Products - Vicarious Calibration

Vicarious calibration entails using the Earth and celestial objects as calibration targets for satellite instruments. The ideal vicarious calibration target:

1. Has been characterized completely by observations that are traceable to international measurement standards, and;
2. Changes very little over time.

Although such an ideal target does not exist, many targets have been used with some success, especially in regard to quantifying relative change of a given satellite sensor over time. The calibration targets most often used include: deserts, ice caps, deep convective clouds, as well as the Moon, Sun, and stars.