A spectral matching quality indicator for material mapping using spectral library search methods

Spectral library search methods are being used increasingly as an efficient approach for exploiting hyperspectral remotely sensed data in material identification and mapping applications. The aim of this study was to develop a quantitative method, using an indicator called the Quality factor (Q-factor), for providing quantitative information on the reliability of spectral identifications in the interpretation (classification) of unknown spectra by library search methods. This was achieved by summing the two main requirements of a typical reflectance spectral library search for material mapping: (1) a reliable correlation between spectral matching scores and material similarity, and (2) a reliable separation ability between the relevant and non-relevant parts of the candidate reference spectra. These form a metric whose values reflect the closeness of the output reference spectra to the input unknown spectra for a chosen library search method. The Q-factor was tested as an indicator of the reliability of the material identifications by the library search for a range of unknown reflectance spectra of various types of vegetation, soils and minerals collected from the US Geological Survey (USGS) Spectral Library and from our in-house spectral database. The results indicate that this approach has the potential to separate correct and incorrect spectral identifications resulting from a particular spectral library search method using a reference similarity logic. The method may be applied to any combination of deterministic spectral matching alternatives using reflectance spectra. Spectrum-level quality information provided by the Q-factor is useful for optimizing a particular search method or for choosing the most appropriate method for distinct identification and classification problems.