The effects of atmospheric correction schemes on the hyperspectral imaging of littoral environments

We investigate the effects of several atmospheric correction schemes (ACS) on spectral determination, biophysical parameter estimation, and unsupervised classification from hyperspectral data collected over a coastal New Jersey tidal marsh. The ACS examined include: two modes from ACORN 4.0 (modes 1.0 and 1.5), ATREM, FLAASH, Tafkaa-6S, and Tafkaa-tabular. Results from the comparative analysis of derived spectra reveal a high degree of similarity for all methods for terrestrial derived spectra but considerably less so for spectra obtained from aquatic environments. Likewise, the similarities in the terrestrial spectra translate to significant correlations among the ACS for two of four computed biophysical reflectance indices (NDVI and Red Edge Wavelength). Of the remaining two indices, PRI and SIPI, computed values from both ACORN modes were not correlated with other ACS. Results from ISODATA classification for land and water environments, show a consistently high level of agreement (> 90% overall) between both Tafkaa methods. FLAASH also shows a relatively high level of agreement with the Tafkaa methods (> 70%) for land classes, however a relatively low agreement for water classes (< 40%). ACORN mode 1.5 consistently demonstrated the lowest agreement among correction methods