AIRBORNE IMAGING SPECTROMETRY: A NEW APPROACH TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS 
Remo Bianchi, Rosa M. Cavalli, Lorenza Fiumi. 
Carlo M. Marino, Stefano Pignatti 
CNR, LARA Project, Via Monte d'Oro 11. 
00040 Pomezia (Roma), Italy 
KEY WORDS: Airborne, Hyperspectral, Remote Sensing, MIVIS, MIDAS, Data Acquisition 
ABSTRACT 
The CNR (Italian National Research Council) Airborne Laboratory for Environmental Researches (LARA Project), since 
summer 1994 acquired and its has been intensively operating the MIVIS AA5000 (Multispectral Infrared and Visible 
Imaging Spectrometer). A large number of MIVIS deployments have been carried out in Italy and Europe in cooperation 
with national and international institutions (France, Germany and USA) on several test sites, including active volcanoes, 
coastlines, lagoons and ocean, vegetated and cultivated areas, oil polluted soils, waste discharges, and archeological sites. 
The 1994-1996 two years of activity has shown the high system efficiency and the utility of the MIVIS airborne imaging 
spectrometry for the study of environmental problems. The purpose of this work is to present and to comment the results 
of the past campaigns and, in the meantime, to illustrate present and future programs of deployment in Europe and 
worldwide. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
CNR established a laboratory for airborne hyperspectral 
imaging devoted to environmental applications since 
June 1994. The project (LARA Project) is fully operative 
to provide hyperspectral data to the national and 
international scientific community. A large number of 
deployments of the Daedalus AA5S000 MIVIS system 
have been performed using a CASA-212 aircraft 
platform. 
MIVIS is a modular instrument constituted by 102 spectral 
channels that uses independent optical sensors 
simultaneously sampled and recorded. The complete 
scanner system (Figure 1) consists of an electro-optical 
sensor assembly (Scan Head/Spectrometer) and four 
electronics chassis (Moving Window Display and 
Monitor. Digitizer. VLDS Tape Recorder, Power 
Distributor) interconnected by electrical cables. 
  
Figure | - The MIVIS instrument 
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International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXI, Part B1. Vienna 1996 
  
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