Hyperspectral Imaging
Hyperspectral Imaging
Hyperspectral Imaging
Introduction to
T Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
0.6
Spectral
Plot
0.4
0.2
0.0
0.7 1.2 1.7 2.2
Wavelength (micrometers)
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
Dispersing
Element Imaging
Light from Optics Detectors
a single
ground- Schematic diagram of the basic
resolution elements of an imaging spec-
cell. trometer. Some sensors use
multiple detector arrays to mea-
sure hundreds of narrow
wavelength (λλ ) bands.
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
Spectral Reflectance
In reflected-light spectroscopy the fundamental property that we want to obtain
is spectral reflectance: the ratio of reflected energy to incident energy as a func-
tion of wavelength. Reflectance varies with wavelength for most materials because
energy at certain wavelengths is scattered or absorbed to different degrees. These
reflectance variations are evident when we compare spectral reflectance curves
(plots of reflectance versus wavelength) for different materials, as in the illustra-
tion below. Pronounced downward deflections of the spectral curves mark the
wavelength ranges for which the material selectively absorbs the incident energy.
These features are commonly called absorption bands (not to be confused with
the separate image bands in a multispectral or hyperspectral image). The overall
shape of a spectral curve and the position and strength of absorption bands in
many cases can be used to identify and discriminate different materials. For
example, vegetation has higher reflectance in the near infrared range and lower
reflectance of red light than soils.
1 2 3
SPOT XS Multispectral Bands
1 2 3 4 5 7
Landsat TM Bands
Near Infrared Middle Infrared
Blue
Red
Grn
Reflected Infrared
60
Vegetation
Dry soil
(5% water)
Reflectance (%)
40
Wet soil
(20% water)
20
Clear lake water
Turbid river water
0
0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4
Wavelength (micrometers)
Representative spectral reflectance curves for several common Earth surface ma-
terials over the visible light to reflected infrared spectral range. The spectral bands
used in several multispectral satellite remote sensors are shown at the top for
comparison. Reflectance is a unitless quantity that ranges in value from 0 to 1.0,
or it can be expressed as a percentage, as in this graph. When spectral measure-
ments of a test material are made in the field or laboratory, values of incident
energy are also required to calculate the material’s reflectance. These values are
either measured directly or derived from measurements of light reflected (under
the same illumination conditions as the test material) from a standard reference
material with known spectral reflectance.
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
Mineral Spectra
In inorganic materials such as minerals, chemical composition and crystalline
structure control the shape of the spectral curve and the presence and positions of
specific absorption bands. Wavelength-specific absorption may be caused by the
presence of particular chemical elements or ions, the ionic charge of certain ele-
ments, and the geometry of chemical bonds between elements, which is governed
in part by the crystal structure.
The illustration below shows spectra of some common minerals that provide
examples of these effects. In the spectrum of hematite (an iron-oxide mineral), the
strong absorption in the visible light range is caused by ferric iron (Fe+3). In
calcite, the major component of limestone, the carbonate ion (CO3-2) is respon-
sible for the series of absorption bands between 1.8 and 2.4 micrometers (µm).
Kaolinite and montmorillonite are clay minerals that are common in soils. The
strong absorption band near 1.4 µm in both spectra, along with the weak 1.9 µm
band in kaolinite, are due to hydroxide ions (OH-1), while the stronger 1.9 µm band
in montmorillonite is caused by bound water molecules in this hydrous clay. In
contrast to these examples, orthoclase feldspar, a dominant mineral in granite,
shows almost no significant absorption features in the visible to middle infrared
spectral range.
60
Montmorillonite
40
Hematite
20
0
0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4
Wavelength (micrometers)
Reflectance spectra of some representative minerals (naturally occurring chemical
compounds that are the major components of rocks and soils).
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
Plant Spectra
The spectral reflectance curves of healthy green plants also have a characteristic
shape that is dictated by various plant attributes. In the visible portion of the
spectrum, the curve shape is governed by absorption effects from chlorophyll
and other leaf pigments. Chlorophyll absorbs visible light very effectively but
absorbs blue and red wavelengths more strongly than green, producing a charac-
teristic small reflectance peak within the green wavelength range. As a
consequence, healthy plants appear to us as green in color. Reflectance rises
sharply across the boundary between red and near infrared wavelengths (some-
times referred to as the red edge) to values of around 40 to 50% for most plants.
This high near-infrared reflectance is primarily due to interactions with the inter-
nal cellular structure of leaves. Most of the remaining energy is transmitted, and
can interact with other leaves lower in the canopy. Leaf structure varies signifi-
cantly between plant species, and can also change as a result of plant stress. Thus
species type, plant stress, and canopy state all can affect near infrared reflectance
measurements. Beyond 1.3 µm reflectance decreases with increasing wavelength,
except for two pronounced water absorption bands near 1.4 and 1.9 µm.
At the end of the growing season leaves lose water and chlorophyll. Near infra-
red reflectance decreases and red reflectance increases, creating the familiar yellow,
brown, and red leaf colors of autumn.
Grass
Walnut tree canopy
60
Reflectance (%)
Fir tree
40
Dry, yellowed
20 grass
0
0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4
Wavelength (micrometers)
Reflectance spectra of different types of green vegetation compared to a spectral
curve for senescent (dry, yellowed) leaves. Different portions of the spectral curves
for green vegetation are shaped by different plant components, as shown at the top.
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
Spectral Libraries
Several libraries of reflectance spectra of natural and man-made materials are
available for public use. These libraries provide a source of reference spectra
that can aid the interpretation of hyperspectral and multispectral images.
ASTER Spectral Library This library has been made available by NASA as part
of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (AS-
TER) imaging instrument program. It includes spectral compilations from NASA’s
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, and the United States Geo-
logical Survey (Reston). The ASTER spectral library currently contains nearly
2000 spectra, including minerals, rocks, soils, man-made materials, water, and
snow. Many of the spectra cover the entire wavelength region from 0.4 to 14 µm.
The library is accessible interactively via the Worldwide Web at http://
speclib.jpl.nasa.gov. You can search for spectra by category, view a spectral plot
for any of the retrieved spectra, and download the data for individual spectra as
a text file. These spectra can be imported into a TNTmips spectral library. You can
also order the ASTER spectral library on CD-ROM at no charge from the above
web address.
Sample spectra
80 Visible Near Infrared from the ASTER
Middle Infrared
Spectral Library.
ASTER will be one
Granite
Reflectance (%)
60 of the instruments
on the planned
Concrete EOS AM-1
40 satellite, and will
Asphalt roof shingles record image data
in 14 channels
20 Basalt from the visible
through thermal
infrared wavelength
0 regions as part of
0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 NASA’s Earth
Wavelength (micrometers) Science Enterprise
program.
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
Averaged measured
brightness for a portion
of playa surface (red
square at right).
This spectrum does not bear much resemblance to the reflectance spectra illus-
trated previously. This is because the sensor has simply measured the amount of
reflected light reaching it in each wavelength band (spectral radiance), in this
case from an altitude of 20 kilometers. The spectral reflectance of the surface
materials is only one of the factors affecting these measured values. The spectral
reflectance curve for the sample area is actually relatively flat and featureless.
In addition to surface reflectance, the spectral radiance measured by a remote
sensor depends on the spectrum of the input solar energy, interactions of this
energy during its downward and upward passages through the atmosphere, the
geometry of illumination for individual areas on the ground, and characteristics
of the sensor system. These additional factors not only affect our ability to re-
trieve accurate spectral reflectance values for ground features, but also introduce
additional within-scene variability which hampers comparisons between individual
image cells. These factors are discussed in more detail on the next two pages.
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
Illumination Factors
Source Illumination The figure below shows a typical solar irradiance curve
for the top of the Earth’s atmosphere. The incoming solar energy varies greatly
with wavelength, peaking in the range of visible light. The spectrum of incoming
solar energy at the time an image was acquired must be known, assumed, or
derived indirectly from other measurements in order to convert image radiance
values to reflectance.
2.5
2.0
(kilowatts / m2 • µ m)
Spectral Irradiance
1.0
0.5
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
O2 CO2 CO2
0.6
H2O
0.4 H2O
CO2
H2O
0.2
0
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
Wavelength (micrometers)
Plot of atmospheric transmittance versus wavelength for typical atmospheric con-
ditions. Transmittance is the proportion of the incident solar energy that reaches the
ground surface. Absorption by the labeled gases causes pronounced lows in the
curve, while scattering is responsible for the smooth decrease in transmittance with
decreasing wavelength in the near infrared through visible wavelength range.
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
Reflectance Conversion I
In order to directly compare hyperspectral image spectra with reference reflec-
tance spectra, the encoded radiance values in the image must be converted to
reflectance. A comprehensive conversion must account for the solar source spec-
trum, lighting effects due to sun angle and topography, atmospheric transmission,
and sensor gain. In mathematical terms, the ground reflectance spectrum is mul-
tiplied (on a wavelength per wavelength basis) by these effects to produce the
measured radiance spectrum. Two other effects contribute in an additive fashion
to the radiance spectrum: sensor offset (internal instrument noise) and path radi-
ance due to atmospheric scattering. Several commonly used reflectance conversion
strategies are discussed below and on the following page. Some strategies use
only information drawn from the image, while others require varying degrees of
knowledge of the surface reflectance properties and the atmospheric conditions
at the time the image was acquired.
Flat Field Conversion This image-based method requires that the image in-
clude a uniform area that has a relatively flat spectral reflectance curve. The
mean spectrum of such an area would be dominated by the combined effects of
solar irradiance and atmospheric scattering and absorption The scene is con-
verted to “relative” reflectance by dividing each image spectrum by the flat field
mean spectrum. The selected flat field should be bright in order to reduce the
effects of image noise on the conversion. Since few if any materials in natural
landscapes have a completely flat reflectance spectrum, finding a suitable “flat
field” is difficult for most scenes. For desert scenes, salt-encrusted dry lake beds
present a relatively flat spectrum, and bright man-made materials such as con-
crete may serve in urban scenes. Any significant spectral absorption features in
the flat field spectrum will give rise to spurious features in the calculated relative
reflectance spectra. If there is significant elevation variation within the scene,
the converted spectra will also incorporate residual effects of topographic shad-
ing and atmospheric path differences.
Average Relative Reflectance Conversion This method also normalizes image
spectra by dividing by a mean spectrum, but derives the mean spectrum from the
entire image. Before computing the mean spectrum, the radiance values in each
image spectrum are scaled so that their sum is constant over the entire image.
This adjustment largely removes topographic shading and other overall bright-
ness variations. The method assumes that the scene is heterogeneous enough that
spatial variations in spectral reflectance characteristics will cancel out, produc-
ing a mean spectrum similar to the flat field spectrum described above. This
assumption is not true of all scenes, and when it is not true the method will
produce relative reflectance spectra that contain spurious spectral features.
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
Reflectance Conversion II
The image-based conversion methods discussed on the previous page only ac-
count for multiplicative contributions to the image spectra. Most studies that
have used these methods have focused on mapping minerals using shortwave
infrared spectra (2.0 to 2.5 µm) for which the additive effect of atmospheric path
radiance is minimal. If the spectra to be analyzed include the visible and near
infrared ranges, however, path radiance effects should not be neglected. If the
scene includes dark materials or deep topographic shadows, an approximate cor-
rection can be made by determining (for each band) the minimum brightness
value (or the average value of a shadowed area) and subtracting it from each pixel
in the band.
Empirical Line Method Field researchers using hyperspectral imagery typically
use field reflectance measurements from the image area to convert the image data
to reflectance. Field reflectance spectra must be acquired from two or more uni-
form ground target areas. Target areas should have widely different brightness
and be large enough to recognize in the image. Using the image radiance and
ground reflectance values for the target areas, a linear equation relating radiance
to reflectance can be derived for each image band.
Bright target
In a plot of radiance versus reflectance, the slope of
the calculated line quantifies the combined effects Slope = gain
Radiance
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
N u m b e r Wa v e l e n g t h
Sensor Or g a n iz a tio n C o u n try
o f B a n d s R a n g e (µ m )
U ni t e d
AV IRIS NA S A 224 0 .4 - 2 .5
S ta te s
A IS A S p e c t r a l Im a g i ng L t d . F i nl a nd 286 0 .4 5 - 0 .9
CASI It r e s Re s e a r c h C a na d a 288 0 .4 3 - 0 .8 7
D A IS U ni t e d
GE R C o rp . 2 11 0 .4 - 1 2 .0
2 11 5 S ta te s
Int e g r a t e d S p e c t r o ni c s
HYM A P A us t r a l i a 128 0 .4 - 2 .4 5
P ty L td
E a r t h S e a r c h S c i e nc e s U ni t e d
P ROB E - 1 128 0 .4 - 2 .4 5
Inc . S ta te s
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
Linear Unmixing
Linear unmixing is an alternative approach to simple
spectral matching. Its underlying premise is that a scene
includes a relatively small number of common materi-
als with more or less constant spectral properties.
Furthermore, much of the spectral variability in a scene
can be attributed to spatial mixing, in varying propor-
tions, of these common endmember components. If
we can identify the endmember spectra, we can math- Portion of an AVIRIS
ematically “unmix” each pixel’s spectrum to identify scene with forest, bare
the relative abundance of each endmember material. and vegetated fields,
and a river, shown with
The unmixing procedure models each image spectrum a color-infrared band
as the sum of the fractional abundances of the combination (vegetation
is red). Fraction images
endmember spectra, with the further constraint that the from linear unmixing are
fractions should sum to 1.0. The best-fitting set of frac- shown below.
tions is found using the same spectral-matching
procedure described on the previous page. A fraction
image for each endmember distills the abundance in-
formation into a form that is readily interpreted and
manipulated. An image showing the residual error for
each pixel helps identify parts of the scene that are not
adequately modeled by the selected set of endmembers.
The challenge in linear unmixing is to identify a set of Vegetation fraction
spectral endmembers that correspond to actual physi-
cal components on the surface. Endmembers can be
defined directly from the image using field information
or an empirical selection technique such as the one
outlined on the next page can be used. Alternatively,
endmember reflectance spectra can be selected from a
reference library, but this approach requires that the
image has been accurately converted to reflectance.
Water / shade fraction
Variations in lighting can be included directly in the
mixing model by defining a “shade” endmember that
can mix with the actual material spectra. A shade spec-
trum can be obtained directly from a deeply shadowed
portion of the image. In the absence of deep shadows,
the spectrum of a dark asphalt surface or a deep water
body can approximate the shade spectrum, as in the
example to the right.
Soil fraction
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
Partial Unmixing
Some hyperspectral image applications do not require finding the fractional abun-
dance of all endmember components in the scene. Instead the objective may be
to detect the presence and abundance of a single target material. In this case a
complete spectral unmixing is unnecessary. Each pixel can be treated as a poten-
tial mixture of the target spectral signature and a composite signature representing
all other materials in the scene. Finding the abundance of the target component
is then essentially a partial unmixing problem.
Methods for detecting a target spectrum against a background of unknown spec-
tra are often referred to as matched filters, a term borrowed from radio signal
processing. Various matched filtering algorithms have been developed, includ-
ing orthogonal subspace projection and constrained energy minimization (Farrand
and Harsanyi, 1994). All of these approaches perform a mathematical transfor-
mation of the image spectra to accentuate the contribution of the target spectrum
while minimizing the background. In a geometric sense, matched filter methods
find a projection of the n-dimensional spectral space that shows the full range of
abundance of the target spectrum but “hides” the variability of the background.
In most instances the spectra that contribute to the background are unknown, so
most matched filters use statistical methods to estimate the composite background
signature from the image itself. Some methods only work well when the target
material is rare and does not contribute significantly to the background signature.
A modified version of matched filtering uses derivatives of the spectra rather
than the spectra themselves, which improves the matching of spectra with differ-
ing overall brightness.
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
References
General
Kruse, F.A. (1999). Visible-Infrared Sensors and Case Studies. In Renz, Andrew
N. (ed), Remote Sensing for the Earth Sciences: Manual of Remote Sens-
ing (3rd ed.), Vol 3. New York: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 567-611.
Landgrebe, David (1999). Information Extraction Principles and Methods for Mul-
tispectral and Hyperspectral Image Data. In Chen, C.H. (ed.), Information
Processing for Remote Sensing. River Edge, NJ: World Scientific Publish-
ing Company, pp. 3-38.
Vane, Gregg, Duval, J.E., and Wellman, J.B. (1993). Imaging Spectroscopy of the
Earth and Other Solar System Bodies. In Pieters, Carle M. and Englert,
Peter A.J. (eds.), Remote Geochemical Analysis: Elementatl and Miner-
alogic Composition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp.
121-143.
Vane, Gregg, and Goetz, A.F.H. (1988). Terrestrial Imaging Spectroscopy. Re-
mote Sensing of Environment, 24, pp. 1-29.
Spectral Reflectance Signatures
Ben-Dor, E., Irons, J.R., and Epema, G.F. (1999). Soil Reflectance. In Renz, Andrew
N. (ed), Remote Sensing for the Earth Sciences: Manual of Remote Sens-
ing (3rd ed.), Vol 3. New York: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 111-188.
Clark, Roger N. (1999). Spectroscopy of Rocks and Minerals, and Principles of
Spectroscopy. In Renz, Andrew N. (ed), Remote Sensing for the Earth
Sciences: Manual of Remote Sensing (3rd ed.), Vol 3. New York: John
Wiley & Sons, pp. 3-58.
Ustin, S.L., Smith, M.O., Jacquemoud, S., Verstraete, M., and Govaerts, Y. (1999).
Geobotany: Vegetation Mapping for Earth Sciences. In Renz, Andrew N.
(ed), Remote Sensing for the Earth Sciences: Manual of Remote Sensing
(3rd ed.), Vol 3. New York: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 189-248.
Reflectance Conversion
Farrand, William H., Singer, R.B., and Merenyi, E., 1994, Retrieval of Apparent
Surface Reflectance from AVIRIS Data: A Comparison of Empirical Line,
Radiative Transfer, and Spectral Mixture Methods. Remote Sensing of
Environment, 47, 311-321.
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging
References
Goetz, Alexander F.H., and Boardman, J.W. (1997). Atmospheric Corrections:
On Deriving Surface Reflectance from Hyperspectral Imagers. In Descour,
Michael R. and Shen, S.S. (eds.), Imaging Spectrometry III: Proceedings
of SPIE, 3118, 14-22.
van der Meer, Freek (1994). Calibration of Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging
Spectrometer Data (AVIRIS) to Reflectance and Mineral Mapping in
Hydrothermal Alteration Zones: An Example from the “Cuprite Mining
District”. Geocarto International, 3, 23-37.
Hyperspectral Image Analysis
Adams, John B., Smith, M.O., and Gillespie, A.R. (1993). Imaging Spectros-
copy: Interpretation Based on Spectral Mixture Analysis. In Pieters, Carle
M. and Englert, Peter A.J. (eds.), Remote Geochemical Analysis:
Elementatl and Mineralogic Composition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press, pp. 145-166.
Clark, R.N., Gallagher, A.J., and Swayze, G.A. (1990). Material absorption band
depth mapping of imaging spectrometer data using a complete band shape
least-squares fit with library reference spectra. Proceedings of the Sec-
ond Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) Workshop,
JPL Publication 90-54, pp. 176-186.
Cloutis, E.A., (1996). Hyperspectral Geological Remote Sensing: Evaluation of
Analytical Techniques. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 17, 2215-
2242.
Farrand, William H., and Harsanyi, J.C. (1994). Mapping Distributed Geologi-
cal and Botanical Targets through Constrained Energy Minimization.
Proceedings of the Tenth Thematic Conference on Geological Remote
Sensing, San Antonio, Texas, 9-12 May 1994, pp. I-419 - I-429.
Green, Andrew A., Berman, M., Switzer, P., and Craig, M.D. (1988). A Trans-
formation for Ordering Multispectral Data in Terms of Image Quality with
Implications for Noise Removal. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and
Remote Sensing, 26, 65-74.
Mustard, John F., and Sunshine, J.M. (1999). Spectral Analysis for Earth Sci-
ence: Investigations Using Remote Sensing Data. In Renz, Andrew N.
(ed), Remote Sensing for the Earth Sciences: Manual of Remote Sensing
(3rd ed.), Vol 3. New York: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 251-306.
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I
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Introduction to Hyperspectral Imaging T
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Index
absorption spectral radiance.........................................11
bands..................................................5-7 spectral reflectance.................................5-11
atmospheric...................................13,18 converting image to.........................14-15
atmosphere curve See spectrum
absorption by...........................13,18 defined.................................................5
scattering by.................................13 spectral space..............................................9
continuum.......................................18 spectrometer..................................................4
illumination..........................................11,12 spectroscopy.........................................4,5
imaging spectrometer........................4,10,16 spectrum (spectra)
irradiance, solar.........................................12 endmember....................................19,20
linear unmixing....................................19-21 image....................................3,17-20
matched filtering.......................................21 in library.........................................8
matching, spectral................................17,18 mineral......................................6
minimum noise fraction transform............20 mixed.................................................10
pixel purity index......................................20 plant.....................................................7
resolution, spatial......................................10 plotting.................................................9
scattering.............................................4,5,13 reflectance.......................................5-11
sensor effects.............................................13 soil.......................................................5
shadowing.................................................12 solar...................................................12
spectral libraries..........................................8 water....................................................5
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