SENSITIVITY OF ATMOSPHERIC COMPENSATION MODEL RETRIEVALS TO INPUT PARAMETER SPECIFICATION

Hyperspectral imaging sensors have been used for more than a decade to aid in the detection and identification of diverse surface targets, topographical and geological features. It is clear to the user, however, that hyperspectral data are not immune to the effects of the intervening atmosphere. The term “atmospheric compensation” refers to the removal of unwanted atmospheric components of the measured radiance. For hyperspectral data analysis, the general objective for atmospheric compensation algorithms is to remove solar illumination and atmospheric effects (predominantly aerosol scattering and water vapor absorption) from the measured spectral data so that an accurate estimate of the surface reflectance can be obtained. The retrieved surface reflectance spectra can then be compared with library spectra of a collection of materials for background or target identification.