Comparison of Landsat MSS, Nimbus 7 CZCS, and NOAA 6/7 AVHRR features for land use analysis

Spectral characteristics of the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) on board Nimbus 7, the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on NOAA 6 and 7 and the Multispectral Scanner (MSS) on Landsat 1-3 are analyzed to comparatively assess their utility for land use analysis through remote sensing. The examination of simulated in-band radiances suggests that each sensor would respond to incident radiation reflected from a typical agricultural scene in a highly comparable manner, with most of the variation captured in two physically related variables. Several measures of green vegetation are examined and features are proposed for crop condition assessment with consideration of the course resolution characteristics of AVHRR and CZCS.