Abstracts Physics

Hyperspectral imaging and its application on vaccinium myrtillus leaves

by Riina Hemmilä

Hyperspectral imaging is a remote sensing technique which can be used to study different kinds of targets in continuous range of wavelengths in a contiguous manner. In this thesis, hyperspectral imaging was applied in the study of bilberry leaves (Vaccinium myrtillus). The aim of this master’s thesis was to become familiar with the hyperspectral imaging as a data acquisition technique, and to understand the physics behind it. The goal in applying the imaging to the study of bilberry was to be able to distinguish lifeless and healthy bilberry leaves from one another, and consequently, detect signs of plant stress. The hyperspectral camera used in this thesis captured wavelengths ranging from 400nm to 1000nm which covers most of the visible region and part of the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. For vegetation, interesting phenomena, like chlorophyll and water absorption, take place in this wavelength range. The bilberry leaves were studied in three experiment setups. First, in a laboratory-like setup, and then in two different field study setups. The inspected parameters in the studies were the water content of the leaves and their ability to absorb chlorophyll. Finally, the gathered data was analysed using multiple methods including PCA and MCR, and the use of vegetation indices.