A Review of Atmospheric Correction Techniques for Hyperspectral Remote Sensing of Land Surfaces and Ocean Color

Bo-Cai Gao , Curtiss O. Davis , and Alexander F. H. Goetz

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1,*

Remote Sensing Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA; *gao @nrl.navy.mil College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA 3 Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA spectrometer data, accurate removal of atmospheric absorption and scattering effects is required. There is a great need for correction of atmospheric effects and conversion of radiances measured by the sensors to reflectances of surface materials. Since the mid-1980s, atmospheric correction algorithms have evolved from the earlier empirical line method and flat field method to more recent methods based on rigorous radiative transfer modeling. In this extended abstract, we present an overview of hyperspectral atmospheric correction algorithms developed during the past two decades. II. ATMOSPHERIC CORRECTION APPROACHES A. Scene-Based Empirical Approaches During the mid-1980s, several scene-based empirical approaches were developed to remove atmospheric effects from hyperspectral imaging data for the derivation of relative surface reflectance spectra. The Internal Average Reflectance (IAR) approach of Kruse [3] calculates the average spectrum of a scene. The spectrum of any pixel in the scene is then divided by the average spectrum to estimate the relative reflectance spectrum for the pixel. This approach is mostly applicable for imaging data acquired over arid areas without vegetation. The flat field correction approach [4] assumes that there is an area in the scene that has spectrally neutral reflectances, i.e., the spectrum has little variation with wavelength. The mean spectrum of the flat field is then used for the derivation of relative reflectance spectra of other pixels in the scene. Both the IAR approach and the flat field approach do not need any field measurements of reflectance spectra of surface targets. The derived relative reflectance spectra often have absorption features that are not present in reflectance spectra of comparable materials measured in the field or laboratory [5]. The empirical line approach [6] requires fieldmeasurements of reflectance spectra for at least one bright

Abstract The concept of imaging spectrometry, or hyperspectral imaging, was originated from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the early 1980s. Different types of imaging spectrometers have been built. Scientific data have been collected with these instruments from aircraft and satellite platforms. Because imaging spectrometer data contain absorption and scattering effects from atmospheric gases and aerosols, the atmospheric effects must be removed in order to use the data for quantitative remote sensing of land surfaces and ocean color. Over the years, the atmospheric correction algorithms have evolved from the earlier empirical line method and flat field method to more recent methods based on rigorous radiative transfer modeling. We will give an overview of hyperspectral atmospheric correction algorithms developed during the past two decades. Issues related to spectral smoothing will be discussed. Suggestions for improvements to the present atmospheric correction algorithms will be given.

I. INTRODUCTION Imaging spectrometers acquire images in many contiguous spectral channels such that for each picture element (pixel) a complete reflectance or emittance spectrum can be derived from the wavelength region covered [1], [2]. During the past two decades, different types of imaging spectrometers have been built. Hyperspectral imaging data have been collected with these instruments from aircraft and satellite platforms. The solar radiation on the Sun-surface-sensor ray path is subject to absorption and scattering by the atmosphere and the surface. Major atmospheric water vapor bands centered at approximately 0.94, 1.14, 1.38 and 1.88 m, the oxygen band at 0.76 m, and the carbon dioxide band near 2.08 m are present. Approximately half of the 0.4-2.5 m spectral region is affected by atmospheric gas absorptions. The shorter wavelength region below 1 m is also affected by molecular and aerosol scattering. There are now growing interests in hyperspectral remote sensing for research and applications in a variety of fields, including geology, agriculture, forestry, coastal and inland water studies, environment hazards assessment, and urban studies. In order to study surface properties using imaging

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target and one dark target. The imaging spectrometer data over the surface targets are linearly regressed against the field-measured reflectance spectra to derive the gain and offset curves. The gain and offset curves are then applied to the whole image for the derivation of surface reflectances for the entire scene. This method produces spectra that are most comparable to reflectance spectra measured in the fields or laboratories [7]. It should be pointed out that absolute radiometric calibrations of hyperspectral imaging data are not required when using these empirical approaches for the estimates of relative surface reflectances. However, the hyperspectral imaging system should remain stable during data acquisitions. B. Radiative Transfer Modeling Approaches Surface reflectance spectra can be derived from hyperspectral imaging data using radiative transfer modeling approaches. Gao et al. [8] first started the development of the Atmosphere Removal Algorithm (ATREM) in the late 1980s. The method retrieves scaled surface reflectance spectra assuming horizontal surfaces having Lambertian reflectances from imaging spectrometer data. In this method, the integrated water vapor amount on a pixel by pixel basis is derived from the 0.94- and the 1.14-m water vapor absorption features. The transmission spectrum of water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), ozone (O3), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), and oxygen (O2) in the 0.42.5 m region is simulated based on the derived water vapor value, the solar and the observational geometry, and through use of narrow band spectral models. The scattering effect due to atmospheric molecules and aerosols is modeled with the 5S computer code. The AVIRIS radiances are divided by solar irradiances above the atmosphere to obtain the apparent reflectances. The scaled surface reflectances are derived from the apparent reflectances using the simulated atmospheric gaseous transmittances and the simulated molecular and aerosol scattering data. If the slopes and aspects of the surfaces are known, the scaled reflectances can be converted to real reflectances. The band model version of the ATREM code (Version 3.1) was widely distributed in the 1990s to the hyperspectral research community through the Center for the Study of Earth from Space (CSES), University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado. Major upgrades were made to the ATREM code in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The band model is replaced with a line-by-line atmospheric transmittance model [9] and the HITRAN2000 line database. The 5S computer code is replaced with the newer 6S code for modeling atmospheric scattering effects. A module for modeling atmospheric

NO2 absorption effects in the 0.4 0.8 m spectral region is also added. There are now a number of atmospheric correction algorithms for retrieving surface reflectances from hyperspectral imaging data. They include, but not limited to, the Atmosphere CORrection Now (ACRON), the Fast Line-of-sight Atmospheric Analysis of Spectral Hypercubes (FLAASH), the High-accuracy Atmospheric Correction for Hyperspectral Data (HATCH) [10], and a series of Atmospheric and Topographic Correction (ATCOR) codes. Some of these codes include more advanced features, such as spectral smoothing, topographic correction, and adjacency effect correction. These features are absent in the ATREM code. The atmospheric correction algorithms described so far are mostly designed for remote sensing of land surfaces. There is a small research community interested in hyperspectral remote sensing of ocean color. Because the ocean surfaces are much darker than land surfaces and the air/water interface is not Lambertian, very accurate modeling of atmospheric absorption and scattering effects and the specular surface reflection effects is required in order to derive water leaving reflectances from hyperspectral imaging data measured over water surfaces. We have developed an atmospheric correction algorithm nicknamed TAAFKA for hyperspectral remote sensing of ocean color [11]. The algorithm uses lookup tables generated with a vector radiative transfer code and a spectral matching technique. Channels located at wavelengths longer than 0.86 m where the water leaving reflectances are close to zero have been used for the derivation of information on atmospheric aerosols. The aerosol information is then extracted back to the visible based on aerosol models during the retrieval of water leaving radiances. Quite reasonable results have been obtained when applying the algorithm to process hyperspectral imaging data acquired with the AVIRIS instrument from an ER-2 aircraft and the Hyperion instrument on the EO-1 satellite platform. C. Hybrid Approaches Researchers have used combinations [12], [13] of radiative modeling approaches and empirical approaches for the derivations of surface reflectances from hyperspectral imaging data. For example, Clark et al. [14] used a combination of ATREM and field spectral measurements over a single ground calibration site. The use of ATREM model allows improved atmospheric corrections at elevations that are different from the calibration site, and the ground calibration removes the residual errors commonly associated with radiative transfer models.

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III. DISCUSSIONS The atmospheric NO2 transmittances near 0.4 m are typically 0.985 to 0.995 in the Sun-surface-sensor path. Over polluted airs with enhanced tropospheric NO2 concentrations, the NO2 transmittances near 0.4 m can be smaller than 0.985. When retrieving surface reflectances over darker targets, such as green vegetation and coastal waters, with 0.4-m reflectances of approximately 0.02 to 0.03 using radiative transfer modeling approaches, the NO2 absorption effects should be included in the models. Otherwise, errors on the orders of 10 to 20% can be introduced in the retrieved surface reflectances near 0.4 m. Some of the atmospheric correction algorithms have built-in modules to smooth the output spectra on a pixelby-pixel basis in order to eliminate spikes in the derived surface reflectance spectra. Such algorithms are not suitable for use with the hybrid approach of Clark et al. [14] for the derivation of surface reflectances, because a common scaling factor for different pixels in a scene is no longer present after the pixels being smoothed individually. It should be pointed out that the smoothing algorithms can introduce unrealistic broad absorption features in the output spectra. The end users of the algorithms with built-in smoothing modules should be aware of the problem. IV. SUMMARY There are basically three types of atmospheric correction approaches, i.e., the scene-based empirical approaches, radiative transfer modeling approaches, and the hybrid approaches, for atmospheric corrections of hyperspectral imaging data. The radiative transfer modeling approaches are sufficiently mature and can be used for routine processing of hyperspectral imaging data. The hybrid approach of Clark et al. [14] allows the derivation of laboratory-like reflectance spectra from imaging spectrometer data. There are still rooms for improvements to radiative transfer models. Users of algorithms with built-in smoothing modules should be careful about the possibility of artificial broad absorption features present in their retrieved surface reflectance spectra. REFERENCES
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