[OSGeo-Discuss] Spectal librairies integrated in any GFOSS?

[Nikos Alexandris]

Dear OSGeo community,

I have seen several times, as you have probably done many more than myself, 
that there are projects-to-apply for, which, simply put, are profiling specific 
Geospatial and Remote Sensing capable applications.

An example _was_ an open international call for a project concerning "(Early) 
Warning and Mitigating of (Forest) Fires" in Greece [1].

For example, among the obligatory points to be fulfilled by a geospatial 
toolbox, as asked in this specific tender, there is one about "integrated 
spectral librairies".

This is clearly profiling, if I am not wrong, the ERDAS Imagine commercial and 
proprietary software.  From ERDAS' manual "Spectral Analysis" [1], section 
"Spectrum Libraries":

"...efforts have been
made over the past decade to compile databases, termed Spectral
Libraries, of the spectra of known materials (Clark et al. 1993b)."

and

sub-section "Archive Libraries":

"Several such Spectrum Libraries are included in the IMAGINE
Spectral Analysis software package. "

and

"...The USGS and JPL mineral libraries (Grove et al. 1992)...", "...Johns 
Hopkins spectrum libraries
(dominantly mid-infrared wavelengths)...", "...the SPECMIN Spectrum Library 
series of minerals and geologic materials..."

and more.


(
let aside the fact that I question myself who exactly in the Fire Fighting 
Service will use such a feature (except of advanced analysts in rare 
occasions?) and for what reason exactly -- active fire detection, burned area 
mapping etc., will not suffer from the absence of such a feature!
)

the question is:

is there any GFOSS that integrates or can access easily such libraries -- 
thinking from an end-user perspective?

Thank you, Nikos

---
[1] search for "spectral libraries erdas" or access the manual here: 
<http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=spectral%20libraries%20erdas&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDMQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uwf.edu%2Fgis%2Fmanuals%2FSpectralAnalysis.pdf&ei=BRL5UPbRAZKa1AWjmIDYCg&usg=AFQjCNFEPQi0pJRUkCxZU9kJ1Qy0_6ymTg>

[2] (in Greek) 
<http://www.ktpae.gr/index.php?option=com_ktpconsultations&task=Details&id=177>