Setting a White Balance for the Blue Planet

Lake Tuz, Turkey. National Physical Laboratory (UK)

There are quite a few technical issues scientists must take
into consideration when attempting to use satellite-mounted cameras to
photograph a subject as large and complex as planet Earth—like how to
accurately set a white balance. Fortunately, researchers have identified eight locations on
Earth that can potentially help to rectify this problem. 

One of these locations is Lake Tuz, located in the Central
Anatolia Region of Turkey.  Every
summer, the 50x31 mile lake dries out revealing its white, salt-rich floor. Just as we Earthlings can
hold up and photograph a white sheet of paper or gray card to set a custom
white balance, satellite mounted cameras can potentially utilize Lake Tuz to do
the exact same thing—just on a much larger scale. This is very
reassuring news as Earth-observing satellites have become an integral part of
tracking and measuring things like climate change, coastal erosion and natural
disasters. Unfortunately, poor
calibration of these cameras can greatly throw off the accuracy of the data collected.   

While the harsh environment of outer space is notorious for
messing with camera calibrations, sites like Lake Tuz have become extremely
important to scientists as they work to come up with a universal calibration
service for all observation satellites. 

For more information on Lake Tuz and the other seven
potential calibration sites, head on over to: Calvalportal.ceos.org

From: PopSci.com