Ground Truthing
The field collection of reflectance spectra of intact materials (often referred to as ground truth data collection) is essential for interpreting unknown materials in multi-spectral and hyperspectral remote sensing data, and validating sensor performance. Since sample removal for lab study often destroys the sample’s surface properties, and because lab study is impractical for many large natural surfaces, researchers need a reliable field device capable of providing laboratory-quality, field measurements with illumination and viewing geometry equivalent to a satellite or aircraft sensor.
Such devices can also provide data for radiometric and atmospheric correction of satellite images. This requires field reflectance measurements of large test panels or large, uniform surfaces such as dry lake beds. As with ground surfaces, it is essential that researchers measure these targets with illumination and viewing geometry equivalent to that of the imaging sensor of interest.
ASD FieldSpec® spectroradiometers generate high-quality field spectra at the required illumination and viewing geometry for accurate correlation to satellite and aircraft sensor data. Available in multiple configurations, FieldSpec® spectroradiomoeters are compatible with popular image analysis software packages such as ENVI, ER Mapper, ERDAS Imagine, and MultiSpec, allowing you to create detailed spectral libraries tailored to your application. Bringing a level of device portability that only ASD can provide, the FieldSpec® also helps you work in some of the most remote regions of the planet.
Examples of researchers using ASD instrumentation for ground truth data collection can be found in the links below.
A Light Aircraft Radiometric Package for MODLAND Quick Airborne Looks (MQUALS
Radiometer Pool - Goniometer Pool - Calibration
Crude Findings — remote sensing and GPS aid hyperspectral detection efforts
ES 771 Lecture, James S. Aber — Ground Observations
Wyoming Assessment Project and Remote Sensing of Leafy Spurge
Post-Launch Validation of Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI) Data and Algorithms
For more information about the FieldSpec® spectroradiometers used in ground truth data collection at the equivalent illumination and viewing geometry for correlation to satellite and aircraft sensor imagery select the links below.
Products
- FieldSpec® 3 Portable Spectroradiometer
- FieldSpec® 3 Hi-Res Portable Spectroradiometer
- FieldSpec® 3 Max Portable Spectroradiometer
- FieldSpec® HandHeld Portable Spectroradiometer
Articles
- Seasonal Variability in Spectral Reflectance for Discriminating Grasslands along a Dry-Mesic Gradient in Switzerland
- Chesapeake Lighthouse and Aircraft Measurements for Satellites "CLAMS" July 12-Aug 2, 2001
- Using vegetation reflectance variability for species level classification of hyperspectral data
- In Situ Characterization of Soil Clay Content with Visible Near-Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy
- Direct solar spectral irradiance and transmittance measurements from 350 to 2500 nm
- Multispectral and Hyperspectral Remote Sensing of Alpine Snow Properties
- Empirical Proof of the Empirical Line
- Global soil characterization with VNIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy
- Estimating forage biomass and quality in a mixed sown pasture based on partial least squares regression with waveband selection
- Rapid Biomass Analysis - New Tools for Compositional Analysis of Corn Stover Feedstocks and Process Intermediates from Ethanol Production
- The effect of anisotropic reflectance on imaging spectroscopy of snow properties
- Spectroscopy of Humid Tropical Forests
- Remote Sensing of Invasive Leafy Spurge Using Reflectance and Imaging Spectroscopy
- A Very Short History of Reflectance Spectroscopy for Solar System Exploration: An Old Man's Recollection
- Integrating Traditional Handheld Remotely Sensed Measurement Techniques with Chemometric Analyses in the Classroom
- Mapping Potentially Asbestos-bearing Rocks Using Imaging Spectroscopy
- Reflectance Spectroscopy Applied to Exploration for Mineral Deposits and Geothermal Systems
- The Hyperspectral Characteristics of Cotton Leaf Infected with Verticillium Wilt and Aphid
- Mineral Mapping Using Spectroscopy - From Field Measurements to Airborne Satellite-Based Imaging Spectrometry
- HyLogging - Voluminous Industrial-scale Reflectance Spectroscopy of the Earth's Subsurface
- The Use of a Portable Spectrometer in Support of the Calibration of AVIRIS, the Moon Mineralogy Mapper and other High Uniformity Imaging Spectrometers
- Estimation and Extrapolation of Soil Properties in the Siberian Tundra, using Field Spectroscopy
- Detection and discrimination of stress in bean (phaseolus vulgaris ‘tendergreen’.)
- Variation and Stability of Soil Reflectance Measurements with Different ASD Spectrometers Under Different Conditions
- Rapid Estimation of Brilliant Blue Concentrations in Soil by Diffusereflectance Spectroscopy
- A Comparison of Spectral Measurement Methods for Substratum and Benthic Features In Seagrass and Coral Reef Environments
- The NEON Imaging Spectrometer: Airborne Measurements of Vegetation Cover and Biochemistry for the Continental-scale NEON Observatory
- Radiometric Calibration Concept of Imaging Spectrometers for a Long-Term Ecological Remote Sensing Project
- High Performance Fore Optic Accessories and Tools for Reflectance and Radiometric Measurements with the ASD FieldSpec 3 Spectroradiometer
