Located in the Gobi Desert in northwest China, about 35 km west of the city of Dunhuang (Gansu Province). The calibration area is situated on a stabilized alluvial fan. The area used for vicarious calibration measurements is about 400 m x 400 m in the center of the fan, and the surface comprises cemented gravels with no vegetation. Sources of meteorological data for the site include the Dunhuang-PAM automated weather station, which is part of the Asian Automatic Weather Station Network. Atmospheric aerosols over the site are typical of a rural continental location, although some larger particles were observed, possibly influx from the sand dunes to the northwest. Sandstorms affect the site about 8 days per annum, and atmospheric dust is a significant factor about 60 days per annum. (Source: Network for Calibration and Validation of Earth Observation (NCAVEO) Web site, http://www.ncaveo.ac.uk/calibration/radiometry/in-flight/#dunhuang). AERONET site.
Google Earth: Looks very uniform in intensity and color, especially in Google Maps satellite imagery, which shows more detail.
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
