Calibration and validation

Abstract

All remote sensing products require calibration and validation, and it is an essential part of the process of making remote sensing products to meet the requirements of scientific utilization. The main challenges in the calibration and validation of almost any data product are how to make corresponding and representative reference measurements and how to extend the validation over the entire measurement domain. These challenges are overcome by careful design of the reference sites and their in situ measurements, which vary greatly depending on the geophysical parameter and on the footprint of the remote sensing product, and strategizing the utilization of diversity of validation sites with augmentation by other remote sensing products and models. Intersensor and inter-product calibration and validation are conducted to increase the length and fidelity of the time series or the coverage of the measurement. This is essential for utilization of remote sensing data for climate change studies.