While the emphasis in this proposal is on coral reef mapping where the most useful spectral range is 350 to 700 nm, we propose to develop a sensor which includes spectral bands out to 1700 nm, extending the applications of the system to agricultural, forestry, and vegetation in general. Our understanding of the need for a system of this type comes through many years working with the community and providing sensors for NASA and other remote sensing organizations around the world. In addition the principle investigator works with other government agencies including the, Navy and DIA. Each of these groups has expressed a need for small, light weight, autonomous, high resolution, wide area hyperspectral imagery for a variety of civilian and military applications. For benthic and coral reef applications we intend that the system be of interest to programs and groups such as, The United States Coral Reef Task Force and EPA Region 9 Pacific Islands Office. the proposed sensor will be useful for a variety of disaster response and earth science applications including, coral reef mapping, disaster response, oil spill mapping and detection, and wild fire research.
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