Automatic detection of oil spills in ERS SAR images

The authors present algorithms for the automatic detection of oil spills in SAR images. The developed framework consists of first detecting dark spots in the image, then computing a set of features for each dark spot, before the spot is classified as either an oil slick or a “lookalike” (other oceanographic phenomena which resemble oil slicks). The classification rule is constructed by combining statistical modeling with a rule-based approach. Prior knowledge about the higher probability for the presence of oil slicks around ships and oil platforms is incorporated into the model. In addition, knowledge about the external conditions like wind level and slick surroundings are taken into account. The presented algorithms are tested on 84 SAR images. The algorithm can discriminate between oil slicks and lookalikes with high accuracy, 94% of the oil slicks and 99% of the lookalikes were correctly classified     

Modelling the spread of infectious salmon anaemia among salmon farms based on seaway distances between farms and genetic relationships between infectious salmon anaemia virus isolates

Infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) is an important infectious disease in Atlantic salmon farming causing recurrent epidemic outbreaks worldwide. The focus of this paper is on tracing the spread of ISA among Norwegian salmon farms. To trace transmission pathways for the ISA virus (ISAV), we use phylogenetic relationships between virus isolates in combination with space–time data on disease occurrences. The rate of ISA infection of salmon farms is modelled stochastically, where seaway distances between farms and genetic distances between ISAV isolates from infected farms play prominent roles. The model was fitted to data covering all cohorts of farmed salmon and the history of all farms with ISA between 2003 and summer 2009. Both seaway and genetic distances were significantly associated with the rate of ISA infection. The fitted model predicts that the risk of infection from a neighbourhood infectious farm decreases with increasing seaway distance between the two farms. Furthermore, for a given infected farm with a given ISAV genotype, the source of infection is significantly more likely to be ISAV of a small genetic distance than of moderate or large genetic distances. Nearly half of the farms with ISA in the investigated period are predicted to have been infected by an infectious farm in their neighbourhood, whereas the remaining half of the infected farms had unknown sources. For many of the neighbourhood infected farms, it was possible to point out one or a few infectious farms as the most probable sources of infection. This makes it possible to map probable infection pathways.     

Segmentation of brain parenchyma and cerebrospinal fluid in multispectral magnetic resonance images

Presents a new method to segment brain parenchyma and cerebrospinal fluid spaces automatically in routine axial spin echo multispectral MR images. The algorithm simultaneously incorporates information about anatomical boundaries (shape) and tissue signature (grey scale) using a priori knowledge. The head and brain are divided into four regions and seven different tissue types. Each tissue type c is modeled by a multivariate Gaussian distribution N(mu(c),Sigma(c)). Each region is associated with a finite mixture density corresponding to its constituent tissue types. Initial estimates of tissue parameters {mu(c),Sigma(c )}(c=1,...,7) are obtained from k-means clustering of a single slice used for training. The first algorithmic step uses the EM-algorithm for adjusting the initial tissue parameter estimates to the MR data of new patients. The second step uses a recently developed model of dynamic contours to detect three simply closed nonintersecting curves in the plane, constituting the arachnoid/dura mater boundary of the brain, the border between the subarachnoid space and brain parenchyma, and the inner border of the parenchyma toward the lateral ventricles. The model, which is formulated by energy functions in a Bayesian framework, incorporates a priori knowledge, smoothness constraints, and updated tissue type parameters. Satisfactory maximum a posteriori probability estimates of the closed contour curves defined by the model were found using simulated annealing.     

Estimating critical load exceedance by combining the EMEP model with data from measurement stations

We combine EMEP modelled data on acid pollutants with measurements at a network of monitoring stations. The aim is to improve the estimation of critical load exceedance by accounting for the variability in deposition within an EMEP grid square. We also estimate the bias and random error in the EMEP model. We use a statistical model which regards both EMEP predictions and measurements as observations of an underlying true deposition. By making some reasonable assumptions about the form of this underlying truth, and about the errors in the EMEP predictions, we can obtain both interesting estimates of the EMEP errors, and better estimates of critical load exceedance.     

A bayesian approach to classification of multiresolution remote sensing data

Several earth observation satellites acquire image bands with different spatial resolutions, e.g., a panchromatic band with high resolution and spectral bands with lower resolution. Likewise, we often face the problem of different resolutions when performing joint analysis of images acquired by different satellites. This work presents models and methods for classification of multiresolution images. The approach is based on the concept of a reference resolution, corresponding to the highest resolution in the dataset. Prior knowledge about the spatial characteristics of the classes is specified through a Markov random field model at the reference resolution. Data at coarser scales are modeled as mixed pixels by relating the observations to the classes at the reference resolution. A Bayesian framework for classification based on this multiscale model is proposed. The classification is realized by an iterative conditional modes (ICM) algorithm. The parameter estimation can be based both on a training set and on pixels with unknown class. A computationally efficient scheme based on a combination of the ICM and the expectation-maximization algorithm is proposed. Results obtained on simulated and real satellite images are presented.     

Lagrangian-based methods for finding MAP solutions for MRF models

Finding maximum a posteriori (MAP) solutions from noisy images based on a prior Markov random field (MRF) model is a huge computational task. In this paper, we transform the computational problem into an integer linear programming (ILP) problem. We explore the use of Lagrange relaxation (LR) methods for solving the MAP problem. In particular, three different algorithms based on LR are presented. All the methods are competitive alternatives to the commonly used simulation-based algorithms based on Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques. In all the examples (including both simulated and real images) that have been tested, the best method essentially finds a MAP solution in a small number of iterations. In addition, LR methods provide lower and upper bounds for the posterior, which makes it possible to evaluate the quality of solutions and to construct a stopping criterion for the algorithm. Although additive Gaussian noise models have been applied, any additive noise model fits into the framework.     

A Simulation Study of Some Contextual Classification Methods For Remotely Sensed Data

Various methods for contextual classification of multispectral scanner data have been developed during the last 15 years, aiming at increased accuracy in classified images. The methods have for a large part been of four main types: 1) neighborhood-based classification based on stochastic models for the classes over the scene and for the vectors given the classes; 2) simultaneous classification of all pixels, using, e.g., Markov random-field models; 3) relaxation methods that iteratively modify posterior probabilities using information from an increasing neighborhood; and 4) methods using ordinary noncontextual rules based on transformed data. In the present paper a selection of these methods is presented and compared using computer-gented data on different scenes. Spatial autocorrelation is present in the data. Error rates are compared, and an attempt is made to characterize what kind of errors each particular method makes.     

A Bayesian approach to dynamic contours through stochastic samplingand simulated annealing

In many applications of image analysis, simply connected objects are to be located in noisy images. During the last 5-6 years active contour models have become popular for finding the contours of such objects. Connected to these models are iterative algorithms for finding the minimizing energy curves making the curves behave dynamically through the iterations. These approaches do however have several disadvantages. The numerical algorithms that are in use constrain the models that can be used. Furthermore, in many cases only local minima can be achieved. In this paper, the author discusses a method for curve detection based on a fully Bayesian approach. A model for image contours which allows the number of nodes on the contours to vary is introduced. Iterative algorithms based on stochastic sampling is constructed, which make it possible to simulate samples from the posterior distribution, making estimates and uncertainty measures of specific quantities available. Further, simulated annealing schemes making the curve move dynamically towards the global minimum energy configuration are presented. In theory, no restrictions on the models are made. In practice, however, computational aspects must be taken into consideration when choosing the models. Much more general models than the one used for active contours may however be applied. The approach is applied to ultrasound images of the left ventricle and to magnetic resonance images of the human brain, and show promising results     

On the optimization of the fixed-stress splitting for Biot's equations

In this work, we are interested in efficiently solving the quasi-static, linear Biot model for poroelasticity. We consider the fixed-stress splitting scheme, which is a popular method for iteratively solving Biot's equations. It is well known that the convergence properties of the method strongly depend on the applied stabilization/tuning parameter. We show theoretically that, in addition to depending on the mechanical properties of the porous medium and the coupling coefficient, they also depend on the fluid flow and spatial discretization properties. The type of analysis presented in this paper is not restricted to a particular spatial discretization, although it is required to be inf-sup stable with respect to the displacement-pressure formulation. Furthermore, we propose a way to optimize this parameter that relies on the mesh independence of the scheme's optimal stabilization parameter. Illustrative numerical examples show that using the optimized stabilization parameter can significantly reduce the number of iterations.