Topographic normalization in rugged terrain

To normalize topographic effects on spectral signatures in rugged terrain, two normalization techniques have been employed on a subscene of a Thematic Mapper (TM) image of Rocky Mountain National Park. The first is a band ratio and the second is a backwards radiance correction transformation (BRCT) utilizing a Minnaert constant based on a non-Lambertian assumption. The results of the study indicate that the BRCT approach is the more successful technique for reducing topographic effects. It is found that, after conducting a homogeneity of variance test, the reduction of variances in spectral values between original and non-Lambertian normalized images is statistically significant.