Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Place, J. L..
Satellite imagery was used to revise existing land use maps outdated by new residential developments, croplands, and reservoir fill up during a period of dynamic growth in Phoenix, Arizona.
The author has identified the following significant results. The mapping of generalized land use (level 1) from ERTS 1 images was shown to be feasible with better than 95% accuracy in the Phoenix quadrangle. The accuracy of level 2 mapping in urban areas is still a problem. Updating existing maps also proved to be feasible, especially in water categories and agricultural uses; however, expanding urban growth has presented with accuracy. ERTS 1 film images indicated where areas of change were occurring, thus aiding focusing-in for more detailed investigation. ERTS color composite transparencies provided a cost effective source of information for land use mapping of very large regions at small map scales.
The author has identified the following significant results. Changes in the land use in the Phoenix (1:250,000 scale) Quadrangle in Arizona have been mapped using only the images from ERTS-1, tending to verify the utility of a land use classification system proposed for use with ERTS images. Seasonal changes were studied on successive ERTS-1 images, particularly large scale color composite transparencies for August, October, February, and May, and this seasonal variation aided delineation of land use boundaries. Types of equipment used to aid interpretation included color additive viewer, a twenty-power magnifier, a density slicer, and a diazo copy machine. A Zoom Transfer Scope was used for scale and photogrammetric adjustments. Types of changes detected have been: (1) cropland or rangeland developed as new residential areas; (2) rangeland converted to new cropland or to new reservoirs; and (3) possibly new activity by the mining industries. A map of land use previously compiled from air photos was updated in this manner. ERTS-1 images complemented air photos: the photos gave detail on a one-shot basis; the ERTS-1 images provided currency and revealed seasonal variation in vegetation which aided interpretation of land use.
Changes in land use between 1970 and 1973 in the Phoenix (1:250,000 scale) Quadrangle in Arizona have been mapped using only the images from ERTS-1, tending to verify the utility of a standard land use classification system proposed for use with ERTS images. Types of changes detected have been: (1) new residential development of former cropland and rangeland; (2) new cropland from the desert; and (3) new reservoir fill-up. The seasonal changing of vegetation patterns in ERTS has complemented air photos in delimiting the boundaries of some land use types. ERTS images, in combination with other sources of information, can assist in mapping the generalized land use of the fifty states by the standard 1:250,000 quadrangles. Several states are already working cooperatively in this type of mapping.
The author has identified the following significant results. In comparing the land use changes from the overlay as detected from ERTS-1 and the high altitude change overlay, total areas of change were of the same magnitude. The greatest variations were a result of differences in dates and areas of coverage between ERTS-1 images and aerial photographs. Separation of citrus from other agricultural land has been moderately successful in the ERTS-1 1:100,000 scale Level 2 land use mapping around Phoenix, although accuracy estimates are not yet available. No feeding operations have been detected from ERTS-1 so far. Preliminary indications are that commercial and services, industrial, and institutional land are not separable from each other using present image interpretation techniques. Urban open areas such as parks and golf courses are readily detectable, particularly when local maps are consulted even though out-of-date. Strip and clustered settlements may be detected depending upon their size and contrast with the surrounding area on the ERTS-1 image.
There are no author-identified significant results in this report.
The author has identified the following significant results. The land use of the Phoenix Quadrangle in Arizona had been mapped previously from aerial photographs and recorded in a computer data bank. During the ERTS-1 experiment, changes in land use were detected using only the ERTS-1 images. The I2S color additive viewer was used as the principal image enhancement tool, operated in a multispectral mode. Hard copy color composite images of the best multiband combinations from ERTS-1 were made by photographic and diazo processes. The I2S viewer was also used to enhance changes between successive images by quick flip techniques or by registering with different color filters. More recently, a Bausch and Lomb zoom transferscope has been used for the same purpose. Improved interpretation of land use change resulted, and a map of changes within the Phoenix Quadrangle was compiled. The first level of a proposed standard land use classification system was sucessfully used. ERTS-1 underflight photography was used to check the accuracy of the ERTS-1 image interpretation. It was found that the total areas of change detected in the photos were comparable with the total areas of change detected in the ERTS-1 images.
The author has identified the following significant results. Comparison of 9 x 9 MSS band images and color composites made from bands 4, 5, and 6 showing vegetated areas near Phoenix during the summer, fall, and winter seasons aided in definitely establishing that certain land areas were being used as agricultural land and not as rangeland. Agricultural land, which appeared to be fallow, idle, or not irrigated, often became more readily identifiable as agricultural land when comparing different images of identical land areas which have been affected by seasonal vegetation changes. Experimentation with the Bausch and Lomb Zoom Transferscope using MSS images of identical areas in the same spectral band from different time periods, with a quick flip method of alternately viewing the frame areas, enabled rapid detection of a major land use change from agricultural to urban use on the northwest fringe of the metropolitan Phoenix area. The best results in this case were obtained when comparing MSS band 5 images. Examination of MSS transparencies and color composites allowed further updating of a map of land use change in the Phoenix Quadrangle.
Change in land use in the Phoenix Quadrangle, Arizona between 1970 and 1972 - successful use of a proposed land use classification system
The author has identified the following significant results. Comparison of 9 x 9 MSS band images and color composites made from bands 4, 5, and 6 showing vegetated areas near Phoenix during the summer and fall seasons aided in definitely establishing that certain land areas were being used as agricultural land and not as rangeland. Agricultural land, which appeared to be fallow, idle, or not irrigated, often became more readily identifiable as agricultural land when comparing different images of identical land areas which have been affected by seasonal vegetation changes. Experimentation with color density slicing portions of 9 x 9 MSS band 7 transparency showing the central urban core of phoenix enabled dense commercial and industrial areas to be separated from less dense urbanized land uses; however, loss of resolution produced results of limited usefulness. The best results in agricultural areas near Sun City were obtained using MSS band 5 imagery. Discrimination of different land uses in both urban and agricultural areas which were color density sliced was not possible to the degree of accuracy necessary to make mapping feasible. Examination of MSS transparencies and color composites allowed updating of a map of land use change in the Phoenix Quadrangle.
The author has identified the following significant results. The land use of the Phoenix Quadrangle in Arizona had been mapped previously from aerial photographs and recorded in a computer data bank. During the ERTS experiment, changes in land use were detected, first with the ERTS-simulation photographs, then with the ERTS-1 images when they became available. In each case, the I2S color additive viewer was used as the primary image enhancement tool, operated in a multispectral mode. A search was made for a method of creating hard copy color composite images of the best combinations of multiband composites from ERTS-1, mostly by photographic and diazo processes. The I2S viewer was also used to enhance changes between successive images by quick flip techniques or by registering with different color filters. Improved interpretation of land use change resulted, and a map of changes in the Phoenix Quadrangle was compiled using magnified ERTS-1 images alone. The first level of a standard land use classification system was successfully used. Between the ERTS-1 images for August and November, some differences were detected that could be caused by seasonal characteristics of vegetation or by change in use.
Changes in land use in the Phoenix (1:250,000 scale) Quadrangle in Arizona have been mapped using only the images from ERTS-1, tending to verify the utility of a land use classification system proposed for use with ERTS images. The period of change investigated was from November 1970 to late summer or early fall, 1972. Seasonal changes also were studied using successive ERTS images. Types of equipment used to aid interpretation included a color additive viewer, a twenty-power magnifier, a density slicer, and a diazo copy machine for making ERTS color composites in hard copy. Types of changes detected have been: (1) cropland or rangeland developed for new residential areas; (2) rangeland converted to new cropland; and (3) possibly new areas of industrial or commercial development. A map of land use previously compiled from air photos was updated in this manner.
The author has identified the following significant results. Experimentation with 70mm squares cut from ERTS-1 9.5 inch MSS positive transparencies in an I2S color additive viewer, a Richardson film production viewer at 10X magnification, and in a microfiche viewer at 12X and 18X magnification has indicated that band 5 photography provides the most useful interpretable data. In the I2S viewer high intensities of blue and red light in bands 4 and 6 respectively enhance faint vegetation patterns not easily detectable. Slides produced from 35mm color transparencies made by photographing the I2S viewing screen are suitable visual aids for use during presentation. Interpretation of MSS transparencies allowed compilation of a map of land use change in the Phoenix quadrangle.
There are no author-identified significant results in this report.
Efforts to develop an automated system, from ERTS data, for producing computer models and computer maps of land use and other environmental factors for the Phoenix quadrangle are outlined.
The Phoenix Pilot Program has been designed to make effective use of past experience in making land use maps and collecting land use information. Conclusions reached from the project are: (1) Land use maps and accompanying statistical information of reasonable accuracy and quality can be compiled at a scale of 1:250,000 from orbital imagery. (2) Orbital imagery used in conjunction with other sources of information when available can significantly enhance the collection and analysis of land use information. (3) Orbital imagery combined with modern computer technology will help resolve the problem of obtaining land use data quickly and on a regular basis, which will greatly enhance the usefulness of such data in regional planning, land management, and other applied programs. (4) Agreement on a framework or scheme of land use classification for use with orbital imagery will be necessary for effective use of land use data.
Remote sensing technology and data from instrumented satellites and high altitude aircraft are proposed for mapping land use on a current national basis, for monitoring changes and trends, and for creating statistical models which can be manipulated to demonstrate the probable effects of proposed land use and of environmental changes over large areas. Both Apollo spacecraft and aircraft photography were used; the spacecraft pictures delineated the cropland and urban boundaries more clearly. A computer model is also proposed for statistical analysis and for printing out updated maps automatically; this model will include a data bank which can be updated rapidly with changes detected by the computer.