ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an integration of fine spatial resolution Ikonos imagery, Earth Observing (EO)-1/Hyperion imagery, and lidar bathymetry data was assessed to map reef benthic habitats at a detailed level. It presents a framework for combining airborne bathymetric lidar and 2 spaceborne sensors Ikonos and EO-1/Hyperion for mapping benthic habitats at a detailed level and evaluates whether a fusion of 3 systems or 2 systems is more effective for reef mapping compared with the application of 1 sensor system. Remote sensing has long been used for reef benthic habitat mapping, particularly the use of optical sensors such as Landsat and Ikonos. Lidar has proven valuable for reef mapping by providing complementary information to the optical sensors, which offer spectral information only. Ikonos sensors have high spatial resolution but limited spectral resolution, while spaceborne hyperspectral sensors such as EO-1/Hyperion have fine spectral resolution but relatively coarse spatial resolution.
