Maximizing the quantitative utility of airborne hyperspectral imagery for studying plant physiology: An optimal sensor exposure setting procedure and empirical line method for atmospheric correction

Phuong D. Dao, Yuhong He, Bing Lu

Abstract: Highlights•It is the first of its kind that takes into account sensor exposure setting, saturation, and spectral extrapolation in the ELC calibration of airborne images.•It attempts to maximize the utility of hyperspectral sensors for quantifying vegetation properties why avoiding biases caused by the above issues.•It proposes an optimal reference target testing and hyperspectral imaging procedures to avoid biases in airborne imaging.•The spectral index calculated from calibrated reflectance is able to explain 70.6% of the variation in the chlorophyll content at the canopy level.•The approach can be applied for other similar airborne multispectral and hyperspectral imaging systems.