Hyperspectral remote sensing and its application preface

After the development in the second half of the 20th century, great changes have taken place in the theory, technology and application of remote sensing technology. The emergence and development of hyperspectral remote sensing is undoubtedly a very prominent part of this change. At the same time, with the increasing pressure of population, resources and environment, seeking possible solutions has become the direction of people's unremitting efforts. Hyperspectral remote sensing is an effective means to solve human practical problems. .

Since the first generation of aerial imaging spectrometer came out, the development of hyperspectral remote sensing has been more than 20 years, and it has attracted extensive attention of remote sensing scientists all over the world. One of the important reasons is that this technology revolutionizes the combination of the spectrum that determines the properties of matter or ground objects and the images that grasp their spatial and geometric relations, that is, it unifies people's accustomed logical thinking and image thinking. This is of great benefit to people's understanding of nature.

In fact, people have long recognized the importance of combining spectra and images. From color photography in daily life to multispectral remote sensors working on airplanes and satellites, the spectrum and images of matter are combined to some extent. With the continuous increase of spectral bands, people's ability to understand remote sensing objects is also deepening. Finally, it is realized that the characteristics of many substances are often displayed in some narrow spectral ranges. How to capture this feature of an object without losing its overall shape and its relationship with surrounding objects is the basis and question to be answered for the emergence and development of imaging spectrum or hyperspectral remote sensing.

For a long time, hyperspectral remote sensing has been in the research and development stage based on aviation, and it is mainly concentrated in some countries with developed technology, and the research and application of its data is still very limited. In recent years, the situation has improved. If it weren't for the failure of satellite technology, people should be able to widely use the data of Lewis hyperspectral remote sensing satellite with 384 bands launched by 1997 today. 1At the end of 999, the first moderate resolution imaging spectrometer (MODIS) was put into orbit on the American EOS AM4- 1 platform, and EO- 1, the first star of the so-called "New Millennium Project", will be put into space with two kinds of hyperspectral instruments. In addition, MERIS, a medium resolution imaging spectrometer of ESA, GI- 1, a global imager with hyperspectral characteristics on Japan's ADEOS-2 satellite, and Orbit View -4 of orbital images will also be launched one after another. The brilliant prospect of a hyperspectral star will unfold before us. The in-depth application of hyperspectral remote sensing is on the eve of breakthrough. ..

The breakthrough of hyperspectral remote sensing application will not only be guaranteed by sufficient data, but also the preparation of talents will be a more important factor. Therefore, it is an urgent task to cultivate young hyperspectral remote sensing talents. We regret to see that there are few training materials for hyperspectral remote sensing in the world, especially in China. Therefore, it is more urgent to cultivate young scientific and technological talents, expand the application field of hyperspectral remote sensing and improve the level of research and application. It is gratifying that the book Hyperspectral Remote Sensing and Its Application, co-authored by Pu and Gong Peng, will soon be published as a teaching reference book, which is very meaningful and rare. It not only fills the blank of hyperspectral remote sensing teaching materials in China, but also has few precedents in the world.

Dr. Gong Peng and Mr. Pu are overseas Chinese scholars who are currently studying at the famous University of California, Berkeley. In their busy scientific research and teaching work, they are devoted to the motherland and often travel back and forth between China and the United States to carry out cooperative research, hold advanced seminars and academic lectures, and promote the improvement of the research level of remote sensing, geographic information system and resources and environment science and technology in the motherland. They took time out of their busy schedule, squeezed time, and wrote this very valuable book by summing up, generalizing and sublimating, especially by integrating their latest research results. This is also the first series of lectures and lectures organized by Dr. Gong Peng at the Institute of International Earth System Science of Nanjing University. This is of great significance to communicate domestic teaching, scientific research and the latest scientific and technological development abroad. This fully reflects their patriotic feelings of serving the motherland and promoting the cultivation of domestic talents.

In the early 1990s, when Dr. Gong Peng was studying remote sensing and GIS in the United States and Canada, he applied hyperspectral remote sensing as an important means to forest and vegetation research, and made it an important pillar of biostatistics from the perspective of combining information science with earth science. Because of this, it is logical that the research of hyperspectral remote sensing in biophysical and biochemical characteristics and parameter extraction has become the most essence and core part of this book. The system reflects the latest international research situation in this field and the author's systematic research results.

The publication of this book coincides with the right time, which will provide an important reference for the teaching and research of related disciplines in universities and scientific research units in China, and will greatly promote the development of hyperspectral remote sensing in China, especially its application in forests, agriculture, vegetation and environment.

Here, we would like to thank Mr. Pu and Mr. Gong Peng for their sincere dedication to this international student. ...

Researcher, Institute of Remote Sensing Application, China Academy of Sciences.

Academician of China Academy of Sciences

Academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences

March 2000