Historical Calibration of Landsat 5's Thermal Band
Erin O'Donnell
Abstract
There hasn't been a rigorous study of Landsat 5's thermal band since 1985,
the year after its launch. Nevertheless, those who utilize this thermal
imagery have been using it under the assumption that the sensor is operating
correctly. This research was done to show that the thermal
band of Landsat 5, has been radiometrically stable over its lifetime.
Also, this research attempted to determine what the calibration of the
thermal band has been. This was done using various Landsat
5 images of the thermal bar in the Great Lakes that were taken over the
lifetime of the satellite. The focus of this research was to study
radiance from the Great Lakes and compare this with the radiance values
calculated from the Landsat data. In addition, Landsat 5 was cross
calibrated with Landsat 7. These results suggest that Landsat 5's
thermal band has remained in nominal specification since launch.
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