1. In recent years, the availability of airborne imaging spectroscopy (hyperspectral) data has expanded dramatically. The high spatial and spectral resolution of these data uniquely enable spatially explicit ecological studies including species mapping, assessment of drought mortality and foliar trait distributions. However, we have barely begun to unlock the potential of these data to use direct mapping of vegetation characteristics to infer subsurface properties of the critical zone. To assess their utility for Earth systems research, imaging spectroscopy data acquisitions require integration with large, coincident ground‐based datasets collected by experts in ecology and environmental and Earth science. Without coordinated, well‐planned field campaigns, potential knowledge leveraged from advanced airborne data collections could be lost. Despite the growing importance of this field, documented methods to couple such a wide variety of disciplines remain sparse.
2. We coordinated the first National Ecological Observatory Network Airborne Observation Platform (AOP) survey performed outside of their core sites, which took place in the Upper East River watershed, Colorado. Extensive planning for sample tracking and organization allowed field and flight teams to update the ground‐based sampling strategy daily. This enabled collection of an extensive set of physical samples to support a wide range of ecological, microbiological, biogeochemical and hydrological studies.
3. We present a framework for integrating airborne and field campaigns to obtain high‐quality data for foliar trait prediction and document an archive of coincident physical samples collected to support a systems approach to ecological research in the critical zone. This detailed methodological account provides an example of how a multi‐disciplinary and multi‐institutional team can coordinate to maximize knowledge gained from an airborne survey, an approach that could be extended to other studies.
4. The coordination of imaging spectroscopy surveys with appropriately timed and extensive field surveys, along with high‐quality processing of these data, presents a unique opportunity to reveal new insights into the structure and dynamics of the critical zone. To our knowledge, this level of co‐aligned sampling has never been undertaken in tandem with AOP surveys and subsequent studies utilizing this archive will shed considerable light on the breadth of applications for which imaging spectroscopy data can be leveraged.

中文翻译：

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整合机载遥感和野外运动以促进生态学和地球系统科学

1. 近年来，机载成像光谱（高光谱）数据的可用性已大大扩展。这些数据的高空间和光谱分辨率可独特地实现空间明确的生态研究，包括物种分布图，干旱死亡率评估和叶片性状分布。但是，我们才刚刚开始挖掘这些数据使用植被特征的直接映射来推断关键区域地下特征的潜力。为了评估其在地球系统研究中的效用，成像光谱数据采集需要与生态，环境和地球科学专家收集的大型，一致的地面数据集集成。如果没有经过协调的，精心计划的野战活动，先进的机载数据收集所利用的潜在知识可能会丢失。
2. 我们协调了在其核心站点之外进行的首次国家生态观测站网络机载观测平台（AOP）调查，该调查在科罗拉多州的上东河流域进行。广泛的样本跟踪和组织计划允许现场和飞行团队每天更新地面采样策略。这样就可以收集大量的物理样本，以支持各种生态，微生物，生物地球化学和水文研究。
3. 我们提出了一个整合机载战役和野战役的框架，以获取高质量的叶面性状预测数据，并记录收集的一致物理样本的档案，以支持关键地区生态研究的系统方法。这种详细的方法论说明提供了一个示例，说明了一个多学科和多机构的团队如何协调以最大化从空中调查中获得的知识，这种方法可以扩展到其他研究。
4. 成像光谱学调查与适当的时间和广泛的现场调查相结合，以及对这些数据的高质量处理，为揭示关键区域的结构和动力学提供了新的见解的独特机会。据我们所知，这种水平对齐的采样从未与AOP调查同时进行，利用该档案的后续研究将为可利用成像光谱数据的广泛应用提供可观的了解。