Airborne Hyperspectral Forest Reflectance at 1-Meter Resolution

114 spectral ranges of high-resolution reflectance data from 418 to 920 nanometers, collected by the Goddard LiDAR, Hyperspectral, and Thermal Imager airborne system. The data product provides surface reflectance approximations at 1-meter spatial resolution over forested areas in North America. It is processed by the LPCLOUD organization.

Use Cases

• Classify forest species using spectral reflectance signatures across 114 bands.
• Model vegetation health and stress by analyzing reflectance patterns in specific wavelength ranges (e.g., red-edge).
• Map ecosystem function by correlating surface reflectance data with LiDAR-derived structural metrics from the same G-LiHT mission.
• Calibrate satellite-derived reflectance products using the high-resolution, atmospherically corrected at-sensor reflectance data.

Strengths

• High spectral resolution with 114 distinct wavelength bands between 418-920 nm.
• Fine spatial resolution of 1 meter per pixel for detailed ecological analysis.
• Data is corrected for cross-track illumination and Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function effects.

Limitations

• Spatial coverage is limited to specific airborne swaths over North American forests, not a continuous global map.
• The dataset's total size, row count, and specific temporal coverage for each flight line are unspecified.
• Requires specialized geospatial software (e.g., GIS) to process the GeoTIFF raster format.

Provenance

Source

Goddard's LiDAR, Hyperspectral, and Thermal Imager (G-LiHT) airborne mission.

Collection Method

Airborne imaging from a nominal height of 335 meters AGL, with reflectance computed from upwelling radiance and downwelling irradiance.

Geography

Forest communities and ecoregions in the Conterminous United States, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.