Spectral reflectance of coral reef bottom-types worldwide and implications for coral reef remote sensing

Coral reef benthic communities are mosaics of individual bottom-types that are distinguished by their taxonomic composition and functional roles in the ecosystem. Knowledge of community structure is essential to understanding many reef processes. To develop techniques for identification and mapping of reef bottom-types using remote sensing, we measured 13,100 in situ optical reflectance spectra (400-700 nm, 1-nm intervals) of 12 basic reef bottom-types in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans: fleshy (1) brown, (2) green, and (3) red algae; non-fleshy (4) encrusting calcareous and (5) turf algae; (6) bleached, (7) blue, and (8) brown hermatypic coral; (9) soft/gorgonian coral; (10) seagrass; (11) terrigenous mud; and (12) carbonate sand. Each bottom-type exhibits characteristic spectral reflectance features that are conservative across biogeographic regions. Most notable are the brightness of carbonate sand and local extrema near 570 nm in blue (minimum) and brown (maximum) corals. Classification function analyses for the 12 bottom-types achieve mean accuracies of 83%, 76%, and 71% for full-spectrum data (301-wavelength), 52-wavelength, and 14-wavelength subsets, respectively. The distinguishing spectral features for the 12 bottom-types exist in well-defined, narrow (10-20 nm) wavelength ranges and are ubiquitous throughout the world. We reason that spectral reflectance features arise primarily as a result of spectral absorption processes. Radiative transfer modeling shows that in typically clear coral reef waters, dark substrates such as corals have a depth-of-detection limit on the order of 10-20 m. Our results provide the foundation for design of a sensor with the purpose of assessing the global status of coral reefs.     

Airborne lidar sensing of massive stony coral colonies on patch reefs in the northern Florida reef tract

In this study we examined the ability of the NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL) to discriminate cluster zones of massive stony coral colonies on northern Florida reef tract (NFRT) patch reefs based on their topographic complexity (rugosity). Spatially dense EAARL laser submarine topographic soundings acquired in August 2002 were used to create a 1-m resolution digital rugosity map for adjacent NFRT study areas characterized by patch reefs (Region A) and diverse substratums (Region B). In both regions, sites with lidar-sensed rugosities above 1.2 were imaged by an along-track underwater videography system that incorporated the acquisition of instantaneous GPS positions. Subsequent manual interpretation of videotape segments was performed to identify substratum types that caused elevated lidar-sensed rugosity. Our study determined that massive coral colony formation, modified by subsequent physical and biological processes that breakdown patch reef framework, was the primary source of topographic complexity sensed by the EAARL in the NFRT. Sites recognized by lidar scanning to be topographically complex preferentially occurred around the margins of patch reefs, constituted a minor fraction of the reef system, and usually reflected the presence of massive coral colonies in cluster zones, or their derivatives created by mortality, bioerosion, and physical breakdown.     

Automatic neural classification of ocean colour reflectance spectra at the top of the atmosphere with introduction of expert knowledge

We propose an automatic neural classification method for ocean colour (OC) reflectance measurements taken at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) by satellite-borne sensors. The goal is to identify aerosol types and cloud contaminated pixels. This information is of importance when selecting appropriate atmospheric correction algorithms for retrieving ocean parameters such as phytoplankton concentrations. The methodology is based on the use of Topological Neural network Algorithms (TNA, so-called Kohonen maps). The pixels of the remotely sensed image are characterised by a vector whose components are the spectral TOA measurement and the standard deviation of a small spatial structure. The method is a three-step method. The first step is an unsupervised classification built from a learning data set; it clusters pixel vectors which are similar into a certain number of groups. Each group is characterised by a specific vector, the so-called reference vector (rv), which summarises the information contained in all the pixels belonging to that group. The second step of the method consists of labeling the reference vectors with the help of an expert in ocean optics. The groups are then clustered into classes corresponding to physical characteristics provided by the expert. The third step consists of analyzing full images and classifying them by using the classifier which has been determined during the first two steps. The method was applied to the Cape Verde region, which exhibits important seasonal variability in terms of aerosols, cloud coverage and ocean chlorophyll-a concentration. We processed POLDER data to test the algorithm. We considered four classes: pixels contaminated by clouds; two types of pixels containing mineral dusts; and pixels containing maritime aerosols only. The method was able to take into account the information given by the expert and apply it to unlabeled pixels. This methodology could easily be extended to a larger number of classes, the major problem being to find adequate expertise to label the classes.     

Scale influences on the remote estimation of evapotranspiration using multiple satellite sensors

There is considerable interest in using remote sensing to characterize the hydrologic behavior of the land surface on a routine basis. Information on moisture fluxes between the surface and lower atmosphere reveals linkages and land-atmosphere feedback mechanisms, aiding our understanding of energy and water balance cycles. Techniques that combine information on land and atmospheric properties with remotely sensed variables would allow improved prediction for a number of hydrological variables. Over the last few decades, there has been a focus on better determining evapotranspiration and its spatial variability, but for many regions routine prediction is not generally available at a spatial resolution appropriate to the underlying surface heterogeneity. Over agricultural regions, this is particularly critical, since the spatial extent of typical field scales is not regularly resolved within the pixel resolution of satellite sensors. Understanding the role of landscape heterogeneity and its influence on the scaling behavior of surface fluxes as observed by satellite sensors with different spatial resolutions is a critical research need. To attend this task, data from Landsat-ETM (60 m), ASTER (90 m), and MODIS (1020 m) satellite platforms are employed to independently estimate evapotranspiration. The range of the satellite sensor resolutions allows analyses that span scales from (point-scale) in-situ tower measurements to the MODIS kilometer-scale. Evapotranspiration estimates derived at these multiple resolutions were assessed against eddy covariance flux measurements collected during the 2002 Soil Moisture Atmospheric Coupling Experiment (SMACEX) over the Walnut Creek watershed in Iowa. Together, these data allow a comprehensive scale intercomparison of remotely sensed predictions, which include intercomparisons of the evapotranspiration products from the various sensors as well as a statistical analysis for the retrievals at the watershed scale. A high degree of consistency was observed between the retrievals from the higher-resolution satellite platforms (Landsat-ETM and ASTER). The MODIS-based estimates, while unable to discriminate the influence of land surface heterogeneity at the field scale, effectively reproduced the watershed average response, illustrating the utility of this sensor for regional-scale evapotranspiration estimation.     

Variability and classification of remote sensing reflectance spectra in the eastern English Channel and southern North Sea

During spring and summer 2004, intensive field bio-optical campaigns were conducted in the eastern English Channel and southern North Sea to assess the mechanisms regulating the ocean color variability in a complex coastal environment. The bio-optical properties of the sampled waters span a wide range of variability, due to the various biogeochemical and physical processes occurring in this area. In-water hyperspectral remote sensing reflectances (R_rs) were acquired simultaneously with measurements of optically significant parameters at 93 stations. An empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis indicates that 74% of the total variance of R_rs is partly explained by particulate backscattering (b_bp), while particulate and dissolved absorption only explain 15% of the ocean color variability. These results confirm, for the first time from in situ backscattering measurements, previous studies performed in other coastal environments. Whereas the amplitude factors of the first EOF mode are well correlated (r = 0.75) with the particulate backscattering coefficient (b_bp), the highest correlation (r = 0.83) is found with the particulate backscattering ratio (b_bp/b_p). This result highlights the fundamental role of the nature of the bulk particulate assemblage in the ocean color variability.An unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis applied to our data set of normalized R_rs spectra, leads to five spectrally distinct classes. We show that the class-specific mean R_rs spectra significantly differ from one another by their bio-optical properties. Three classes particularly stand out: one class corresponds to a Phaeocystis globosa bloom situation, whereas the two others are associated with water masses dominated by mineral and non-living particles, respectively. Among the different bio-optical parameters, the particulate backscattering ratio, the chlorophyll concentration, and the particulate organic carbon to chlorophyll ratio, are the most class-specific ones. These different results are very encouraging for the inversion of bio-optical parameters from class-specific algorithms.     

TM和SAR遥感图像的不同层次融合分类比较

多传感器遥感图像为分类技术提供了更多的地物特征信息,有助于提高分类精度,增强计算机自动解译的能力,减少遥感图像的后处理时间。给出了ＴＭ 和ＳＡＲ遥感图像根据信息处理所在的不同层次融合分类特征的选取及分类方法,并从融合分类的精度和计算时间消耗上对哈尔滨市附近地区５１２×５１２ 大小的ＴＭ和ＪＥＲＳ１ 的ＳＡＲ图像的不同层次融合的分类进行比较,指出特征层融合是ＴＭ和ＳＡＲ遥感图像融合分类的最理想层次     

浅谈遥感新技术及其发展动态

遥感技术已经在国内外的各个领域得到了广泛的应用,在各国的经济建设中起到了重要作用。本文主要介绍了有关国内外遥感技术的最新进展情况和今后的发展趋势问题。     

Piecewise linear classification using seniority logic committee methods,with application to remote sensing

A committee classification technique based upon a form of seniority decision logic, and which implements piecewise linear decision surfaces, is proposed and a viable training algorithm is presented. The method determines automatically the number of committee members required and is not dependent upon user specified parameters. Examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the method using both model data and satellite remote sensing image data.     

Detection limits of coral reef bleaching by satellite remote sensing: Simulation and data analysis

Monitoring of coral reef bleaching has hitherto been based on regional-scale, in situ data. Larger-scale trends, however, must be determined using satellite-based observations. Using both a radiative transfer simulation and an analysis of multitemporal Landsat TM images, the ability of satellite remote sensing to detect and monitor coral reef bleaching is examined. The radiative transfer simulation indicates that the blue and green bands of Landsat TM can detect bleaching if at least 23% of the coral surface in a pixel has been bleached, assuming a Landsat TM pixel with a resolution of 30×30 m on shallow (less than 3 m deep) reef flats at Ishigaki Island, Japan. Assuming an area with an initial coral coverage of 100% and in which all corals became completely bleached, the bleaching could be detected at a depth of up to 17 m. The difference in reflectance of shallow sand and corals is compared by examining multitemporal Landsat TM images at Ishigaki Island, after normalizing for variations in atmospheric conditions, incident light, water depth, and the sensor's reaction to the radiance received. After the normalization, a severe bleaching event when 25-55% of coral coverage was bleached was detected, but a slight bleaching event when 15% of coral coverage was bleached was not detected. The simulation and data analysis agreed well with each other, and identified reliable limits for satellite remote sensing for detecting coral reef bleaching. Sensitivity analysis on solar zenith angle, aerosol (visibility) and water quality (Chl a concentration) quantified the effect of these factors on bleaching detection, and thus served as general guidelines for detecting coral reef bleaching. Spatial misregistration resulted in a high degree of uncertainty in the detection of changes at the edges of coral patches mainly because of the low (∼30 m) spatial resolution of Landsat TM, indicating that detection of coral reef bleaching by Landsat TM is limited to extremely severe cases on a large homogeneous coral patch and shallow water depths. Satellite remote sensing of coral reef bleaching should be encouraged, however, because the development and deployment of advanced satellite sensors with high spatial resolution continue to progress.     

遥感影像地形与大气校正系统设计与实现

遥感影像地形和大气校正是提高定量化遥感数据处理精度的重要因素。目前的数据处理软件系统集成了一些地形和大气校正算法,但在应用中还存在不能获取重要的地形参数(如阴影因子、天空可视因子等),需提供精准DEM和校正方法基于朗伯体地表假设等问题。为应对遥感专业用户需求,设计并实现了遥感影像地形与大气校正软件系统,用以对影像进行地形辐射校正、获取DEM数据和相关地形参数、地形与大气校正等。介绍了系统的功能模块设计并展示了系统的原型版本,并应用系统中的地形和大气校正方法获取了HJ/CCD影像和Landsat/TM影像的反射率。校正结果表明:该系统中的BRDF模型能够有效消除地形影响。系统的实现可以为遥感科学研究和应用提供支撑。     

人工神经网络遥感分类方法研究现状及发展趋势探析

从人工神经网络技术本身出发,概括了其在遥感分类中的研究现状,分析了人工神经网络遥感分类方法与其它分类方法相比具有的优势,介绍了人工神经网络遥感分类的一些主要应用,并进一步对人工神经网络遥感分类方法的发展趋势进行了展望。     

A comparison of multi-spectral, multi-angular, and multi-temporal remote sensing datasets for fractional shrub canopy mapping in Arctic Alaska

Shrub cover appears to be increasing across many areas of the Arctic tundra biome, and increasing shrub cover in the Arctic has the potential to significantly impact global carbon budgets and the global climate system. For most of the Arctic, however, there is no existing baseline inventory of shrub canopy cover, as existing maps of Arctic vegetation provide little information about the density of shrub cover at a moderate spatial resolution across the region. Remotely-sensed fractional shrub canopy maps can provide this necessary baseline inventory of shrub cover. In this study, we compare the accuracy of fractional shrub canopy (> 0.5 m tall) maps derived from multi-spectral, multi-angular, and multi-temporal datasets from Landsat imagery at 30 m spatial resolution, Moderate Resolution Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MODIS) imagery at 250 m and 500 m spatial resolution, and MultiAngle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) imagery at 275 m spatial resolution for a 1067 km² study area in Arctic Alaska. The study area is centered at 69 °N, ranges in elevation from 130 to 770 m, is composed primarily of rolling topography with gentle slopes less than 10°, and is free of glaciers and perennial snow cover. Shrubs > 0.5 m in height cover 2.9% of the study area and are primarily confined to patches associated with specific landscape features. Reference fractional shrub canopy is determined from in situ shrub canopy measurements and a high spatial resolution IKONOS image swath. Regression tree models are constructed to estimate fractional canopy cover at 250 m using different combinations of input data from Landsat, MODIS, and MISR. Results indicate that multi-spectral data provide substantially more accurate estimates of fractional shrub canopy cover than multi-angular or multi-temporal data. Higher spatial resolution datasets also provide more accurate estimates of fractional shrub canopy cover (aggregated to moderate spatial resolutions) than lower spatial resolution datasets, an expected result for a study area where most shrub cover is concentrated in narrow patches associated with rivers, drainages, and slopes. Including the middle infrared bands available from Landsat and MODIS in the regression tree models (in addition to the four standard visible and near-infrared spectral bands) typically results in a slight boost in accuracy. Including the multi-angular red band data available from MISR in the regression tree models, however, typically boosts accuracy more substantially, resulting in moderate resolution fractional shrub canopy estimates approaching the accuracy of estimates derived from the much higher spatial resolution Landsat sensor. Given the poor availability of snow and cloud-free Landsat scenes in many areas of the Arctic and the promising results demonstrated here by the MISR sensor, MISR may be the best choice for large area fractional shrub canopy mapping in the Alaskan Arctic for the period 2000-2009.     

Detecting major terrain parameters relating to mass movements' occurrence using GIS, remote sensing and statistical correlations, case study Lebanon

Among the various natural hazards, mass movements (MM) are probably the most damaging to the natural and human environment in Mediterranean countries, including Lebanon which represents a good case study. This research deals with how to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for establishing the relationships between MM occurrence and different factor terrain parameters over a representative region of Lebanon. Parameters expressed by: 1—ancillary data like lithology, proximity to fault zone, soil type, land cover/use, distance to drainage line and rainfall quantity, and 2—derived data like slope gradient and slope aspect, were correlated with MM using GIS-approaches. The MM were first detected through visual interpretation of two stereo-pairs of SPOT 4 images (anaglyph) at 10 m resolution. This study indicates, depending on bivariate Remote Sensing and GIS statistical correlations (Kendall Tau-b correlation), that the lithology is the most influencing factor on MM occurrence. It also shows that statistical correlations to mass movements exist best between factors at the following decreasing order of importance: lithology-proximity to fault line, lithology-soil type and lithology-distance to drainage line at 1% level of significance, and soil-land cover/use, slope aspect-land cover/use, and soil-slope gradient at 5% level of significance. These correlations were verified and checked through field observations and explained using univariate statistical correlations. Therefore, they could be extrapolated to other Mediterranean countries having similar geoenvironmental conditions.     

Application of a parallel pattern processor to remote sensing

This paper describes application techniques of satellite remote sensing using a newly developed interactive digital image processing system, where a parallel pattern processor performs characteristic roles. The pattern processor can execute several image processing functions at high speed, which are frequently used in remote sensing studies; affine transformation for geometric correction of LANDSAT MSS data to implement a satellite image database, maximum likelihood estimation for land cover classification, and pixelwise operations for change detection, etc.

These application results indicate that the developed interactive image processing system is sufficiently effective to process remote-sensed data.     

Land cover mapping of North and Central America—Global Land Cover 2000

The Land Cover Map of North and Central America for the year 2000 (GLC 2000-NCA), prepared by NRCan/CCRS and USGS/EROS Data Centre (EDC) as a regional component of the Global Land Cover 2000 project, is the subject of this paper. A new mapping approach for transforming satellite observations acquired by the SPOT4/VGTETATION (VGT) sensor into land cover information is outlined. The procedure includes: (1) conversion of daily data into 10-day composite; (2) post-seasonal correction and refinement of apparent surface reflectance in 10-day composite images; and (3) extraction of land cover information from the composite images. The pre-processing and mosaicking techniques developed and used in this study proved to be very effective in removing cloud contamination, BRDF effects, and noise in Short Wave Infra-Red (SWIR). The GLC 2000-NCA land cover map is provided as a regional product with 28 land cover classes based on modified Federal Geographic Data Committee/Vegetation Classification Standard (FGDC NVCS) classification system, and as part of a global product with 22 land cover classes based on Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) of the Food and Agriculture Organisation. The map was compared on both areal and per-pixel bases over North and Central America to the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) global land cover classification, the University of Maryland global land cover classification (UMd) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Global land cover classification produced by Boston University (BU). There was good agreement (79%) on the spatial distribution and areal extent of forest between GLC 2000-NCA and the other maps, however, GLC 2000-NCA provides additional information on the spatial distribution of forest types. The GLC 2000-NCA map was produced at the continental level incorporating specific needs of the region.     

SOM神经网络改进及在遥感图像分类中的应用*

针对自组织特征神经网络自身算法的特点和缺陷,采用遗传算法对网络进行改进,形成了基于遗传算法的自组织特征神经网络,并从输入向量、竞争层神经元数量设置和初始权向量设定三方面,结合遥感图像的特性对自组织特征映射网络遥感图像分类的方法进行了改进。将该方法应用于择西安地区的ETM+卫星遥感图像进行分类试验,结果表明,基于遗传算法的自组织特征映射网络使得遥感图像的分类精度更高,且该算法实现简单,具有一定的工程应用价值。     

水利部旱情遥感监测系统建设与展望

遥感技术以其快速、经济和大空间范围获取的特点,已成为旱情监测的重要手段。介绍国家防汛指挥系统二期工程水利部旱情遥感监测系统的建设情况,包括旱情遥感监测模型、业务流程及系统的设计与开发等。系统实现全国旱情监测逐周生产、区域旱情1~3 d应急快速监测及逐月区域水体监测产品的生产。试运行表明全国旱情监测与国外同类产品结果一致或优于同类产品;区域旱情监测平均精度达到80%以上。最后,对旱情遥感监测系统未来发展进行展望。     

Retrieval of aerosol type and optical thickness over the Mediterranean from SeaWiFS images using an automatic neural classification method

We present an automatic classification method based on topological neural network algorithms to retrieve aerosol optical properties from multi-spectral ocean-color satellite imagery. The first step of the method consisted in an unsupervised classification of a large set of clear-sky top of the atmosphere reflectance spectra measured by the sensor. We used the so-called Kohonen map which aggregates similar spectra into a reduced set of pertinent groups. The second step consisted in labeling these groups by clustering them with synthetic TOA reflectance spectra whose optical properties (i.e., aerosol type or optical thickness) are known. These synthetic spectra have been computed using a radiative transfer model. In the present study, we dealt with five aerosol types (maritime, coastal, tropospheric, oceanic and mineral) and several aerosol optical thickness values ranging from 0.05 to 0.8. These simulated spectra were then projected onto the Kohonen map to label each group of the map. The last step consisted in applying this method to the SeaWiFS imagery of the Mediterranean region for the years 1999 and 2000. The Kohonen map was “educated” from pixels randomly extracted during the year 1999 in this region. We accounted for the viewing geometry of the sensor by clustering the simulated spectra into ten groups of similar geometries, as defined by both scattering and sun zenith angles. The analysis of SeaWiFS images was performed pixel-by-pixel by selecting the suitable labeling (in terms of viewing geometry), then by identifying the closest spectrum in the Kohonen map, which finally gives the aerosol optical properties. This method led to accurate and coherent results, as shown by the comparison with in situ aerosol measurements provided by the AERONET station at Lampedusa and by the study of two aerosol events over the Mediterranean. One of the major advantages of this method is that it enables us to automatically identify the aerosol type and to retrieve the aerosol optical properties with a better accuracy than classical methods such as those used by SeaWifs. It gives accurate results for optical thickness values larger than 0.35 and is able to retrieve dust aerosols such as African dust aerosol (absorbing aerosol). These should ensure a more precise inversion of ocean-color imagery where the knowledge of atmospheric optical parameters is essential. Moreover the method is able to give probabilities for the estimate values of aerosol properties.