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At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
USGS1986

Image mapping with the Thematic Mapper.

This paper deals principally with Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) image maps as published by the US Geological Survey (USGS). Landsat data have certain characteristics that make them suitable for conversion into image maps. These characteristics involve 1) spatial resolution, 2) geometric fidelity, and 3) spectral response. This paper analyzes the three mentioned characteristics and discusses the processes involved in producing TM image maps.-from Author

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS1987

Denali image map

The Denali National Park and Preserve 1:250,000-scale image map has been prepared and published as part of the US Geological Survey's (USGS) continuing research to improve image mapping techniques. Nine multispectral scanner (MSS) images were geometrically corrected, digitally mosaicked, and enhanced at the National Mapping Division's (NMD) EROS Data Center (EDC). This process involves ground control and digital resampling to the Universal Tranverse Mercator (UTM) projection. This paper specifically discusses the preparation of the digital mosaic and the production peculiarities associated with the Denali National Park and Preserve image map.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS1989

Spectral analysis and filtering techniques in digital spatial data processing

A filter toolbox has been developed at the EROS Data Center, US Geological Survey, for retrieving or removing specified frequency information from two-dimensional digital spatial data. This filter toolbox provides capabilities to compute the power spectrum of a given data and to design various filters in the frequency domain. Three types of filters are available in the toolbox: point filter, line filter, and area filter. Both the point and line filters employ Gaussian-type notch filters, and the area filter includes the capabilities to perform high-pass, band-pass, low-pass, and wedge filtering techniques. These filters are applied for analyzing satellite multispectral scanner data, airborne visible and infrared imaging spectrometer (AVIRIS) data, gravity data, and the digital elevation models (DEM) data. -from Author

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS1989

Use of the variable gain settings on SPOT

Often the brightness or digital number (DN) range of satellite image data is less than optimal and uses only a portion of the available values (0 to 255) because the range of reflectance values is small. Most imaging systems have been designed with only two gain settings, normal and high. The SPOT High Resolution Visible (HRV) imaging system has the capability to collect image data using one of eight different gain settings. With the proper procedure this allows the brightness or reflectance resolution, which is directly related to the range of DN values recorded, to be optimized for any given site as compared to using a single set of gain settings everywhere. -from Author

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS1989

Radiometric calibration of Landsat Thematic Mapper multispectral images

A main problem encountered in radiometric calibration of satellite image data is correcting for atmospheric effects. Without this correction, an image digital number (DN) cannot be converted to a surface reflectance value. In this paper the accuracy of a calibration procedure, which includes a correction for atmospheric scattering, is tested. Two simple methods, a stand-alone and an in situ sky radiance measurement technique, were used to derive the HAZE DN values for each of the six reflectance Thematic Mapper (TM) bands. The DNs of two Landsat TM images of Phoenix, Arizona were converted to surface reflectances. -from Author

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS1990

Differentiator design and performance for edge sharpening

A two-dimensional differentiator is useful for edge sharpening in digital image processing. In the design of a differentiator, differentiator coefficients that satisfy the specification of frequency response must be approximated. Four mathematical techniques - the minimax method, least-squares method, nonlinear programming, and linear programming - can be applied to solve the approximation problem. Results indicated that the differentiator derived from linear programming gives the highest resolution. -from Authors

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS1990

Spatial resolution requirements for automated cartographic road extraction

Ground resolution requirements for detection and extraction of road locations in a digitized large-scale photographic database were investigated. A color infrared photograph of Sunnyvale, California was scanned, registered to a map grid, and spatially degraded to 1- to 5-metre resolution pixels. Road locations in each data set were extracted using a combination of image processing and CAD programs. These locations were compared to a photointerpretation of road locations to determine a preferred pixel size for the extraction method. Based on road pixel omission error computations, a 3-metre pixel resolution appears to be the best choice for this extraction method. -Authors

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS1990

Techniques for noise removal and registration of TIMS data

Extracting subtle differences from highly correlated thermal infrared aircraft data is possible with appropriate noise filters, constructed and applied in the spatial frequency domain. This paper discusses a heuristic approach to designing noise filters for removing high- and low-spatial frequency striping and banding. Techniques for registering thermal infrared aircraft data to a topographic base using Thematic Mapper data are presented. The noise removal and registration techniques are applied to TIMS thermal infrared aircraft data. -Author

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS1990

Multi-model stereo restitution

Methods are described that permit simultaneous orientation of many small-frame photogrammetric models in an analytical plotter. The multi-model software program enables the operator to move freely between the oriented models during interpretation and mapping. Models change automatically when the measuring mark is moved from one frame to another, moving to the same ground coordinates in the neighboring model. Thus, data collection and plotting can be performed continuously across model boundaries. The orientation of the models is accomplished by a bundle block adjustment. -from Author

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS1992

The new camera calibration system at the US Geological Survey

Modern computerized photogrammetric instruments are capable of utilizing both radial and decentering camera calibration parameters which can increase plotting accuracy over that of older analog instrumentation technology from previous decades. Also, recent design improvements in aerial cameras have minimized distortions and increased the resolving power of camera systems, which should improve the performance of the overall photogrammetric process. In concert with these improvements, the Geological Survey has adopted the rigorous mathematical model for camera calibration developed by Duane Brown. An explanation of the Geological Survey's calibration facility and the additional calibration parameters now being provided in the USGS calibration certificate are reviewed. -Author

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS1991

Comparison of three different methods to merge multiresolution and multispectral data: Landsat TM and SPOT panchromatic

The merging of multisensor image data is becoming a widely used procedure because of the complementary nature of various data sets. Ideally, the method used to merge data sets with high-spatial and high-spectral resolution should not distort the spectral characteristics of the high-spectral resolution data. This paper compares the results of three different methods used to merge the information contents of the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) panchromatic data. The comparison is based on spectral characteristics and is made using statistical, visual, and graphical analyses of the results. The three methods used to merge the information contents of the Landsat TM and SPOT panchromatic data were the Hue-Intensity-Saturation (HIS), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and High-Pass Filter (HPF) procedures. The HIS method distorted the spectral characteristics of the data the most. The HPF method distorted the spectral characteristics the least; the distortions were minimal and difficult to detect. -Authors

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS1992

Implementation of softcopy photogrammetric workstations at the US Geological Survey

The US Geological Survey has provided the Nation with primary quadrangle maps and map products for the last 50 years. The Survey recently completed initial coverage of the conterminous United States and Hawaii at 1:24 000 scale. In Alaska, complete coverage exists at 1:63 360 scale. Effort is underway to build a National Digital Cartographic Data Base (NDCDB) composed of the digital representation of these and other map series. In addition the Survey plans to meet the demand for more current and complete data through the development and promotion of spatial data standards in cooperation with other Federal, State, local and private organizations. -from Authors

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS1996

Remote mineralogic and lithologic mapping of the Ice River alkaline complex, British Columbia, Canada, using AVIRIS data

The Ice River Alkaline Complex is a late Paleozoic intrusion of mafic alkaline rocks, syenite, and carbonatite exposed in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. The complex intrudes Cambrian and Ordovician shales, slates, and limestones of the Chancellor and Ottertail Formations and the McKay Group. We examined the alkaline complex and adjacent country rocks using Airborne Visible-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data. The data were first calibrated to relative reflectance and then used to spectrally map mineralogies in the study area by using a linear spectral unmixing program. This technique models each pixel spectrum in an AVIRIS image as a linear combination of unique endmember spectra. We selected endmember spectra from well-exposed and spectrally distinct mineralogic units, vegetation, and snow. Four of the endmembers reflect mineralogic variations within the McKay group in the study area, and may represent lateral and vertical variations of sedimentary or metamorphic facies. Otherwise, the resultant spatial distribution of endmembers shows generally close agreement with the published geologic map, although, in several places, our image-map is more accurate than the published map.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS1996

Film cameras or digital sensors? The challenge ahead for aerial imaging

Cartographic aerial cameras continue to play the key role in producing quality products for the aerial photography business, and specifically for the National Aerial Photography Program (NAPP). One NAPP photograph taken with cameras capable of 39 lp/mm system resolution can contain the equivalent of 432 million pixels at 11 ??m spot size, and the cost is less than $75 per photograph to scan and output the pixels on a magnetic storage medium. On the digital side, solid state charge coupled device linear and area arrays can yield quality resolution (7 to 12 ??m detector size) and a broader dynamic range. If linear arrays are to compete with film cameras, they will require precise attitude and positioning of the aircraft so that the lines of pixels can be unscrambled and put into a suitable homogeneous scene that is acceptable to an interpreter. Area arrays need to be much larger than currently available to image scenes competitive in size with film cameras. Analysis of the relative advantages and disadvantages of the two systems show that the analog approach is more economical at present. However, as arrays become larger, attitude sensors become more refined, global positioning system coordinate readouts become commonplace, and storage capacity becomes more affordable, the digital camera may emerge as the imaging system for the future. Several technical challenges must be overcome if digital sensors are to advance to where they can support mapping, charting, and geographic information system applications.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS1997

The Landsat program: Its origins, evolution, and impacts

Landsat 1 began an era of space-based resource data collection that changed the way science, industry, governments, and the general public view the Earth. For the last 25 years, the Landsat program - despite being hampered by institutional problems and budget uncertainties - has successfully provided a continuous supply of synoptic, repetitive, multi-spectral data of the Earth's land areas. These data have profoundly affected programs for mapping resources, monitoring environmental changes, and assessing global habitability. The societal applications this program generated are so compelling that international systems have proliferated to carry on the tasks initiated with Landsat data.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS1998

Regional characterization of land cover using multiple sources of data

Many organizations require accurate intermediate-scale land-cover information for many applications, including modeling nutrient and pesticide runoff, understanding spatial patterns of biodiversity, land-use planning, and policy development. While many techniques have been successfully used to classify land cover in relatively small regions, there are substantial obstacles in applying these methods to large, multiscene regions. The purpose of this study was to generate and evaluate a large region land-cover classification product using a multiple-layer land-characteristics database approach. To derive land-cover information, mosaicked Landsat thematic mapper (TM) scenes were analyzed in conjunction with digital elevation data (and derived slope, aspect, and shaded relief), population census information, Defense Meteorological Satellite Program city lights data, prior land-use and land-cover data, digital line graph data, and National Wetlands Inventory data. Both leaf-on and leaf-off TM data sets were analyzed. The study area was U.S. Federal Region III, which includes the states of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia. The general procedure involved (1) generating mosaics of multiple scenes of leaves-on TM data using histogram equalization methods; (2) clustering mosaics into 100 spectral classes using unsupervised classification; (3) interpreting and labeling spectral classes into approximately 15 land-cover categories (analogous to Anderson Level 1 and 2 classes) using aerial photographs; (4) developing decision-making rules and models using from one to several ancillary data layers to resolve confusion in spectral classes that represented two or more targeted land-cover categories; and (5) incorporating data from other sources (for example, leaf-off TM data and National Wetlands Inventory data) to yield a final land-cover product. Although standard accuracy assessments were not done, a series of consistency checks using available sources of land-cover information were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach for generating accurate land-cover information for large regions.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗
USGS2001

Recognition of fiducial surfaces in lidar surveys of coastal topography

A new method for the recognition and mapping of surfaces in coastal landscapes that provide accurate and low variability topographic measurements with respect to airborne lidar surveys is described and demonstrated in this paper. Such surfaces are herein termed "fiducial" because they can represent reference baseline morphology in Studies of coastal change due to natural or anthropogenic causes. Non-fiducial surfaces may also be identified in each separate lidar survey to be used in a given geomorphic change analysis. Sites that are non-fiducial in either or both lidar surveys that bracket the time period under investigation may be excluded from consideration in subsequent calculations of survey-to-survey elevation differences to eliminate spurious indications of landscape change. This new analysis method, or lidar fiducial surface recognition (LFSR) algorithm, is intended to more fully enable the non-ambiguous Use of topographic lidar in a range of coastal investigations. The LFSR algorithm may be widely applied, because it is based solely on the information inherent in the USGS/NASA/NOAA airborne topographic lidar coverage that exists for most of the contiguous U.S. coastline.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing↗