Atmospheric Correction Methods for Optical Remote Sensing Imagery of Land
7.7 Open Challenges
Atmospheric and topographic correction algorithms will continue to be improved in the future� Enhanced processing of hyperspectral imagery will benefit from an increase in the accuracy of RT models, particularly concerning scattering in the blue spectral region and updates of molecular absorption parameters� In addition, the sensor signal-to-noise ratio, radiometric calibration accuracy, and stability are likely to be improved� An open concern is the question of the most accurate solar irradiance database� The Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS; http://www�ceos�org, accessed 15/09/2010) recom-mends the Thuillier database, whereas others approve of the new Kurucz (1997) database, which is the default used in MODTRAN4� Although the solar constant, that is, irradiance integrated over the whole spectral range, is known with an accuracy of about 1%, much larger discrepancies exist for the spectral irradiance, depending on the spectral resolu-tion� Figure 7�8 presents relative differences between the Thuillier (Thuillier et al� 2003) and the new Kurucz spectra for bandwidths of 3 and 10 nm� There are large differences between these sources, especially in the blue part of the spectrum� These discrepancies can probably be resolved within a few years when updated and more accurate measure-ments become available� Another problem is that the Thuillier database ends at 2�4 μm, whereas a number of hyperspectral instruments have channels up to 2�5 μm�
However, a number of challenges will probably persist for many years, especially for fully automated processing environments� Examples include the difficult cases of nonstan-dard atmospheric conditions, that is, removal of boundary layer haze of varying thickness and deshadowing of cloud shadow regions, especially under geometrically complex situa-tions with scattered clouds at different altitude layers or a combination of haze, cloud, and shadow regions� Additionally, topographic correction techniques need to be improved, as there is no acknowledged method that works best in all mountainous regions of the Earth under all surface-cover conditions and seasons� This means that AC will remain an excit-ing research topic for a long time�
Table 7.2
Comparison of Popular AC Codes
Feature ACORN FLAASH ISDAS ATCOR
Multispectral instruments + + + +
Hyperspectral instruments + + + +
Adjacency correction − + + +
Water vapor retrieval + + + +
Haze removal − − − +
Spectral polishing − + − +
Spectral smile correction + − − +
Thermal region: Surface
temperature, emissivity − − − +
Rugged terrain: DEM
topographic correction − − + +
Note: A plus sign indicates that the corresponding feature is supported, whereas a minus sign indicates the capability is missing�
Atmospheric Correction Methods for Optical Remote Sensing Imagery of Land 171
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5
−5
−10
0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
0
Wavelength (μm)
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2 0
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Wavelength (μm) FIgure 7.8
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