The Network for Calibration and Validation in Earth Observation (NCAVEO) 2006 field campaign

This paper describes a remote sensing field campaign undertaken by the Network for Calibration and Validation in Earth Observation (NCAVEO) in southern England in June 2006. The aims of the campaign were: (a) to gain experience in the collection and use of field data to validate radiance and reflectance products from airborne and satellite sensors; (b) to share best practice on the validation of leaf-area index (LAI) estimates derived from satellite sensor data; and (c) to assemble a quality controlled, multi-scale, multi-sensor data set for algorithm development and testing. Data specifically to support the campaign experiments were acquired by CHRIS/Proba, SPOT and three satellites in the DMC constellation. Three aircraft fitted with hyperspectral sensors, LiDAR and high performance digital survey cameras were flown over the test area. Several field teams made measurements on the ground, and many data sets were acquired near-simultaneously so as to allow direct inter-comparison. The data may be accessed via the NERC EO Data Centre and potential uses are many and varied, including research, education and training on the physical basis of remote sensing (e.g. sensor and instrument calibration); image understanding (e.g. up- and down-scaling); and remote sensing applications (e.g. land cover mapping, forest survey, river habitat survey, LAI estimation, policy-related issues)