Comparative analysis of data acquired by three narrow-band airborne spectroradiometers over subboreal vegetation

Calibrated radiance data were acquired with three airborne sensor systems on 8 September 1990 over a northern forest as part of the Forest Ecosystem Dynamics Multisensor Aircraft Campaign. The spectral data were acquired nearly simultaneously under extremely clear sky conditions with NASA's AVIRIS and ASAS imaging spectroradiometers, and an SE-590 spectroradiometer mounted on a NASA UH-1B helicopter. After atmospheric corrections were applied to these data, intercomparisons of nadir reflectance factor measurements from each of these sensors were made for four important vegetation communities including a bog and individual forest stands dominated by spruce ( Picea sp.), eastern hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis), and mixed northern hardwoods (dominated by Acer sp., Populus sp., and Betula sp.), respectively. The reflectance factor spectra from the different instruments were comparable for each of these cover types, suggesting the possible interchangeable use of the three datasets over comparable wavelength regions. These comparisons also serve to graphically illustrate the importance of applying atmospheric corrections to such data, even if acquired under extremely clear sky conditions. This remote sensing data set appears suitable for assessing the applicability of multistage, multisensor data in largescale ecological research.