Derivation of tasseled cap coefficients for RapidEye data

The Tasseled Cap Features, derived by the Tasseled Cap Transformation of the satellite spectral information, provide a way to consistently associate spectral information to biophysical characteristics of land surface features. Since currently there are no Tasseled Cap Coefficients available for RapidEye data, the goal of this study was to obtain Tasseled Cap Coefficients for the RapidEye sensors. As a result the Tasseled Cap Features Brightness, Greenness and Yellowness were derived. Brightness is a weighted sum of all bands and is aligned to the principal direction of soil brightness. Greenness contrasts the visual bands (including the Red Edge band) with the near infrared band, representing the spectral variation of vital vegetation. Yellowness contrast the Blue and Green bands with the Red, Red Edge and, to a lesser extent, NIR bands, and corresponds to the reflectance characteristics of dry, senescent crops. A transferability test of the Tasseled Cap Coefficients showed a successful application of the coefficients to other regions of the world, indicating a wider application potential.