Parametrized BRDF for atmospheric and topographic correction and albedo estimation in Jiangxi rugged terrain,China

A method is presented for bi‐directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) parametrization for topographic correction and surface reflectance estimation from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) over rugged terrain. Following this reflectance, albedo is calculated accurately. BRDF is parametrized using a land‐cover map and Landsat TM to build a BRDF factor to remove the variation of relative solar incident angle and relative sensor viewing angle per pixel. Based on the BRDF factor and radiative transfer model, solar direct radiance correction, sky diffuse radiance and adjacent terrain reflected radiance correction were introduced into the atmospheric‐topographic correction method. Solar direct radiance, sky diffuse radiance and adjacent terrain reflected radiance, as well as atmospheric transmittance and path radiance, are analysed in detail and calculated per pixel using a look‐up table (LUT) with a digital elevation model (DEM). The method is applied to Landsat TM imagery that covers a rugged area in Jiangxi province, China. Results show that atmospheric and topographic correction based on BRDF gives better surface reflectance compared with sole atmospheric correction and two other useful atmospheric‐topographic correction methods. Finally, surface albedo is calculated based on this topography‐corrected reflectance and shows a reasonable accuracy in albedo estimation.     

Aspects of operational atmospheric correction of hyperspectral imagery

The large number of spectral bands of hyperspectral instruments and the time required for the calculation of atmospheric look-up tables and the reflectance image cube pose very challenging requirements on an operational processing facility. This contribution presents some aspects and suggestions to reduce the processing time. Essential components are a precalculated database with a reduced number of spectral bands, an interactive phase to determine the appropriate atmospheric parameters, and a choice between medium and high accuracy levels for the atmospheric correction. The medium accuracy levels work with look-up tables for a reduced number of spectral bands employing interpolation for the channels omitted in the look-up tables. The high accuracy level uses tables for all channels and includes the scan angle dependence of the atmospheric radiance and transmittance functions. These ideas were successfully implemented and tested during several airborne hyperspectral campaigns resulting in an estimated time saving of a factor 3-7. The deviations of field measured reflectance spectra and spectra retrieved from airborne HyMap imagery are in the range of 2-3% or better.     

Reduction of atmospheric and topographic effect on Landsat TM data for forest classification

The incident radiance in forested areas with rugged terrain varies greatly with the changes in solar elevation and azimuth, slope and aspect of the terrain, and the relative position of trees. The geotropic nature must be considered in the course of topographic correction. The Sun‐Canopy‐Sensor (SCS) model is introduced to substitute the cosine correction in a physical model. We used an atmospheric simulation code, MODTRAN, and a digital elevation model (DEM) to calculate the path radiance, downwards diffuse radiance and two‐way transmittance of direct and diffuse light at different altitudes. Based on the atmospheric parameters derived above and the Lambertian assumption, surface reflectance in a forested area was retrieved from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery using a revised physical model. Meanwhile, a smoothed DEM was used to assess the effect of noise on the DEM and misregistration between the DEM and the satellite imagery. Correlation analysis, spectral comparison between sunlit and shaded slopes and a support vector machine (SVM) classification were performed to assess the effect of the revised radiometric correction algorithm. Results indicate that the revised physical model with smoothed DEM is more adequate for forested terrain and more consistent spectra for similar vegetation under different illuminations can be obtained. Finally, higher classification accuracy of forested land can be achieved with the revised correction algorithm compared with the SCS correction and the original physical correction model.     

机载AISA Eagle Ⅱ高光谱数据处理——以额济纳旗试验区为例

机载AISA EagleⅡ传感器为"黑河综合遥感联合试验(HiWATER)"额济纳旗试验区提供航空高光谱影像。介绍了高光谱原始数据的辐射定标、几何校正、大气校正等预处理过程。根据研究区地形差异以及数据使用目的的多样性,几何校正中可选择是否加高精度DEM产品,大气校正的选择策略可分为平坦地形无DEM的大气校正和起伏地形添加DEM大气校正。本试验数据采用加载高精度DEM的几何校正和平坦地形大气校正方法,经过预处理后的高光谱数据产品,其地理坐标与高分辨率的CCD影像对比,地理位置信息较为准确;与实测地物光谱对比,影像光谱能较好地体现地物光谱的特性,数据可用作定量遥感进一步的研究。     

Correction of atmospheric and topographic effects for high spatial resolution satellite imagery

A method for the combined correction of atmospheric and topographic effects has been developed. It accounts for horizontally varying atmospheric conditions and also includes the height dependence of the atmospheric radiance and transmittance functions to simulate the simplified properties of a threedimensional atmosphere. A Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is used to obtain information about surface elevation, slope, and orientation. Based on the Lambertian assumption the surface reflectance in rugged terrain is calculated. The method is restricted to high spatial resolution satellite sensors like Landsat TM and SPOT HRV, since some simplifying assumptions are being made to reduce the required image processing time. The possibilities and limitations of the method are critically discussed.     

基于IDL的遥感影像大气与地形校正方法实现

介绍了利用交互式数据语言（Interactive Data Language,IDL）开发TM/ETM遥感影像大气与地形校正模型的详细过程,以2000年4月30日密云ETM影像为例,对大气与地形校正方法的有效性和实用性进行了验证。结果表明,该方法有效地消除了大气与地形影响,提高了地表反射率等地表参数的反演精度和数据质量,为进一步开展定量遥感研究提供了数据质量保障。     

卫星遥感影像数据的地形影响校正

地形影响校正是遥感影像辐射校正的主要内容，是获得地表真实反射率的必不可少的一步。本文提出的方法中，将6S大气校正模型与数字高程模型（DEM）结合起来，计算出水平地面上接收到的直接辐射与漫射辐射，并采用一个简单公式将其转化到地形坡面上，从而实现了对地面的辐射能量校正，同时，6S模型对卫片还进行了大气改正，可输出卫片在大气层底部的辐射亮度与反射率；然后将基于坡面的反射率换算到其在水平面上的对应值，即实现了对反射率的地形影响校正。在我们所实施的“滇金丝猴保护项目”的植被研究中，应用本方法对梅里雪山区域的ETM＋影像进行了校正，大大减小了地形对遥感数据的附加影响。     

Comparison of atmospheric modelling versus empirical line fitting for mosaicking HYDICE imagery

This letter compares two approaches for determining surface reflectance from hyperspectral airborne imagery (HYDICE) radiance values, and discusses the implications for mosaicking multiple flight lines of HYDICE imagery. Empirical line correction, using calibration panels followed by histogram matching to an adjacent image, produced results comparable with that obtained from applying the ATREM model (Gao et al. 1993, Remote Sensing of Environment, 44, 165-178) to the two flight lines individually. Percentage errors were greatest for low albedo materials and for the long wavelength portions of the spectra. Overall, differences in reflectance values between adjacent frames of 2-5% in the visible/near-infrared to more than 25% in the mid-infrared can be expected.     

Simulation of hyperspectral and directional radiance images using coupled biophysical and atmospheric radiative transfer models

Future remote sensing satellite missions exploring the earth will feature advanced hyperspectral and directional optical imaging instruments. Given the complex nature of the data to be expected from these missions, a thorough preparation for them is essential and this can be accomplished by realistic simulation of the imagery data, years before the actual launch. Based on given spectral and directional capabilities of the instrument, and in combination with biophysical land surface properties obtained from existing imagery, the spectral and directional responses of several types of vegetation and bare soil have been simulated pixel by pixel using the radiative transfer models PROSPECT (for hyperspectral leaf reflectance and transmittance), GeoSAIL (for two-layer canopy bidirectional spectral reflectance), and MODTRAN4 (for atmospheric hyperspectral and directional effects). In this way, one obtains realistically simulated hyperspectral and directional top-of-atmosphere spectral radiance images, with all major effects included, such as heterogeneity of the landscape, non-Lambertian reflectance of the land surface, the atmospheric adjacency effect, and the limited spatial resolution of the instrument. The output of the image simulations can be used to demonstrate the capabilities of future earth observation missions. In addition, instrument specifications and image acquisition strategies might be optimized on the basis of simulated image analysis results, and new advanced data assimilation procedures could be validated with realistic inputs under controlled circumstances. This paper describes the applied methodology, the study area with the input images, the set-up of the actual image simulations, and discusses the final results obtained.     

An O2-A Band Atmospheric Correction Algorithm for Tower-based Platform based on Look-up Table

Tower-based spectral observation is an important connecting bridge between flux sites and satellite remote sensing data，and the effect of atmospheric absorption and scattering between horizontal surface and tower-based platform on the atmospheric absorption band such as O2-A is difficult to ignore.Firstly，the influence of atmospheric radiation transfer on the up-welling radiance and down-welling irradiance of the tower-based platform is analyzed，and the atmospheric correction method of based on upward and downward transmittance is established，that is，the influence of the upwelling radiance and down-welling irradiance is corrected by the direct transmittance and the total transmittance.Secondly，using the simulation data of MODTRAN model，the influence of AOD550 and radiative transfer path length on atmospheric transmittance is quantitatively analyzed，and the LUT of AOD550 is established based on the ratio of down-welling irradiance of near-infrared and red bands and solar zenith angle，as well as the upward and downward atmospheric transmittance LUT based on the AOD550 and the radiative transfer path length.Finally，using the canopy spectral data of different growth stages observed by the tower-based platform，the difference of the apparent reflectance between the inside and outside of the O₂-A band absorption line before and after atmospheric correction was analyzed.The results show that the atmospheric correction method based on LUT of AOD550 and radiative transfer path length proposed in this paper can better correct the influence of upwelling radiance and down-welling on the O₂-A absorption band of the tower-based platform，and provides important method support for applications such as SIF observation on the tower platform.     

遥感影像地形与大气校正系统设计与实现

遥感影像地形和大气校正是提高定量化遥感数据处理精度的重要因素。目前的数据处理软件系统集成了一些地形和大气校正算法,但在应用中还存在不能获取重要的地形参数(如阴影因子、天空可视因子等),需提供精准DEM和校正方法基于朗伯体地表假设等问题。为应对遥感专业用户需求,设计并实现了遥感影像地形与大气校正软件系统,用以对影像进行地形辐射校正、获取DEM数据和相关地形参数、地形与大气校正等。介绍了系统的功能模块设计并展示了系统的原型版本,并应用系统中的地形和大气校正方法获取了HJ/CCD影像和Landsat/TM影像的反射率。校正结果表明:该系统中的BRDF模型能够有效消除地形影响。系统的实现可以为遥感科学研究和应用提供支撑。     

The integrated radiometric correction of optical remote sensing imageries

Abstract Environmental analysis, management and modelling require detailed and precise land‐use/land‐cover discrimination as initial conditions of land surface characteristics. With the ultimate goal of accurate land surface classification analysis, we devised a fully image‐based and physically based correction method (the Integrated Radiometric Correction (IRC) method) considering both the atmospheric and the topographic effects simultaneously, using the information deduced from the satellite images and 5 m resolution DEM data. The overall process is carried out in four steps: (i) calculation of the radiance/irradiance relational expression for horizontal surfaces, (ii) devising the radiance/irradiance relational expression for inclined surfaces, (iii) derivation of solar and land geometric parameters from DEM data, as well as the calculation of the topographic correction factor (A‐factor) and the atmospheric transmittance functions, and (iv) retrieval of the corrected surface reflectance and radiance. Using Landsat/ETM+ satellite data, the performance of the formulated IRC method is evaluated visually and statistically. Visual evaluation of radiometrically corrected images shows significant improvements for each band as well as for various bands composites, while the independence between the corrected surface reflectance and radiance, and the topography (incidence angle (i) or solar illumination (cos i)) is shown by very weak correlation coefficients as compared with non‐corrected data.     

机载成像光谱图象边缘辐射畸变校正

由于受大气效应、地物反射非朗伯特性、仪器－太阳－目标相对几何关系以及仪器系统本身特性等多种因素的影响,机载成像光谱数据中不可避免地将引入系统或非系统的辐射畸变,严重地影响了数据表达信息的可靠性和有效性。目前虽然已有一些机载遥感图像辐射畸变校正方法,但由于受各种应用条件的限制,所发展的这些方法普遍缺乏实用性和通用性。该文在对机载成像光谱图象边缘辐射畸变形机制进行理论分析和探讨的基础上,针对机载成像光     

SIERRA: A new approach to atmospheric and topographic corrections for hyperspectral imagery

In mountainous areas, slope and altitude variations modulate the airborne sensed hyperspectral radiance image. A new algorithm, SIERRA, has been developed for atmospheric, relief and BRDF corrections in order to extract the surface reflectance in the form of bi-hemispherical albedo that does not depend on solar incidence and observation angles. The forward modeling efforts focus on the estimation of diffuse irradiance and upwelling diffuse radiance, and on the formulation of BRDF effects. The inversion scheme consists of four steps, that go deeper and deeper into the phenomena's complexity.To validate the model, reflectance images are assessed from radiance images simulated with different radiative transfer codes or forward models: MODTRAN4 in the case of homogeneous and flat ground, AMARTIS and SIERRA forward models for heterogeneous and mountainous cases. The surface reflectance is retrieved with a 5% relative error under standard acquisition conditions.SIERRA is applied to HyMap data acquired over the hilly landscape near Calanas, Spain. The hypercube reflectances are compared with those obtained using ATCOR4 and COCHISE. The benefit of relief correction is clearly demonstrated.     

A simplified method for retrieval of ground level reflectance of targets from airborne video imagery

This paper describes an efficient method for retrieval of ground reflectance characteristics of targets from calibrated multispectral airborne video data for routine operational airborne missions. The method uses a simplified atmospheric scattering model in combination with a dark-object subtraction procedure to estimate the effect of the atmosphere in the path between the target and the sensor, as well as the adjacent environmental effect, on the radiation signal received by an airborne sensor. The simplicity of the atmospheric scattering model is maintained by the assumption that the air density within the targetsensor path in the lower atmosphere is sufficiently uniform for operations of the Charles Sturt University's (CSU) Multispectral Airborne Video System (MAVS). The MAVS acquires imagery in blue, green, red and near-infrared (NIR) narrow spectral bands. The MAVS is radiometrically calibrated and has a consistent radiometric response in-flight. An important feature of the new method is the coupling of the image based brightness data (DN) of a dark-object and the system radiometric calibration coefficients to determine the path reflectance and the environmental reflectance of the target. The sum of the path reflectance and the environment reflectance is known as haze reflectance. The haze reflectance indicates the amount of atmospheric haze in the airborne imagery. The simplified atmospheric model is then employed to determine the actual ground reflectance of the targets using the haze subtracted apparent (total) reflectance of the target at the altitude of the airborne sensor. The apparent reflectance of the target at the sensor altitude is obtained directly from the image based DN data and the system radiometric calibration coefficients. An interesting aspect of this simplified method is that an estimate of the environmental reflectance can be obtained as a by-product of the atmospheric haze calculation using a dark-object subtraction technique. The retrieved ground reflectance characteristics from calibrated MAVS imagery are now being used routinely for remote quantitative monitoring of agricultural and environmental targets.     

Evaluation of atmospheric correction to airborne hyperspectral data relying on radiative transfer concepts

Physically based atmospheric correction is one of the most important but also perilous radiometric corrections in remote-sensing imagery. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of atmospheric correction algorithms, based not only on quantification of the changes induced but also on a step-by-step interpretation of the results, in association with the radiative transfer (RT) processes that occur in the atmosphere and on Earth. A four-level atmospheric correction scheme was applied to airborne hyperspectral visible/near-infrared (VNIR) imagery and the performance was evaluated. Each atmospheric correction level was more numerous than the previous following adjunctive assessment of the following parameters: (1) atmospheric influence, (2) the adjacency effect, (3) cast shadows, and (4) effects induced by the Earth’s surface reflectance anisotropy. Performance assessment showed that, even though a more complex atmospheric correction scheme resembles in greater detail the conditions under which the image acquisition was carried out, it is more sensitive to restrictions that arise from either the sensor’s characteristics or the algorithms and data used. Moreover, it was shown that evaluating atmospheric correction results using criteria based on RT concepts can considerably assist in the evaluation process.     

Needle chlorophyll content estimation through model inversion using hyperspectral data from boreal conifer forest canopies

Leaf chlorophyll content in coniferous forest canopies, a measure of stand condition, is the target of studies and models linking leaf reflectance and transmittance and canopy hyperspectral reflectance imagery. The viability of estimation of needle chlorophyll content from airborne hyperspectral optical data through inversion of linked leaf level and canopy level radiative transfer models is discussed in this paper. This study is focused on five sites of Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) in the Algoma Region (Canada), where field, laboratory and airborne data were collected in 1998 and 1999 campaigns. Airborne hyperspectral CASI data of 72 bands in the visible and near-infrared region and 2 m spatial resolution were collected from 20×20 m study sites of Jack Pine in 2 consecutive years. It was found that needle chlorophyll content could be estimated at the leaf level (r²=0.4) by inversion of the PROSPECT leaf model from needle reflectance and transmittance spectra collected with a special needle carrier apparatus coupled to the Li-Cor 1800 integrating sphere. The Jack Pine forest stands used for this study with LAI>2, and the high spatial resolution hyperspectral reflectance collected, allowed the use of the SPRINT canopy reflectance model coupled to PROSPECT for needle chlorophyll content estimation by model inversion. The optical index R750/R710 was used as the merit function in the numerical inversion to minimize the effect of shadows and LAI variation in the mean canopy reflectance from the 20×20 m plots. Estimates of needle pigment content from airborne hyperspectral reflectance using this linked leaf-canopy model inversion methodology showed an r²=0.4 and RMSE=8.1 μg/cm² when targeting sunlit crown pixels in Jack Pine sites with pigment content ranging between 26.8 and 56.8 μg/cm² (1570-3320 μg/g).     

TM遥感影像的地形辐射校正研究

从地面所接收到的太阳直接辐射、天空散射辐射和临近地形反射附加的辐射三个方面分析计算地面每个像元的太阳总辐射,并在此基础上建立地表真实反射率恢复模型,实现对地形的辐射校正。在算法实现上,采用交互式数据语言（Interactive Data Language,IDL）,结合6S大气校正模型和数字高程模型（DEM）进行编程实现。利用北京山区的TM遥感影像所做的实验表明该方法能有效地消除卫星影像中地形的影响,为影像的后续处理提供更真实的信息。     

Detection and correction of adjacency effects in hyperspectral airborne data of coastal and inland waters: the use of the near infrared similarity spectrum

A method for the detection and correction of water pixels affected by adjacency effects is presented. The approach is based on the comparison of spectra with the near infrared (NIR) similarity spectrum. Pixels affected by adjacency effects have a water-leaving reflectance spectrum with a different shape to the reference spectrum. This deviation from the similarity spectrum is used as a measure for the adjacency effect. Secondly, the correspondence with the NIR similarity spectrum is used to quantify and to correct for the contribution of the background radiance during atmospheric correction. The advantage of the approach is that it requires no a priori assumptions on the sediment load or related reflectance values in the NIR and can therefore be applied to turbid waters. The approach is tested on hyperspectral airborne data (Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI), Airborne Hyperspectral Scanner (AHS)) acquired above coastal and inland waters at different flight altitudes and under varying atmospheric conditions. As the NIR similarity spectrum forms the basis of the approach, the method will fail for water bodies for which this similarity spectrum is no longer valid.     

Comparison of atmospheric correction methods using ASTER data for the area of Crete,Greece

The purpose of atmospheric correction is to produce more accurate surface reflectance and to potentially improve the extraction of surface parameters from satellite images. To achieve this goal the influences of the atmosphere, solar illumination, sensor viewing geometry and terrain information have to be taken into account. Although a lot of information from satellite imagery can be extracted without atmospheric correction, the physically based approach offers advantages, especially when dealing with multitemporal data and/or when a comparison of data provided by different sensors is required. The use of atmospheric correction models is limited by the need to supply data related to the condition of the atmosphere at the time of imaging. Such data are not always available and the cost of their collection is considerable, hence atmospheric correction is performed with the use of standard atmospheric profiles. The use of these profiles results in a loss of accuracy. Therefore, site-dependent databases of atmospheric parameters are needed to calibrate and to adjust atmospheric correction methods for local level applications. In this article, the methodology and results of the project Adjustment of Atmospheric Correction Methods for Local Studies: Application in ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) (ATMOSAT) for the area of Crete are presented. ATMOSAT aimed at comparing several atmospheric correction methods for the area of Crete, as well as investigating the effects of atmospheric correction on land cover classification and change detection. Databases of spatio-temporal distributions of all required input parameters (atmospheric humidity, aerosols, spectral signatures, land cover and elevation) were developed and four atmospheric correction methods were applied and compared. The baseline for this comparison is the spatial distribution of surface reflectance, emitted radiance and brightness temperature as derived by ASTER Higher Level Products (HLPs). The comparison showed that a simple image based method, which was adjusted for the study area, provided satisfactory results for visible, near infrared and short-wave infrared spectral areas; therefore it can be used for local level applications. Finally, the effects of atmospheric correction on land cover classification and change detection were assessed using a time series of ASTER multispectral images acquired in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. Results are in agreement with past studies, indicating that for this type of application, where a common radiometric scale is assumed among the multitemporal images, atmospheric correction should be taken into consideration in pre-processing.