Early algorithm development efforts for the National Ecological Observatory Network Airborne Observation Platform imaging spectrometer and waveform lidar instruments

Abstract

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) will be the first observatory network of its kind designed to detect and enable forecasting of ecological change at continental scales over multiple decades. NEON will collect data at sites distributed at 20 ecoclimatic domains across the United States on the impacts of climate change, land use change, and invasive species on natural resources and biodiversity. The NEON Airborne Observation Platform (AOP) is an aircraft platform carrying remote sensing instrumentation designed to achieve sub-meter to meter scale ground resolution, bridging the scales from organisms and individual stands to satellite-based remote sensing. AOP instrumentation consists of a VIS/SWIR imaging spectrometer, a scanning small-footprint waveform LiDAR, and a high resolution airborne digital camera. AOP data will provide quantitative information on land use change and changes in ecological structure and chemistry including the presence and effects of invasive species. A Pathfinder Flight Campaign was conducted over a two week period during late August to early September 2010 in order to collect representative AOP data over one NEON domain site. NASA JPL flew the AVIRIS imaging spectrometer and NCALM flew an Optech Gemini waveform LiDAR over the University of Florida Ordway-Swisher Biological Station and Donaldson tree plantation near Gainesville Florida. The pathfinder data are discussed in detail along with how the data are being used for early algorithm and product development prototyping activities. The data collected during the campaign and prototype products are openly available to scientists to become more familiar with representative NEON AOP data.