ASPRS

PE&RS July 2000

VOLUME 66, NUMBER 7
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND REMOTE SENSING

Peer-Reviewed Article Abstracts

829 The Use of Intensity-Hue-Saturation Transformation of Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper Data for Burned Land Mapping
Nikos Koutsias, Michael Karteris, and Emilio Chuvico

Abstract
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Several techniques have been developed to detect and map burned areas using Landsat Thematic Mapper data, ranging from simple ones, such as visual analysis, to more complex, such as spectral mixture analysis. However, the Intensity-Hue-Saturation transformation, a method mainly used for merging multiresolution and multispectral data and for contrast-stretching applications, has never been applied. In this study, a method is presented by which transforming the RGB values of a three-channel composite to IHS values, the mapping of areas affected by forest fires can be easily achieved. Specifically, the hue component of two RGB color composites, consisting of TM7-TM4-TM1 and TM4-TM7-TM1, respectively, proved to be very useful in mapping of burned areas.

841 A Comparison of Canonical Discriminant Analysis and Principal Component Analysis for Spectral Transformation
Gukang Zhao and Ann L. Maclean

Abstract
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A study was conducted in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to test the strength and weakness of canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) as a spectral transformation technique to separate ground scene classes which have close spectral signatures. Classification accuracies using CDA transformed images were compared to those using principal component analysis (PCA) transformed images. Results showed that Kappa accuracies using CDA  images were significantly higher than those derived using PCA  at a = 0.05. Comparison of CDA  and PCA  eigen structure matrices indicated that there is no distinct pattern in terms of source variable contributions and load signs between the canonical discriminant functions and the principal components.

849 LandScan: A Global Population Database for Estimating Populations at Risk
Jerome E. Dobson, Edward A. Bright, Phillip R. Coleman, Richard C. Durfee, and Brian A. Worley

Abstract
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The LandScan Global Population Project produced a world-wide 1998 population database at a 30- by 30-second resolution for estimating ambient populations at risk. Best available census counts were distributed to cells based on probability coefficients which, in turn, were based on road proximity, slope, land cover, and nighttime lights. LandScan 1998 has been completed for the entire world. Verification and validation (V&V) studies were conducted routinely for all regions and more extensively for Israel, Germany, and the southwestern United States. Geographic information systems  (GIS) were essential for conflation of diverse input variables, computation of probability coefficients, allocation of population to cells, and reconciliation of cell totals with aggregate (usually province) control totals. Remote sensing was an essential source of two input variables-land cover and nighttime lights-and one ancillary database-high-resolution panchromatic imagery-used in V&V of the population model and resulting LandScan database.

859 Remote Estimation of Grey Seal Length, Width, and Body Mass from Aerial   Photography
Sean D. Twiss, Paddy P. Pomeroy, Christopher J.  Thomas, and Jon P. Mills

Abstract
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High-resolution images of two UK  grey seal breeding colonies were derived from multi-temporal aerial photography and geo-referenced in a GIS  using ground control points obtained in the field with sub-meter DGPS. Lengths and widths of seals were digitized from these images. Elevations at seal locations were determined using sub-meter DEMs, allowing measurements to be adjusted for proximity to the camera. Mass estimates of seals were computed from these measures using models developed from direct field measurements. Comparisons of estimates derived from the images and actual masses of seals measured in the field indicate that this method provides a consistent index of relative body size. Seasonal patterns of changes in remotely determined size and mass estimates and inter-colony comparisons mirrored patterns observed from direct field measurements. Our work permits the remote estimation of seal body size for any sample of seals without the intrusive complications and sample limitations of direct field measurements.

867 Mapping of Urban Areas:  A Multiresolution Modeling Approach for Semi-Automatic Extraction of Streets
Isabelle Couloigner and Thierry Ranchin

Absract
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A new method to hierarchically extract urban road networks from very high spatial resolution space-borne imagery (spatial resolution of 2 m and higher) is presented. An explicit and generic model of "streets" was developed according to a multiresolution analysis of images associated with a wavelet transform. The method consists of two processing steps the multiresolution extraction of edges of streets, and, if existing, the multiresolution extraction of strips of streets. The extraction of sides is achieved by the use of a multiscale representation of images, and the extraction of strips is done by a modeling of distinct substructures of streets at different characteristic scales achieved by the application of the associated wavelet transform. The method would help cartographers in their cartographic works in urban areas by a partial automation of tasks.

875 Accuracy Assessment Curves for Satellite-Based Change Detection
Jeffrey T. Morisette and Siamak Khorram

Abstract
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The concept of "accuracy assessment curves" as they relate to image-based change detection is developed. These curves are a graphical representation of the relationship between typical accuracy assessment figures and a binary change detection threshold level. After an introduction to accuracy assessment curves, an example is presented. The relationship between typical accuracy assessment parameters and the location of the binary change threshold level is first shown with a series of error matrices. This relationship is then expanded across a range of thresholds and shown as accuracy assessment curves. These curves show how accuracy figures are dependent on the change metric's threshold level. This dependency indicates some limitations of binary change maps. These limitations provide the impetus for a continuous change product. We describe how a continuous Probability-of-change (POC) image, derived from statistical models, can be incorporated with the accuracy assessment curves to produce a more meaningful and informative change detection product.

881 Exploring the Capability of Some GIS Surface Interpolators for DEM Gap Fill
Peter Doucette and Kate Beard

Abstract
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Scene occlusions in aerial or satellite imagery are at times an unavoidable occurrence resulting from natural or mechanical effects. At their most severe, occlusions can render terrain modeling and feature extraction tasks incomplete or impossible in affected regions of an image, creating gaps of missing information in the extracted data sets. In lieu of alternative sources, a simple solution for gap fill of digital elevation data may be to perform interpolation, provided the gap is not impracticably large. The expediency that interpolation offers must be appropriately justified vis-a-vis the potential for substantial uncertainty in the estimates. This study evaluates the gap fill capabilities of four ESRI Arc/Info offered surface interpolator functions: (1) kriging, (2) splining, (3) inverse distance weighting, and (4) surface trend analysis. Using a simple error assessment approach with different terrain textures, the evaluation tends to favor the use of the splining function when interpolating for the kind of gaps and sample configurations considered.
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