A synergistic approach to atmospheric correction of NEON's airborne hyperspectral data utilizing airborne solar spectral flux radiometers, ground based radiometers, and airborne hyperspectral imagers

A wide variety of critical information regarding bioclimate, biodiversity, and biogeochemistry is embedded in airborne hyperspectral imagery. Most, if not all of the primary signal relies upon first deriving the surface reflectance of land cover and vegetation from measured hyperspectral radiance. This places stringent requirements on terrain, and atmospheric correction algorithms to accurately derive surface reflectance properties. An observatory designed to measure bioclimate, biodiversity, and biogeochemistry variables from surface reflectance must take great care in developing an approach which chooses algorithms with the highest accuracy, along with providing those algorithms with data necessary to describe the physical mechanisms that affect the measured at sensor radiance. Such an approach is in development with the Airborne Observation Platform (AOP) part of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). NEON is a continental-scale ecological observation platform designed to collect and disseminate data to enable the understanding and forecasting of the impacts of climate change, land use change, and invasive species on ecology [1].