Multi-angular hyperspectral data and its influences on soil and plant property measurements: spectral mapping and functional data analysis approach

This research investigates the spectral reflectance characteristics of soil and vegetation using multi-angular and single view hyperspectral data. The question of the thesis is “How much information can be obtained from multi-angular hyperspectral remote sensing in comparison with single view angle hyperspectral remote sensing of soil and vegetation?” This question is addressed by analysing multi-angular and single view angle hyperspectral remote sensing using data from the field, airborne and space borne hyperspectral sensors. Spectral mapping, spectral indices and Functional Data Analysis (FDA) are used to analyse the data. Spectral mapping has been successfully used to distinguish features of soil and cotton with hyperspectral data. Traditionally, spectral mapping is based on collecting endmembers of pure pixels and using these as training areas for supervised classification. There are, however, limitations in the use of these algorithms when applied to multi-angular images, as the reflectance of a single ground unit will differ at each angle.Classifications using six-class endmembers identified using single angle imagery were assessed using multi-angular Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (CHRIS) imagery, as well as a set of vegetation indices. The results showed no significant difference between the angles. Low nutrient content in the soil produced lower vegetation index values, and more nutrients increased the index values.This research introduces FDA as an image processing tool for multi-angular hyperspectral imagery of soil and cotton, using basis functions for functional principal component analysis (fPCA) and functional linear modelling. FDA has advantages over conventional statistical analysis because it does not assume the errors in the data are independent and uncorrelated.Investigations showed that B-splines with 20-basis functions was the best fit for multi-angular soil spectra collected using the spectroradiometer and the satellite mounted CHRIS. Cotton spectra collected from greenhouse plants using a spectrodiometer needed 30-basis functions to fit the model, while 20-basis functions were sufficient for cotton spectra extracted from CHRIS.Functional principal component analysis (fPCA) of multi-angular soil spectra show the first fPCA explained a minimum of 92.5% of the variance of field soil spectra for different azimuth and zenith angles and 93.2% from CHRIS for the same target. For cotton, more than 93.6% of greenhouse trial and 70.6% from the CHRIS data were explained by the first fPCA. Conventional analysis of multi-angular hyperspectral data showed significant differences exist between soil spectra acquired at different azimuth and zenith angles. Forward scan direction of zenith angle provides higher spectral reflectance than backward direction. However, most multi-angular hyperspectral data analysed as functional data show no significant difference from nadir, except for small parts of the wavelength of cotton spectra using CHRIS. There is also no significant difference for soil spectra analysed as functional data collected from the field, although there was some difference for soil spectra extracted from CHRIS. Overall, the results indicate that multi-angular hyperspectral data provides only a very small amount of additional information when used for conventional analyses