Early calibration results for the National Ecological Observatory Network’s airborne observation platform

Background/Question/Methods

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is a continental-scale ecological observation platform currently under construction by the National Science Foundation (NSF). NEON’s mission is to enable understanding and forecasting of the impacts of land-use change and invasive species by providing the infrastructure and consistent methodologies in these areas. The Airborne Observation Platform (AOP) will play a unique role in scaling individual in-situ measurements to those collected by satellite-based remote sensing. The platform consists of the NEON Imaging Spectrometer Design Verification Unit (NISDVU), a waveform LIDAR, and a high-resolution camera integrated into a platform integration mount (PIM). Three individual Airborne Observation Platforms will provide coverage of 20 NEON core site and 40 relocatable sites as well as PI-driven science.

A key component is the consistent calibration of these instruments to provide reliable and accurate scientific data over the full lifetime of the NEON observatory. The NEON Sensor Test Facility is under development to provide facilities for the laboratory calibration of the AOP instrumentation. Laboratory calibration results will be verified through independent calibration flights. The first Airborne Observation Platform checkout flights will begin in the spring of 2012.  The flights will be used to develop and test the geolocation algorithm and the radiometric calibration of the imaging spectrometer. These flights will take place near Grand Junction, CO and Ivanpah Playa, CA. This work examines the methods and facilities used to determine the calibration of the AOP instrumentation. Calibration results derived from data collected in the NEON sensor test facility and the checkout flights around Grand Junction, CO and Ivanpah Playa, CA are discussed.

Results/Conclusions

The NEON Airborne Observation Platform was developed to support the consistent and accurate collection of data to bridge scales between individual organisms and continental remote sensing data. The accurate calibration of the instruments is crucial to the long-term validity of the derived data products. The remote sensing instrument payload is currently undergoing calibration and validation in the Sensor Test Facility to establish an initial performance history. The laboratory methods employed and under development in the Sensor Test Facility are discussed. The laboratory results are compared to results from the initial in-situ vicarious calibration of the imaging spectrometer at Ivanpah playa.