Hyperspectral Imagery for the Main Eight Hawaiian Islands:Oahu (204b-0613-272217)

The goal of the work was todevelop coral reef mapping methods and compare benthic habitat mapsgenerated by photointerpreting georeferenced color aerialphotography, hyperspectral and IKONOS satellite imagery.The enhanced spectral resolution of hyperspectral and control ofbandwidths of multispectral data yield an advantage over color aerialphotography particularly when coral health and time series analysisof coral reef community structure are of interest.

Depending on thetype of instrument, a spectral imaging system can be utilized to seemultiple colors from ultraviolet through the far infrared range. TheAURORA hyperspectral imaging system collected 72 ten nm bands in thevisible and near infrared spectral range with a 3 meter pixelresolution. The data was processed to select band widths, whichoptimized feature detection in shallow and deep water.Photointerpreters can accurately and reliably delineate boundaries offeatures in the imagery as they appear on the computer monitor usinga software interface such as the Habitat Digitizer.