National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Hyperspectral Data for Land and Coastal Systems

Amber Jean McCullum, Juan L. Torres-Pérez, and Zach Bengtsson

January 26, 2021

Course Structure and Materials

• Three, 1.5-hour sessions on January 19, January

26, and February 2
• The same content will be presented at two
different times each day:
– Session A: 11:00-12:30 EST (UTC-5)
– Session B: 16:00-17:30 EST (UTC-5)
– Please only sign up for and attend one
session per day.
• Webinar recordings, PowerPoint presentations,
and the homework assignment can be found
after each session at:
– https://appliedsciences.nasa.gov/join-
mission/training/english/hyperspectral-data-
land-and-coastal-systems
• Q&A following each lecture and/or by email at:
• [email protected]
• [email protected] or
• [email protected]

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Prerequisites

• Prerequisites:
– Please complete Fundamentals of
Remote Sensing or have equivalent
experience.
• Course Materials:
– https://appliedsciences.nasa.gov/j
oin-
mission/training/english/fundament
als-remote-sensing

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Homework and Certificates

• Homework:
– One homework assignment
– Answers must be submitted via Google
Forms
– HW Deadline: Tuesday February 16

• Certificate of Completion:
– Attend all live webinars
– Complete the homework assignment by the deadline (access from ARSET
website)
– You will receive certificates approximately three months after the completion
of the course from: [email protected]

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Course Outline

Session 1: Overview of Session 2: Hyperspectral Session 3: Hyperspectral

Hyperspectral Data Data for Land Data for Coastal and
Management Ocean Systems

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Learning Objectives

• By the end of this session, you will be

able to…
– Illustrate how hyperspectral data
can be used for monitoring land-
based ecosystems
– Recall many case-study examples
of hyperspectral-based research
and management projects such as
invasive species, forest monitoring,
agricultural monitoring, and more
– Apply techniques to access,
download, and display Image Credit: NASA JPL
hyperspectral data

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Hyperspectral Applications for Land Management
Applications of Hyperspectral Imagery

• Agriculture
• Forest health and
restoration
• Invasive species Sugarcane Varieties,
• Drought/vegetation Image Credit: Igor
2020

monitoring
• Geologic/microbial
mapping
• Hazard Detection:
Volcanic activity and
landslides

San Andres Fault,

Image CreditL NASA
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Agriculture

• Previous study of five

leading world
agricultural crops (corn,
soybean, winter wheat,
rice, and cotton) that
occupy 75% and 54% of
principal crop areas in
the United States
• 99 Hyperion images
• Established optimal
hyperspectral
Crop type classifications with Hyperion data and field
narrowbands sampling for accuracy assessment. Image Credit:
• Used GEE and machine Aneece et al., 2018

learning algorithms to
map crop type
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Agriculture

Hyperion images from Oklahoma identifying different crop types for individual fields (left). Spectral signatures of cotton,
winter wheat, corn, and soybeans (right). Image Credit: Aneece et al., 2018
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Forest Monitoring: Santa Monica Mountains Restoration

● Native oak and riparian

woodlands support
hundreds of species and
provide billions of dollars
of ecosystem services to
the Los Angeles region.
● Current threats from
wildfires, floods, drought,
and invasive beetles
have caused extensive
mortality in the past
seven years.
● The recent Woolsey Fire
(November 8-21, 2018) Image Credit: NASA
DEVELOP JPL
has damaged this
sensitive area.
Image Credit: Laura Jessup

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Forest Monitoring: Santa Monica Mountains Restoration

• AVIRIS spectral profiles

are used to
differentiate
vegetation for wildfire
restoration in the Santa
Monica Mountains.
• AVIRIS imagery
collected in the
months prior to the
Woolsey Fire provides
land managers with
vegetation information
necessary to recreate Image Credit: NASA
DEVELOP JPL
pre-fire conditions.

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Forest Monitoring: Santa Monica Mountains Restoration

Spatially explicit estimations of pre-fire landcover

(right) used to make pre-fire surface area
estimations of vegetation types (left) to inform
restoration planning. Image credit: NASA
DEVELOP JPL

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Invasive Species: Perennial Pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium)

• Pepperweed is an aggressive
invader that pushes out native
plant species.
• Thick, white inflorescence due
to flowering and fruiting
phenologies distinguishes the
species from surrounding
vegetation.
• Airborne HyMap hyperspectral
data was used to distinguish
this unique spectral signature
in California's San Francisco
Bay/Sacramento–San Joaquin
Delta Estuary.
Image credit: Andrew & Ustin, 2008; Leslie J. Mehrhoff

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Invasive Species: Perennial Pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium)
Landcover map
displays locations
of pepperweed
infestation at Rush
Ranch (left).
Spectral profile of
vegetation (right)
shows the necessity
for hyperspectral
information to
differentiate
pepperweed.

Image Credit:
Andrew & Ustin,
2008

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Forest Monitoring: Amazon Drought
• Identification of precise
drought-stress signals in
the canopy with
Hyperion
• Landsat: NDVI not
sensitive enough to
detect changes in
pigment activity, leaf
area, and carbon
balance
Landsat image with
experiment location
(top), drought and
control plots (left),
and control plot
where rain is being
stored and used for
trees. Image Credit:
Robert Simmon and
Asner et al.)
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Forest Monitoring: Amazon Drought
• Hyperion provided improved
estimation of drought signals.
• In Figure:
– Reflectance measured by
Hyperion in July and
November 2001 from 500-
1300 nm (top), zoomed in
graph (bottom).
– Dashed lines show
wavelengths used for
estimates of carbon
uptake: green for
vegetation greenness,
purple for light-use
efficiency, and red for the
activity of anthocyanin, a
chlorophyll-helper pigment.
Image Credit: Robert Simmon and Asner et al
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Sulfur Deposits in the Arctic

• Borup Fiord Pass on Ellesmere

Island, Canada
• Sulfur from natural springs
deposited
• Hyperion data used to map the
deposits
– Hydrogen sulfide gas and
water are converted to stable
deposits of sulfur or gypsum
– This conversion usually occurs
when bacteria are present
• Study site could be used to
investigate life on other celestial Location of sulfur deposit (outlined in green) using data from Hyperion. Image Credit: Damhait
Gleeson, NASA JPL
bodies like Europa

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Volcanic Debris Flows: Mount Shasta, California

• Volcanic debris flows are a

potentially deadly
phenomena.
• Mapping rocks and structures
can assist in identifying
weakened zones that may be
prone to collapse.
• AVIRIS and Hyperion data,
along with Digital Elevation
Models (DEMs) were used to
map mineral deposits on
Mount Shasta, CA.
Image Credit: Pixabay

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Volcanic Debris Flows: Mount Shasta, California

Crowley, et al 2003

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Data Access and Display Demonstration
USGS EarthExplorer

• EarthExplorer can be
used to filter and
access data from
Hyperion and other
sensors.
• Data search criteria
requirements include:
– Data Product Type
– Sensor
– Spatial Extent
– Date Range
– Cloud Cover
Link: https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/

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EarthExplorer Login Requirements

• You will need to sign up for

an account through the
USGS EROS Registration
System to access data from
EarthExplorer.
• Once registered with your
preferred email, you will be
able to log into
EarthExplorer and directly
download data products.

Link: https://ers.cr.usgs.gov/register
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EO-1 Hyperion Review

• Hyperspectral satellite data from

November 21st, 2000 – February
22nd, 2017
• Spatial resolution of 30 meters for
all bands
• 220 unique spectral channels
ranging from 0.357 to 2.576
micrometers with a 10-nm
bandwidth
• Full data archive available
online
Image Credit: NASA

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Available Hyperion Data Products

• Level 1Gst
– Radiometric and systematic geometric corrections derived from spacecraft
ephemeris data have been applied while employing a 90-meter Digital
Elevation Model (DEM) for topographic accuracy.
– Provided in GeoTIFF format
• Level 1T
– Radiometric and systematic geometric corrections incorporating ground
control points have been applied while employing a 90-meter Digital Elevation
Model (DEM) for topographic accuracy.
– Provided in GeoTIFF format
• Level 1R
– Radiometric corrections have been made to compensate for variations due to
detector sensitivity.
– Provided in HDF format

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Data Processing

• Level 1 Hyperion products contain

radiance values.
• To obtain surface reflectance values
for analysis, data products must
undergo atmospheric correction.
• There are many atmospheric
correction models available:
– FLAASH (Fast Line-of-sight
Atmospheric Analysis of Spectral
Hypercubes)
– ACORN (Atmospheric Correction
Now)
– ATREM (Atmosphere Removal
Program)
Full Resolution Hyperion Images
within the San Francisco Bay Area
from L1T Data Products
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FLAASH Surface Reflectance in ENVI

• Level 1 data products in HDF

or GeoTIFF format
downloaded directly from
EarthExplorer can be loaded
into ENVI.
• ENVI FLAASH can be used to
complete further radiometric
calibration and obtain
surface reflectance values.
• Files can be exported in
GeoTIFF format and
manipulated to complete
environmental analysis on
other GIS platforms.

ENVI FLAASH vegetation assessment with Hyperion data. Credit: Poovalinga Ganesh et al. 2012

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QGIS

• QGIS is a free and open-

source GIS platform with
many remote sensing data
processing capabilities.
• Features include raster
calculation, band
manipulation, and visual
data display.
• Relevant Plugins for
Hyperspectral Data:
– Spectral Library Tool
– RasterDataPlotting
– Semi-Automatic QGIS interface displaying Hyperion surface reflectance data from the Amazon Basin
Classification Plugin Download Link: https://qgis.org/en/site/forusers/download.html

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EarthExplorer and QGIS Demonstration
Summary
• Many land-based applications of hyperspectral data
• Benefits include the ability to:
– Differentiate between vegetation species
• Agriculture, forest health/restoration, invasive species
– Distinguish between small differences in vegetation health/chlorophyll
content
• Drought, forest health
– Identify and map mineral deposits
• Geologic mapping, hazard potential
• Hyperspectral data accessed via multiple data portals, including the
popular EarthExplorer
– Requires processing to account for geometric and atmospheric
influences, and to convert radiance into surface reflectance
• Next Session: Coastal and Ocean Applications

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 Thank You!

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