Hyperspectral image data from the Kootenai River in northern Idaho, September 27, 2017

To support research on remote sensing of rivers, specifically estimation of water depth from passive optical image data, hyperspectral image data and supporting depth measurements were collected on the Kootenai River in northern Idaho, September 27, 2017. This data release provides access to hyperspectral image acquired through this project and the supporting field-based measurements of depth and water column optical properties are available through related data releases. The hyperspectral image data were acquired by Quantum Spatial Inc. (QSI) using the ITRES CASI 1500H imaging system deployed from a Cessna Caravan manned aircraft from a flying height of 1000 m above ground level. Initial geometric and radiometric data processing was performed by ITRES and yielded images with 0.5 m pixels for each of 48 spectral bands from 380-1050 nm. Although a large mosaic assembled from parallel, north-south strips covering a larger portion of the Kootenai River valley was collected as part of this project, this data release includes only a series of smaller subsets of this mosaic that focus on six sites where field measurements of water depth were collected with a multibeam echo sounder. The original images also were spectrally subset to 35 bands from 400 - 900 nm. The image data were radiometrically calibrated to spectral radiance units of μW cm-2 sr-1 nm-1 and formatted with 16-bit integers in a BIP intertleave. The resulting .dat and assocaited .hdr files are compatible with the ENVI software package. Overall, the images and related field data were used to develop, refine, and test techniques for estimating water depth from passive optical image data to support studies of in-stream habitat and geomorphic change and to facilitate various river management applications.