Digital Commons Network^™

Precision Requirement In Measuring Aerosol Load For Remote Sensing Applications, R. K. Kiang, S. G. Ungar, E. S. Bryant

LARS Symposia

The effects of atmospheric aerosol on remote sensing application have been widely studied, and the possibility of actually measuring the aerosol optical thickness either by ground-based devices or by sensors on board satellites has begun to attract attention. It is thus essential to estimate the required precision in such measurement for improving classification accuracy.

Forestry data from intensively studied area of New Hampshire and Maine* have been classified with several simulated aerosol distributions. It is assumed that the actual aerosol optical thickness was 0.15 over the area classified. Radiance is transformed according to parameters obtained from a doubling model to …

Mapping And Estimating Areal Extent Of Severely Eroded Soils Of Selected Sites In Northern Indiana, C. E. Seubert, M. F. Baumgardner, R. A. Weismiller, F. R. Kirschner

LARS Symposia

The importance of soil conservation and the devastating effects of soil erosion have been noted throughout recorded human history. In the United States it has been estimated that up to two-thirds of the nation's cropland is losing soil at rates up to 5 tons/A (11 mt/ha) while nearly 15% is losing more than 10 ton/A (22 mt/ha) per year. The Soil Conservation Service of the USDA and the Environmental Protection Agency are actively engaged in programs to reduce soil loss and subsequent stream pollution. Rapid methods of pinpointing areas undergoing accelerated erosion are needed to assist in these efforts.

The …

An Approach To Nonlinear Mapping For Pattern Recognition, Nguyen Duong, L. I. Ruh-Ming, Daryl B. Simons

LARS Symposia

Nonlinear mapping has been used in the past for data structure analysis. Many interesting heuristic approaches to map n-dimensional data to a lower dimensional space such that the local structure of the original data is reserved have been proposed by Kruskal, Sammon, and others. Basically, a criterion for local structure preservation is first defined, then a new data configuration is obtained by an iterative process to minimize the selected criterion.

Threshold Selection For Line Detection Algorithms, Charlotte M. Gurney

LARS Symposia

A line detector has been derived which combines the advantages of existing 'non-linear' and 'semi-linear' methods. It has been tested on Landsat data of S.E. England where linear features are typically less than one pixel in width. Improved results have been obtained in comparison with alternative methods.

Specification of an accurate threshold value is essential for deciding whether a pixel contains a linear feature or not. This may be achieved using a model which attempts to determine the threshold value from the following properties: 1. The width of the linear feature 2. The spectral response of the linear feature 3. …

An Integrated Application Of Remote Sensing, Digitization, And Computer Processing To The Analysis Of Multiple Tidal Drainage Networks, Joe R. Wadsworth, Zeev Berger

LARS Symposia

Processing of remotely sensed data by digitization and computer analysis permits development of a large quantitative data base describing geomorphology of tidal drainage networks in the Duplin River, Sapelo Island, Georgia. These previously unavailable data permit comparison of drainage morphology between fluvial and tidal systems, as well as of variations of drainage morphology within the Duplin tidal system. Laws of fluvial drainage composition were found to be inoperative in the tidal system, presumably due to differences in flow directions, system instability, and environmental uniformity within the tidal system. Ebb tidal dominance displayed by network morphology agrees with development of ebb-oriented …

Machine Processing Issues In Crop Type Identification And Estimation, Forrest G. Hall

LARS Symposia

Machine processing techniques which utilize remotely sensed data to estimate crop acreage have been extensively evaluated in several large scale experiments, beginning in 1972 with the Crop Identification Technology Assessment for Remote Sensing (CITARS) and more recently, the Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE). Landsat multispectral scanner data acquired over several major global agricultural regions, has been processed using state-of-the-art technology. The performance has been quantified in two important situations (1) using in situ acquired ground observations to obtain classifier training samples; (2) using image analysis of Landsat data to obtain classifier training samples without the aid of ground observations. …

Future Trends In Image Processing Software And Hardware, William B. Green

LARS Symposia

The image processing applications in which JPL's Image Processing Laboratory is active range from planetary exploration and earth applications to biomedical applications, astronomy, and scene analysis for the robotic vehicles of the future. There are several common trends that are apparent that are common to each of these applications areas, and these trends are discussed in this paper. The trends include requirements for improved adaptive search and interrogation of large image data bases, increasing utilization of graphics data in conjunction with imagery, improved techniques for display of multispectral imagery recorded in a large number of spectral channels, methods for merging …

The Effect Of Laboratory Compaction On The Shear Behavior Of A Highly Plastic Clay After Saturation And Consolidation : Interim Report, James M. Johnson, C. W. Lovell

JTRP Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Some Effects Of Unwarranted Traffic Signals, Chung-Cha Liu

JTRP Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Traffic Speed Report No. 108 : Interim Report, Richard Philip Guenthner, George K. Stafford

JTRP Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Amount Of Travel And Fuel Sales Attributable To Out-Of-State Vehicles On Indiana Highways, Kumares C. Sinha

JTRP Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Raising Load Limits On Pavements And Bridges In Indiana, Eldon J. Yoder, Benjamin Colucci-Rios, J. John Fraczek, James A. Skees

JTRP Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Study Of The Segmental Box Girder Bridge At Turkey Run: Construction, Instrumentation, And Data Collection : Interim Report, Stephen P. Wanders, Douglas Windslow, Charles D. Sutton

JTRP Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Traffic Speed Report No. 110 : Interim Report, Richard Philip Guenthner, George K. Stafford

JTRP Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

The Lacie Outlook, Forrest Hall

LARS Symposia

The LACIE has advanced, in a major way, the application of aerospace remote sensing and weather effects modeling for crop inventory. Further, it has established the applicability of this technology to global wheat-production estimation. It is fitting, at the completion of the total LACIE experience, to reflect on the future directions and uses of this technology.

The purpose of this paper is to project, on the basis of the LACIE experience, the technological prospects for various crop inventories over the next few years. To arrive at this projection, an attempt is made to state the essence of the conclusions from …

Atmospheric Effects On Band-Ratioing In Vegetation Monitoring From Satellites, J. Otterman, S. G. Ungar, R. K. Kiang

LARS Symposia

An approximate, explicit expression has been previously developed for the Earth-atmosphere system nadir beam reflectivity as [equation] where r is the object pixel reflectivity, a the effective reflectivity of the sure rounding terrain, µ the cosine of the solar zenith angle, and g(µ) is the anisotropy of atmospheric scattering to zenith from the direct beam. B, F and W respectively are the backward scattering, forward scattering and absorption optical thickness.

Equation (1) is accurate only for the limiting cases of low optical thickness, (Q/µ,) << 1, and should not generally be used for quantitative correction of atmospheric effects. This expression affords good insight into atmospheric effects on reflective infrared to red band ratioing for monitoring and mapping vegetation. The Landsat bands applicable for this purpose are MSS-7 (0.8-l.lµm) and MSS-5 (0.6-0. 7µm). The ratio of MSS-7 to MSS-5 increases with canopy thickness and plant vigor.

Under good visibility conditions (aerosol vertical optical thickness 0.05 to 0.15, less than 30mm water vapor, …

A System For Processing Landsat And Other Georeferenced Data For Resource Management Applications, Sidney L. Whitley

LARS Symposia

The NASA Earth Resources Laboratory (ERL) at the National Space Technology Laboratories, NSTL Station, MS, has developed a transferable system for processing Landsat and disparate data with capabilities for digital data classification, georeferencing, overlaying, and data base management. This system is known as the Earth Resources Data Analysis System (ERDAS). The versatility of the system has been demonstrated with applications in several disciplines. A description is given of a low-cost data system concept that is suitable for transfer to one's available in-house minicomputer or to a low-cost computer purchased for this purpose. Software packages are described that process Landsat data …

Heterarchical Architectures For Parallel Processing Of Digital Images, Adolfo Guzman, A. Zorrilla

LARS Symposia

A novel architecture is proposed, suitable for high-speed digital processing of LANDSAT and other pictures. The machine comprises a collection (20 to 100) of small active units, perhaps microprocessors, each of them performing a task on a subimage. The coordination between them is handled by a blackboard or dispatcher. This is a memory that contains addresses of tasks ready to be done, as well as destinations of the results of finished computations. The name "heterarchy" is used because there is no hierarchy of processors (active units).

The machine exhibits some form of graceful degradation, and is incrementally expandible.

The main …

A Comprehensive Computer-Aided Soil Map Obtained Via Satellite Mss Data, S. J. Kristof

LARS Symposia

Geometrically corrected and temporally registered Landsat data collected over Vigo and Tippecanoe Counties, Indiana have been used to produce computer-aided soil maps at 1:24,000 scale.

A tabulation was made of selected soil properties such as soil color tones, drainage parameters, available water capacity, water permeability, erosion, drought resistance, organic matter content, fertilizer and lime requirement, and topography. These observations were recorded and used as a basis for grouping soil mapping units into a "comprehensive, interpretive" computer map using the "Printresults" LARSYS processor. Soil maps obtained with such data have considerable implications in agricultural planning, in utilization of land resources, and …

Imagenet - An Image Analysis Network, P. R. Pearl

LARS Symposia

The launching of the first LANDSAT satellite in 1972 suddenly provided us with a vast amount of relatively cheap remotely sensed data. It was hoped that this freely available data would initiate a dramatic improvement in our ability to map and to monitor the earth's surface. A considerable amount of effort has been expended in demonstrating the potential effectiveness of LANDSAT in solving some of the more pressing requirements of the various resource disciplines. In spite of the apparent success of some of these demonstrations, the operational use of LANDSAT data has not lived up to expectations.

Many factors have …

An Inter-Class Feature Selection Procedure, Manmohan Trivedi, Clair L. Wyatt, David R. Anderson

LARS Symposia

In a classification study, the problem of feature selection should be addressed in two separate cases, (i) intra-class, and (ii) inter-class feature selection. In the former, one is interested in selecting features which are best for the representation of a class, whereas in the latter, we try to select features which are best for the discrimination between classes.

In this paper, an inter-class feature selection procedure, based on a hierarchical cluster analysis, is presented. The basic concept is to perform a stepwise clustering on the weighted feature vectors in a m dimensional space, where m is the number of classes …

The Error Associated With Density Number (Dn) Resampling Of Landsat Forest Imagery For Multidate Registration, Thomas L. Logan

LARS Symposia

Selection of the proper resampling technique for registration of multidate Landsat imagery can be important to digital classification accuracy in mountainous forest areas. The degradation of Landsat imagery by resampling for registration (or rectification) purposes was found to vary considerably depending on whether the cubic convolution, bilinear or nearest neighbor technique was used. In a 220 square kilometer study area located within California's Klamath National Forest, the cubic convolution technique was found to introduce the least amount of error in twice resampled imagery, with 14% of Band 5 pixels and 22% of Band 7 pixels altered by 3 density numbers …

The Use Of Image Analysis Techniques With Geophysical Data, Robert D. Regan, John Denoyer

LARS Symposia

Great emphasis has been placed on the development of sophisticated interpretation techniques for gravity and magnetic data. Such techniques could be better utilized if the input data were more completely understood by the interpreter. Geophysical survey data are usually represented as black-and-white or color contoured maps, and as such are only one biased representation of the information. The interpreter's perspective of the data is influenced by his perception of such maps. Image analysis equipment and techniques, designed primarily for use in the analysis of Landsat data, can be effectively used to overcome this problem.

The results of several investigations indicate …

The Use Of Landsat Multispectral Data To Derive Land Cover Information For The Location And Quantification Of Non-Point Source Water Pollutants, Henry F. Fostel, James E. Manley, James P. Ormsby

LARS Symposia

The Regional Planning Council (RPC) provides a clearinghouse and advisory service to the city and five surrounding counties of the Baltimore region (Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard counties and Baltimore City.) The RPC staff is divided into various technical divisions providing support in the numerous aspects of modern planning. A great portion of this work is indirect response to the requirements of various Federal programs and legislation. In early 1976, the RPC received a Water Quality Planning Grant under the Federal Clean Water Act Amendments of 1972 (PL-92-500, Section 208). The work program for this grant required a …

Texture Analysis By Space Filter And Application To Foresttype Classification, Joji Iisaka

LARS Symposia

This paper describes a new method for defining textural properties of images by applying various types of space filters which have the same functions as "field stop" of an optical filter.

The Control Point Library Building System, Wayne Niblack

LARS Symposia

The Control Point Library Building System (CPLBS) is an interactive, menu driven system which permits a user to accurately identify features in image data by simultaneously viewing a map and a vidicon display of the image data through a Zoom Transfer Scope, extract and store features in disk-resident libraries, and perform utility functions necessary to maintain and update the generated libraries. It was developed to permit the generation of control point libraries needed by the Master Data Processor (MDP) to perform highly accurate geometric corrections to Landsat MSS and RBV earth image data. Both CPLBS and MDP were developed by …

Landsat-D: International Interests And Plans, James V. Zimmerman

LARS Symposia

Since the launching of Landsat-1 in 1972, countries around the world have used Landsat data to assist in national resource development activities. More than 100 countries are now buying Landsat data products from distribution centers in the US and elsewhere. Six countries in addition to the US are operating ground stations to receive data from Landsat-2 and -3. Stations in three more countries are currently under construction; eight other states are planning similar facilities.

In late 1981 NASA plans to launch its fourth Landsat spacecraft, Landsat-D, which should provide expanded opportunities for users around the world to benefit from satellite …

The Monitoring Of Marine Environmental Problems By Airborne And Landsat Mss Data, Hiroaki Ochiai, Shoji Takeuchi

LARS Symposia

For the purpose of monitoring of marine environmental problems, the authors tried digital analysis of multispectral scanner data obtained by airborne and Landsat around the coastal area of Japan.

The main purpose of this study is the detection of red tide which is popularly named after its apparent red color and caused by the abnormal growth of plankton. Due to the rapid increase of nutrious river water and industrial effluent into the sea, the frequency of red tide in coastal areas such as Tokyo Bay, Ise Bay and Seto Inland Sea increases year by year, and it becomes a serious …

Directed Canonical Analysis And The Performance Of Classifiers Under Its Associated Linear Transformations, Benjamin F. Merembeck, Brian J. Turner

LARS Symposia

Directed canonical analysis is presented as an extension of the general form of canonical analysis, which is a method for reducing the dimensionality of multivariate data sets with minimum loss of discriminatory variance. The reduction takes the form of a linear transformation, y = Cz, that condenses the discriminatory variance onto a relatively few, high-variance, orthogonal discriminant axes.

Canonical analysis is developed as an analog to the one-way MANOVA. The directed extension allows user-specified contrasts to define linear relationships that are known or suspected to exist within the data. The linear transformation, C, is defined by means of the symmetric …

Computer Recognition Of Citrus Infestations, D. H. Williams, J. K. Aggarwal

LARS Symposia

A computer software system is described that uses digitized color information from aerial color infrared transparencies to detect the a presence of citrus mealybug (Pseudococcus citri Risso), brown soft scale (Coccus hesperidum L.), and Rio Grande gummosis in individual citrus trees. The color coordinates at each spatial point, and color differences at adjacent points are used to locate the trees and to detect the infestations; and compensation is made for the variation in color characteristics between different transparencies. The system requires the input of four parameters: a flag denoting the presence of heavy shadows in the image, nominal tree size …