Depth Derivation from the Worldview-2 Satellite Using Hyperspectral Imagery

The Worldview-2 satellite, scheduled for launch in 2009, will have a multispectral sensor with several additional spectral bands not available on current multispectral sensors. This research investigates the use of the additional yellow spectral band to derive bathymetry. A hyperspectral image acquired from the AVIRIS sensor was used as a substitute image for the Worldview-2 multispectral sensor. The image was processed using the Stumpf et al. (2003) ratio method to determine bathymetry in a section of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Depths acquired using the green/blue, yellow/green and yellow/blue ratios were compared to ground truth bathymetry derived from a digital nautical chart. The results indicate that using the Stumpf et al. (2003) algorithm with yellow/green and yellow/blue ratios improves the accuracy of derived depths compared to depths derived using the green/blue ratio, especially in shallow waters. The original document contains color images.