Omongwa Salt Pan, Namibia - An EnMAP Preparatory Flight Campaign

The dataset is composed of Neo HySpex (VNIR/SWIR) hyperspectral imagery acquired during the GFZ/DIMAP Geoarchive airborne campaign on June 6th, 2015 covering the Omongwa salt pan located in the South-West Kalahari, Namibia. The dataset includes 9 merged cloud-free flight lines with 408 spectral bands ranging from VNIR to SWIR wavelength regions (0.4-2.5 μm). The dataset also includes Level 2A EnMAP-like imagery simulated using the end-to-end Simulation tool (EeteS). The overall goal of the campaign was to test the potential of advanced optical hyperspectral remote sensing, or imaging spectroscopy, for the analysis of surface processes in the Omongwa salt pan and for the quantification of surface sediments. Specifically, the mineralogical composition of exposed evaporites such as halite, gypsum and calcite were investigated at the airborne and spaceborne scale, associated with comprehensive field campaigns, ich which spectral reflectance and ground-truth chemical data of field samples have been collected. The data are highly novel and can be used as testbeds for the development and validation of retrieval algorithms based on air- and space-borne hyperspectral imagery for estimation of surface sediment properties in a highly saline and dynamic environment.