Development of a low altitude airborne remote sensing system for supporting the processing of satellite remotely sensed data intended for archaeological investigations

Earth observation techniques intended for archaeological research, such as satellite images and ground geophysical surveys are well established in the literature. In contrast, low altitude airborne systems for supporting archaeological research are still very limited. The “ICAROS” project, funded by the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation, aims to develop an airborne system for archaeological investigations. The system will incorporate both a GER 1500 field spectroradiometer and NIR camera in a balloon system operated from the ground. The GER 1500 field spectroradiometer has the capability to record reflectance values from 400 nm up to 1050 nm (blue/green/red and NIR band). The Field of View (FOV) of the instrument is 4o while a calibrated spectralon panel will be used in order to minimize illumination errors during the data collection. Existing atmospheric conditions will be monitored using sun-photometer and meteorological station. The overall methodology of the project and the preliminary results from different cases studies in Cyprus are presented and discussed in this paper. Some practical problems are also discussed and the overall results are compared with satellite and ground measurements. Spectroradiometric measurements and NIR images will be taken from different heights from the balloon system. The results will be compared with different satellite images.