Incorporating band selection in the spatial selection of spectral endmembers

Abstract The impact of band selection on endmember selection is seldom explored in the analysis of hyperspectral imagery. This study incorporates the N-dimensional Spectral Solid Angle (NSSA) band selection tool into the Spectral-Spatial Endmember Extraction (SSEE) tool to determine a band set that can be used to better define endmembers classes used in spectral mixture analysis. The incorporation aims to define a band set that improves the spectral contrast between endmembers at each step of the spatial-spectral endmember search and ultimately captures key features for discriminating spectrally similar materials. The proposed method (NSSA-SSEE) was evaluated for lithological mapping using a hyperspectral image encompassing a range of spectrally similar mafic and ultramafic rock units. The band selected by NSSA-SSEE showed a good agreement with known features of scene components identified by experts. Results showed an improvement in the selection of detailed endmembers, endmembers that are similar and that can be significant for mapping. The incorporation of NSSA into SSEE was feasible because both methods are well suited for this process. NSSA is one of the few methods of band selection that is suitable for the analysis of a small number of endmembers and SSEE provides such endmember sets via spatial subsetting. The automated NSSA-SSEE approach can reduce the need for field-based information to guide the feature selection process.