Validating airborne visible-infrared imaging spectrometer data at Ray Mine, Arizona

The fundamental promise of imaging spectroscopy is to provide surface miner alogy based on remotely-acquired, gridded reflectance spectra of comparable quality to those from high resolution laboratory and field spectrometers. For regulatory and environmental monitoring, validating imaging spectromete r data is a major issue with this emerging technology. In this paper we val idate 1997 Airborne Visible-Infared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) reflectan ce spectra covering 0.4 mum-2.4 pm at a stable, flat, manmade target at Ray Mine, Arizona, for EPA/NASA assessment of the utility of remote sensing fo r monitoring acid drainage from an active open pit copper mine. For validat ion, we a) compare qualitatively, laboratory and field reflectance spectra with corresponding AVIRIS spectra; b) compare quantitatively, mineralogical ly diagnostic statistics from field spectra with the same statistics from A VIRIS spectra; and c) demonstrate a methodology for validating imaging spec trometer data for environmental applications.