IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2019 - 6

FROM THE GUEST EDITORS
BY MARIO PARENTE, JOHN KEREKES, AND ROB HEYLEN

A Special Issue
on Hyperspectral Imaging

H

yperspectral imaging (HSI) for geoscience remote
sensing and Earth observation has been around
since the mid-1980s. For many years, it was the purview of research laboratories and proof-of-concept
satellite missions. Hundreds of research articles have
been published exploring algorithms for analysis and
demonstrating applications across many Earth observational fields of interest. Most have focused on a
relatively small group of publicly available data sets
due to the high cost of sensor operation and collection
of ground reference data necessary for algorithm and
product evaluation.
More recently, as the cost of focal planes and sensor
technology has decreased, together with the emergence
of inexpensive unmanned aerial
vehicle (UAV) systems and CubeSats/smallSats in space access,
the availability of hyperspectral
THE EIGHT ARTICLES
imagery is poised to grow draINCLUDED HERE REPRESENT
matically. Several airborne and
A BROAD INTRODUCTION TO
spaceborne systems have been
HSI FROM AN IMPRESSIVE
deployed or are being planned.
SET OF LEADERS.
Commercial remote sensing and
image processing software systems provide more support and
extended functionality for such
data, while the practical use of hyperspectral data in both
commercial and scientific applications has increased. The
community now has access to relatively low-cost UAV systems and data and will soon see more routine availability
of space-based HSI data.
This special issue of IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine on HSI was put together based on the recognition that the field is on the cusp of expanded data
availability. While formerly the domain of a relatively
small group of specialists, it is anticipated HSI data will
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MGRS.2019.2912617
Date of publication: 18 June 2019

6

soon become available to a wider range of scientists and
data users. This special issue was compiled to bring together a comprehensive look at the characteristics, phenomenology, algorithms, and applications as a resource
for practitioners and students who wish to gain familiarity with the field. We have instructed authors to keep
the language and the style of these tutorial amenable to
a cross-disciplinary readership, as our main goal is to
foster collaborations among the scientific, technological, and data-science communities within the remote
sensing population.
The eight articles included here represent a broad introduction to HSI from an impressive set of leaders. The
articles were selected through a two-step submission/
review process.
We open the special issue with three articles focusing on foundational aspects of HSI that are not often
understood by budding researchers. The first, "Spectral
Variability of Remotely Sensed Target Materials," surveys the main causes of variability of spectral signatures: intrinsic (depending on the chemistry of a material), extrinsic (depending on the size of an object
or concentration of a material), or environmental (due
to illumination, atmospheric contribution, etc.) and
describe some signal processing strategies to address
this variability. The second article, "Atmospheric
Compensation of Hyperspectral Data," provides a
pedagogic illustration of hyperspectral atmospheric
compensation. This tutorial leads the reader carefully
through the modeling aspects of the atmospheric contribution to the optical radiation acquired by sensors
and the necessary steps for analysis and mitigation to
retrieve surface signals. The main objective of the third
article, "Spectral Absorption Feature Analysis for Finding Ore," is to illustrate theoretical issues and methodologies related to mineral identification in geological remote sensing. In particular, the authors explain
the variations in shape and wavelength position of
spectral absorption features, which are diagnostic of
IEEE GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING MAGAZINE

JUNE 2019
IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2019
