Investigating the Consistency of Uncalibrated Multispectral Lidar Vegetation Indices at Different Altitudes
by
1,2,*
and Chris Hopkinson 1
and Chris Hopkinson 1
1
Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada
2
Institute of Mathematical Problems of Biology RAS, branch of the M.V.Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 1 Prof. Vitkevich St, Pushchino, Moscow Region 142290, Russia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Remote Sens. 2019, 11(13), 1531; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11131531
Received: 22 May 2019
/
Revised: 15 June 2019
/
Accepted: 19 June 2019
/
Published: 28 June 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future Trends and Applications for Airborne Laser Scanning)
Multi-spectral (ms) airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) data are increasingly used for mapping purposes. Geometric data are enriched by intensity digital numbers (DNs) and, by utilizing this additional information either directly, or in the form of active spectral vegetation indices (SVIs), enhancements in land cover classification and change monitoring are possible. In the case of SVIs, the indices should be calculated from reflectance values derived from intensity DNs after rigorous calibration. In practice, such calibration is often not possible, and SVIs calculated from intensity DNs are used. However, the consistency of such active ms lidar products is poorly understood. In this study, the authors reported on an ms lidar mission at three different altitudes above ground to investigate SVI consistency. The stability of two families of indices—spectral ratios and normalized differences—was compared. The need for atmospheric correction in case of considerable range difference was established. It was demonstrated that by selecting single returns (provided sufficient point density), it was possible to derive stable SVI products. Finally, a criterion was proposed for comparing different lidar acquisitions over vegetated areas.
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Keywords:
multispectral lidar; radiometry; intensity; forest canopy; active spectral vegetation indices; NDVI; lidar point density; Teledyne Optech Titan
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MDPI and ACS Style
Okhrimenko, M.; Hopkinson, C. Investigating the Consistency of Uncalibrated Multispectral Lidar Vegetation Indices at Different Altitudes. Remote Sens. 2019, 11, 1531. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11131531
AMA Style
Okhrimenko M, Hopkinson C. Investigating the Consistency of Uncalibrated Multispectral Lidar Vegetation Indices at Different Altitudes. Remote Sensing. 2019; 11(13):1531. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11131531
Chicago/Turabian StyleOkhrimenko, Maxim, and Chris Hopkinson. 2019. "Investigating the Consistency of Uncalibrated Multispectral Lidar Vegetation Indices at Different Altitudes" Remote Sensing 11, no. 13: 1531. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11131531
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