Geography Commons^™

Using Multiple Robust Parameter Design Techniques To Improve Hyperspectral Anomaly Detection Algorithm Performance, Matthew T. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

Detecting and identifying objects of interest is the goal of all remote sensing. New advances, specifically in hyperspectral imaging technology have provided the analyst with immense amounts of data requiring evaluation. Several filtering techniques or anomaly detection algorithms have been proposed. However, most new algorithms are insufficiently verified to be robust to the broad range of hyperspectral data being made available. One such algorithm, AutoGAD, is tested here via two separate robust parameter design techniques to determine optimal parameters for consistent performance on a range of data with large attribute variances. Additionally, the results of the two techniques are compared …

Satellite-Based Fusion Of Image/Inertial Sensors For Precise Geolocation, Neil R. Jesse

Theses and Dissertations

The ability to produce high-resolution images of the Earth’s surface from space has flourished in recent years with the continuous development and improvement of satellite-based imaging sensors. Earth-imaging satellites often rely on complex onboard navigation systems, with dependence on Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking and/or continuous post-capture georegistration, to accurately geolocate ground targets of interest to either commercial and military customers. Consequently, these satellite systems are often massive, expensive, and susceptible to poor or unavailable target tracking capabilities in GPS-denied environments. Previous research has demonstrated that a tightly-coupled image-aided inertial navigation system (INS), using existing onboard imaging sensors, can provide …

Sensitive Detection Of Novel Effects And Characteristic Signal Structure Of Higher Harmonic Detection In Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy, Mohammad Amir Khan

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

We discuss experimental and theoretical results of absorption features of the oxygen A-band transitions when synchronous detection at higher harmonics using Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy (WMS) is performed. A key aspect of structure higher harmonic detection is discussed. It is shown that the signal magnitude and spectral locations of turning points and zero crossings of WMS signal demonstrate key signatures of collision dynamics of gaseous specie parameters and lineshape parameters. In addition, it is also shown that these salient features provide sensitive probes for any changes in the gas environment or lineshape parameters. We discuss several advantages and subtle physical effects …

The Potential Of The Synergistic Use Of Passive And Active Remote Sensing Measurements For The Validation Of A Regional Dust Model, V. Amiridis, Menas Kafatos, M. Perez, S. Kazadzis, E. Gerasopoulos, R. E. Mamouri, A. Papayannis, P. Kokkalis, E. Giannakaki, S. Basart, I. Daglis, C S. Zerefos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

A long-lasting Saharan dust event affected Europe on 18–23 May 2008. Dust was present in the free troposphere over Greece, in height ranges between the surface and approximately 4–5 km above sea level. The event was monitored by ground-based CIMEL sunphotometric and multi-wavelength combined backscatter/Raman lidar measurements over Athens, Greece. The dust event had the maximum of its intensity on 20 May. Three-dimensional dust spatial distribution over Greece on that day is presented through satellite synergy of passive and active remote sensing using MODIS and CALIPSO data, respectively. For the period under study, the ground-based measurements are used to characterize …

Background And Study Concerning Water Wave Effects On Airborne Imagery, Charles R. Bostater

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper describes ongoing research and initial results regarding collection of airborne imagery for detection of submerged features in optically shallow water types. The approach is to utilize land surface, water surface and submerged or in-situ line targets of various types during the airborne flights or fixed platforms. The imagery collected by the airborne sensing systems is processed in concept to correct for the presence of the water surface wave effects and water column effects. The correction approach is based upon calculation of a residual image between either (a) the observed submerged target image and the non-submerged image or (2) …

Geo-Rectification Of Aerial Images For Detecting Changes In Terrain, Diana Vincent

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

With increasing terrorist attacks around the world, detection of hidden bombs like IEDs (Improvised Explosive devices) has become very important. The main aim of this thesis is to develop an automatic change detection system to detect changes in terrain. It is mainly used in military applications for protection of military convoys. In order to detect the presence of IED's, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is flown over a proposed convoy route to develop a baseline scene. Prior to the launch of the convoy the UA V is flown again over the same route to detect any significant scene changes that …

Aerial And Satellite Image Processing Applications, Srinivas K. Jakkula

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Aerial and satellite images are used extensively in many trip and mapping software packages, such as Google Earth etc. Aerial images differ significantly due to the variations in atmospheric clarity, atmospheric layer density, humidity, temperature, and season under which the aerial images are captured. Among the issues in effective utilization of aerial images, color tone discrepancy is the inconsistency in brightness, saturation, or color balance between images representing adjacent areas, causing adjacent areas appear significantly different that would otherwise be similar. Aenal images are also routinely used as ground textures to simulate Earth surface and 3D features on Earth in …

Statistical Methods For Polarimetric Imagery, Daniel A. Lemaster

Theses and Dissertations

Estimation theory is applied to a physical model of incoherent polarized light to address problems in polarimetric image registration, restoration, and analysis for electro-optical imaging systems. In the image registration case, the Cramer-Rao lower bound on unbiased joint estimates of the registration parameters and the underlying scene is derived, simplified using matrix methods, and used to explain the behavior of multi-channel linear polarimetric imagers. In the image restoration case, a polarimetric maximum likelihood blind deconvolution algorithm is derived and tested using laboratory and simulated imagery. Finally, a principal components analysis is derived for polarization imaging systems. This analysis expands upon …

Defining A Fire Year For Reporting And Analysis Of Global Interannual Fire Variablility, Luigi Boschetti, David P. Roy

GSCE Faculty Publications

The interannual variability of fire activity has been studied without an explicit investigation of a suitable starting month for yearly calculations. Sensitivity analysis of 37 months of global MODIS active fire detections indicates that a 1-month change in the start of the fire year definition can lead, in the worst case, to a difference of over 6% and over 45% in global and subcontinental scale annual fire totals, respectively. Optimal starting months for analyses of global and subcontinental fire interannual variability are described. The research indicates that a fire year starting in March provides an optimal definition for annual global …

Western Juniper (Juniperus Occidentalis) Ecology With An Exercise In Remote Sensing Techniques, Elizabeth A. Goralski

Geography Masters Research Papers

Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis var. occidentalis) has been expanding its biogeographic range since the mid-1800's, resulting in decreased biodiversity, altered wildlife habitat, increased soil erosion, reduced stream flows and reduced forage production. The direct causes of western juniper aforestation are unclear but appear to be related to altered fire regimes, over grazing, and climatic shifts.

This study seeks to determine how Landsat images combined with Digital Orthoquads (DOQs) can be used to examine the geographic distribution of western juniper. Satellite imagery has yet to be applied to the large scale mapping of western juniper aforestation, resulting in the lack of …

"Sustainable Development": Critical Concepts In Geography, Tyler Vick

Geography Masters Research Papers

This paper reviews significant geographic contributions to academic literature in the arenas of conservation, environmental thought, and "sustainable development", in order to understand why geographers have not been more central contributors to the sustainable development movement. A review of geographic literature reveals no lack of understanding on the "sustainable development" concept. However, the disciplines' contributions are lacking in numbers relative to published articles and in developing research and practical methods for directly benefiting the "sustainable development" movement. In fact, only a handful of geographers have made multiple literary contributions on the topic of "sustainable development."

The discipline of geography is …

Radiative Forcing Over The Conterminous United States Due To Contemporary Land Cover Use Albedo Change, Christopher Barnes, David P. Roy

GSCE Faculty Publications

Recently available satellite land cover land use (LCLU) and albedo data are used to study the impact of LCLU change from 1973 to 2000 on surface albedo and radiative forcing for 36 ecoregions covering 43% of the conterminous United States (CONUS). Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snowfree broadband albedo values are derived from Landsat LCLU classification maps located using a stratified random sampling methodology to estimate ecoregion estimates of LCLU induced albedo change and surface radiative forcing. The results illustrate that radiative forcing due to LCLU change may be disguised when spatially and temporally explicit data sets are not used. …

Integration Of Remote Sensing And Census Data For Land-Use And Land Cover Classification And Population Estimation In Indianapolis, Indiana, Guiying Li

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasing population and economic growth has resulted in rapid urban expansion in the past decades. Timely and accurately mapping urban land-use and land-cover (LULC) and associated population dist1ibution are often required for many applications such as urban management and planning, and environmental monitoring and assessment. Although many techniques have been developed, urban LULC classification is still a challenge based on remote sensing data. This research explored the integration of Landsat ETM+ image and census data for improving urban LULC classification accuracy, focusing on the distinction of different densities of residential use. The housing data were examined for use at three …

Surface Temperature Mapping Of The University Of Northern Iowa Campus Using High Resolution Thermal Infrared Aerial Imagery, Alexander Savelyev

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The goal of this study was to produce and analyze a heat loss map of the University of the Northern Iowa campus using thermal infrared remote sensing data. Aerial data with the spatial resolution of 0.29m and radiometric resolution of 14 bit was collected. A model for the pixel to radiance and temperature conversion was developed with its parameters estimated with an R² of 0.78. Temperature imagery was shown to be consistent over the time of the survey and accurate to within 12°C. The temperature map then was used to assess the conditions of the rooftops and steam pipelines …

Land-Use/Land-Cover Characterization Using An Object-Based Classifier For The Buffalo River Sub-Basin In North-Central Arkansas, Robert C. Weih Jr., D. White Jr.

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Sensors for remote sensing have improved enormously over the past few years and now deliver high resolution multispectral data on an operational basis. Most Land-use/Land-cover (LULC) classifications of high spatial resolution imagery, however, still rely on basic image processing concepts (i.e., image classification using single pixel-based classifiers) developed in the 1970s. This study developed the methodology using an object-based classifier to characterize the LULC for the Buffalo River sub-basin and surrounding areas with a 0.81- hectare (2-acre) minimum mapping unit (MMU). Base imagery for the 11-county classification was orthorectified color-infrared aerial photographs taken from 2000 to 2002 with a one-meter …

Seasonal Adaptation Of Vegetation Color In Satellite Images, Srinivas Jakkula, Vamsi K.R. Mantena, Ramu Pedada, Yuzhong Shen, Jiang Li, Hamid R. Arabnia (Ed.)

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Remote sensing techniques like NDVI (Normal Difference vegetative Index) when applied to phenological variations in aerial images, ascertained the seasonal rise and decline of photosynthetic activity in different seasons, resulting in different color tones of vegetation. The rise and fall of NDVI values decide the biological response, either the green up or brown down [1]. Vegetation in green up period appears with more vegetative vigor and during brown down period it has a dry appearance. This paper proposes a novel method that identifies vegetative patterns in satellite images and then alters vegetation color to simulate seasonal changes based on training …

Vegetation Identification Based On Satellite Imagery, Vamsi K.R. Mantena, Ramu Pedada, Srinivas Jakkula, Yuzhong Shen, Jiang Li, Hamid R. Arabnia (Ed.)

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Automatic vegetation identification plays an important role in many applications including remote sensing and high performance flight simulations. This paper presents a method to automatically identify vegetation based upon satellite imagery. First, we utilize the ISODATA algorithm to cluster pixels in the images where the number of clusters is determined by the algorithm. We then apply morphological operations to the clustered images to smooth the boundaries between clusters and to fill holes inside clusters. After that, we compute six features for each cluster. These six features then go through a feature selection algorithm and three of them are determined to …

Gis Aided Archaeological Research Of El Camino Real De Los Tejas With Focus On The Landscape And River Crossings Along El Camino Carretera., Jeffrey M. Williams

Faculty Publications

Many generations of indigenous pathways through the forests of eastern Texas have their origins obscured in antiquity. Utilized by early European explorers, these pathways became modified through heavy use and the expansions and improvements needed to accommodate easy passage of European horses and carts and finally the heavy wagons of Anglo-American settlers. The first road through Texas, El Camino Real de Los Tejas, utilized portions of these early trails.

El Camino Carretera (known as the cart road) is an early segment of El Camino Real de los Tejas that crossed the Sabine River at the boundary between Texas and Louisiana. …

Relationships Between Landscape Pattern And Land Surface Temperature And Their Applications To The Study Of West Nile Virus: As Case Studies In Cities Of Indianapolis And Chicago, United States, Hua Liu

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A new synthesis of remote sensing and landscape ecology approaches was developed to establish relationships between the landscape patterns and land surface temperatures (LST) in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Land use and land cover (LULC) and LST images were derived from Terra Satellite's Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) imagery. An analytical procedure using landscape metrics was developed, applying configuration analysis oflandscape patterns and land surface temperature zones. Detailed landscape pattern analyses at the landscape and class scales were conducted using landscape metrics in the City of Indianapolis. The effects of spatial resolution on the …

Modeling Habitat And Environmental Factors Affecting Mosquito Abundance In Chesapeake, Virginia, Alan Scott Bellows

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The models I present in this dissertation were designed to enable mosquito control agencies in the mid-Atlantic region that oversee large jurisdictions to rapidly track the spatial and temporal distributions of mosquito species, especially those species known to be vectors of eastern equine encephalitis and West Nile virus. I was able to keep these models streamlined, user-friendly, and not cost-prohibitive using empirically based digital data to analyze mosquito-abundance patterns in real landscapes.

This research is presented in three major chapters: (II) a series of semi-static habitat suitability indices (HSI) grounded on well-documented associations between mosquito abundance and environmental variables, (III) …

Modeling Of Culicidae Population Capacity Using Remote Sensing, Gis, And Fractal Geometry, Daniel Patrick Johnson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A remote sensing and fractal geometric approach is proposed for the surveillance of mosquito population. The spread of vector-borne pathogens is becoming increasingly important with recent discussions of extensive human urbanization and global climate change. To date most studies dealing with mosquito transmitted disease surveyed by remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems have been conducted in tropical homogenous locales. This study approached the issue in a rapidly suburbanizing county in the Midwestern portion of the United States. Adult mosquitoes were trapped over a several year period and the landscape of the surrounding patches analyzed via remote sensing, fractal geometry, and …

Large Seasonal Swings In Leaf Area Of Amazon Rainforests, Ranga B. Myneni, Wenze Yang, Ramakrishna R. Nemani, Alfredo R. Huete, Robert E. Dickinson, Yuri Knyazikhin, Kamel Didan, Rong Fu, Robinson I. Negron Juarez, Sasan S. Saatchi, Hirofumi Hashimoto, Kazuhito Ichii, Nikolay V. Shabanov, Bin Tan, Piyachat Ratana, Jeffrey L. Privette, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Eric F. Vermote, David P. Roy, Robert E. Wolfe, Mark A. Friedl, Steven W. Running, Petr Votava, Nazmi El-Saleous, Sadashiva Devadiga, Yin Su, Vincent V. Salomonson

GSCE Faculty Publications

Despite early speculation to the contrary, all tropical forests studied to date display seasonal variations in the presence of new leaves, flowers, and fruits. Past studies were focused on the timing of phenological events and their cues but not on the accompanying changes in leaf area that regulate vegetation–atmosphere exchanges of energy, momentum, and mass. Here we report, from analysis of 5 years of recent satellite data, seasonal swings in green leaf area of ~25% in a majority of the Amazon rainforests. This seasonal cycle is timed to the seasonality of solar radiation in a manner that is suggestive of …

Merging Gps Data With High Spatial Resolution Multispectral Imagery: An Urban Recreation Case Study, Daniel Unger, David Kulhavy, Jerome E. Benson Ii

Faculty Publications

In 1992 a disc golf course was created by Alpha Phi Omega, Nu Sigma Chapter of Stephen F. Austin State University within Pecan Park in the c ity of Nacogdoches, Texas. Using constructs from Landscape Ecology, in cluding structure, function and change within a land mosaic provided the basis for establishment of the course. The addition of the disc golf cour se modified the use of the park promoting cultural cohesion among the disc golf enthusiasts. To aid the recreational enjoyment of golf participants, vector m aps of each fairway were created when the disc course was developed and loca …

Atmospheric Smog Modeling, Using Eos Satellite Aster Image Sensor, With Feature Extraction For Pattern Recognition Techniques And Its Correlation With In-Situ Ground Sensor Data, Parthasarathi Roy

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Atmospheric pollution was previously considered as a 'Brown Cloud’ phenomenon restricted to industrialized urban regions. Studies in field stations and satellite observations made since the last decade revealed that it now spans continents and ocean basins world wide. The objective of this research investigation is to assess atmospheric pollutants in the troposphere and their spectral characteristic signatures by using highspectral and spatial resolution Earth Observation System (EOS) satellite imaging sensor Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data and to find correlations with ground sensor observations. Ground sensor data are imported into a geodatabase for spatial reference. Raw ASTER …

Emerging Near-Real Time Forage Monitoring Technology With Application To Large Herbivore Management In Mongolia, Dennis P. Sheehy, Jerry W. Stuth, Douglas E. Johnson, Jay Angerer, Douglas Tolleson

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Large herbivore livestock and wildlife in Mongolia depend almost entirely for substance on forage standing crop produced each year on natural pastureland. Consequently, both livestock and wildlife are continuously subject to environmental risk, especially drought and severe winter storms, while livestock are also subject to financial risk. As consumption-based livestock production changes to commercialized livestock production, steps taken by the livestock herder to avert both environmental and financial risk to livestock can increase environmental risk to large wild herbivores. A realistic and workable pastureland and risk management system will be critical for conservation of large herbivore habitat. New technologies are …

Tree Species Identification In An Urban Environment Using A Data Fusion Approach, Matthew A. Voss

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This thesis explores a data fusion approach combining hyperspectral, LiDAR, and multispectral data to classify tree species in an urban environment. The study area is the campus of the University of Northern Iowa.

In order to use the data fusion approach, a wide variety of data was incorporated into the classification. These data include: a four-band Quickbird image from April 2003 with 0.6m spatial resolution, a 24-band AISA hyperspectral image from July 2004 with 2m spatial resolution, a 63-band AISA Eagle hyperspectral image from October 2006 with lm spatial resolution, a high resolution, multiple return LiDAR data set from April …

Lightning Signature Assessment To Forecast Tornado Formation, Mary Snow, Richard Snow, Nicole Kufa

Publications

Recent research suggests that a maximum rate of lightning strikes occurs at least 15 to 20 minutes prior to tornado formation within a supercell storm. These maxima are associated with strengthening updrafts as they appear in radar measurements. An increase in lightning rates correlates with an increase of shear in the lower part of the storm. In combination with a strong updraft or downdraft, this shear can provide the ingredients for rotation and possibly a tornado. Polarity reversal of lightning around the time of tornado touchdown also has been examined. Thus, increasing lightning flash rates and reversal of lightning strike …

Biomass Estimation And Classification Of Secondary Succession Using Radar And Optical Remote Sensing Data Based On Textural And Spectral Analysis In Amazonia, Ping Jiang

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Deforestation that happened during past decades in the Amazon Basin has been potentially affecting the global climate and carbon-cycle by contributing a vast amount of carbon into the atmosphere. Above-ground biomass (AGB) estimation of secondary successional and mature forests using remote sensing technology has been attracting scientists' attention. Optical sensor data are sensitive to forest canopies only, and therefore have limitations in AGB estimation, especially for tropical forests with complex structures and abundant species. Radar signals have the ability to penetrate canopies to detect the sub-layers of forests, and therefore potentially have a better performance in AGB estimation. Based on …

Optimal Band Selection For Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Of Aquatic Benthic Features - A Wavelet Filter Window Approach, Charles R. Bostater

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper describes a wavelet based approach to derivative spectroscopy. The approach is utilized to select, through optimization, optimal channels or bands to use as derivative based remote sensing algorithms. The approach is applied to airborne and modeled or synthetic reflectance signatures of environmental media and features or objects within such media, such as benthic submerged vegetation canopies. The technique can also applied to selected pixels identified within a hyperspectral image cube obtained from an board an airborne, ground based, or subsurface mobile imaging system. This wavelet based image processing technique is an extremely fast numerical method to conduct higher …

Sensor Motion Control & Mobile Platforms For Aquatic Remote Sensing, Charles R. Bostater

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Modern remote sensing systems used in repetitive environmental monitoring and surveillance applications are used on various platforms. These platforms can be categorized as stationary (fixed) or moving platforms. The sensing systems monitor the ambient environment which also may have inherent motion, such as the water surface with water waves. This is particularly the case for airborne or ship borne sensing of aquatic environments and is true for ground based walking or crawling systems. The time sequential comparison and spatial registration of sensor images, particularly "hyperspectral imagery" requires pixel to pixel registration for science based change and target (or medium) detection …