Contrast enhancing and adjusting advanced very high resolution radiometer scenes for solar illumination

The AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) satellite sensors provide daily coverage of the entire Earth. As a result, individual scenes cover broad geographic areas (roughly 3000 km by 5000 km) and can contain varying levels of solar illumination. Mosaics of AVHRR scenes can be created for large (continental and global) study areas. As the north-south extent of such mosaics increases, the lightness variability within the mosaic increases.

AVHRR channels one and two of multiple daytime scenes were histogrammed to find a relationship between solar zenith and scene lightness as described by brightness value distribution. This relationship was used to determine look-up tables (luts) which removed effects of varying solar illumination. These luts were combined with a contrast enhancing lut and stored online. For individual scenes, one precomputed composite lut was applied to the entire scene based on the solar zenith at scene center. For mosaicked scenes, each pixel was adjusted based on the solar zenith at that pixel location. These procedures reduce lightness variability within and between scenes and enhance scene contrast to provide visually pleasing imagery.