Hyperspectral/light detection and ranging mission and field campaign

Published June 17, 2013
Machipongo Station, Hog Island, Virginia Coast Reserve LTER, shows the diverse environmental features of the reserve.

Machipongo Station, Hog Island, Virginia Coast Reserve LTER, shows the diverse environmental features of the reserve.

ATLANTIC COAST, Va.—Researchers with ERDC’s Topographic Engineering Center (TEC) and Environmental Laboratory (EL) recently conducted a field campaign at the Virginia Coast Reserve as part of a collaborative effort between the Joint Airborne LiDAR Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise (JALBTCX) and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Dr. Julie Zinnert, TEC, and Molly Reif, EL, conducted a field campaign with extensive ground data at the Virginia Coast Reserve. 

The JALBTCX collected airborne hyperspectral reflectance and LiDAR imagery over the test site.  The mission goals are to investigate spatial-temporal variability in visible – near infrared spectral signals of vegetation to specific changes in climatic and environmental parameters. 

This research will enhance the use of plants as sensors for vulnerable areas and provide information for terrain state and manmade disturbances. 

This mission was the first of two planned airborne flights.

Created in the early 1970s, the Virginia Coast Reserve is a biosphere reserve consisting of 14 barrier islands along the Atlantic coast, which serve to safeguard the mainland portions of the Eastern shore of Virginia from the impact of coastal storms. It also serves as the research location for the Virginia Coast Reserve Long-Term Ecological Research project, funded by the National Science Foundation.

Learn more about the Joint Airborne LiDAR Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise.