Coastal characterization from hyperspectral imagery: An intercomparison of retrieval properties from three coast types

Over the past three years, the Naval Research Laboratory has conducted three remote sensing campaigns in regions which included barrier island, coral, and mangrove coastal characteristics. These investigations were conducted at the Virginia Coast Reserve during September 2007, in and around Kaneohe and Waimanalo Bays during January and February 2009, and along the Queensland coast in Australia during May 2009. During each of the studies, hyperspectral imagery (HSI) was acquired over the site in conjunction with both land and water spectral and geotechnical measurements. For coastal classification, such as retrievals of bottom reflectance, bathymetry, beach composition, and vegetation type, subtle variations in spectral properties of physical and biological features are often significant. Beach composition in these coast types differed dramatically due to the origin of the sands. These findings suggest the need to develop models specific to a particular coast type.