Towards Effective Aerial Drone-based Hyperspectral Remote Sensing of Coral Reefs

This paper describes an aerial drone-based hyperspectral remote sensing system and recommends standard operating procedures for successful deployment in marine environments. Unlike conventional drone operations based on land, working in the open ocean requires additional legal and operational considerations to be addressed in order to collect and process calibrated quality hyperspectral data. The hyperspectral data is processed and converted to reflectance using field calibration targets, priming the dataset for analysis. The data is ingested into a processing pipeline to facilitate data management, distribution and retrieval. The resulting hyperspectral map and information are invaluable for scientists, academics, policymakers and managers to utilise. A case study is presented to demonstrate the results of habitat mapping in a shallow reef region at Keeper Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Australia.