Using near-surface temperature data to vicariously calibrate high-resolution thermal infrared imagery and estimate physical surface properties.

Thermal response of the surface to solar insolation is a function of the topography and the thermal physical characteristics of the landscape, which include bulk density, heat capacity, thermal conductivity and surface albedo and emissivity. Thermal imaging is routinely used to constrain thermal physical properties by characterizing or modeling changes in the diurnal temperature profiles. Images need to be acquired throughout the diurnal cycle - typically this is done twice during a diurnal cycle, but we suggest multiple times.

Remote temperature sensing by the compact thermal imager from the International Space Station.

A systematic calibration approach is presented to correlate the digital output of an infrared camera and the scene temperature. Aided by the optoelectronic properties of the camera, as few as two experimental data points are needed to establish this correlation. This approach can readily include the effects of atmospheric transmission, scene emissivity, and different background subtractions.

Strained-layer-superlattice-based compact thermal imager for the International Space Station.

The compact thermal imager (CTI) is a dual-band, strained-layer-superlattice (SLS) detector-based instrument that was installed on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) in conjunction with the third Robotic Refueling Mission 3 (RRM3) in 2018. The CTI serves as a pathfinder for future thermal infrared capability on Landsat. The CTI incorporates an SLS hybrid, a dual-band 3-5 and 8-10 μm, electrically switchable, 320×256 array with 30   pixels, bonded to an Indigo ISC0903 Readout Integrated Circuit (ROIC).