Showing papers on "VNIR published in 2003"

On-orbit radiometric and spectral calibration characteristics of EO-1 Hyperion derived with an underflight of AVIRIS and in situ measurements at Salar de Arizaro, Argentina

Abstract: A calibration experiment was orchestrated on February 7, 2001 at the Salar de Arizaro, Argentina to assess the on-orbit radiometric and spectral calibration of Hyperion. At this high-altitude homogeneous dry salt lakebed, Hyperion, Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectroradiometer (AVIRIS) and in situ measurements were acquired. At a designated calibration target on Salar de Arizaro, the radiance spectra measured by Hyperion and AVIRIS were compared. In the spectral range from 430-900 nm [visible near-infrared (VNIR)], the ratio of Hyperion over AVIRIS was 0.89, and in the 900-2390-nm [shortwave infrared (SWIR)] spectral range the ratio was 0.79. A comparison of the Hyperion radiance spectrum with a radiative-transfer-code-predicted spectrum for the calibration target showed similar results. These results in conjunction with prelaunch laboratory measurements, on-orbit lunar measurements, other on-orbit calibration experiment results, as well as comparison with Landsat-7, lead to an update of Hyperion radiometric calibration in December 2001. The compromise update was to increase the Hyperion radiometric calibration coefficients by 8% in the VNIR and 18% in the SWIR spectrometers. In addition to radiometric accuracy, the on-orbit radiometric precision of Hyperion was assessed at Salar de Arizaro. Noise-equivalent delta radiance was calculated from Hyperion dark signal data and found to be five to ten times higher in comparison to AVIRIS. Also, from a homogeneous portion of Salar de Arizaro the Hyperion SNR was estimated at 140 in the VNIR and 60 in the 2200-nm region of the SWIR spectral range. Cross-track radiometric response was assessed with the AVIRIS dataset that spanned the full Hyperion swath. Within the accuracy of the registration of the datasets, the Hyperion cross-track response was shown to be uniform. Hyperion spectral calibration was assessed with a spectral fitting algorithm using the high spectral resolution radiative transfer modeled spectra for Salar de Arizaro.

Artificial neural network analysis of laboratory and in situ spectra for the estimation of macronutrients in soils of Lop Buri (Thailand)

Abstract: Reflectance spectrometry is an emerging and non-destructive detection technique bearing fast, cheap, and accurate results compared with conventional assessments. Most field and laboratory-based spectrometers are restricted to VNIR (visible–near-infrared). However, soils fail to show well-defined narrow absorption bands in this region. This obstructs the use of curve feature as a diagnostic criterion for soil nutrient predictions. In this paper artificial neural network (ANN) is implemented to estimate soil organic matter, phosphorous, and potassium from the VNIR spectrum (400–1100 nm). Macronutrients were modelled from 41 bare soil reflectances of Lop Buri province, Thailand. Neurons were trained from 7 bandwidth categories derived from laboratory-based StellarNet spectroradiometer and in situ photometer. Satisfactory results were attained and compared across different synthesised bandwidths. Models exhibited slightly better estimates from the laboratory than in situ spectra, and from narrower than broader bandwidths. Widening bandwidth corresponds with attenuated predictive powers, coupled with rising errors. Cross validation of models yielded acceptable correlations. The strength of models confirmed the capability of ANN to estimate macronutrients by solving difficulties incurred from high cross-channel correlations prevailing in conventional statistical techniques.

A stabilized vegetation index and several mineralogic indices defined for ASTER VNIR and SWIR data

Abstract: ASTER is composed of three subsystems, each of which multispectrally observes the reflected or emitted radiation from the surface of the earth to space in VNIR (visible and near infrared), SWIR (shortwave infrared) and TIR (thermal infrared) wavelength regions, respectively. Here in this paper, problems in applying the widely used vegetation index, NDVI, to remotely sensed radiance at the sensor data without atmospheric corrections are discussed, and a stabilized vegetation index against the fluctuation factors in the radiance at the sensor data is proposed. Then, reflectance spectra of minerals in SWIR region measured in the laboratory are analyzed to define calcite index, OH-bearing altered minerals index, kaolinite index and alunite index for discriminating the minerals by ASTER-SWIR. The defined indices are applied to ASTER Level-1B radiance at the sensor data multi-temporally observing Cuprite area in Nevada, USA. Discussions are made on the results, especially on the effectiveness of the stabilized vegetation. Also, the applied results of the defined mineralogic indices are compared with the well-known geology of the area.

The visible absorption spectrum of NO3 measured by high-resolution Fourier transform spectroscopy

Abstract: [1] The visible absorption spectrum of the nitrate radical NO3 has been measured using high-resolution Fourier transform spectroscopy. The spectrum was recorded at 294 K using a resolution of 0.6 cm−1 (corresponding to 0.026 nm at 662 nm) and covers the 12600–21500 cm−1 region (465–794 nm). Compared to absorption spectra of NO3 recorded previously, the new data show improvements concerning absolute wavelength calibration (uncertainty 0.02 cm−1), and spectral resolution. A new interpretation and model of the temperature dependence of the strong (0-0) band around 662 nm are proposed. The results are important for long-path tropospheric absorption measurements of NO3 and optical remote sensing of the Earth's atmosphere from space.

Characterizing and correcting Hyperion detectors using ice-sheet images

Abstract: Two Hyperion images of the Greenland ice sheet are used to characterize errors in the visible near-infrared (VNIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) detector arrays of Hyperion. Spatial variability in detector output is seen in both arrays and, in both cases, is largest at the shorter wavelengths and decreases as wavelength increases. Standard deviations of the maximum variability are 40 digital numbers (DNs) for the VNIR array and 123 DNs for the SWIR array. Based on a single pair of images, temporal stability is nearly as large and exhibits the same spectral characteristics of large variability at shorter wavelengths and decreasing variability with increasing wavelength. The uniformity and stability of the ice-sheet surface enables a detailed characterization and emphasizes the utility of using ice sheets as targets to achieve on-orbit sensor characterization.

Image sharpening method to recover stream temperatures from ASTER images

Abstract: Linear unmixing of spectra from daytime Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) images can be used to improve the spatial resolution of temperatures calculated for streams that are not fully resolved in the 90-m thermal infrared (TIR) data. We first examine ASTER 15-m Visible-Near Infrared (VNIR) data to select three endmembers using a simple automated technique. These endmembers correspond to vegetation, shade/water, and other scene components (e.g. urban/soil/non-photosynthetic vegetation). Then the 15-m VNIR data are unmixed into the three corresponding fraction images. Threshold and adjacency tests are used to separate the shade and water fractions creating a total of four fraction images that together are used to specify the amount of the scene components in each 90-m TIR pixel. The emitted thermal radiance (ETR) from each of the scene components can be estimated if we assume that it is the same as for a

Hyperspectral imaging workstation having visible/near-infrared and ultraviolet image sensors

Abstract: A hyperspectral imaging workstation includes both UV and VNIR sensors together in a single enclosure. Each sensor captures an image of a target or specimen, resulting in respective UV and VNIR data sets which are then merged into a single hyperspectral data set that includes a highly correlated contiguous spectral bands throughout a range of from 200 to 1000 nanometers.

A Radiation Transfer Model to Predict Canopy Radiation in Thermal Infrared Band

Abstract: Canopy radiance in thermal infrared (TIR) band mainly comes from emission of canopy itself. This differs very much from the situation of visible and near infrared (VNIR) band, in which reflection plays the major role. How- ever, the sophisticated canopy model in visible and near infrared band are still instructive to thermal infrared researches. Some recent works extend results of canopy BRDF model, such as Hapke's formula, to thermal infrared band through Kirchhoff's law that directional emissivity of a surface equals 1 minus its directional-hemispherical reflectance. However, this in-direct approach is not convenient because using Kirchhoff's law means to assume isothermal condition, but most natural surface is not isothermal. In this paper, we extend a typical canopy model in VNIR band, the SAIL model, to TIR band by adding terms of thermal emission in the radiation transfer equations. Analytic solution of the radiation transfer equations is derived. This enables us to directly simulate the emission and radiation transfer process inside the horizontal homogeneous canopy which is a good approximation to many kinds of crops. Leaf angle distribution (LAD) can be simulated discretely, and vertical canopy structure is also easily handled. Simulation of our model indicates that these factors play important role in directional signature of the canopy radiance. The model can also be used in some flexible ways, which enable it to act as basic modular in higher level TIR model. Here, we give two examples. In the first example, we use this model to calculate multiple scattering inside canopy and derive component effective emissivity. In the second example, the result of our RT model is adjusted by a row-structured GO model to simulate the real structure of winter wheat canopy as well as the footprint of radiometer. Comparison with field measured data indicates that the horizontal homogeneous assumption is also not valid in real cases, so the better choice is to integrate RT and GO model together.

Practical applications of hyperspectral remote sensing in regolith research

Abstract: INTRODUCTION Hyperspectral data consist of many measurements of discrete spectral wavelengths (typically >100) across the electromagnetic spectrum within the atmospheric transmission windows. Examples of hyperspectral sensors in operation in Australia are HyVista’s HyMap (http://www.hyvista.com/), the Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) and De Beers’ Airborne Multispectral Scanner (AMS). The HyMap airborne scanner consists of 128 bands covering the region between 400 and 2500 nanometres (nm) (Cocks et al. 1998). This region consists of visible, near infrared (VNIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) wavelengths. This wavelength region contains diagnostic absorptions of iron oxide, phyllo-silicate, and carbonate minerals, as well as vegetation components such as chlorophyll, starch, waxes, lignin and cellulose (Lewis et al. 2001). Airborne hyperspectral imagery (AHSI) must be corrected to remove the effects of the atmosphere before results comparable to laboratory spectrometers can be obtained. Spectrometers used in the laboratory and the field, such as the Geophysical Environmental Research Inc (GER) IRIS, Analytical Spectral Devices Inc (ASD) FieldSpec Pro FR or Integrated Spectronics Pty Ltd Portable Infrared Mineral Analyser (PIMA) (SWIR only), generally possess more spectral bands (potentially better spectral resolution) than remote sensing systems, allowing the resolution of closely spaced absorptions from different minerals. Laboratory measurements using a halogen light source permit the recording of spectral responses of minerals without atmospheric effects. Measurement of geological samples with a field/laboratory instrument also avoids problems with trying to “un-mix” vegetation effects which often beset processing of AHSI data.

Cloud cover assessment: VNIR-SWIR

Abstract: Methods, a computer-readable medium, and a system are provided for determining whether a data point indicates a presence of a cloud using visible near-infrared data and short wavelength infrared data. A first comparison of a cirrus-band reflectance of the data point with a threshold cirrus-band reflectance value is made, classifying the data point as a cloud point if the cirrus-band reflectance of the data point exceeds the threshold cirrus-band reflectance value. When the comparing of the cirrus-band reflectance of the data point with the threshold cirrus-band reflectance value does not classify the data point as a cloud point, a further analysis is performed, including performing a second or more comparisons of additional cloud indicators derived from at least one of the visible, near-infrared, and short wavelength infrared data with related empirically-derived, landcover-dependent thresholds for classifying the data point as a cloud point or a non-cloud point.

ASTER on-board calibration status

Abstract: ASTER is a high-resolution optical sensor for observing the Earth on the Terra satellite ASTER consists of three radiometers, VNIR in the visible and near-infrared region, SWIR in the shortwave infrared region, and TIR in the thermal infrared region The pre-flight calibration of VNIR and SWIR adopted the working standard large integrating sphere whose radiance levels were traceable to the primary standard fixed-point blackbody The on-board calibration devices of VNIR and SWIR were two halogen lamps and photodiode monitors The on-board lamp calibration showed a little shift while launch In orbit three bands of VNIR showed a rapid decrease in the output signal while all SWIR bands remained stable The TIR on-board blackbody was calibrated against a standard blackbody from 100 K to 400 K in a vacuum chamber before launch The TIR is unable to see the dark space The temperature of the on-board blackbody of TIR remains at 270 K in the short-term calibration for the offset calibration, and is varied from 270 K to 340 K in the long term calibration for the offset and gain calibration The long term calibration just after launch seemed consistent with the prelaunch calibration but showed a decrease in orbit

PHIRST light: a liquid crystal tunable filter hyperspectral sensor

Abstract: PHIRST Light is a visible and near-infrared (VNIR) hyperspectral imaging sensor that has been assembled at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) using off-the-shelf components. It consists of a Dalsa 1M60 camera mated to a CRI VariSpec liquid crystal tunable filter (LCTF) and a conventional 75mm Pentax lens. This system can be thought of as the modern equivalent of a filter-wheel sensor. Historically, the problem with such sensors has been that images for different wavelengths are collected at different times. This causes spectral correlation problems when the camera is not perfectly still during the collection time for all bands (such as when it is deployed on an airborne platform). However, the PHIRST Light sensor is hard mounted in a Twin Otter aircraft, and is mated to a TrueTime event capture board, which records the precise GPS time of each image frame. Combining this information with the output of a CMIGITS INS/GPS unit permits precise coregistration of images from multiple wavelengths, and allows the formation of a conventional hyperspectral image cube. In this paper we present an overview of the sensor and its deployment, describe the processing steps required to produce coregistered hyperspectral cubes, and show detection results for targets viewed during the Aberdeen Collection Experiment (ACE).

Development of a hyperspectral scene generator

Abstract: Hyperspectral systems are increasingly being mated with on-board target detection algorithms. However the only way to test these algorithms is with field testing which are expensive and inherently unrepeatable. This paper will describe a Hyperspectral Scene Generator that can display hundreds of programmable high resolution spectra simultaneously. This allows a target to be inserted into a previously measured field for testing of a hyperspectral sensor and target detection algorithms in the lab. The design of the Hyperspectral Scene Generator is presently applied to the Visible and Near InfraRed (VNIR) and Short Wave InfraRed (SWIR) but may also be applied to the MidWave InfraRed (MWIR) and Long Wave InfraRed (LWIR) spectral region. Funding for this study is provided from Office of the Secretary of Defense and Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) to investigate the development of a hyperspectral scene generator that will have broad application to many hyperspectral systems.

The airborne imaging spectrometer APEX (Airborne PRISM Experiment): Overview and status questions

Abstract: Over the past few years, a Swiss/Belgian consortium is designing and building the next generation airborne imaging spectrometer APEX (Airborne Prism EXperiment) under the authority of ESA’s PRODEX programme. APEX is designed to be a dispersive pushbroom imaging spectrometer operating in the solar reflected wavelength range between 400 and 2500 nm. The spectral sampling interval is designed to be better than 10 nm in the SWIR and 5 nm in the VNIR range of the spectrum. The total FOV will be 28 deg, recording 1000 spatial elements across track at a maximum of 300 contiguous spectral bands simultaneously. The final radiance data products will be well characterized and calibrated traceable to absolute standards. The APEX consortium is subdivided into an industrial team responsible for the construction of the optical instrument, the calibration home base and the detectors, and a science and operations team, responsible for the acquisition, the processing and the archiving of the imaging spectrometer data, as well as for the distribution of the calibrated and corrected data to the Scientific User Community. APEX is at the end of its design phase and under partial breadboarding and will be fully operational in the year 2005

Use of Vegetation Indexes with ASTER VNIR data for burnt areas detection in Western Peloponnese, Greece

Abstract: In this paper, we present the use of Vegetation Indexes with ASTER VNIR data for the detection of burnt areas in Western Peloponnese, Greece. Four different indexes have been used with very good results. The use of ASTER VNIR data for vegetation monitoring and burnt areas detection is proposed.

Performance Characteristics of the ASTER Cryocooler in Orbit

Abstract: The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) was developed by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) for installation in the NASA EOS Terra spacecraft. The ASTER instrument consists of a visible and near-infrared radiometer (VNIR), a short-wave infrared radiometer (SWIR) and a thermal infrared radiometer (TIR). Two cryocoolers are required to cool the infrared detectors for the SWIR and the TIR subsystems.

Fused spectropolarimetric visible near-IR imaging

Abstract: We report on the development and characterization of a compact, lightweight, robust, and field-portable spectropolarimetric imaging system at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL). It operates in the 400 to 900 nm region with a passband of 10 nm at 600 nm. This automated imager is designed using a tellurium dioxide (TeO/sub 2/) acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) as an agile spectral selection element and a commercial nematic liquid-crystal variable retardation (LCVR) plate as a tunable polarization selection device with an off-the-shelf uncooled charge coupled device (CCD) camera and optics. Image acquisition with both spectral and polarization features facilitates significant improvement in target detection. This paper has described the design concept and a program, with a detailed description of the VNIR imager, and present images obtained from it and the analysis of the results.

Digital elevation model construction using ASTER stereo VNIR scene in Antarctic in-land ice sheet

Abstract: Digital elevation information of Antarctic in-land ice sheet is very important in research of ice flow ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflectance Radiometer) is an imaging instrument on board Terra-the first Earth Observing System (EOS) satellite The ASTER Earth Observation Satellite offers nearly simultaneous capture of stereo images, minimizing temporal changes and sensor modeling errors Band 3 of the VNIR sensor includes two channels, a nadir looking scene and a backward looking scene This provides stereo coverage from which a DEM can be automatically extracted For the research region of Antarctic Grove Mountains, a pair of ASTER L1A stereo scene product acquired in December 27/sup th/ 2001 is used to extract digital elevation model Accuracy of the DEM is highly dependent on the source of the ground control points used Several field ground control points in this region are selected The final DEM result is compared to DEM surveyed in 2000 using GPS by Chinese surveyors, which indicates good accuracy and powerful usability of ASTER DEM construction in tough Antarctic in-land environment

Detection of mines using hyperspectral remote sensors and detection algorithms

Abstract: Hyperspectral imaging is an important technology for the passive optical detection of surface and buried land mines from an airborne platform. Hyperspectral remote sensing can exploit many different potential mine observables in the visible and infrared portions of the spectrum. The primary surface mine observable is a spectral difference between the mine body and the background. With a high quality VNIR/SWIR hyperspectral sensor, it is possible to detect these mines as spectral anomalies using techniques that have been previously applied to the detection of military targets. Algorithms developed for the military surveillance application can be directly applied to the surface mine problem. In this paper, two different spectral anomaly approaches are explored. The first is a local spectral anomaly detection algorithm, which examines the color of each pixel for differences with its surroundings. The second is a global spectral anomaly detection algorithm that measures the color of each pixel relative to its occurrence in the whole scene. Both algorithms were developed for the problem of detecting military targets in complex backgrounds and are applied here to the problem of detecting surface mines.

Empirical testing of subpixel detection of fire

Abstract: Typical existing fire detection algorithms for airborne and satellite based imagers employ the Planckian radiation in the 3.5 -5 μm and 8 - 14 μm spectral regions. These algorithms can have high false alarm rates and furthermore, the issue of validation of subpixel detection is a lingering problem. We present an empirical testing of fire detection algorithms for controlled and uniform burning and hot targets of known area. Image data sets of the targets were captured at different altitudes with the Modular Imaging Spectrometer Instrument (MISI). MISI captures hyperspectral VNIR and multispectral SWIR/MWIR/LWIR imagery. The known range of target areas ranges from larger than the MISI IFOV to less than 0.5% of the IFOV. The in situ temperatures were monitored with thermocouples and pyrometers. Spectroradiometric data of targets and backgrounds were also collected during the experiment. The data were analysed using existing algorithms as well as novel approaches. The algorithms are compared by determining the minimum resolvable fire pixel fraction.

Procesamiento y productos aster del área de sierra de famatina, provincia de la rioja, república argentina

Abstract: ASTER sensor, carried by Terra satellite, has 14 bands in 3 regions subsystems: visible and near infrared (VNIR), short-wave infrared (SWIR) and thermal infrared (TIR). Also it has stereo mode by the nadir looking band 3N and backward-looking band 3B of VNIR. Because these main characteristics, ASTER data is a power tool to apply in geology. The study area is Sierra de Famatina, in La Rioja Province, Argentina, between S28o40´ - W68o00´ and S29o20´ - W67o30´. The oldest units are upper Precambrian to lower Paleozoic metamorphic and intrusive rocks, covered by Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic marine and continental sedimentites and volcanic rocks. Main objective of this project is the geological mapping at 1:100.000 scale and the mining potential evaluation of the area. In this work, the first stage results are presented, including satellite data proccessing and analysis as well as the interpretation. ASTER data was proccessed to generate the digital elevation model (DEM), to ortorectify the images. Different combination VNIR, SWIR and TIR bands let to identify the geological units. Also it was proccessed ratios bands to allow the rocks and hydrothermal minerals discrimination. Besides, the spectral angle mapper (SAM) was applied to classify different alteration minerals.

Hyperspectral remote sensing monitoring on hot wastewater of Futtsu Power Plant in Tokyo Bay, Japan, using airborne Operational Modular Imaging Spectrometer (OMIS)

Abstract: An experimental study in monitoring the hot wastewater which is discharged into sea by the Futtsu Power Plant on the east coast of Tokyo Bay, Japan, was carried out in August-September, 2001, by using airborne hyperspectral remote sensing (HRS) sensor OMIS (Operational Modular Imaging Spectrometer). The fundamental progress of experiment, features of OMIS HRS image, data progressing and information extraction technologies, and a primary but successful result are introduced in detail. A new algorithm to extract the features and the infection extension of hot wastewater is developed and suggested in this paper. The algorithm adequately uses the whole spectral range of OMIS according to the general spectral responding characters of water. The water in the whole area is extracted by its spectral features in VNIR at first and then the polluted water is picked out from it by combine-using the MIR and TIR information. As a result, a temperature distribution map is successfully achieved in a test area and some other abnormal points are popped out and therefore some other pollution sources are discovered successfully in the whole scopes. The relatively good results in this paper show that hyperspectral remote sensing technology has a great prospect in detecting ocean and coastal environment both in qualitatively and quantitatively, at least for the hot wastewater. And an OMIS system with the algorithm suggested in this paper is operational for monitoring the infection features of hot wastewater.

Estimating spectral irradiance from measurements in seven spectral bands

Abstract: Accurate measurement and characterisation of fluctuations in the irradiance environment is important for many areas of optical remote sensing. This paper reports a method of estimating spectral irradiance over the VNIR region (400 - 1100nm) from the radiance of a calibrated reference panel, measured in seven narrow (10nm) spectral bands. Earlier work established the potential for estimating spectral irradiance from multi-band data using a neural network technique (Milton et al., 2000). The approach described here uses linear regression analysis to regenerate the irradiance spectrum from data in seven reference wavelengths. The method was tested using data from a specially designed multiband radiometer – the INdependent SPectral IRradiance Estimator (INSPIRE). The irradiance spectrum was partitioned into a number of distinct regions within each of which the spectral irradiance was estimated from irradiance measured at one of the reference wavelengths. The precision of the method was found to be better than ±5% over most wavelengths from 400nm to 1100nm. Furthermore, the slope coefficients of the individual regression models were found to be sensitive to the sky radiance conditions, especially over the region 600-760nm, and improvement in the precision of the predicted spectrum (to within ±3%) was obtained by taking the diffuse-to-global (D:G) irradiance ratio at the time of measurement into account.

Removing thin cirrus cloud effects in Hyperion data using the 1.38 and 1.87 /spl mu/m water vapor absorption bands

Abstract: The 1.375 /spl mu/m channel on MODIS in the water absorption band can be used to correct for path radiance from thin cirrus in the VNIR spectral region and is particularly useful for NDVI correction. The 1.87 /spl mu/m water vapor absorption feature is 3 times as wide and more intense than the 1.375 /spl mu/m band and potentially less subject to interference from surface reflectance when the column precipitable water vapor is less than 1 cm. We can show both model calculations and image examples from Hyperion, in tropical and mid-latitude regions, that data from the 1.87 /spl mu/m band can be used to correct for path radiance from thin cirrus in the VNIR region.

Spatial and radiometric quality of the mosaic of images acquired by airborne digital VNIR matrix camera and TIR line scanner

Abstract: The analogue aerial photo cameras are using the panchromatic, color visible, color infrared film and dominate in wide area photogrammetric data acquisition but also digital cameras became available on the market. Digital airborne sensors offer new technical and opperational opportunities although require new approaches, knowledge, education and training. While very suitable and efficient in use the digital airborne sensors bring new problems that should be solved for best quality of their products. In this paper we consider the quality of spatial and radiometric features of the mosaic of images acquired by two digital airborne sensors that have different modes of image formation and work at different wavelenghts. The first sensor is the digital matrix (staring) camera, for three visible channels (V: 0.4–0.5 μm, 0.5-0.6 μm, 0.6-0.7 μm), for near infrared channel (NIR: 0.7-1.0 μm) and the second sensor is the longwave thermal infrared (TIR: 8-14 μm) parallel scan camera. Although for TIR wavelengths exist matrix cameras they have rather limited resolution (320x240 pixels) and the parallel scan cameras are in intensive use due to better resolution. The both sensors are in intensive operational use in Croatia, and this was the motif for this analysis. We analyse spatial and radiometric quality of the mosaic of high resolution VNIR images (1392x1040 pixels) and of TIR images (600x400 pixels). If compared to VNIR images, TIR images have spatial distorsions due to parallel scanning mode. For the case study was selected the scene that has small number of objects that could be used for registration of TIR images onto VNIR images. The work is part of the research conducted in the scientific project ARC funded by European Commission.