La Crau CEOS Calibration Site Radiometric and Atmospheric Measurements

La Crau in France is one of eight instrumented CEOS Reference Test Sites forming the LANDNET network. The dataset provides surface and atmospheric measurements for vicarious calibration and validation of Earth Observing satellite sensors. It is maintained by the USGS Long Term Archive (USGS_LTA) under the Committee on Earth Observing Systems (CEOS) framework.

Use Cases

• Predicting Top of Atmosphere (TOA) radiance using site characteristics and instrument data for sensor intercomparison.
• Validating in-flight instrument biases by analyzing radiometric gain data from field campaigns at the La Crau site.
• Harmonizing satellite data products by leveraging the site's documented reference methodology for traceability.
• Automating vicarious calibration workflows using the site's anticipated autonomous surface and atmospheric measurements.

Strengths

• One of eight globally recognized CEOS Reference Test Sites for satellite validation.
• Designed to facilitate international, harmonized inter-comparison of sensor biases.
• Long-term vision includes fully automated data provision, with three sites currently operating autonomously.

Limitations

• Specific row count, column names, and temporal coverage for the La Crau site are not documented.
• Data accessibility and common format details for the instrument database (e.g., SADE) are not specified.
• The implementation and maintenance periods outlined are historical (2004+), potentially indicating an older initiative.

Provenance

Source

Committee on Earth Observing Systems (CEOS) via the USGS Long Term Archive (USGS_LTA).

Collection Method

Field campaigns and instrumented site measurements for vicarious calibration, with a goal of autonomous data collection.

Geography

La Crau, France.