Imaging Spectrometry for Earth Remote Sensing

TLDR

Imaging spectrometry is now feasible from aircraft and spacecraft, and advances in computing and analytics enable handling the large data volumes it generates. The study aims to promote deterministic multispectral data analysis to spur new digital image‑processing methods. Airborne and spaceborne sensors acquire images in 100–200 contiguous spectral bands simultaneously. Initial results demonstrate that surface materials can be identified directly at the pixel level by sampling absorption features, and that remote acquisition of laboratory‑like spectra represents a major advance.

Abstract

Imaging spectrometry, a new technique for the remote sensing of the earth, is now technically feasible from aircraft and spacecraft. The initial results show that remote, direct identification of surface materials on a picture-element basis can be accomplished by proper sampling of absorption features in the reflectance spectrum. The airborne and spaceborne sensors are capable of acquiring images simultaneously in 100 to 200 contiguous spectral bands. The ability to acquire laboratory-like spectra remotely is a major advance in remote sensing capability. Concomitant advances in computer technology for the reduction and storage of such potentially massive data sets are at hand, and new analytic techniques are being developed to extract the full information content of the data. The emphasis on the deterministic approach to multispectral data analysis as opposed to the statistical approaches used in the past should stimulate the development of new digital image-processing methodologies.