Digital Commons Network^™

Analyzing Accuracy Attributes Of Landsat And Digital Terrain Tape Data In The Context Of A Digital Geobase Information System, Douglas A. Stow, John E. Estes

LARS Symposia

The major conclusions reached in this research effort are: 1) Landsat derived land cover classification data are, at present, a marginally accurate data source for county-level resource management requirements; and 2) the accuracy of standard product National Cartographic Information Center (NCIC) Digital Terrain Tape data appear to be questionable, again with respect to the information requirements of county level resource managers.

Data representation accuracy has been analyzed for Landsat/MSS land cover and NCIC Digital Terrain Tape data. Lands at derived data correctly represented land cover in 71.5% of 200 randomly sampled grid cells verified against low-altitude photography. Only 61% of …

Machine Processing Of Landsat Mss Data And Dma Topographic Data For Forest Cover Type Mapping, Michael D. Fleming, Roger M. Hoffer

LARS Symposia

In forestry, as in many other disciplines involving land management, there exists a definite need for timely, reliable information on which to base resource management decisions. This was emphasized in 1974 through the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act in which the U.S. Congress mandated the U.S. Forest Service to provide information on the condition and productivity of approximately 1.6 billion acres of land, every 10 years. The synoptic view that can be obtained through data from spacecraft altitudes is proving to be of considerable value in developing resource bases, particularly where information over extensive geographic areas is needed. …

An Overview Of The Landsat-D Project With Emphasis On The Flight Segment, Vincent V. Salomonson, A. B. Park

LARS Symposia

In the third quarter of 1981, a new, experimental Earth-resources monitoring system, Landsat-D, is scheduled for launch. The characteristics of this system have been under consideration since about 1970 through a series of study efforts and with the guidance of several advisory groups composed of representatives of federal, state, and local agencies, private industry, and university personnel. From these studies and efforts evolved an Earth resources monitoring system, Landsat-D, that includes several technological advances over the capabilities provided by Landsats 1, 2, and 3. In essence, the Landsat-D system is designed to be a complete, highly automated data gathering and …

Multi-Temporal Classification Of Winter Wheat Using A Growth State Model, Christine A. Hlavka, Stephen M. Carlyle, Ryozo Yokoyama, Robert M. Haralick

LARS Symposia

In this paper we describe a multi-temporal classification procedure for crops in LANDSAT scenes. The method involves the creation of crop signatures which characterize multi-spectral observations as functions of phenological growth states. The phenological signature models spectral reflectance explicitly as a function of crop maturity rather than a function of observation date. This means that instead of stacking spectral vectors of one observation on another, as is usually done for multi-temporal data, we establish for each possible crop category a correspondence of time to growth state which minimizes the smallest difference between the given multi-spectral multi-temporal vector and the category …

Effect Of The Atmosphere On The Classification Of Landsat Data, Tsutomu Morimoto, Ravindra Kumar, Luiz Carlos Baldicero Molion

LARS Symposia

The purpose of this work was to develop a suitable computer program to correct computer compatible tapes, obtained from LANDSAT MSS data, and to study its effect on percentage of correct classification. The LOWTRAN-3 program, developed by the Air Force Geophysics Laboratories and based on a semi-empirical model, was used to calculate the atmospheric transmittance, in conjunction with Turner's model for correction of satellite data for atmospheric interference. It improved the contrast between different natural targets in the MSS LANDSAT data of Brasilia, Brazil. It also improved the classification accuracy of sugar canes by about 9%, in the MSS LANDSAT …

Lacie Results, Forrest Hall

LARS Symposia

Both the accuracy and efficiency with which LACIE crop survey estimates were made showed significant improvement in the three crop years of LACIE. In the U.S. and U.S.S.R. winter wheat regions the original accuracy goals have been met or exceeded. Key technical problems were identified with U.S. and Canadian spring wheat. Technical solutions developed and tested, partly resolved these issues with a significant improvement realized in the accuracy of the spring wheat area estimates. Results of the three years of LACIE experimental surveys and simulation tests of the LACIE yield models using 10 years of historic data have indicated that …

Application Of A Principal Components Analysis On Landsat Multispectral Data For Studies On Vegetation Cover Under Desert Conditions, Jelle U. Hielkema

LARS Symposia

Present day available satellite remote sensing technology offers the possibility of obtaining rapid and comprehensive information about the earth's natural resource base at relatively low cost. Especially for conventional data sparse and often inaccessible remote areas these new intelligence gathering techniques are of considerable interest. The present limited spatial and spectral resolution of the Landsat multispectral scanners poses a problem to the effective recording of low coverages of vegetal growth in desert environments. The spectral response from the vegetation is generally contaminated with the reflected radiation from the abiotic background.

This paper discusses the application of a principal components transformation …

An Image Registration Algorithm Using Sampled Binary Correlation, Ernest W. Cordan, Benjamin W. Patz

LARS Symposia

One of the problems associated with the automatic image processing of satellite photographs such as weather maps is the need for image registration; that is, the fitting of a map that has some translational and rotational bias to a known data base. this paper investigates a least square method of image registration using an image that has been converted into a boundary map with a pixel representation of 1 for land, -1 for water and zero for cloud pixels. A sampled correlation array is constructed about the correlation peak of the binary cross-correlation for the coded satellite map against its …

Extraction Of Soil Information From Vegetated Area, Michikazu Fukuhara, Shigechika Hayashi, Yoshizumi Yasuda, Ichio Asanuma, Yasufumi Emori, Joji Iisaka

LARS Symposia

Mix or influence of vegetation signal on soil information decrease the performance of soil identification and mapping. This paper describes a simple transformation to eliminate the mix or influence of vegetation reflectance on soil reflectance, and to enhance the soil information.

The usefulness of the transformation were investigated and shown by the channel selection based upon the statistical distance between soil classes and by multispectral pattern recognition. The simple transformation was considered to sensitive to the degree of the soil organic matter contents.

An Alternative Approach To Training Analysis, Douglas E. Meisner, Thomas A. Lillesand

LARS Symposia

No matter how sophisticated one's statistical classifier might be, the success of a spectral pattern recognition effort is fundamentally limited by the degree to which the user can relate existing spectral classes to useful information classes. Many digital classification endeavors are limited not by the sophistication of available classification algorithms but by the ability to adequately tailor training activities to a specific application.

This paper discusses a "non-typical" procedure for implementing and improving the training process. The approach involves the use of film recorder output as a training base. Image data within selected training regions are enlarged, contrast stretched, and …

Extension Of Laboratory-Measured Soil Spectra To Field Conditions, Eric R. Stoner, Marion F. Baumgardner, Richard A. Weismiller, Larry L. Biehl, Barrett F. Robinson

LARS Symposia

Spectral responses of two humid mesic region glaciated soils, Chalmers silty clay loam and Fincastle silt loam, formed under prairie grass and forest vegetation, respectively, were measured both in the laboratory under controlled moisture equilibria, and in the field under various moisture and crop residue conditions. The Exotech Model 20C spectroradiometer obtained spectral data in the 0.52 to 2.32 µm wavelength range in 0.1 µm increments while used in an indoor configuration with a bidirectional reflectance factor reflectometer providing an artificial illumination source consisting of a 1000 watt tungsten iodine coiled filament lamp with transfer optics. Asbestos tension tables were …

A Method For Classifying Multispectral Remote Sensing Data Using Context, Philip H. Swain, Howard J. Stegel, Bradley W. Smith

LARS Symposia

A statistical model of spatial context is described and procedures for classifying remote sensing data using a context classifier are outlined. Experimental results are presented. Because the computational requirements of the context classifier are very large, its implementation on parallel/pipelined multiprocessor systems is being investigated. Some of the special considerations necessary for such implementations are described, with particular reference to implementation on an array of Control Data Corporation Flexible Processors.

Experience Derived From Transfer Of Jpl's Vicar Image Processing System To Other Organizations, William B. Green

LARS Symposia

JPL's Image Processing Laboratory has developed the IBM 360 based VICAR image processing over a ten-year period. The major components of the VICAR system include (a) a syntax processor that translates simple image processing commands and procedures into IBM 360 job control language for actual task execution, (b) a set of system level subroutines that optimize disk and tape input/output functions for image processing applications, (c) a set of FORTRAN-callable subroutines that provides image manipulation capability to an application programmer, and (d) over 200 general purpose applications programs that can be utilized as modules in constructing processing sequences for one …

Small Area Replacement In Digital Thematic Maps, P. J. Letts

LARS Symposia

An algorithm is described for identifying small isolated areas in digital thematic maps and selectively replacing them with their (weighted) most frequently occurring neighbors. The identification process successively scans the thematic map in alternating directions (downward, upward, downward, etc.) until each pixel has been completely defined by the size of the area to which it belongs. The final output is an area size map which can be overlaid on the original thematic map. After the first (downward) scan only pixels at the bottom of individual areas are fully defined; after the second (upward) scan, all pixels which are connected in …

A Forester's Look At The Application Of Image Manipulation Techniques To Multitemporal Landsat Data, Darrel L. Williams, Mark L. Stauffer, K. C. Leung

LARS Symposia

Registered, multitemporal Landsat data of a study area in central Pennsylvania were analyzed to detect and assess changes in the forest canopy resulting from insect defoliation. Images taken July 19, 1976, and June 27, 1977, were chosen specifically to represent forest canopy conditions before and after defoliation, respectively. Several image manipulation and data transformation techniques, developed primarily for estimating agricultural and rangeland standing green biomass, were applied to these data. The applicability of each technique for estimating the severity of forest canopy defoliation was then evaluated. All techniques tested had highly correlated results. In all cases, heavy defoliation was discriminated …

Lithologic Discrimination By Fourier Analysis Of Image Texture, Michael Daily, Susan Williams, William D. Stromberg

LARS Symposia

Drainage density is influenced by the erosion resistance of the underlying rocks. Ideal circumstances for lithologic discrimination by measurement of drainage network parameters are:

1) Geomorphic maturity

2) Relatively homogeneous rock structure

3) Slope as the only source of gray-tone modulation (e.g., in jungle)

An example of such a terrain would be a crystalline shield area in the wet tropics.

Our reconnaissance study involves the use of digital topographic tapes and aircraft and spacecraft (Seasat-A) radar data. The digital topographic data are first processed by SHADY 2, an algorithm that creates a scene illuminated at a selectable geometry according to …

Agricultural Systems In East Africa Viewed From Landsat, Tina K. Cary

LARS Symposia

Landsat digital data are being analyzed to examine traditional agricultural systems in a remote region in West Pokot District in northwestern Kenya. The computer-aided analysis incorporates ground observations, made during the period December 1977 - September 1978, in I addition to maps and aerial photographs. The study area was selected to extend I earlier work in Tamkal Valley (Conant and Cary 1977) to include a flatland area to the north, where cropping is more continuous than in the valley and irrigation is practiced. Differences in distribution of active cultivation between the shifting cultivation system of the valley and the irrigated …

Evaluation Of Remote Sensing Technology For Natural Resources Inventories In Central America, Pierre-Marie Adrien, Luis A. Bartolucci

LARS Symposia

The International Development Agencies have for several decades recognized the need to inventory the natural resources of the developing countries. The concern of policy makers to arrive at a rational utilization and conservation of these resources has led to the utilization of modern remote sensing techniques in order to insure their sound management on a national or regional basis.

During the 1977-78 period, the Inter-American Development Bank financed in Central America a natural resource inventory program in which Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua participated. The project had two basic objectives; one was to train scientists from these …

Landsat-D Data Acquisition And Processing, Pierce L. Smith, William C. Webb

LARS Symposia

A series of evolutionary changes have taken place since the early beginnings of the Landsat (Earth Resources Technology Satellite) program. Since the first satellite launch on July 23, 1972, many tens of thousands of multispectral views of the Earth have been taken and processed at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) data processing facility located at Greenbelt, Maryland. This satellite and the subsequent Landsats 2 and 3 have supplied a continuous flow of data to a widely diverse number of users for the past 6.5 years.

For the first 6 years of operation, all multispectral images were processed as photographic …

Three-Dimensional Object Representation For Exploitation Of Remotely Sensed Images, Michael Shantz, George Huang

LARS Symposia

The value of digital 3-D object representation as an aid to exploit remotely sensed images has been demonstrated. Experience has shown that knowledge about what is being viewed is required to accomplish non-trivial object recognition tasks when such an aid is used. Previous approaches representing knowledge as constraints in a relaxation scheme or as templates for pattern matching, lack flexibility and realism. This paper presents recent research results on a shaded surface computer graphics approach that uses a knowledge base consisting of a library of three-dimensional objects represented as surfaces and skeletons. Objects include pieces of terrain, vehicles and buildings. …

Lacie Experiment Design, Forrest Hall

LARS Symposia

The LACIE was a major effort toward the development and demonstration of the technology for an operational global crop inventory system. Specific planning for what eventually became the LACIE was initiated within NASA as early as 1973 and provided for the design and implementation of the Applications Evaluation System (AES) the quasi-operational' element of LACIE responsible for the acquisition and analysis of Landsat, meteorological, and ancillary data to make experimental estimates of wheat area, yield, and production and the assessment of system performance.

A significant portion of the basic design and implementation of the AES was accomplished before the initiation …

A Method Of Interpolation In Two Dimensions, And Its Application To Multi-Spectral Image Registration, Maria Garza, Renato Barrera

LARS Symposia

A method for interpolating a bidimensional surface through irregular sample points is proposed. The method includes the usage of finite element techniques and is applicable to multi-spectral image registration. A partition method to generate the grid over the image is also proposed.

Landsat Mss Coordinate Transformations, Berthold K. P. Horn, Robert J. Woodham

LARS Symposia

A number of image analysis tasks require the registration of a surface model with an image. In-the case of satellite images, the surface model may be a map or digital terrain model in the form of surface elevations on a grid of points. We develop here an affine transformation between coordinates of Multi-Spectral Scanner (MSS) images produced by the Landsat satellites, and coordinates of a system lying in a plane tangent to the earth's surface near the sub-satellite (Nadir) point.

Lacie Overview, Forrest Hall

LARS Symposia

The Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE) was initiated in 1974 as a proof-of-concept experiment (1) to assimilate remote sensing technology developed during the previous decade, (2) to apply a resultant experimental system to the task of monitoring a singularly important agricultural commodity over the world, (3) to isolate and establish priorities for key technical problems, (4) to modify the approach as necessary and conceivable, and (5) to demonstrate the technical and cost feasibility of global agricultural monitoring system.

The LACIE was designed to accomplish these objectives in major wheat producing regions of the world. The current world crop inventory …

Imagery Processing System And Its Applications, N. V. Kulkov, V. P. Pyatkin

LARS Symposia

The existing disproportion between high efficiency of imagery receipt process and low productivity of the ways of their processing makes actual the creation of an Imagery Processing System, which may be used for the estimation of the efficiency of new hardware and mathematical methods of picture processing.

The main idea of hardware functional organization is compatibility of special purpose processors and input/output image units with a base computing system in external memory on the disks and tapes level.

The base computing system includes three BESM-6 computers with the total external memory field on the disks. The terminal computer (minicomputer M-6000) …

A Parametric Model For Multispectral Scanners, Bijan G. Mobasseri, Clare D. Mcgillem, Paul E. Anuta

LARS Symposia

Efficient acquisition and utilization of remotely sensed data requires an extensive a priori evaluation of the performance of the basic data collection unit, the multispectral scanner. The objective is the development of a fully parametric technique to theoretically evaluate the systems response in any desired operational environment and provide the necessary information in selecting a set of optimum parameters.

In this paper the multispectral scanner spatial characteristics are represented by a linear shift-invariant multiple-port system where the N spectral bands comprise the input processes. The scanner characteristic function, the relationship governing the transformation of the input spatial and hence spectral …

A Non-Interactive Approach To Land Use Determination, Ralph V. Algazi, Gary E. Ford, Doreen I. Meyer

LARS Symposia

In this paper, we report on an operational procedure for use by the Corps of Engineers to acquire land use information for hydrologic planning purposes. The operational constraints preclude the use of dedicated, interactive image processing facilities. The procedure, which is summarized in detail, combines manual interpretation techniques and the batch-mode computer analysis of Landsat digital data. An example of the application of the procedure to an urban watershed is described.

Identification Of Surface-Disturbed Features Through Isursl Non-Parametric Analysis Of Landsat Mss Data, Leonard H. Alger, Paul W. Mausel, Robert R. Herner

LARS Symposia

In response to recent state and federal legislative mandates, the Indiana State University Remote Sensing Laboratory (ISURSL) has initiated a research program applied to evaluation of coal strip mine features in Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio using machine-assisted processing of Landsat MSS data. Specifically, two large strip mines in western Indiana were analyzed implementing both supervised and unsupervised non-parametric classification algorithms which were partially or totally developed at ISURSL. Nine classes of strip mine features were identified which included bare mine spoil, revegetated mine spoil, and water features in various physical states. An estimation of accuracy was made through comparison of …

Development Of A Mini-Computer Method To Detect Geologic Faults And Other Linear Features From Landsat Imagery For Mining Production Purposes, Richard G. Burdick

LARS Symposia

This method is a continuation of the work of many previous investigators in the detection of lineaments. It was conceived as a quasi-production method to allow the largest possible number of exploration and mining companies to use this advanced technology in the solution of their immediate problem of locating geologic faults in the vicinity of active or proposed mining areas.

While the programs are easily transferable to larger main-frames, the minicomputer environment was chosen because of the accessibility of this environment to a larger number of the potential users.

The major elements of the method are not new. However, it …

A Merged Satellite Infrared And Manually Digitized Radar Product, Marshall P. Waters, Robert N. Green

LARS Symposia

This paper describes an automated technique which uses digital data from a geosynchronous environmental satellite and conventional meteorological data mapped to the satellite's viewing projection. The technique produces a cloud-top height display with coincident manually digitized radar.