The USGS PRISM system for spectral analysis — An ENVI/IDL-based software

The identification of materials by measuring and analyzing their reflectance spectra has been an important method used in the physical sciences for well over a century. Modern airborne and space-based imaging spectrometers give scientists the opportunity to detect materials and map their distributions across the landscape. With new satellite-borne sensors planned for the future, for example, EnMap (Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program) and HyspIRI (Hyperspectral InfraRed Imager), robust methods are needed to fully exploit the information content in hyperspectral remote sensing data. In this paper, a software package written in Interactive Data Language (IDL) called PRISM (Processing Routines in IDL for Spectroscopic Measurements) is described. The core functions of PRISM are algorithms for spectral feature analysis and spectral feature comparison, permitting identification of and mapping of materials in hyperspectral remote sensing data.