B. Franch

University of Maryland, College Park, Goddard Space Flight Center

Papers

Total Citations

1,876

H-Index

About

Dr. B. Franch is a leading figure in Earth observation and remote sensing, renowned for advancing the accuracy of satellite-derived land surface data. Her primary research focuses on the calibration, validation, and performance assessment of surface reflectance products from the Landsat series, a cornerstone of global environmental monitoring. Franch’s major contributions include the rigorous evaluation and cross-comparison of reflectance data from multiple Landsat sensors—TM, ETM+, and OLI—ensuring their reliability for long-term climate and land-cover studies. Her seminal 2016 paper, "Preliminary analysis of the performance of the Landsat 8/OLI land surface reflectance product," has garnered over 1,640 citations, underscoring its critical role in operationalizing high-quality satellite data. Complementing this, her 2015 work on Landsat-5 and Landsat-7 products (233 citations) established foundational benchmarks for sensor continuity. Through these efforts, Franch has directly supported the scientific community’s ability to track changes in vegetation, urban expansion, and water resources with unprecedented confidence. Her work is indispensable for researchers and agencies relying on Landsat’s four-decade archive, making her a key architect of modern Earth observation infrastructure.