FinCAS: Establishing a Satellite EO Cal/Val Site in Sjökulla, Finland PDF Free Download
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FinCAS:
Establishing a Satellite EO
Cal/Val Site in Sjökulla, Finland
(FGI/NLS) Juha Suomalainen, Eero Ahokas,
Jyri Näränen, Teemu Hakala, Eija Honkavaara
(Terramonitor) Joni Norppa, Hassan Amjad,
Lauri Häme, Tuomas Häme
VH-RODA 2025
17 –21 November 2025 | ESA-ESRIN | Frascati (RM), Italy
Contents
●Aim of FinCAS project
●Sjökulla site
●Ongoing renewal of site
radiometric and geometric targets
●Initial plans for calibrations,
instrumentation, and services
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Project:
FinCAS - Finnish Calibration site
●ESA funded project
○18 months, 2025-2026
○Project Officer: Leonardo De Laurentiis, ESA
●Phase 1: Define requirements and needs
for new VHR satellite cal/val site located in
Finland
●Sjökulla test field:
Update site meant for airborne
remote sensing systems for
satellite use
○perform small site renovations
○pilot a cal/val campaign in 2026 3
●At Kirkkonummi, southern
Finland (60.242 N, 24.383 E)
●Operated by FGI since 1994
●Airborne remote sensing
●Drone permissive test area
●About 100m x 50 m size
●30km from Helsinki
●2km from FGI Metsähovi
geodetic core station
Sjökulla site
Cal/val site in southern Finland?
●Northern latitude (60.24 N, 24.38 E):
○Satellites revisit more often
○Site usable only on summer time (APR-SEP)
○SAR also on winter time?
●Atmosphere:
○Climate.top data:
■~1800 hours of sunlight per year
■Sunny on ~50% of summer daylight
hours.
○Specialization: Validation of BOA products in
atmospheric conditions matching applications
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SITUATION ON SUMMER 2025
2020
2014
1990’s
1990’s
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Trees
causing
shadows
and
dropping
leaves
Vegetation
growing
through
Algae
Algae
Mixed
gravels
Rotten
fences
Uneven
Uneven
Uneven
Good
Good
SITUATION ON SUMMER 2025
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Remove
trees
New white
gravel
Keep
Moved
CHANGES ON WINTER 2025/2026
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2025-11-13
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~40m ~30m
14m
RADIOMETRIC TARGETS
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<1m
MTF using
slanted edge
method
<5m
Resolution
using contrast
methods
Concrete slab bar
resolution targets?
GEOMETRIC TARGETS
Norwegian Dolomite Gravel
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Reflectance spectrum Reflectance Anisotropy
Initial results, proper calibration to be done later
Up to 5% effect
at 10° off-nadir-angle
Flat spectrum
Instrumentations and
calibrations?
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•Radiometric measurements:
BOA irradiance, upwelling radiance, reflectance
•Green Monitor sensor
•HYPERNETS?
•Atmospheric measurements:
•All sky camera for clouds
•AERONET instrument?
•Drone data:
•Automated time series using a drone in a box system?
•Hyperspectral, BRF, and 3D mapping of site and
surroundings in cm-scale
•Upscaling from point measurement to satellite pixel level
•Gravel/target lab calibrations using FGI radiometric
capabilities
•Reflectance, BRDF
Initial ideas
●FGI’s FinnRef network of
GNSS stations
●10 stations are equipped with
SAR reflectors for S and X
bands
●Lakes near Sjökulla are
considered as thermal
sensing calibration objects
joni.norppa@terramonitor.com
Possible services for
SAR and thermal?
Initial ideas
Next steps
Summer 2026
●New gravel targets will be usable
●Reflectance and BRDF calibration of gravels.
●Drone mapping (RGB, hyperspectal, lidar) of site and surrounding
●Pilot cal/val campaign
●Complete planning for future cal/val site features,
instrumentation, and services
We would be happy to get input from
potential future users.
2027→
●Phase 2: Set up of instrumentation?
●Phase 3: Continuous cal/val services?
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