has three optical-sensing subsystems: visible and near-infrared (VNIR), shortwave infrared (SWIR), and thermal infrared (TIR). In addition, the VNIR subsystem has two telescopes (nadir and backward telescopes) for stereo data acquisition. This ASTER instrument configuration with multitelescopes requires highly refined ground processing for the generation of Level-1 data products that are radiometrically calibrated and geometrically corrected. The algorithm developed for the ASTER Level-1 data processing is described     

ASTER geometric performance

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) system acquires multispectral images ranging from the visible to thermal infrared region. The ASTER system consists of three subsystems: visible and near-infrared (VNIR), short-wave infrared (SWIR) and thermal infrared (TIR) radiometers. The VNIR subsystem has a backward-viewing telescope as well as a nadir one. To deliver data products of high quality from the viewpoint of geolocation and band-to-band registration performance, a fundamental program, called Level-1 data processing, has been developed for images obtained using four telescopes with a cross-track pointing function. In this work, the methodology of the geometric validation is first described. Next, the image quality of ASTER data products is evaluated in view of the geometric performance over a period of four years. The band-to-band registration accuracy in the subsystem is better than 0.1 pixels and that between subsystems is better than 0.2 pixels. This means that the geometric database is determined accurately and the image matching method based on a cross-correlation function is effective in the operational usage.     

Overview of Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and ReflectionRadiometer (ASTER)

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is a research facility instrument provided by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Tokyo, Japan to be launched on NASA's Earth Observing System morning (EOS-AM1) platform in 1998. ASTER has three spectral hands in the visible near-infrared (VNIR), six bands in the shortwave infrared (SWIR), and five bands in the thermal infrared (TIR) regions, with 15-, 30-, and 90-m ground resolution, respectively. The VNIR subsystem has one backward-viewing band for stereoscopic observation in the along-track direction. Because the data will have wide spectral coverage and relatively high spatial resolution, it will be possible to discriminate a variety of surface materials and reduce problems in some lower resolution data resulting from mixed pixels. ASTER will, for the first time, provide high-spatial resolution multispectral thermal infrared data from orbit and the highest spatial resolution surface spectral reflectance temperature and emissivity data of all of the EOS-AM1 instruments. The primary science objective of the ASTER mission is to improve understanding of the local- and regional-scale processes occurring on or near the Earth's surface and lower atmosphere, including surface-atmosphere interactions. Specific areas of the science investigation include the following: (1) land surface climatology; (2) vegetation and ecosystem dynamics; (3) volcano monitoring; (4) hazard monitoring; (5) aerosols and clouds; (6) carbon cycling in the marine ecosystem; (7) hydrology; (8) geology and soil; and (9) land surface and land cover change. There are three categories of ASTER data: a global map, regional monitoring data sets, and local data sets to be obtained for requests from individual investigators     

Inflight straylight analysis for ASTER thermal infrared bands

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument was launched into Earth orbit on the Terra platform in late 1999. ASTER produces images of the Earth in 14 spectral bands including five bands in the thermal infrared (TIR) part of the electromagnetic spectrum (8-12 /spl mu/m). On one occasion ASTER was used to image the Moon as part of the long-term calibration strategy for instruments on the Terra platform. Analysis of the imagery revealed that the TIR band had noticeable straylight effects (ghosting), and an algorithm was developed to correct for these effects. The algorithm was applied to ASTER/TIR images acquired over a vicarious calibration (VC) site at Cold Springs Reservoir (CSR), NV. Data from CSR had been evaluated in three previous VC experiments and showed large unexplained differences between the ASTER image radiance and vicarious predicted radiance not observed in other larger, more laterally homogenous sites. After straylight correction the vicarious and image radiances were in good agreement. A further comparison with nearly simultaneous airborne TIR data acquired with the MODIS/ASTER (MASTER) sensor indicated that the ASTER straylight corrected data also agreed with the airborne data. Finally, the algorithm was applied to artificially created models. The results indicated that a radiance change caused by straylight reached 6% to 8% of a radiance contrast for a smaller square target than 10/spl times/10 pixels or a narrower line target than five pixels. Straylight in ASTER/TIR imagery may not be very large for most targets, but may become an error factor for high-radiance-contrast targets.     

ASTER preflight and inflight calibration and the validation ofLevel 2 products

Describes the preflight and inflight calibration approaches used for the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER). The system is a multispectral, high-spatial resolution sensor on the Earth Observing System's EOS-AM1 platform. Preflight calibration of ASTER uses well-characterized sources to provide calibration and preflight round-robin exercises to understand biases between the calibration sources of ASTER and other EOS sensors. These round-robins rely on well-characterized, ultra-stable radiometers. An experiment field in Yokohama, Japan, showed that the output from the source used for the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) subsystem of ASTER may be underestimated by 1.5%, but this is still within the 4% specification for the absolute, radiometric calibration of these bands. Inflight calibration will rely on vicarious techniques and onboard blackbodies and lamps. Vicarious techniques include ground-reference methods using desert and water sites. A recent joint field campaign gives confidence that these methods currently provide absolute calibration to better than 5%, and indications are that uncertainties less than the required 4% should be achievable at launch. The EOS-AM1 platform will also provide a spacecraft maneuver that will allow ASTER to see the Moon, allowing further characterization of the sensor. A method for combining the results of these independent calibration results is presented. The paper also describes the plans for validating the Level 2 data products from ASTER. These plans rely heavily upon field campaigns using methods similar to those used for the ground-reference, vicarious calibration methods     

Accurate atmospheric correction of ASTER thermal infrared imagery using the WVS method

The water vapor scaling (WVS) method involves an atmospheric correction algorithm for thermal infrared (TIR) multispectral data, designed mainly for the five TIR spectral bands of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on the Terra satellite. First, this method is improved for better applicability to ASTER/TIR imagery. The major improvement is the determination of a water vapor scaling factor on a band-by-band basis, which can reduce most of the errors induced by various factors such as algorithm assumptions. Next, the WVS method is validated by assessing the surface temperature and emissivity retrieved for a global-based simulation model (416 448 conditions), 183 ASTER scenes selected globally, and ASTER scenes from two test sites, Hawaii Island and Tokyo Bay. In situ lake surface temperatures measured in 13 vicarious calibration experiments, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer sea surface temperature products, and a climatic lake temperature are also used in validation. All the results indicate that although the ASTER/TIR standard atmospheric correction algorithm performs less well in humid conditions, the WVS method will provide more accurate retrieval of surface temperature and emissivity in most conditions including notably humid conditions. The expected root mean square error is about 0.6 K in temperature. Since the WVS method will be degraded by errors in gray pixel selection and cloud detection, these processing steps should be applied accurately.     

Correction of stray light and filter scratch blurring for ASTER imagery

Stray light components in images obtained by the shortwave infrared (SWIR) and visible near-infrared (VNIR) radiometers of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) were investigated. A simple method, which is equivalent to the van Cittert method of deconvolution, was used for correction. The stray light components were estimated using the image obtained during lunar observation, and the improvement in image quality was examined after stray light correction. The calculation is performed in the space domain, and application to the filter scratch problem of the ASTER/SWIR sensor, which has a scratch on the interference filter resulting in partially degenerated images, is also demonstrated.     

FY-3B MERSI短波红外波段温度响应与在轨定标分析

风云三号B星(FY-3B)中分辨率光谱成像仪(Medium resolution spectral imager, MERSI)的两个短波红外波段(1.64和2.13 $\mu$m) 采用光伏碲铬汞探测器,由于辐冷问题导致短波红外波段探测器的实际工作温度远高于设计值,影响了其在轨辐射特性。 对处于高温工作状态的FY-3B MERSI短波红外波段的长时间序列在轨辐射特性进行了较为系统的研究分析。采用冷空观测和 遥测温度时间序列数据开展了工作温度对遥感器响应的影响分析,发现短波红外波段的冷空值与探测器温度之间存在正 相关关系。采用线性模型描述仪器响应的温度依赖性,获得了温度校正因子;温度每变化1度, 1.64和2.13 $\mu$m波段冷空观 测值分别变化约0.7\%和5\%。进行温度校正后,冷空观测时间序列的波动显著降低。采用全球多目标定标方法获得了 短波红外波段的在轨辐射响应变化,在参考温度下,2011年11月至2016年12月,1.64和2.13 $\mu$m波段的总衰减分别 约为6\%和11\%。通过与Aqua中分辨率成像光谱仪(Moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer, MODIS)的 多年交叉比对分析,发现不管是否在定标过程中进行温度校正,采用基于长时间序列趋势建模的日定标更新后MERSI 与MODIS的辐射偏差较为稳定,可以满足7\%的定标指标要求。     

GF5B热红外通道星上定标与验证

以GF5B卫星发射前实验室定标为基础,采用星上0级黑体定标数据,建立了适用于GF5B热红外通道的星上绝对辐射定标模型。通过对2022年01月12日星上黑体定标数据进行处理,获得成像仪热红外通道的绝对辐射定标系数。对星上定标系统精度进行分析,并采用地面同步烟台浮标数据对定标结果进行精度验证,结果表明,在轨后星上定标系统的绝对定标精度为0.9 K;星地验证结果显示B11和B12通道亮温的偏差分别为0.33、0.77 K。说明基于星上黑体的定标方法具有较好的精度,定标结果可靠,可满足遥感数据定量化应用的需要,为实时准确获取热红外通道定标系数提供了方法借鉴。     

A temperature and emissivity separation algorithm for AdvancedSpaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER)images

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) scanner on NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS)-AM1 satellite (launch scheduled for 1998) will collect five bands of thermal infrared (TIR) data with a noise equivalent temperature difference (NEΔT) of ⩽0.3 K to estimate surface temperatures and emissivity spectra, especially over land, where emissivities are not known in advance. Temperature/emissivity separation (TES) is difficult because there are five measurements but six unknowns. Various approaches have been used to constrain the extra degree of freedom. ASTER's TES algorithm hybridizes three established algorithms, first estimating the normalized emissivities and then calculating emissivity band ratios. An empirical relationship predicts the minimum emissivity from the spectral contrast of the ratioed values, permitting recovery of the emissivity spectrum. TES uses an iterative approach to remove reflected sky irradiance. Based on numerical simulation, TES should be able to recover temperatures within about ±1.5 K and emissivities within about ±0.015. Validation using airborne simulator images taken over playas and ponds in central Nevada demonstrates that, with proper atmospheric compensation, it is possible to meet the theoretical expectations. The main sources of uncertainty in the output temperature and emissivity images are the empirical relationship between emissivity values and spectral contrast, compensation for reflected sky irradiance, and ASTER's precision, calibration, and atmospheric compensation     

黑体与恒星相结合的短波红外遥感器在轨辐射定标简析

为满足气象水文、天文观测等领域对短波红外遥感器高精度探测需求,近年来对短波红外探测定量化应用的需求越来越高。本文针对高轨面阵短波红外遥感器在轨各种因素引起的非均匀性变化情况,基于面源黑体定标结合恒星定标的在轨绝对辐射定标设计方案,结合某遥感器任务研制过程的具体实际,分析了定标精度主要影响因素及优化措施,包括星上定标方案优化、星上黑体温度控制优化、恒星提取算法优化等。通过实验室测试对在轨辐射定标方法进行了验证,并对在轨绝对辐射定标不确定度进行预估,评估结果表明定标不确定度能够满足应用要求。     

MODIS的HJ-1B红外通道星上定标系数交叉验证

HJ-1B卫星自发射以红外通道共进行了7次星上黑体定标,针对星上定标系数的验证工作开展较少,以MODIS第31、32通道为参考源,分别基于光谱响应差异和线性统计关系两种方法对HJ-1B红外通道星上定标系数进行验证.首先,计算两个传感器表观辐亮度的匹配关系,进而计算出HJ-1B红外通道的等效离表亮温,通过与HJ-1B红外通道基于星上定标系数反演得到的离表亮温进行比较,实现对星上定标系数的验证.通过半高宽法、矩方法和查找表法这三种不同的方法计算得到了2009年9月14日星上定标系数.结果表明:三种方法中,查找表法精度较高, 且HJ-1B查找表法星上定标系数反演亮温与基于光谱响应差异和线性统计关系计算的等效亮温偏差较小,分别为0.02 K和0.81 K.这两种交叉验证方法的精度均在1 K以内,证明了该方法的可行性,且基于光谱响应差异的验证方法精度更高.该研究为光学载荷在轨辐射定标的验证提供了理论基础.     

可见近红外、短波红外超光谱成像仪在轨数据处理技术研究

分析了天基可见近红外、短波红外超光谱成像仪的数据特征,提出了一种用于可见近红外、短波红外超光谱成像仪的在轨数据处理系统.重点介绍了星上定标及非均匀性校正、星上数据压缩等算法.超光谱成像仪在地面定标的基础上进行星上辐射和光谱定标,用基于定标和基于场景两种方法对图像数据做非均匀性校正.星上数据去噪及压缩采用基于小波变换的方法,去噪后的数据用3D-Tarp算法压缩.该系统设计既考虑了算法的有效性,又考虑了恶劣的星上环境对时间、功耗等指标的限制,在尽量少损失信息的情况下,能有效去除噪声,提高信噪比,减少星上存储和下传的数据,提高图像质量.     

真空低背景红外高光谱亮温计量标准装置研制

为满足红外遥感载荷在辐射定标方面的量值溯源需求,中国计量科学研究院研制了真空低背景红外高光谱亮温计量标准研究装置。介绍了红外高光谱亮温计量标准装置的设计方案和高光谱分辨的量值传递方法和溯源链等。设计了用于放置用户被校黑体的模拟太空环境的真空低背景实验舱,建立了包含固定点黑体源和标准变温黑体源在内的标准器,通过傅里叶变换红外光谱仪将标准黑体源的量值传递给被校黑体辐射源。研制的标准变温黑体辐射源的温度范围覆盖125~500 K,口径为30 mm,空腔发射率为0.999 7,亮度温度标准不确定度优于0.026 K@300 K/10 m。真空固定点黑体包含汞固定点、镓固定点和铟固定点黑体,口径为25 mm,温度不确定度优于0.020 K@10 m。该装置具有高温度不确定度水平、高光谱分辨率和扩展性强等特点,能够满足大部分红外载荷量值的溯源需求。     

运动补偿下双通道星载高光谱成像仪图像配准

最新一代可见近红外（VNIR）和短波红外（SWIR）双通道星载高光谱成像仪,多采用视场分离器将VNIR和SWIR通道分离为多个子视场,同一时刻各子视场对地成像区域不同,在采用运动补偿技术提高图像信噪比时,各子视场对同一地物的观测角不同,导致图像间失配关系复杂,无法获取同一地物的VNIR-SWIR连续光谱。通过建立运动补偿下的严格成像几何模型,定量分析了双通道图像的畸变和失配规律,进而提出了各子视场分别几何定位再相位相关法配准的方案,并利用东天山区域运动补偿下星载双通道高光谱仿真数据进行验证。结果表明,传统的基于图像的配准方案精度为3.9像元,仍无法得到同一地物像元的VNIR-SWIR光谱曲线,文中方案配准精度提高到0.3像元,VNIR和SWIR重叠波段的反射率光谱重合度误差由41.5%降低到1.2%。     

基于误差分析的岩芯高光谱数据几何校正方法

南京地质调查中心研制的推扫式岩芯成像光谱仪由可见近红外成像光谱仪、短波红外成像光谱仪以及载有岩芯盘的导轨构成。导轨匀速运动的控制误差、两台独立成像光谱仪不同的空间分辨率不同以及不重合的视场范围,导致所获得的数据存在几何畸变,无法直接进行应用处理。针对上述问题,在分析了畸变产生机理的基础上,提出了基于三角形靶标的拉伸压缩畸变校正方法以及像元级与亚像元级联合配准方法。通过在岩芯盘一侧布设等腰直角三角形靶标,实现无位置姿态参数下的几何拉伸压缩畸变检测与校正;同时将尺度不便特征变化与扩展的相位相关方法相结合进行图像配准,提高图像配准的精度。实验结果表明,利用南京地质调查中心研制的岩芯成像光谱仪的实测高光谱数据进行方法性能验证,经过几何校正处理后的岩芯高光谱数据,拉伸压缩畸变校正精度为0.28个像元,配准精度优于0.1个像元。     

基于热红外标准辐亮度计的常温黑体定标技术

常温黑体作为红外光电探测系统的定标光源,其辐亮度的不确定度直接决定了被定标红外系统的探测精度。为了提高黑体的现场定标精度,采用标准辐亮度计开展了面型和腔型结构的三种黑体的辐射定标实验研究。标准辐亮度计溯源于国家计量院标准黑体,不确定度为0.22%。通过直接测量三种黑体的绝对辐亮度,获得了辐亮度温度,并进一步导出了发射率。结果表明,三种黑体的设置温度与其辐亮度温度存在0.6~2.6 K 的差异,由此产生的绝对辐亮度的不确定度达1.4%~5.5%。基于标准辐亮度计的直接定标法避免了温度和发射率测量引入的不确定度,有利于实现黑体现场系统级定标和绝对辐亮度监测。