Biophysical and morphological study of coastal habitats from imaging spectrometry, LiDAR and in situ data acquisition

A physics based approach was applied to MIVIS (Multispectral IR and Visible Imaging Spectrometer) and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) airborne data, simultaneously acquired on 12 May 2009 in order to integrate geomorphological and sedimentological observations into a detailed macrophytes map of Lake Trasimeno (Italy). An accurate field campaign was carried out during the airborne survey and a collection of different biophysical parameter has been achieved. The purposes of the field observations were twofold. First, field observations allowed identification of biophysical habitats and properties associated both to radiometric and limnological features. Secondly, field reconnaissance and laboratory analysis allowed to identify significant parameters involved in optical interpretation of the water body and sediment composition. Radiometrically corrected imaging spectrometry data were converted into optical properties of water column and bottom by means of bio-optical modeling. The Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA) based on end-member fraction distributions was also applied to MIVIS data to further discriminate different types of bottom and bottom cover. The MIVIS-derived map of different types was merged to bathymetry derived from LiDAR for generating the preliminary classification of the biophysical habitat. The accuracy of this processing was evaluated using bathymetric single-beam echograms acquired during the airborne campaign using a 200 kHz echosounder.