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Semi-empirical topographic normalization methods (e.g., C-correction) have been widely used to correct illumination differences in optical satellite data. The objective of this study was to examine the precision and accuracy of the C-correction's empirical parameter, c, as a function of the sample from which it was derived. Three sampling methods were compared: a random sample, a sample stratified on north and south aspects, and a sample stratified by cosine of the solar incidence angle, i. In the latter, power allocation was used to determine the quantity of observations for each stratum. Four overlapping satellite images were used (two Landsat 5 TM and two SPOT 5 HRG) with different acquisition dates and large solar zenith angles over an alpine region in Sweden. The sample stratified by cosine of i produced c with the highest precision from repeated trials and had coefficients of determination (R²) twice as high …