Hyperspectral Remote Sensing

Exercise: Continuum removal and spectral feature finding

Authors
Harald van der Werff, Freek van der Meer & Steven de Jong

Data set needed

speclib_usgs_mineralogy.sli

Software needed
Before starting this exercise, make sure you have installed the IDL plugins used in this
course. These plugins can be found in a zip file called dehrs_save_add.zip on the course
dvd or in Blackboard (course materials - software). When this file is unzipped, you will find
four IDL binary files (with file extension .sav) and a text file called README.txt with
instructions on how to install the binary files.

Introduction
Hyperspectral images provide spectra of the reflective part of the solar
spectrum and allow to use techniques such as spectral mixture analysis to
unravel the mixed spectral signal and produce abundance maps of features
at the Earth surface. Absorption features in spectra also allow an alternative
quantification methods by expressing absorption features in terms of
wavelength position, band width, band depth and symmetry. Before
applying this alternative technique to hyperspectral images, the possibilities
of this technique will be studied on mineral spectra in a spectral library in
this exercise.

The 'DISPEC' software package developed by Harald van der Werff (ITC) is
used to visually interpret spectra on screen and to quantify absorption
features. The spectra studied in this exercise are taken from the USGS
spectral library of minerals.

Continuum removal and feature finding

For quantification of absorption features in spectra the overall concave
shape of a spectrum should be removed. This normalization procedure is
referred to ‘continuum removal’ or ’convex-hull’ transform and allows
comparison of spectra that are acquired by different instruments or under
different light conditions.

The technique of making a continuum, or hull, is similar to fitting a rubber

band over the spectrum (figure 1). The spectrum is normalized by setting
the value of the hull to 100% reflection (figure 2). Two methods can be used
to normalize the spectrum: subtraction (additive) or division
(multiplicative). The advantage of the additive technique is that absorption
feature depth with respect to the hull remains constant over the entire
wavelength range.

Feature finding algorithms use the ‘normalized spectrum’ to find the lowest
reflectance values, i.e., the deepest features. After finding the minimum,
the shoulders left and right of a minimum are searched. The then identified
absorption feature is expressed in various terms: wavelength position,
depth, area and asymmetry (figure 3).

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Figure 1: A hull is created as if fitting a rubber band over a spectrum.

Figure 2: The hull is set to 100% and the original spectrum is subtracted.

Figure 3: Quantifying absorption features in terms of spectral position, band

depth, area and band asymmetry.

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Study mineral spectra

Use the DISPEC software to calculate absorption feature parameters from

spectra (figure 4). Select from the ENVI main menu DE-HRS – DISPEC or,
alternatively, start the program by typing 'dispec' in the ENVI command line.
In the DISPEC menu bar, select open > new file to select the spectral library
file speclib_usgs_mineralogy.sli. In the DISPEC interface, set the option
'shoulder definition' (top right, second drop list) from 'maximum value' to
'inflexion point' (figure 4).

Figure 4: the interface of the DISPEC v.3.0 program.

Figure 5: the reflectance spectra of calcite, hematite and kaolinite.

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Hyperspectral Remote Sensing

Question 1: Find out by displaying spectra and changing this parameter

what the 'shoulder definition' parameter actually changes. You can also
use the 'smooth' function directly under the droplist to help your
investigation.

Select in the spectra list (bottom left) mineral hematit1.spc. Hematite is a

common iron mineral that occurs in igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic
rocks both as primary constituent as well as alteration (weathering,
metamorphic) product. The presence of Fe2+ causes two strong absorption
features in the visible part of the spectrum.

Question 2: Write down the wavelength position of the two prominent

absorption features in the visible part of the spectrum.

Repeat the above steps for spectrum calcite1.spc, which is a reflectance

spectrum of the mineral Calcite; a common carbonate mineral which is the
main component of limestones.

Question 3: Write down the wavelength position of the four most prominent
absorption features in the spectrum.

Repeat again the above steps for spectrum kaolin1.spc which is a

reflectance spectrum of the mineral Kaolinite; a common clay mineral that
occurs in soils and also is an hydrothermal alteration mineral.

Question 4: Write down the wavelength position of the four most prominent
absorption features in the spectrum.

Question 5: Imagine you would have to design a sensor that can separate
these three minerals, e.g., map them from an image. Based on the
presence or absence of diagnostic absorption features, at what
wavelengths would you place spectral bands and how many bands would
you need? Assume you design the instrument with bands that are approx.
10nm in width.

A way of solving this puzzle is to display the wavelength positions you have
found for minerals Hematite Kaolinite and Calcite on top of the spectra.
Export the spectra from ENVI to ASCII and through to a spreadsheet program
(e.g. Ms Excel). In the ENVI main menu, go to spectral > spectral library >
view to dispay the three mineral spectra (figure 5). From the plot window
(file > export), you can export the spectra to ASCII.

Assignment: Write a short report in PDF format that contains the following
items: an ENVI spectral library plot of the three mineral spectra, a table
with the four dominant absorption features for these minerals, and an
answer (with supporting figures if needed) to question 5.

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