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At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Leaf optical property changes associated with the occurrence of Spartina alterniflora dieback in Coastal Louisiana related to remote sensing mapping

In order to provide a remote sensing solution that would detect both the initial onset and monitor the early, as well as, the later stages of impact progression, changes in live leaf optical properties were compared along transects spanning impacted coastal Louisiana marsh sites. Green and red edge reflectance trends generally represented the early stages and fairly well the later stages of dieback progression, while blue and red reflectance and absorption trends represented the later stages of marsh impact that were most closely related to visible signs of marsh impact. Leaf reflectance in the near infrared (NIR) was not compatible with visual reflectance trends and did not co-vary with derived indicators of leaf water content, and thereby, water stress. Predicted from reflectance ratios, carotene tended to remain constant or increase relative to chlorophyll following noted changes in stressed plants at the two least impacted sites, while the pigments co-varied at the two most impacted sites. As an operational solution most amenable for satellite remote sensing, the NIR /red ratio followed blue and red reflectance trends while the NIR /green ratio mimicked the green and red edge reflectance trends indicating impact onset and progression, as well as, generally portraying blue and red reflectance trends indicating later stages of impact. The NIR/ green ratio magnitude and range generally increased from the most to least impacted site providing a convenient method to detect dieback onset and monitor dieback progression. This research demonstrated that remote sensing mapping at these sites could offer a more accurate perception of dieback severity distribution than offered by determinations relying on visible indicators of marsh changes.

Louisiana

Multitemporal Landsat multispectral scanner and thematic mapper data of the Hubbard Glacier region, southeast Alaska

In late May 1986, the advancing Hubbard Glacier blocked the entrance to Russell Fiord near Yakutat, Alaska, creating a large ice-dammed lake. Runoff from the surrounding glaciated mountains raised the level of the lake to about 25 m above sea level by 8 October, when the ice dam failed. Remote sensing offers one method to monitor this large tidal glacier system, particularly the glacier activity that would portend the re-closure of Russell Fiord. -Authors

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

Mapping Chinese tallow with color-infrared photography

Airborne color-infrared photography (CIR) (1:12,000 scale) was used to map localized occurrences of the widespread and aggressive Chinese tallow (Sapium sebiferum), an invasive species. Photography was collected during senescence when Chinese tallow's bright red leaves presented a high spectral contrast within the native bottomland hardwood and upland forests and marsh land-cover types. Mapped occurrences were conservative because not all senescing tallow leaves are bright red simultaneously. To simulate low spectral but high spatial resolution satellite/airborne image and digital video data, the CIR photography was transformed into raster images at spatial resolutions approximating 0.5 in and 1.0 m. The image data were then spectrally classified for the occurrence of bright red leaves associated with senescing Chinese tallow. Classification accuracies were greater than 95 percent at both spatial resolutions. There was no significant difference in either forest in the detection of tallow or inclusion of non-tallow trees associated with the two spatial resolutions. In marshes, slightly more tallow occurrences were mapped with the lower spatial resolution, but there were also more misclassifications of native land covers as tallow. Combining all land covers, there was no difference at detecting tallow occurrences (equal omission errors) between the two resolutions, but the higher spatial resolution was associated with less inclusion of non-tallow land covers as tallow (lower commission error). Overall, these results confirm that high spatial (???1 m) but low spectral resolution remote sensing data can be used for mapping Chinese tallow trees in dominant environments found in coastal and adjacent upland landscapes.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

USGS aerial resolution targets.

It is necessary to measure the achievable resolution of any airborne sensor that is to be used for metric purposes. Laboratory calibration facilities may be inadequate or inappropriate for determining the resolution of non-photographic sensors such as optical-mechanical scanners, television imaging tubes, and linear arrays. However, large target arrays imaged in the field can be used in testing such systems. The USGS has constructed an array of resolution targets in order to permit field testing of a variety of airborne sensing systems. The target array permits any interested organization with an airborne sensing system to accurately determine the operational resolution of its system. -from Author

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

Aerodynamic roughness length estimation with lidar and imaging spectroscopy in a shrub-dominated dryland

The aerodynamic roughness length (Z 0 m ) serves an important role in the flux exchange between the land surface and atmosphere. In this study, airborne lidar ( ALS ), terrestrial lidar ( TLS ), and imaging spectroscopy data were integrated to develop and test two approaches to estimate Z 0 m over a shrub dominated dryland study area in south-central Idaho, USA. Sensitivity of the two parameterization methods to estimate Z 0 m was analyzed. The comparison of eddy covariance-derived Z 0 m and remote sensing-derived Z 0 m showed that the accuracy of the estimated Z 0 m heavily depends on the estimation model and the representation of shrub (e.g., Artemisia tridentata subsp. wyomingensis) height in the models. The geometrical method (RA1994) led to 9 percent (~0.5 cm) and 25% (~1.1 cm) errors at site 1 and site 2, respectively, which performed better than the height variability-based method (MR1994) with bias error of 20 percent and 48 percent at site 1 and site 2, respectively. The RA1994 model resulted in a larger range of Z 0 m than the MR1994 method. We also found that the mean, median and 75th percentiles of heights (H75) from ALS provides the best Z 0 m estimates in the MR1994 model, while the mean, median, and MLD (Median Absolute Deviation from Median Height), as well as AAD (Mean Absolute Deviation from Mean Height) heights from ALS provides the best Z 0 m estimates in the RA1994 model. In addition, the fractional cover of shrub and grass, distinguished with ALS and imaging spectroscopy data, provided the opportunity to estimate the frontal area index at the pixel-level to assess the influence of grass and shrub on Z 0 m estimates in the RA1994 method. Results indicate that grass had little effect on Z 0 m in the RA1994 method. The Z 0 m estimations were tightly coupled with vegetation height and its local variance for the shrubs. Overall, the results demonstrate that the use of height and fractional cover from remote sensing data are promising for estimating Z 0 m , and thus refining land surface models at regional scales in semiarid shrublands.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

Detection of leaks in buried rural water pipelines using thermal infrared images

Leakage is a major problem in many pipelines. Minor leaks called 'seeper leaks', which generally range from 2 to 10 m 3 per day, are common and are difficult to detect using conventional ground surveys. The objective of this research was to determine whether airborne thermal-infrared remote sensing could be used in detecting leaks and monitoring rural water pipelines. This study indicates that such leaks can be detected using low-altitude 8.7- to 11.5. micrometer wavelength, thermal infrared images collected under proper conditions.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

Lava flow surface textures: SIR-B radar image texture, field observations, and terrain measurements

Space Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-8) images, field observations, and small-scale (cm) terrain measurements are used to study lava flow surface textures related to emplacement processes of a single hawaiian lava flow. Although smooth pahoehoe textures are poorly characterized on the SIR-B data, rougher pahoehoe types and the a'a flow portion show image textures attributed to spatial variations in surface roughness. Field observations of six distinct lava flow textural units are described and used to interpret modes of emplacement. Terrain measurements of these units show that surface roughness differs across and along the flow, apparently due to shear during flow emplacement. The radar smooth/rough boundary between pahoehoe and a'a occurs at a vertical relief of -10 cm on this lava flow. While direct observation and measurement most readily yield information related to lava eruption and emplacement processes, analyses of remote sensing data such as those acquired by imaging radars and altimeters can provide a means of quantifying surface texture, identifying the size and distribution of flow components, and delineating textural unit boundaries.

Hawaii

Publication aspects of ethics in photogrammetry

According to the Code of Ethics of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS), the principles on which ethics are founded consist of honesty, justice, and courtesy, forming a moral philosophy associated with mutual interest among men. We will cover in particular the ethical problems of publication of photogrammetric material in the various media. There are many such problems, and we often face a dilemma in selecting a course which is the right thing to do.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

Remote sensing investigations at a hazardous-waste landfill

In 1976 state licensed landfilling of industrial chemicals was begun above an abandoned, underground coal mine in Illinois. Five years later organic chemical pollutants were discovered in a monitoring well, suggesting migration 100 to 1000 times faster than predicted by laboratory tests. Remote sensing contributed to the determination of the causes of faster-than-predicted pollutant migration at the hazardous-waste landfill. Aerial and satellite imagery were employed to supplement field studies of local surface and groundwater hydrology, and to chronicle site history. Drainage impediments and depressions in the trench covers collected runoff, allowing rapid recharge of surface waters to some burial trenches. These features can be more effectively identified by photointerpretation than by conventional field reconnaissance. A ground-based, post-sunset survey of the trench covers that showed that a distinction between depressions which hold moisture at the surface from freely-draining depressions which permit rapid recharge to the burial trenches could be made using thermal infrared imagery.In 1976 state licensed landfilling of industrial chemicals was begun above an abandoned, underground coal mine in Illinois. Five years later organic chemical pollutants were discovered in a monitoring well, suggesting migration 100 to 1000 times faster than predicted by laboratory tests. Remote sensing contributed to the determination of the causes of faster-than-predicted pollutant migration at the hazardous-waste landfill. Aerial and satellite imagery were employed to supplement field studies of local surface and groundwater hydrology, and to chronicle site history. Drainage impediments and depressions in the trench covers collected runoff, allowing rapid recharge of surface waters to some burial trenches.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

Geometry of a mapping satellite.

The proposed mapping satellite Mapsat is to consist of fixed fore, vertical, and aft linear detector arrays, any two of which may be used simultaneously to obtain digital images for one- dimensional stereo correlation. The satellite attitude may be varied according to Fourier series to enable a given detector on one array to follow closely the groundtrack sensed by the corresponding detector on another array throughout the orbit. These tracking errors are negligible for a satellite stable within anticipated ranges. The required computations have been programmed in FORTRAN IV. -Author

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

Processing techniques for digital sonar images from GLORIA.

Image processing techniques have been developed to handle data from one of the newest members of the remote sensing family of digital imaging systems. This paper discusses software to process data collected by the GLORIA (Geological Long Range Inclined Asdic) sonar imaging system, designed and built by the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences (IOS) in England, to correct for both geometric and radiometric distortions that exist in the original 'raw' data. Preprocessing algorithms that are GLORIA-specific include corrections for slant-range geometry, water column offset, aspect ratio distortion, changes in the ship's velocity, speckle noise, and shading problems caused by the power drop-off which occurs as a function of range.-from Author

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

Integration of remote sensing and GIS: Data and data access

CT: Theintegration of remote sensing tools and technology with the spatial analysis orientation of geographic information systems is a complex task. In this paper, we focus on the issues of making data available and useful to the user. In part, this involves a set of problems which reflect on the physical and logical structures used to encode the data. At the same time, however, the mechanisms and protocols which provide information about the data, and which maintain the data through time, have become increasingly important. We discuss these latter issues from the viewpoint of the functions which must be provided by archives of spatial data.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

Historical record of Landsat global coverage

The long-term, 34+ year record of global Landsat remote sensing data is a critical resource to study the Earth system and human impacts on this system. The National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive (NSLRSDA) is charged by public law to: “maintain a permanent, comprehensive Government archive of global Landsat and other land remote sensing data for long-term monitoring and study of the changing global environment” (U.S. Congress, 1992). The advisory committee for NSLRSDA requested a detailed analysis of observation coverage within the U.S. Landsat holdings, as well as that acquired and held by International Cooperator (IC) stations. Our analyses, to date, have found gaps of varying magnitude in U.S. holdings of Landsat global coverage data, which appear to reflect technical or administrative variations in mission operations. In many cases it may be possible to partially fill these gaps in U.S. holdings through observations that were acquired and are now being held at International Cooperator stations.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

Testing a small UAS for mapping artisanal diamond mining sites in Africa

Remote sensing technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate. At the forefront of the new technological developments are unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The advent of small, lightweight, low-cost, and user-friendly UAS is greatly expanding the potential applications of remote sensing technology and improving the set of tools available to researchers seeking to map and monitor terrain from above. In this article, we explore the applications of a small UAS for mapping informal diamond mining sites in Africa. We found that this technology provides aerial imagery of unparalleled resolution in a data-sparse, difficult to access, and remote terrain.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

CLICK: The new USGS center for LIDAR information coordination and knowledge

Elevation data is rapidly becoming an important tool for the visualization and analysis of geographic information. The creation and display of three-dimensional models representing bare earth, vegetation, and structures have become major requirements for geographic research in the past few years. Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) has been increasingly accepted as an effective and accurate technology for acquiring high-resolution elevation data for bare earth, vegetation, and structures. Lidar is an active remote sensing system that records the distance, or range, of a laser fi red from an airborne or space borne platform such as an airplane, helicopter or satellite to objects or features on the Earth’s surface. By converting lidar data into bare ground topography and vegetation or structural morphologic information, extremely accurate, high-resolution elevation models can be derived to visualize and quantitatively represent scenes in three dimensions. In addition to high-resolution digital elevation models (Evans et al., 2001), other lidar-derived products include quantitative estimates of vegetative features such as canopy height, canopy closure, and biomass (Lefsky et al., 2002), and models of urban areas such as building footprints and three-dimensional city models (Maas, 2001).

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

Quantifying multi-temporal urban development characteristics in Las Vegas from Landsat and ASTER data

Urban development has expanded rapidly in Las Vegas, Nevada of the United States, over the last fifty years. A major environmental change associated with this urbanization trend is the transformation of the landscape from natural cover types to increasingly anthropogenic impervious surface. This research utilizes remote sensing data from both the Landsat and Terra-Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instruments in conjunction with digital orthophotography to estimate urban extent and its temporal changes by determining sub-pixel impervious surfaces. Percent impervious surface area has shown encouraging agreement with urban land extent and development density. Results indicate that total urban land-use increases approximately 110 percent from 1984 to 2002. Most of the increases are associated with medium-to high-density urban development. Places having significant increases in impervious surfaces are in the northwestern and southeastern parts of Las Vegas. Most high-density urban development, however, appears in central Las Vegas. Impervious surface conditions for 2002 measured from Landsat and ASTER satellite data are compared in terms of their accuracy.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

Artificial neural network multilayer perceptron models to classify California’s crops using Harmonized Landsat Sentinel (HLS) data

Advances in remote sensing and machine learning are enhancing cropland classification, vital for global food and water security. We used multispectral Harmonized Landsat 8 Sentinel-2 (HLS) 30-m data in an artificial neural network (ANN) multi-layer perceptron (MLP) model to classify five crop classes (cotton, alfalfa, tree crops, grapes, and others) in California's Central Valley. The ANN MLP model, trained on 2021 data from the United States Department of Agriculture's Cropland Data Layer, was validated by classifying crops for an independent year, 2022. Across the five crop classes, the overall accuracy was 74%. Producer's and user's accuracies ranged from 65% to 87%, with cotton achieving the highest accuracies. The study highlights the potential of using deep learning with HLS time series data for accurate global crop classification.

California

Use of multispectral Ikonos imagery for discriminating between conventional and conservation agricultural tillage practices

There is a global concern about the increase in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. One method being discussed to encourage greenhouse gas mitigation efforts is based on a trading system whereby carbon emitters can buy effective mitigation efforts from farmers implementing conservation tillage practices. These practices sequester carbon from the atmosphere, and such a trading system would require a low-cost and accurate method of verification. Remote sensing technology can offer such a verification technique. This paper is focused on the use of standard image processing procedures applied to a multispectral Ikonos image, to determine whether it is possible to validate that farmers have complied with agreements to implement conservation tillage practices. A principal component analysis (PCA) was performed in order to isolate image variance in cropped fields. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) statistical procedures were used to evaluate the capability of each Ikonos band and each principal component to discriminate between conventional and conservation tillage practices. A logistic regression model was implemented on the principal component most effective in discriminating between conventional and conservation tillage, in order to produce a map of the probability of conventional tillage. The Ikonos imagery, in combination with ground-reference information, proved to be a useful tool for verification of conservation tillage practices.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing