Remotely sensed spectral imagery of the earth's surface can be used to fullest advantage when the influence of the atmosphere has been removed and the measurements are reduced to units of reflectance. Here, we provide a comprehensive summary of the latest version of the Fast Line-of-sight Atmospheric Analysis of Spectral Hypercubes atmospheric correction algorithm. We also report some new code improvements for speed and accuracy. These include the re-working of the original algorithm in C-language code parallelized with message passing interface and containing a new radiative transfer look-up table option, which replaces executions of the MODTRAN (R) model. With computation times now as low as 10 s per image per computer processor, automated, real-time, on-board atmospheric correction of hyper- and multi-spectral imagery is within reach. (C) 2012 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). [DOI: 10.1117/1.OE.51.11.111707]

First-principles atmospheric correction that converts Visible-NIR-SWIR spectral imagery to surface reflectance requires an estimate of the scene visibility / aerosol optical depth. This paper describes aerosol upgrades to FLAASH, a first-principles atmospheric correction algorithm developed by Spectral Sciences, Inc. and the US Air Force Research Laboratory. FLAASH utilizes an automated band ratio method for retrieving an average scene visibility from dark pixels. The visibility estimate is combined with a MODTRANTM aerosol representation to describe the atmosphere. Recent FLAASH upgrades improve both visibility retrieval and atmospheric correction accuracy. These result in better handling of highly off-nadir viewing geometries, high aerosol optical depths and sensors lacking infrared spectral channels.

Software has been developed for an improved method of correcting for the atmospheric optical effects (primarily, effects of aerosols and water vapor) in spectral images of the surface of the Earth acquired by airborne and spaceborne remote-sensing instruments. In this method, the variables needed for the corrections are extracted from the readings of a radiometer located on the ground in the vicinity of the scene of interest. The software includes algorithms that analyze measurement data acquired from a shadow-band radiometer. These algorithms are based on a prior radiation transport software model, called MODTRAN, that has been developed through several versions up to what are now known as MODTRAN4 and MODTRAN5 . These components have been integrated with a user-friendly Interactive Data Language (IDL) front end and an advanced version of MODTRAN4. Software tools for handling general data formats, performing a Langley-type calibration, and generating an output file of retrieved atmospheric parameters for use in another atmospheric-correction computer program known as FLAASH have also been incorporated into the present soft-ware. Concomitantly with the soft-ware described thus far, there has been developed a version of FLAASH that utilizes the retrieved atmospheric parameters to process spectral image data.

Compared to nadir viewing, off-nadir viewing of the ground from a high-altitude platform provides opportunities to increase area coverage and to reduce revisit times, although at the expense of spatial resolution. In this study, the ability to atmospherically compensate off-nadir hyperspectral imagery taken from a space platform was evaluated for a worst-case viewing geometry, using EO-1 Hyperion data collected with an off-nadir angle of 63° at the sensor, corresponding to six air masses along the line of sight. Reasonable reflectance spectra were obtained using both first-principles (FLAASH) and empirical (QUAC) atmospheric-compensation methods. Some refinements to FLAASH that enable visibility retrievals with highly off-nadir imagery, and also improve accuracy in nadir viewing, were developed and are described.

Atmospheric Correction Algorithms (ACAs) are used in applications of remotely sensed Hyperspectral and Multispectral Imagery (HSI/MSI) to correct for atmospheric effects on measurements acquired by air and space-borne systems. The Fast Line-of-sight Atmospheric Analysis of Spectral Hypercubes (FLAASH) algorithm is a forward-model based ACA created for HSI and MSI instruments which operate in the visible through shortwave infrared (Vis-SWIR) spectral regime. Designed as a general-purpose, physics-based code for inverting at-sensor radiance measurements into surface reflectance, FLAASH provides a collection of spectral analysis and atmospheric retrieval methods including: a per-pixel vertical water vapor column estimate, determination of aerosol optical depth, estimation of scattering for compensation of adjacency effects, detection/characterization of clouds, and smoothing of spectral structure resulting from an imperfect atmospheric correction. To further improve the accuracy of the atmospheric correction process, FLAASH will also detect and compensate for sensor-introduced artifacts such as optical smile and wavelength mis-calibration. FLAASH relies on the MODTRAN TM radiative transfer (RT) code as the physical basis behind its mathematical formulation, and has been developed in parallel with upgrades to MODTRAN in order to take advantage of the latest improvements in speed and accuracy. For example, the rapid, high fidelity multiple scattering (MS) option available in MODTRAN4 can greatly improve the accuracy of atmospheric retrievals over the 2-stream approximation. In this paper, advanced features available in FLAASH are described, including the principles and methods used to derive atmospheric parameters from HSI and MSI data. Results are presented from processing of Hyperion, AVIRIS, and LANDSAT data.

Shadow-insensitive detection or classification of surface materials in atmospherically corrected hyperspectral imagery can be achieved by expressing the reflectance spectrum as a linear combination of spectra that correspond to illumination by the direct sum and by the sky. Some specific algorithms and applications are illustrated using HYperspectral Digital Imagery Collection Experiment (HYDICE) data.

Abstract : The Air Force SHARC-3 Atmospheric IR radiance code has been used to simulate CO2, O3, and OH limb radiances observed in the solar terminator region during the 1977 SPIRE and 1991 CIRRIS-1A experiments. These calculations represent the first direct comparisons with field data using the new multiple- profiles and multiple-atmospheres features in SHARC-3. The good agreement between the SHARC-3 predictions and the data provide substantial validation of the kinetic and radiation transport models in SHARC as well as the 03 and H atom profiles from the SHARC Atmosphere Generator. Infrared, Ozone, Hydroxyl, Limb, Atmosphere, Shadow, Radiation

A new, first-principles computer model, SHARC, has been developed by the Air Force for the rapid and accurate calculation of non-LTE upper atmospheric infrared radiance and transmittance spectra with a resolution of better than 1/cm. Comprehensive coverage of the 2 micrometers to 40 micrometers (250/cm to 5,000/cm) wavelength region is provided for arbitrary lines of sight in the 50 - 300 km altitude range, accounting for the detailed production, loss, and energy transfer processes among the molecular vibrational states. Auroral production and excitation of CO2, NO, and NO+ are included in addition to quiescent atmospheric processes. Calculated vibrational temperatures are found to be similar to results from other non-LTE codes, and SHARC`s equivalent-width spectral algorithm provides very good agreement with much more time-consuming exact line-by-line methods.

A new optical hydrogen sensor based on spontaneous Raman scattering of laser light has been designed and constructed for rugged field use. It provides good sensitivity (better than 100 parts in 10(6)), rapid response (several seconds), and the inherent Raman characteristics of linearity and background gas independence of the signal. Efficient light collection and discrimination by using fast optics and a bandpass interference filter compensate for the inefficiency of the Raman-scattering process. A multipass optical cavity with a Herriott-type configuration provides intense illumination from an air-cooled cw gas laser. The observed performance is in good agreement with the theoretical signal and noise level predictions.