Radiometric Cross-Calibration of an Aerial Sensor with Satellite Top-of-Atmosphere Reflectance
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: . Surface reflectance (SR) is essential for many remote sensing applications, but retrieving it from aerial images is challenging due to the lack of in-flight radiometric calibration and varying acquisition conditions. We propose a novel method for radiometric cross-calibration of aerial imagery using satellite Top-of-Atmosphere (TOA) reflectance. The method involves estimating at-sensor reflectance at the airborne altitude from satellite TOA reflectance, followed by spectral band adjustment and spatial alignment between satellite and airborne imagery. A linear radiometric model is derived to relate the Digital Number (DN) to the at-sensor reflectance from a selected subset of robust aerial-satellite pixel correspondences. The radiometric calibration parameter was retrieved using linear regression. The method is particularly suitable for airborne campaigns that lack onboard or in-situ radiometric calibration equipment. An ablation study is presented to analyze the selection of reliable reference pixels.
Institutions: Université Gustave Eiffel, Laboratoire en Sciences et Technologies de l'Information Géographique pour la ville intelligente et les territoires durables, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Centre National d'Études Spatiales, Centre d'Études Spatiales de la Biosphère, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
Language: English
Subfield: Aerospace Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4410712459